Cal Bears wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter (3) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Washington Huskies in first half action at Huskies Stadium in Seattle on Sat Sep 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Eight Washington touchdowns handed the California Bears a 59-32 beat-down.

Saturday evening the California Bears (2-2) traveled up north to take on the Washington Huskies (4-0) and were handily defeated at Huskies Stadium in Seattle. The Bears tried to establish the run while Washington stopped the Cal run.

The #8 Huskies gave the Bears a run for their money. They had great offense and defense and Cal needed to pull out all the stops to have any chance against this power house.

In the blink of an eye the Huskies had taken a 14-0 lead. What is even crazier, the Huskies had not even made a single offensive play. The first touchdown came as a result of an interception. At 12:37 in the first quarter Edefuan Ulofoshio picked a Ben Finley pass taking it 45 yards for the first touchdown of the game and Washington led early 7-0.

Minutes later Washington’s Rome Odunze returned a punt for 83 yards and a second Huskie touchdown and a 14-0 lead. Cal saw some great play from the Huskies defense and special teams in the opening quarter but still had not seen the Washington offense.

When it had started to look like an empty first quarter for California, quarterback Ben Finley drove downfield connecting with Jeremiah Hunter for seven yards and Cal was on the scoreboard. Cal kicker Michael Luckhurst missed the extra point but the Bears had come away with a good drive.

Washington answered scoring another touchdown as Cal finally got to see their offense. Michael Penix Jr. found Ja’Lynn Polk for eight yards and their third touchdown taking a 21-6 lead. The Huskies had scored defensively, offensively and on special team in a well-rounded first quarter.

Washington finished off the quarter with a Grady Gross kick for 41 yards extending their lead 24-6. It had been a banner quarter for the Huskies and a play from behind quarter for Cal. The Huskies defense had given Cal all sorts of problem intercepting the ball twice in the first quarter.

In the second quarter Washington continued to run right through the Cal defense in the air and on the ground. In the early minutes of the quarter, Dillon Johnson rushed for three yards and another touchdown for the Huskies.

With a 31-6 lead Washington was running away with this game. Cal’s attempts to run the ball were denied by the Huskies forcing third down passing plays that came dangerously close to even more interceptions.

Bears quarterback Ben Finley continued to throw the ball and he put together another nice drive at 9:00 finding Taj Davis for 24 yards and Cal’s second touchdown of the game. The two-point conversion attempt failed and the Bears were looking at a 31-12 deficit. Too make things even more fun, the skies opened up and rain began to fall.

At 7:27 Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. made a rare mistake throwing an interception and Cal had the ball in Husky territory on the 37 yard line. The great play that California had made was erased when Washington intercepted the ball on the very next play. This was their third pick of the game.

Washington finished off the first half with not one but two more touchdown. At 4:08 Penix Jr. connected with Ja’Lynn Polk for a second time in this game, a 24 yard pass. With 44 seconds left on the clock Penix Jr. again found an open Rome Odunze for 35 yards and his second touch down of the game. The Huskies took a 45-12 lead into the locker room. California had been competitive in this game but it was the turnovers that left them in the dust.

Despite an extensive injury history which includes ACL and shoulder issues, Michael Penix Jr. continues to excel every time he takes the field. Both the offense and defense of Washington were making life pretty miserable for the Bears.

Both teams would score a single touchdown in the third quarter. Penix Jr. would tack on another 16 yards finding Rome Odunze in the end zone. Despite the 52-12 Husky lead, the Bears continued to fight scoring a rushing touchdown with 1:49 left on the clock. Going into the final quarter the Huskies led 52-19.

Cal would score early in the fourth quarter via a 20 yard pass from Sam Jackson V to Trond Grizzell. The extra point failed and the Bears had some issues with their kicking game. Washington extended their 52-25 lead when Sam Adams II rushed for nine yards and the Huskies had scored their eighth touchdown of the game leading 59-25.

You have to give the Bears a lot of credit fighting to the end scoring the final touchdown of the game. Ashton Stredick rushed for three yards in that last score. The final was 59-32. It sure would have been a much closer game had it not been for those turnovers.

Next Saturday the Bears will take on Arizona State at California Memorial Stadium Berkeley. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 PM.