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Oregon State coach Mike Riley was hesitant to say whether the Beavers' big win against Cal was the start of something.
Oregon State has become known in the past several years for its second-half success, which has put the team in bowl games for five of the last six seasons.
Last year the Beavers overcame a slow start and had a chance to go the Rose Bowl, but the season came down to the Civil War against Oregon, which the Ducks won to claim the Pac-10 championship.
This season started off rough for Oregon State, with losses to TCU and Boise State, both top-10 teams. And the Beavers lost in disappointing fashion at Washington with a failed 2-point conversion in double overtime.
But Oregon State 4-3, 3-1 Pac-10) returned from a bye last weekend to down California 35-7 on Saturday, showing distinct improvement on both sides of the ball.
''I wish we could declare that this is it and it's going to be like this, but I'm not going to do that,'' Riley said. ''It was a good win.''
Jacquizz Rodgers, who had groused to reporters last week about his team's (and his own) performance, ran for three touchdowns and threw for another.
Quizz ran for 119 yards, his 18th career game with at least 100 yards. He has 3,433 yards rushing for his career - notable because it puts him at 14th on the Pac-10's all-time list ahead of O.J. Simpson.
The junior running back also had three catches for 11 yards, giving him 125 catches for his career - most ever by a Beavers' running back.
He has only two career passes: both have been for touchdowns and both have fallen on or near Halloween. Last season's came in a victory against UCLA.
His assessment of the Beavers?
''Way better,'' he said. ''That's what I'm talking about.''
In addition to the obvious improvement of the offensive line, which made way for Quizz's run, the Beavers brought back their trademark fly sweep, which had been a question in the absence of James Rodgers.
Quizz's older brother was key to the play, but he was lost for the season after a knee injury against Arizona. James Rodgers had surgery last week.
Receiver Markus Wheaton took on the role, rushing for 73 yards. He also caught six passes for 57 yards.
''We need that play, frankly, to be part of our deal and spread the defense,'' Riley said.
Oregon State's defense, which went into the game ranked 119th nationally and giving up 459 yards a game, held Cal to 206 offensive yards. The Golden Bears' top rusher, Shane Vereen, managed just 53 yards. With losses, Cal totaled just 23 yards on the ground.
''I've got to give it to my boys, my teammates,'' defensive end Gabe Miller said. ''We played tough and fought hard. We came out and set the tone, especially on defense.''
Cal was hurt early in the game when senior quarterback Kevin Riley was knocked out of the game with a left knee injury. Riley was expected to have an MRI sometime in the next few days to determine the extent of the damage.
''They played great on offense, I don't think they punted until the second half. And we didn't do much on offense,'' Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. ''Kevin went down and that kind of limits us, but give their defense credit as well.''
With the victory, Oregon State improved to 40-15 from October to December since 2004. In Octobers since that season, the Beavers are 19-7.
Next Saturday Oregon State plays at UCLA, which came up short Saturday against Arizona, 29-21.
''It's about building an identity,'' coach Riley said. ''We'll be going into chapter eight in our book next week.''
