SLIPPERY ROCK — Hitting on all cylinders in recent weeks, California (Pa.) University's football team hasn't needed any help.

The Vulcans got some anyway Saturday at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.

Slippery Rock suffered four turnovers and had a punt blocked for a touchdown en route to a 44-7 loss.

SRU had not lost by 37 or more points since a 62-14 setback against Indiana (Pa.) in 1994.

"You can't make mistakes when you're playing against a high caliber team like that. And we did," SRU coach George Mihalik said.

California (7-2, 6-0) won its seventh straight game and extended its road win streak against PSAC West foes to 15. The Vulcans have won 19 consecutive PSAC West games and clinched at least a share of the West title for a fifth straight year.

IUP is the only other program to ever win five straight PSAC West crowns.

"I think they (California) have to take a back seat to our teams of the late 1990s, but they're the best team I've seen in this league over the past nine years," Mihalik said. "We were ready to play today. They just have a very good football team."

Saturday's game was close for a while. When SRU quarterback Rocco Colavecchia scrambled for a 7-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter and C.J. Bahr added the PAT, the game was even at seven. The 63-yard drive took 11 plays and ate 6:22 off the clock.

SRU's defense had denied the Vulcans a score on a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line early in the first quarter.

"We felt pretty good about ourselves at that point," Colavecchia admitted of the tying touchdown. "But they took momentum away from us."

"They slowly started gaining control of the game," linebacker Pat Marsilio agreed.

The Vulcans moved 60 yards on their next possession and Marc Domonkos' 36-yard field goal gave the visitors the lead for good at 10-7. Four plays later, Dominique Curry blocked a punt and Cedrick Cherry took it into the end zone for a 17-7 lead.

"That was the biggest momentum changer, right there," Mihalik said.

Josh Portis fired a 10-yard touchdown pass to AJ Jackson on a third-and-six play with 6:16 left in the half to give California a 24-7 lead at intermission.

Jayson Nixon intercepted a Portis pass in the second half, ending the latter's streak of 160 passes without an interception. California has turned the ball over only four times in the past seven games.

"Our quarterback has been playing pretty darn good," Vulcans coach John Luckhardt said. "The first two games when we struggled, he just had to shake the rust off.

"I'm surprised the final score was like this, but George tried passing more in the second half to get back in the game. That played into the final margin a little bit."

California drove 90 yards with the second-half kickoff to up the lead to 31-7. The Rock (5-4, 2-4) has allowed touchdowns on numerous opening third-quarter possessions this season.

Two interceptions — the second returned 68 yards to the 12-yard line — set up the Vulcans' final two scores.

Jackson had 10 catches for 163 yards for California.

"I feel like we've got three potential NFL caliber receivers," Luckhardt said. "Our talent at the skilled positions gives us an edge on a lot of teams."

California 44, SRU 7

California 7 17 7 13 — 44Slippery Rock 0 7 0 0 — 7C SRU22 First Downs 1131-188 Rushes-Yards 33-68228 Passing Yards 14917-29-1 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 16-29-3416 Total Yards 2170-0 Fumbles-Lost 2-16-38 Penalties-Yards 2-30

First QuarterC — Windell Brown 20 run (Marc Domonkos kick), 6:15

Second QuarterSRU — Rocco Colavecchia 7 run (C.J. Bahr kick), 14:53C — Domonkos 36 field goal, 11:35C — Chedrick Perry 10 blocked punt return (Domonkos kick), 10:19C — AJ Jackson 10 pass from Josh Portis (Domonkos kick), 6:16

Third QuarterC — Brandon Anderson 1 run (Domonkos kick), 10:22

Fourth QuarterC — Terrance Moore 13 run (Domonkos kick), 6:29C — Shawn Johnson 1 run (kick failed), 1:26

Individual StatisticsPassing: California, Josh Portis 16-28-219-1, Ryan Morris 1-1-9-0. SRU, Rocco Colavecchia 13-24-114-2, Ryan O'Rourke 3-5-35-1.

Rushing: California, Windell Brown 12-69, Josh Portis 5-44, Brandon Anderson 3-31, Freddie Bacco 6-30, Terrance Moore 1-13, Cody Wilson 2-2, Shawn Johnson 1-1. SRU, SayQuan Scott-Mitchell 13-28, Akeem Satterfield 4-19, Rocco Colavecchia 10-16, Damarcus Cleckley 4-4, Devin Goda 1-3, Ryan O'Rourke 1-(-2).

Receiving: California, AJ Jackson 10-163, Terrance Moore 4-48, Josh Gumbert 1-9, Windell Brown 1-8, Brandon Anderson 1-0. SRU, Jermale Cromerdie 4-40, Josh Gardner 2-31, Kevin Guidish 2-28, Kenny Cottman 2-25, Devin Goda 2-21, Damarcus Cleckley 2-5, SayQuan Scott-Mitchell 2-(-1).