Category: Cal Bears

Stanford Cardinal post game report: Stanford wins a thriller as they defeat the California Bears 24-23

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Stanford’s Thomas Booker got an elbow on Cal kicker Dario Longhetto’s extra point attempt in the fourth quarter which was a crucial point attempt that ended up with Cal losing by one point at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley on Fri Nov 27, 2020 (photo from sfchronicle.com)

By Daniel Dullum

Stanford met the University of California for the 123rd time on Friday. The game was played at Memorial Stadium on the Cal campus with no fans in the seats. It didn’t matter as this was the Big Game. The storied rivalry between the two teams has captivated their fans for years.

Neither team had won a game this season. Each team had a game canceled due to Covid-19. The excitement was still palpable. The Bears won control of the Axe when they beat Stanford 24-20 last year. Stanford’s coach, David Shaw, improved to 9-1 against the Bears. Cal’s coach, Justin Wilcox, is now 1-3 against the Cardinal.

The game was, without question, one that either team could have won. The Bears had opportunities to win the game. They didn’t, as they made five critical mistakes that allowed Stanford to win 24-23.

The Cardinal blocked a Bear field goal attempt at the end of the first half that would have put the Bears ahead 13-10. They failed to make a fair catch. The fumble led to a Stanford score. Another fumble allowed Stanford to score their second touchdown of the game.

The Bears defense was called for a holding penalty. Stanford took advantage and put seven points on the board. The final mistake came late in the fourth quarter. The Bears started a game-tying drive from their ten-yard line. Led by quarterback Chase Grabers, the Bears marched down the field.

One of the key plays was Damian Moore’s 27-yard scamper. Grabers connected with Clark to get the ball down to Stanford’s 18-yard line. Cal running back Christopher Brown blasted through the Stanford line to get the ball inside the five-yard line. Two more plays moved the ball to the three. Brown scored to make in 24-23. Stanford then blocked the try for the extra point to destroy Cal’s hopes to tie the game and possibly win it in overtime.

In the first half, Cal’s offense scored the first touchdown of the game when Chase Grabers connected with Kekoa Crawford for the score. Cal’s defense played well in the first quarter keeping Stanford off the board.

The Bears led 7-0 after the first fifteen minutes of play. The Cardinal’s Jet Toner kicked a field goal to start the second period to make it 7-3. The Bears regained the seven-point advantage when Grabers made two great runs to get the ball into the red zone. The Bear drive stalled at the 7-yard line. Cal kicker David Longhetto made the field goal to put the Bears ahead 10-3.

Things started going south for the Bears when Remigio muffed the punt. Stanford recovered on the Bears 16-yard line. Davis Mills connected with Mike Wilson to tie the game 10-10 with 2:09 left in the first half.

The Bears mounted a drive that got them to the Cardinal 15-yard line with just eight seconds left. Stanford was guilty of pass interference on the play. Grabers pass into the end zone was incomplete. Stanford blocked the Bear’s field goal try. The half ended tied 10-10.

Davis Mills was 13 for 17, good for 104 yards and one touchdown. Austin Jones had five carries for just twelve yards. Mike Wilson caught five passes for 55 yards and one touchdown. Chase Grabers was 12 for 15 for 98 yards and a touchdown. He led the Bears in rushing with five carries for 32 yards.

Stanford took the lead for the first time in the third quarter. The Bears fumble, recovered by Stanford on Cal’s 40-yard line, allowed Stanford to put more points on the board. Mills’ pass to Wilson took Stanford inside the ten-yard line.

Jones took the ball to the three and then to the house to give Stanford a 17-10 lead. Cal stormed back to tie the game. Running back Damien Moore ripped off a 54-yard run. Grabers connected with Nikko Remigio for the score to tie the game 17-17.

Mills was taking the Cardinal downfield once again. It looked like the Bears had stopped the Cardinal drive when the Cal defense intercepted Mills’ pass. The referees called a holding penalty, and Stanford retained control of the ball. The Cardinal took the ball down to the Bears’ eight-yard line. Austin Jones rammed his way into the end zone for the tally. 24-17 Stanford advantage.

The Bears started the tying drive on their ten-yard line. They marched down the field for the score. With 62 seconds left in the game, Christopher Brown scored. All Cal had to do was make the extra point, and the game would be tied.

Cal coach Justin Wilcox had an option. He could have asked his team to go for a two-point conversion. If Cal made it, they would have won. Wilcox went for the safer option. Make the extra point, and Cal will take its chances in overtime. Stanford’s defense rose to the occasion and blocked the kick. Stanford won and reclaimed the Axe.

Game stats- Davis Mills was 24 for 32, good for 205 yards and one TD. Grabers was 19 for 29 for 151 yards and two TDs. Austin Jones had 18 carries for 72 yards and two TDs/ Cal’s Damien Moore rushed ten times for 121 yards. Mike Wilson had seven catches for 88 yards and one TD. Kekoa Crawford had five receptions for 52 yards and one TD.

Team stats:
Total Yards- Stanford 289- Cal 392
Time of possession-Stanford 33:15- Cal 22:17
Turnovers- Stanford 0- Cal two
First downs-Stanford 15-Cal 20
Penalties-Cal six for 75 yards- Stanford on for 10 yards.

Stanford goes to Seattle to play the Washington Huskies on December 5th. Cal hosts the University of Oregon.

 

Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca: Big Game commences after season of cancelation and loses for both teams

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On the very offensive first play of the game between the Cal Bears and Oregon State Beavers running back Jemar Jefferson (6) carried for 75 yards for the opening score on Sat Nov 21st, 2020. Cal is trying to avoid such an offensive volley like this as they kick off with the Stanford Cardinal in the Big Game Fri Nov 27, 2020 at Memorial Stadium (AP News photo)

Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 The Big Game has arrived an event that everyone is counting on regardless where either Stanford (0-2) or Cal (0-2) is in the standings both schools look forward to the battle for the ax.

#2 Taking a look at visiting Stanford first, quarterback Davis Mills threw for 327 yards and carried for a touchdown. In spite of a great day of throwing the Cardinal offense couldn’t execute against the Colorado Buffaloes defense scoring in single digits in each of the first three quarters in a 35-32 loss.

#3 The Cal Bears quarterback Chase Garbers threw a game that was good enough to win against the Oregon State Beavers (1-2) in the Bears last game. Garbers with 315 yards passing and three touchdowns but Cal came up short 31-27.

#4 Michael, both teams have lost both of their games and have two games canceled due to Covid-19 for this Big Game today how much of their timing do you expect to be off after two weeks worth of downtime?

#5 It’s the Big Game today at Cal you’ve attended a few Big Games in your career and while it’s a great thing to be their working a game like this behind the scenes you can get a great sense how important it is for both of these schools to battle hard for that ax.

Michael Duca does the Cal Bears podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Cal basketball in the win column with blowout of Northwest WA, 86-61

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The Cal Bears Ryan Betley (00) led all scorers on Thanksgiving night at Northwest University at Gill Coliseum with 14 points in the Bears first win of the 2020-21 season (KLC Photos)

By Morris Phillips

It’s not the distinction the Cal athletic department was looking for but hey, it’s 2020 and just about anything goes.

The Cal men’s basketball team has a win at least a day before the Cal football team gets its initial win. Call it calendar confusion or a COVID cancelations conundrum, the Bears hoopers have their first win, 86-61 over Northwest (WA) a day before the Cal football team (0-2) faces Stanford in the Big Game.

Normally, the overlap between college football and college basketball is brief, but nothing is normal this season. In fact, it wasn’t until midway through this week that the Bears found out they would be playing on Thanksgiving day.

But once the novelty of it all played out the Bears got down to business, decimating the NAIA Eagles with a 27-4 run early in the first half on their way to a 20-point halftime lead and a 25-point win.

Five Golden Bears scored in double figures led by Ryan Betley with 14 points, nine rebounds. Andre Kelly an Matt Bradley each scored 11 points, Makale Foreman and Joel Brown each had 10.

Mark Fox jumbled his lineup, inserting Foreman, Kuany Kuany and D.J. Thorpe as starters after the team started sluggishly on Wednesday versus OSU. Fox took advantage of the big lead by getting playing time for his entire roster with Logan Alters, Blake Welle and Jalen Celestine making their season debuts.

The two schools were originally scheduled for Friday afternoon but the late scratch of the Colorado State Rams due to COVID issues forced the teams to move up 24 hours to accommodate a newly scheduled Northwest (WA)-Oregon State matchup on Friday.

The Bears return to the Bay Area early in anticipation of their home opener against Nicholls of the Southland Conference on Monday night.

 

 

Bears’ late rally falls short in season-opening loss to Oregon State, 71-63

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By Morris Phillips

A sluggish start doomed the Cal Bears in their much-anticipated season opener against Oregon State.

After trailing by five at the half–and as many as 14 in the second half–the Bears’ late rally came up short in a 71-63 loss at Corvallis. Cal gets a quick turnaround with Northwest University up next at 3pm on Thursday also at Gill Coliseum.

The Bears and Beavers agreed to play each other in a rare non-conference matchup between Pac-12 foes just 48 hours earlier when Cal’s scheduled opponent, Colorado State was forced to withdraw from the multi-team event due to Coronavirus issues.

The Bears may have had a couple of more returning players than did OSU, but the Beavers had the more impactful newcomers as they controlled the glass and displayed better shot selection in a game the home team led throughout. Senior guard Ethan Thompson led OSU with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Nicholls transfer Warith Alatishe contributed 16 points to help Oregon State hold off Cal, who climbed within 67-62 with a 1:30 remaining but could get no closer.

The Bears got 21 points from Matt Bradley, who led Cal despite missing 11 of his 16 shot attempts from the floor. Transfer guard Makale Foreman was the only other Bear in double digits with 10.

Cal ran into trouble early, falling behind 10-4 on their way to missing 18 of their 30 field goal attempts before halftime. The Bears ran into more problems in the second half by shooting threes in an attempt to get back in the game, but missed 11 of 14.

The Beavers controlled the glass 43-32 to make up for their subpar 44 percent shooting. Reserve Rodrique Andela grabbed 11 rebounds in just 23 minutes off the bench. Jarod Lucas was OSU’s other bench contributor with 11 points in 24 minutes.

Freshman Monty Bowser and graduate transfer Ryan Betley made their Cal debuts with Betley starting and scoring nine points.

The two schools hadn’t met as non-conference opponents since the 1987 NIT. Prior to that they met in a regular season contest at the Far West Classic in Portland in 1984.

The Bears and Beavers will meet again on January 2 and February 25 in Berkeley. They split last season with each team winning at home.

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Big Game at Cal has Stanford and Bears looking for that first win

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Oregon State Beavers quarterback Tristan Gebbia keeps a one yard rush for the go ahead touchdown with just 4:30 left in the game against the Cal Bears at Corvallis at the Oregon State University on Sat Nov 21, 2020 (Oregonian/OregonLive photo)

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 It was a game that got away from the Cal Bears (0-2) in the fourth quarter the  Oregon State Beavers (1-2) had a lead after Jake Tonges scored on a two yard pass from quarterback Chase Garbers at 8:04 remaining for a 27-24 lead over the Beavers.

#2 The Beavers got back with 4:30 left in the ball game when quarterback Tristan Gebbia took a one yard keeper into the end zone for a Beavers 31-27 lead and eventual win.

# 3 After losing in UCLA last week to the Bruins this one had to be hard to take as well dropping to 0-2 and such a hard effort against a team like the Beavers only to lose it in the end for Cal?

#4 Cal Bears quarterback Chase Garbers threw a good enough game to win with 315 yards and three touchdowns but as the Bears know turnovers will hurt you and Garbers was intercepted twice by the Beavers in this one.

#5 Like the Stanford Cardinal (0-2) the Bears have played on two games and had two games canceled. The Big Game is scheduled for this Fri Nov 27th at Cal Memorial and for both teams a critical game to get in the win column as both are looking for that first win and also trying to avoid a third cancelation as Covid outbreaks have been rampant in the Pac 12.

Morris Phillips does the Cal Bears podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

OSU uses late TD, pick to hold off Cal 31-27

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Oregon State Beavers Jermar Jefferson (6) is way ahead of the Cal Bears defenders giving chase in the first half as Jefferson scores at OSU Corvallis on Sat Nov 21, 2020 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Sports Radio Service
Saturday, November 21, 2020

Quarterback Tristan Gebbia ran for the eventual game-winning touchdown and threw for one and caught a scoring pass, and Jermar Jefferson gained 196 rushing yards for Oregon State Saturday, as the Beavers held on for a 31-27 Pac-12 football win over visiting California at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore.

Oregon State (1-2) earned its first league win of the season. John McCartan intercepted Cal quarterback Chase Garbers with 1:05 to play in the fourth quarter, sealing the game for OSU,

Cal (0-2), which played without six starters, took a 27-24 lead with 8:04 remaining when Chase Garbers tossed a 2-yard TD pass to tight end Jake Tonges.

The Beavers had taken a 24-20 lead when Tyjon Lindsey threw to Gebbia for an 8-yard score at 14:14 of the fourth quarter. Everett Hayes kicked a 35-yard field goal for OSU at 7:03 of the third period.

The Bears took a 20-14 halftime lead on Dario Longhetto’s 52-yard field goal with four seconds left in the second quarter, nearly three minutes after Garbers connected with Kekoa Crawford on a 21-yard touchdown pass that put Cal ahead 17-14. Cal opened the second quarter with a Longhetto 26-yard field goal.

OSU took a 14-7 first quarter lead on Jefferson’s 75-yard touchdown run and Gebbia’s 35-yard scoring pass to Teagan Quitoriano. In between, Garbers threw a 7-yard TD pass to Makai Polk.

Garbers completed 28 of 42 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns while being intercepted twice. Marcel Dancy led Golden Bears ballcarriers with 76 yards on 17 carries. Crawford hauled in 10 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown; Polk caught four passes for 81 yards and a TD and Tonges caught nine passes for 55 yards and a score.

Cal hosts Stanford this Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

Cal Bears Football podcast with Michael Duca: Cal heads to Oregon State in what might be their best chance for a win

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The Cal Bears Camryn Bynum far right celebrates after an interception thrown from UCLA Bruins Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the first half on Sun Nov 15, 2020 at UCLA (AP News photo)

Cal Bears Football podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Michael in looking at last week’s loss to UCLA was it a matter of the change from preparing from ASU to UCLA on the fly after it was reported that ASU had multiple Coivd-19 cases and preparation for UCLA threw Cal off?

#2 The loss was reflective in the first half where the Bruins took a 27-1o lead an indicator Cal’s defense had a hard time getting tracked.

#3 UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson had time to throw against the Cal defense 196 yards, three touchdowns including a quarterback keeper.

#4 The Bruins executed a ground game that saw running back Brittan Brown carry for 71 yards and one score and Demetric Felton carry for 107 yards.

#5 Cal (0-1) face the Oregon State Beavers (0-2) at OSU. The Beavers have lost two tough games against Washington State University and the Washington Huskies. Cal is looking to get in the win column do you see this as Cal’s best chance to get a win?

Michael Duca does the Cal Bears podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Bears finally play their first game and get trounced by UCLA

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UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (1) takes a leap of faith over Cal Bears cornerback Josh Drayden (20) as the Bears Evan Tattersall (54) watches the play in the first half at UCLA on Sun Nov 15, 2020 (AP News photo)

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Morris, the UCLA Bruins (1-1) on Sunday didn’t waste anytime jumping on the Cal Bears (0-1) at the Rose Bowl taking a 27-10 lead to get things started in the first half.

#2 Lots of defense from both teams in the second half where UCLA was the only team who scored in the fourth quarter a touchdown as the Bears get trounced in the opener 34-10.

#3 Morris, would you say a lot of this game loss for Cal had to be attributed to all the schedule changes the Bears had to go through they started out the week not even knowing how to prepare for a game at ASU that might not be played, then it was canceled once they got to ASU and were told on Friday night to get to Los Angeles for a Sunday morning game against UCLA.

#4 As tough as the loss was for Cal how important is it for the Bears to at least to have got this first game in the books considering all the changes and preparation they put into practicing this week.

#5 The Bears play their second straight road game this time next Sat Nov 21st at Oregon State (0-2). The Beavers took a close loss against the Washington Huskies (1-0) 27-21 at Husky Stadium in Seattle on Saturday. The Beavers and Huskies played to a narrow margin in the first half with the Huskies taking the half time lead 24-21. The second half was all defense with UW getting the only score in the half with a field goal and a 27-21 final. Morris set up the Cal Bears at OSU for this Saturday.

Morris does the Cal Bears podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Bruins defeat Cal in rare Sunday morning football battle 34-10

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Cal Bears quarterback Chase Garbers gets into the end zone by just a corner’s worth in the first half against the UCLA Bruins on Sunday morning Nov 15th at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, November 15, 2020

California spent its week preparing for a Pac-12 football game against Arizona State. The coronavirus pandemic provided the Golden Bears with a detour to Pasadena instead.

For their Pac-12 opener, the Golden Bears found themselves playing UCLA at the Rose Bowl on Sunday morning instead of facing ASU at Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday. UCLA romped past Cal 34-10.

The abrupt scheduling change was made due to COVID-19 issues at Arizona State, where a number of players and coaches, including head coach Herm Edwards, tested positive. The Sun Devils were unable to meet the conference minimum of 53 players in uniform.

The win evened the Bruins’ record at 1-1. Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw touchdown passes to Charles Njoku, Kyle Phillips and Chase Cota while completing 14 of 26 passes for 196 yards and one interception. Thompson-Robinson also ran for 52 yards and a touchdown.

Demetric Felton led UCLA with 107 rushing yards on 25 carries, and Brittain Brown added 71 yards and a touchdown. Greg Dulcich led the Bruins with three receptions for 80 yards.

The UCLA defense held the Bears to 54 rushing yards and 122 yards passing. Chase Garbers completed 18 of 33 passes with an interception and was sacked five times. Christopher Brown Jr. was Cal’s top rusher with 25 yards on eight carries.

Cal (0-1) opened the scoring at 11:28 of the first quarter with a Dario Longhetto 31-yard field goal. From there, it was all Bruins.

Thompson-Robinson’s 2-yard touchdown with just over a minute to play in the opening period put UCLA ahead to stay at 7-3. A 27-yard TD pass from Thompson-Robinson to Njoku extended the Bruins’ lead to 14-3.

Cal closed the gap to 14-10 on Garbers’ 8-yard touchdown run with 7:24 to play in the second quarter, but the Bruins responded with touchdown passes from Thompson-Robinson to Cota (6 yards) and Phillips (5 yards), giving UCLA a 27-10 halftime lead.

Brown’s 31-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter gave Cal a 24-point lead.

Cal travels to Oregon State (0-2) next Saturday.

Cal moved to play at UCLA Sunday morning; Cal-ASU football game cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns;

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UCLA tight end Devin Asiasi, left, makes a touchdown catch as Arizona cornerback McKenzie Barnes watches on Oct 20, 2018 game at the Rose Bowl where the Cal Bears will be playing the Bruins Sunday morning Nov 15, 2020 (AP file photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Friday, November 13, 2020

For the second consecutive week, California had a game cancelled due to Coronavirus. The Golden Bears’ scheduled game against Arizona State on Saturday has been cancelled, the schools announced, due to COVID-19 concerns. Later on Friday afternoon the Pac 12 moved Cal to play at the Rose Bowl against UCLA for Sunday morning.

ASU athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement that a number of positive cases of COVID-19 included “multiple student-athletes and coaching staff members, one of which is Head Coach Herm Edwards.”

Anderson added that the undisclosed number of positive tests put the Sun Devils below the Pac-12’s minimum threshold of 53 available scholarship players under the conference’s game cancellation policy.

Cal won’t have to wait another week as they were supposed to play at Oregon State next Saturday but now will get their first game in at the Rose Bowl. The Bears’ first game against Washington, slated for Nov. 7, was cancelled after Cal had a positive COVID-19 test.

Edwards, meanwhile, said he and his family are “fine,” and encourage people to “take the virus seriously, wear masks, employ social distancing measures and get tested whenever possible.”

Edwards is the second head coach to test positive for COVID-19 this week. Arkansas coach Sam Pittman will miss the Razorbacks’ game against Florida after testing positive.