By Jonathan Okanes, Cal Athletic Communications

CORVALLIS, Ore. – In a season full of signs that this is a different Cal football team, Saturday's game on a chilly night in Oregon provided the most telling evidence yet that this program is on the move.

The Bears came back after giving up a 17-point lead and polished off Oregon State 45-31 in a Pac-12 showdown at Reser Stadium. It was Cal's first win in Corvallis since 2006 and moved the Bears to within one win of becoming bowl-eligible for the first time since 2011.

“We've had enough games like this to be able to preach to our team to just keep playing and not worry about the scoreboard,” Cal coach Sonny Dykes said. “They got the momentum and the crowd got involved. There was a lot of energy in the stadium. I'm proud of our guys for keeping their wits about them and continuing to play hard and do their job.”

The Bears (5-4, 3-4 Pac-12) built a 27-10 lead midway through the third quarter largely behind the running of junior Daniel Lasco, who gained a career-high 188 yards and three touchdowns. It was the most rushing yards by a Cal player since Isi Sofele amassed 190 against Oregon State in 2011, and the three rushing touchdowns was the most by a Bear since Shane Vereen also had three against Stanford in 2009.

Lasco's third and final score – a 15-yard run with 1:39 remaining – capped the victory.

“Every single game is important,” Lasco said. “We all knew this was a huge game coming in. I kept telling the team we are 0-0. It's a whole new season now. It feels good but the train doesn't stop here. We need to continue to get better and keep working in the right direction.”

The Beavers (4-4, 1-4) scored 21 unanswered points to take a 31-27 lead early in the fourth quarter, but Cal answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jared Goff to wide receiver Chris Harper.

That's when redshirt freshman Caleb Coleman made the first of two huge defensive plays.

On the second play of Oregon State's next possession, Coleman registered his first career interception to give the Bears the ball at the Beavers' 26. James Langford ended up tying his career-high with a 47-yard field goal to extend Cal's lead to 37-31 with 6:15 remaining.

Oregon State took the ensuing kickoff and immediately gained 21 yards on a pass play on first down. But the Beavers' eventually faced 4th-and-2 from the Cal 49, and Coleman tackled Oregon State's Chris Brown short of the first down marker and the Beavers turned the ball over on downs with 3:53 to go.

The Bears capitalized again, driving 52 yards on five plays with Lasco finishing off the scoring drive. Wide receiver Stephen Anderson, who had a career-high nine catches for 117 yards, had a pivotal 32-yard catch during the possession.

“We knew they would get some momentum at some point  in time,” Coleman said. “We knew we woud have to make some stops and turn the momentum back in our favor. It's a big win. It's a big point in our season. This team keeps fighting, no matter what the circumstance. It's definitely a big win for the team.”

Goff finished 24-for-47 for 277 yards and one touchdown. He now has 3,119 passing yards on the season, which is third all-time on Cal's single-season list.

The Bears have a bye next week and will return to action on Thursday, Nov. 13 at USC. The game will air on ESPN.