By Morris Phillips

Thanks to Jared Goff’s arm and an opportunistic defense, Cal was in position to extend UCLA’s misery in Berkeley that has seen the Bruins go 0-7 since 1998.

But Goff’s final pass was intercepted, and Cal’s defense, which forced three big turnovers, also missed far too many tackles in UCLA’s 36-34 win Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

The Bears (4-3, 2-3) lost for the second consecutive week at home after a 4-1 start to their season on the heels of a 1-11 campaign in 2013. UCLA (5-2, 2-2) broke a two-game losing streak following a 4-0 start to the season.

“In the end, we did some good things,” Cal coach Sonny Dykes said. “We got some stops when we needed to, we moved the ball offensively—it just wasn’t as crisp as we would like it to be.”

“To come into an environment where UCLA has struggled, overcome three turnovers and the back-and-forth to get a win, that’s something that you build on,” UCLA Coach Jim Mora Jr. said.

The exciting finish to the ballgame was marred by a neck injury suffered by Cal’s Trevor Davis on a kickoff return. Davis appeared to take the knee of a UCLA tackler on the crown of his helmet as he went down after a sizeable kickoff return. The junior receiver remained down for almost 15 minutes while medical personnel stabilized his neck and body before he was taken to a local hospital. Davis had movement in his extremities and was talking when he was taken off, although the extent of his injuries were not immediately known.

This was not a masterpiece of a performance for either team but the competition never waned in the 85th meeting of the north-south rivals. For Cal, that meant overcoming a huge disparity in total yards (567-366), offensive plays run (89-73) and on the scoreboard where the Bears trailed by 7 after a quarter, and 10 points (24-14) at halftime.

Defensively, the Bears simply put themselves in a hole with missed tackles and big plays allowed with UCLA running back Paul Perkins the biggest beneficiary. Perkins, the sophomore from Queen Creek, AZ ran for 88 yards and caught four passes, two of which went for scores, including his scintillating 49-yard catch and run that left would-be Bears’ tacklers in an embarrassing heap.

Throughout, the Bruins stuck with the screens and short throws that tested Cal’s ability to cover in space, a theme that smart offensive coordinators will undoubtedly employ for the rest of the season given Cal’s lack of quickness in their back seven. Perkins big play came just 13 seconds before halftime, putting UCLA up 24-14, and could have been a back breaker.

But the Bears fought back behind Jared Goff and his playmaking receivers, quickly becoming one of the best receivers units in the Pac-12 or anywhere else. Backup Luke Rubenzer was employed for one play in the first half and he threw a fade to Chris Harper that produced a highlight worthy catch. That first touchdown for the Bears brought them within 14-10 in the second quarter.

Then late in the third, Goff hooked up with Davis on a post route that saw the junior make a terrific leaping catch with three Bruins in the vicinity. That gave the Bears their first lead, 28-27 with 17 minutes remaining in the ballgame.

After UCLA answered with a touchdown followed by a missed two-point conversion attempt, Goff threw perfectly to Kenny Lawler on a 28-yard double move route that put the Bears on top again, 34-33 with just under seven minutes remaining.

But the Bears’ defense couldn’t contain heralded UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley on the following possession that resulted in a field goal with less than four minutes remaining. Hundley completed a pair of throws and ran for critical gainers twice on an 8-play drive that set up Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 26-yard field goal that would become the game winner.

Hundley would finish the day with 31 of 42 passing for 330 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.