EUGENE, Ore. – After fighting its way back to within seven points just a few minutes into the fourth quarter, the Cal football team couldn't complete the comeback as host Oregon countered with 21 points over the final 10 minutes and the Bears fell 45-24 at Autzen Stadium.

Ross Bowers led the Cal offense with a strong bounce-back effort at quarterback, completing 23 of 41 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns. Kanawai Noa was the main beneficiary, hauling in seven passes for 126 yards, both career-highs, as well as his first career touchdown.

A 36-yard field goal by Matt Anderson made Saturday's contest a one-score game with 10:44 left to play, bringing Cal (3-2, 0-2 Pac-12) to within seven at 24-17. That was as close as the Bears got though as Oregon's Kani Benoit broke free for a 68-yard touchdown run and a fumble inside the Cal 5-yard line set the Ducks up for an eventual 5-yard touchdown run by Tony Brooks-James.

The deficit narrowed with 4:54 remaining when Bowers fired his third touchdown pass of the evening, finding Vic Wharton III in stride in the end zone for a 28-yard score that left Cal down 38-24. Oregon (4-1, 1-1) finished the scoring with 2:35 left as Darrian Felix scored on an 11-yard run.

The Bears and Ducks traded scoring blows in the third quarter to and Cal trailed by 10 heading to the fourth. A 1-yard touchdown run by Benoit pushed Oregon's lead to 24-7 after just one second-half drive but Cal didn't wait long to counter with a big play as Bowers found Noa behind his defender up the left sideline and the two connected for a 75-yard strike for six points.

The play, which was Bowers' longest career completion as well as Noa's longest career reception, and subsequent PAT moved the score to 24-14 in favor of Oregon. That's where the scoreboard stayed all the way to the end of the quarter as both defenses took over.

After searching for much of the first half for an offensive rhythm, Cal got the shot in the arm it needed just before halftime with a little help from its defense. Linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk provided the jolt, intercepting Oregon quarterback Taylor Alie and returning it 53 yards to the Oregon 18 with just over a minute left in the half.

One play later, Cal hit the scoreboard for the first time as Bowers found Jordan Veasy on a crossing route and the senior turned it upfield for an 18-yard touchdown. The play left Cal down 17-7 at halftime, but, even with the 10-point deficit, the Bears continued to build momentum after a quarter in which they held the Ducks scoreless.

Oregon scored all 17 of its first-half points in the first quarter but struggled to maintain that pace for the rest of the half due to a tightening Cal defense as well as injuries to starting quarterback Justin Herbert and running back Royce Freeman that knocked both out of the game.

Cal remains on the road for its next game as the Bears will head back to the Pacific Northwest for a Saturday showdown at Washington. Kickoff from Husky Stadium is set for 7:45 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live by ESPN. Action returns to California Memorial Stadium on Oct. 13 as Cal hosts Washington State for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.