By Morris Phillips
BERKELEY–Burnt Orange Nation didn’t come to Berkeley for this.
Led by their new stars, graduate transfer quarterback Davis Webb and prolific, but unheralded receiver Chad Hansen, Cal surprised No. 11 Texas on Saturday night, breaking a 43-43 tie with 3:41 remaining on the pair’s second touchdown collaboration of the night.
The Longhorns, visiting Berkeley for the first time since 1969, and carrying a lofty ranking for the first time since 2010, figured to roll with a physical attack that would find the Bears as malleable as they were last week in losing to San Diego State. Instead, while the Longhorns found the Bears accommodating defensively, they weren’t so offensively where Cal hatched a balanced attack without turnovers, almost out of nowhere after Cal dealt with a trio of 10-point deficits in the first half.
From that point–with Texas leading 31-21 with 7:43 remaining in the second quarter–the Bears responded with Davis and Hansen leading the way, but the absence of fumbles, interceptions along with just six penalties all night allowed the Bears to end up on top in what was as topsy turvy a ballgame one could imagine in Strawberry Canyon in the absence of an actual seismic event.
“To get those stops defensively like we did in the second half, to make some plays down the stretch, to be able to run the ball at the end of the game and run the clock out, to get that critical stop, all those things we’ll draw a tremendous amount of confidence from, and hopefully we’ll build off that,” Coach Sonny Dykes said.
The win was the biggest of Dykes’ tenure at Cal, and three plus seasons in the making. While Texas hurt Cal with an effective run game that amassed 307 yards, the Bears hung around by refining their methods on the heels of their embarrassing loss at San Diego last week.
This time, the Bears stayed balanced, running and passing on 40 plays each. Webb threw 73 times against SDSU and took enough hits to suggest he couldn’t last the season. This time, Cal didn’t abandon their run game, and were rewarded on their 38th of 40 attempts with Vic Enwere’s 54-yard jaunt that iced the game despite the back’s embarrassing decision to drop the football before crossing the goal line. Prior to that, Cal spun their wheels in the run game with 68 yards on the first 37 attempts, but Texas’ active defensive front was given just enough pause to keep them from tearing Webb apart.
Afterwards, Texas head coach Charlie Strong surrounded by journalistic barracudas, denied that his defense and DC Vance Bedford weren’t aggressive enough in pressuring Webb. Instead, Strong referenced Webb’s ability to step away from pass rushers, often just one step, long enough to fashion his 27 of 40 night for 396 yards through the air.
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