PACIFIC 10 ROUNDUP : Arizona stumbles at Cal

Shane Vereen scored on a 61-yard run after an odd penalty thwarted a potential go-ahead drive for No. 18 Arizona and California went on to a 24-16 victory Saturday without injured star running back Jahvid Best in a Pacific 10 Conference game at Berkeley.

Giorgio Tavecchio kicked four field goals, giving Cal (7-3, 4-3) an 18-16 lead with a 22-yarder with 4:46 remaining. But Arizona wasn’t done.

After Tavecchio made a key tackle on the ensuing kickoff, the Wildcats (6-3, 4-2) drove the ball down to the Cal 25. On third and three, Nick Foles’ pass was batted down at the line. Foles caught the ricochet and tried to throw it again. That was a penalty for an illegal forward pass and the ball moved back to the 39 and Arizona lost the down.

Foles threw an incompletion on the next play, dealing a blow to Arizona’s hopes to make the Rose Bowl for the first time. The Wildcats can still clinch a berth by winning their final three games against Oregon, Arizona State and USC, but this loss removed any margin for error.

Vereen then ran it in on the next play, giving him a career-high 159 yards on a day where he had to shoulder all of the running load while his close friend Best could only watch.

No. 14 Oregon 44, Arizona State 21 -- LaMichael James ran for 150 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Ducks (8-2, 6-1) over the Sun Devils at Tempe, Ariz. Previously suspended running back LeGarrette Blount was dressed and ready to go, pacing the sideline at times with his helmet on, but never got into the game. James, who established himself in Blount’s absence with an average of 115.9 yards rushing, had 119 yards in the first half.

Oregon State 48, Washington 21 -- Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 159 yards, Sean Canfield threw for four touchdowns and the Beavers (7-3, 5-2) kept their Rose Bowl hopes alive with a rout of the Huskies (3-7, 2-5) at Corvallis, Ore. Rodgers surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season and ran for two touchdowns for the Beavers, who have won five of their last six games and are firmly in the hunt for the conference championship.