(Editor's note: Oregon running back Reuben Droughns will share a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season. For more information on the Ducks, visit the official Oregon site.)

Nov. 10, 1999

Being at Cal this weekend is kind of the beginning of the end, since we only have two more regular-season games. All of the seniors, including myself, know these games are even more crucial. Not only do they decide what we will do for the postseason, but these games are also crucial in our lives. This is the end of our careers, and we don't want to leave anything behind. Also, it's a case of putting all our knowledge and experience to full use. Hopefully, our dreams can come true and we can make it to a big bowl game and finish strong.

At the same time, we have to approach these games one at a time. With the position we're in compared to the teams ahead of us, there's no telling what could happen. Who knows, maybe the teams ahead of us could lose the next two games and we could win out. Anything can happen, so we have to prepare ourselves to do our best and get to the best bowl game as possible. We have to continue to work hard each week, but it won't be easy because each team is trying to stop us, too.

This weekend's game at Berkeley will be a change of pace since it will be a 12:30 p.m. start. We've had several night games recently, giving us the chance to watch other games before we played. Last week, we got to see the Arizona/Washington game (Washington beat Arizona, 33-25). It was tough at times, but that's how the dice rolls. We can't worry about other teams. We figure if we continue to work hard and focus on what we need to do, good things will happen to us.

I feel more rested coming into this game after coming out of last week's Washington State game early, although the extra rest isn't something I had to have. I'll take as many carries as I can as long as we get the win -- I don't care how many that is. Having that extra rest might help me in other ways this weekend. Someone pointed out how many times I've been close to breaking some long runs -- and that's true. I knew that might be the case because I figured coming into this year that I might lose a step. Hopefully, I can gain that back and continue to help the team in whatever way possible.