AP photo: Cal’s James Looney stops Utah’s Zack Moss on the game’s final play.
By Morris Phillips
While Utah ran most of the plays and bludgeoned Cal with their running game throughout, the Bears made almost all the big plays, including the game-winning goal line stand at the end.
Cal held on to beat No. 18 Utah, the Bears second win this season over a ranked opponent, despite a statistical disparity so unusually large, it was difficult for the game’s participants to explain what had just transpired.
From the Bears’ perspective, only one thing could explain their ability to protect a slim five-point in the final moments as Utah had six opportunities at a game-winning score from inside Cal’s 10-yard line: self-belief.
“The players just kept saying, ‘Coach, we got this. We got it. We got you,’” California coach Sonny Dykes said of much-maligned defense. “They just kept telling me that over and over again. Again, you’ve got to give them credit for believing in themselves. Again, six cracks inside the 10, t0 not let Utah in the end zone just shows their character and how hard they work.”
While Davis Webb and the Bears’ offense clearly had this, coming up with four touchdown passes—all at least 24 yards in length, and two of those in the first quarter, spotting Cal a 14-0 lead—Dykes’ defense bent throughout the game, made malleable by the Utes’ powerful running game that kept the chains moving with 54 rush attempts.
But none of those 54 went for more than 13 yards, and on the game’s final play, the Utes’ Zach Moss ran for one yard and into the waiting arms of Cal’s James Looney, when he needed two to win the game.
In the final sequence, Utah’s six plays inside Cal’s 10-yard line amounted to almost nothing. With Cal leading 28-23, and the Utes at Cal’s 9-yard line, Zack Moss ran for two yards, then Armand Shyne was stuffed for no gain. Cal’s pass rush came up big on the next play, sacking quarterback Troy Williams for a four-yard loss.
On fourth down, Utah got a reprieve, drawing a pass interference penalty on Cal’s Marloshawn Franklin Jr. that set them up with a first down at Cal’s 2-yard line. The referees then mistakenly charged the Utes with their second time out, one that Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said he never asked for.
Then Moss tried the Bears’ run defense again, only to be stuffed for a one-yard gain. After Utah’s third timeout, Williams threw too strong to Evan Moeai in the flat, an incomplete pass that left the Utes with a final shot with four seconds remaining.
But Moss was stuffed on that final play, touching a cathartic rush to the field for all those on the Cal sideline.
So how was Cal able to hold on in a game in which the Utes ran twice as many plays (97 to 49 for Cal) and held the ball for 41 of the 60 minutes?
The Bears made big plays, two of which came from their stars, Webb and the nation’s leading receiver, Chad Hansen. The first came less than two minutes in, when Hansen slipped behind a Ute defender for a 40-yard pass play that put Cal up 7-0.
Two possessions later, Webb hooked up with fabulous freshman Demetris Robertson for a 39-yard pass play and the Bears led 14-0.
The next four Bears’ possessions resulted in three punts and a Webb interception. That stretch into the third quarter allowed the Utah running game to get locked in, and they took a 17-14 lead on Shyne’s 1-yard run late in the third quarter.
But Webb and Hansen answered back, this time on a pretty timing pattern in the corner of the end zone and Cal led 21-17.
Robertson’s second touchdown catch saw the freshman get behind the defense on a 56-yard pass play and the Bears appeared to be in control, leading 28-17 with 9:03 remaining. Robertson, the Bears’ highest-rated recruit, has performed as advertised, with five touchdowns in his first 15 receptions as a collegian.
But Utah wasn’t finished, scoring on their next possession to trim Cal’s lead to five. After Cal couldn’t get a first down, the ensuing punt set up Utah for their final push which would come up a yard short.
The Bears hit the road next Saturday, traveling to Corvallis to face the Beavers. Oregon State suffered through a rough afternoon on Saturday at Boulder, where they lost 47-6 to Colorado.
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