Cal vs. Oregon 2017 live stream: Start time, TV channel, and how to watch online

The Oregon Ducks started off Pac-12 conference play with a thud, dropping a road game to Arizona State. They’ll look to get back on track when they host the California Golden Bears at 10:30 p.m. ET on FS1 (Fox Sports Go).

The Ducks crawled into the top 25 after a 3-0 start to the season, including a dominant win over Nebraska. However, they took a step back in last week’s loss to Arizona State in the desert, dropping them out of the rankings. The Sun Devils had a 31-14 lead in the third quarter and held off an Oregon rally for the 37-35 victory.

It’s a rough loss for Oregon, trying to rebound from a 4-8 year and starting over with Willie Taggart’s first season in Eugene. The offense has a pair of bright stars in quarterback Justin Herbert and running back Royce Freeman, but the defense, as always, remains this team’s biggest weakness.

Oregon will need to be careful to avoid a home slipup against Cal — after this week’s game, the Ducks have Washington State home, and then Stanford and UCLA on the road. Their margin for error is already razor-thin after last week’s letdown in Tempe.

The Golden Bears are also 3-1, doing pretty well for a team that was expected to be among the worst in the Pac-12. They opened the season with a road win over North Carolina, then handled Ole Miss in Week 3 before giving USC a spirited fight last week. Cal went toe-to-toe with the Trojans for most of the game before USC eventually escaped with a 30-20 win. Ross Bowers threw for 303 yards and a touchdown but also tossed four interceptions in the losing effort.

Cal’s been better than advertised with first-year head coach Justin Wilcox giving some life to a program that’s been to a bowl game just one time in the past five years. That said, the Bears’ real challenges are just beginning — after this week’s Oregon game, they face Washington on the road, Washington State and Arizona at home, and Colorado on the road. The early-season upsets were fun, but we’re about to see just how good this Cal team really is.

When he’s on his game, his passes are steaming with smoke and accuracy. He has one of the best arms in college football and it will take him to the NFL. When it eventually “clicks” for him, the Duck offense will be almost impossible to slow down.

He has a magnificent arm but needs to harness it at times. Due to defensive pressure, Herbert was forced to throw off his back foot quite a few times vs ASU. When that occurred, the ball always sailed over the head of his intended receiver. He needs to demonstrate that he can manage to make passes under pressure.

We just need more talent, especially in the offensive and defensive lines. We already knew this year would be tough on the O-line, and we saw it when USC kept geting to Bowers. Imagine giving Bowers, or whoever our QB is in 2018/2019 time to make the big time throws, our drives would have been more successful. (It should be noted that, even with the lack of depth, they’ve STILL overachieved for the most part this year...)

I suppose the other thing the Bears could use would be more game-breaking talent, like a Marshawn Lynch or a DeSean Jackson, that can create mismatches against Pac-12 talent all by themselves. The Bears have talent, but I don’t know that they have anyone on the roster who forces opposing teams to overcompensate by their mere presence on the field.

The Arizona State loss exposed cracks that Taggart still needs to patch up, and Oregon probably isn’t a top-25 team after all. Still, the Ducks have the better roster than Cal and should take care of business in front of a rowdy Autzen crowd.

Bill Connelly’s S&P+ projection gives Oregon a 39-27 win.