By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, September 24, 2016

AP photo: Arizona State Sun Devil’s quarterback Manny Wilkins (5) gets towards the corner part of the end zone for a touchdown as the Sun Devils defeat the Cal Bears at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe

TEMPE, Ariz. – Looking at the cold numbers from the stat sheet, California had a big Pac-12 football game on Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium.

The Golden Bears topped Arizona State in nearly every meaningful category offensively and defensively, except one – the final score.

After trailing most of the night, the Sun Devils rallied in the fourth quarter with stellar defensive plays – and a little luck – to outlast Cal 51-41 in the Pac-12 opener for both schools. The Sun Devil defense picked off Davis Webb twice in the fourth quarter and sacked him to force a key turnover in the final seconds.

“That was one heck of a football game between two great teams,” ASU Coach Todd Graham said. “(Cal) is an excellent team, and the great thing about football is that you get to play 60 minutes. You always have a chance when they have to snap it again, so I’m proud of our guys and what they did. It was an impressive win for us.”

With the victory, the Sun Devils are 4-0 overall, 1-0 Pac-12. The Golden Bears slipped to 2-2, 0-1 in the conference.

Cal racked up 637 yards in total offense, had 29 first downs (to ASU’s 23), converted 10 third downs, and saw a 10-point lead disappear within a 7-minute span in the fourth quarter.

“I think we played great as a team,” Graham said. “We had three big takeaways on defense and that was big. It wasn’t about any halftime adjustments, it’s about the heart of our players. I don’t say that lightly.”

Matt Anderson drilled a 47-yard field goal put the Golden Bears up 27-17 with 9:01 to play in the third quarter, extending Cal’s lead to 27-17.

ASU responded with a Zane Gonzalez 44-yard field goal, the 83rd of his career, tying him for fourth on the all-time NCAA career field goal list. It came with 6:15 left in the third quarter, bringing the Sun Devils to within 27-20.

But the Sun Devils weren’t finished. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins’ 3-yard TD run capped a 62–yard drive, and Gonzalez’s PAT kick tied the game at 27-27 with 9:44 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Cal, in turn, responded with a big play on the ensuing drive to regain the lead when Tre Watson hauled in a 74-yard scoring strike from Davis Webb at 9:06, and the Bears regained the lead at 34-27.

The lead then continued to see-saw. With 6:21 left, the Sun Devils re-tied the game at 34-34 on a touchdown pass from Wilkins to Jay Jay Wilson. On the first play of Cal’s next possession, Sun Devils linebacker Salamo Fiso picked off a Webb pass and returned it 22 yards to the Bear 15.

After the ASU drive stalled at the Cal 5, Gonzalez banked in a 23-yard field goal off the right upright and the Sun Devils had their first lead of the night – 37-34.
On Cal’s next possession, the Bears had the ball at their own 26, and on 2nd-and-9, Webb was picked off in the right flat by Laiu Moeakiola, who raced to the end zone untouched for a 28-yard pick-six. That play extended the Arizona State lead to 44-34.

The Bears didn’t go away quietly. After Webb sacked on a safety blitz by Koron Crump with 1:42 left, he completed two passes to Patrick Worstell, and a pass each to Chad Hanson and Bug Rivera moved the ball to the ASU 26.

A pass to Robertson on post pattern was ruled a touchdown and went under review. The referees ruled that Robertson had control of the ball with one foot in bounds at the end line, and with :54 remaining, the Bears pulled within 44-41.

Cal attempted an on-side kick after calling a time out, and Noah Bieto’s kick was scooped up by ASU’s DJ Calhoun, who sprinted 42 yards for a Sun Devils touchdown. Arizona State’s lead was back to 10 at 51-41.

With :38 left, Webb moved the Bears to the Sun Devil 39 in four plays, but his fumble while being sacked was recovered by the Sun Devils’ Koron Crump at the ASU 32 with six seconds to play.

Khalfani Muhammad gained 84 rushing yards on 12 attempts for Cal, followed by Watson with 58 yards on 11 carries. Webb completed 32 of 56 passes for 478 yards and five touchdowns, but was sacked four times and intercepted twice.

Hanson caught 10 passes for 110 yards and one touchdown, and Robertson snagged four passes for 103 yards and two TDs.

Wilkins was ASU’s top rusher with 92 yards on 23 carries. He also completed 21 of 30 passes for 290 yards, one TD and one interception. Tim White led the Devils with six catches for 86 yards, and Jalen Harvey had five receptions for 83 yards.

Cal opened the scoring on its second possession of the first quarter, when Demetris Robertson hauled in a 19-yard TD pass from Davis Webb at 10:00.

After converting the extra point, Bears kicker Matt Anderson later missed a field goal attempt of 42 yards wide right – his first miscue of the season for either field goals or extra points.

The Sun Devils cut their deficit to 7-3 with a 35-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez. A 20-yard scoring pass from Webb to Chad Hanson made it 14-3 Cal with 11:34 to go in the second quarter.

Cal was marching deep into Sun Devil territory again late in the first half, when Anderson connected on a 20-yard field goal with 3:19 to go in the second quarter, completing an 84-yard drive.

On the ensuing drive, ASU responded with an 8-yard TD run by Manny Wilkins, cutting the Bears lead to 17-10. But in the final minute of the half, Cal moved the ball quickly to the ASU 26.

From there, Webb found Brandon Singleton in the left back corner of the end zone on a fade route with :18 to play in the half, and the Bears took a 24-10 lead into the break.

Next week, Cal returns home to host No. 24 Utah. Game time on Oct. 1 is 3 p.m.

BEAR TRACKS: Announced attendance was 49,295. … This was Cal’s first trip to Sun Devil Stadium since 2011. …. Coming into Saturday’s game, Davis Webb was leading the nation in passing attempts (166), and second in passing touchdowns (13), passing yards per game (453.0), completions (106), completions per game (35.33), and third in total offense (433.0 yards per game). … Cal leads the all-time series with ASU 18-16.

TAGS: California Golden Bears,football,Arizona State,Sports Radio Service,Daniel Dullum