Ducks Host Cal Friday Night

EUGENE, Ore. — The ninth-ranked Oregon football team returns to action Friday night when the No. 9 Ducks host California in Autzen Stadium.

The matchup will kick off at 7:35 p.m., with ESPN providing the telecast. Beth Mowins will handle play by play, Kirk Morrison is the analyst and Dawn Davenport will provide sideline reporting.

The Ducks are 4-1 this season, having gone unbeaten in four September games including a victory at then-No. 3 Ohio State and a win in their Pac-12 opener over Arizona. They're looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season, having had a bye week to regroup from an overtime defeat at Stanford on Oct. 2.

California is 1-4 overall and 0-2 in Pac-12 play under head coach Justin Wilcox, the former UO defensive back. The coordinators for the Golden Bears also have Oregon ties, including former UO quarterback Bill Musgrave on offense and former UO linebacker Peter Sirmon on defense. Former UO safeties coach Keith Heyward and graduate assistant Tre Watson also are on the Cal defensive staff.

Current UO defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter will face the team he was on staff with from 2017-20.

Oregon is looking to extend its 15-game home win streak, the third-long active streak in the country. Cal is hoping to repeat last season's 21-17 win over the Ducks in Berkeley, by posting its first win over a top-10 team on the road since 1969.

The Ducks will play without running back CJ Verdell following his season-ending injury suffered at Stanford, but hope to welcome center Alex Forsyth back to the lineup after he missed the game. Pass rusher Bradyn Swinson looks set to return from injury, a welcome development given that Kayvon Thibodeaux will miss the first half after his ejection for targeting late in the game at Stanford.