Tag: California Golden Bears

Healthier, Wealthier: Bears finally cash in with 33-20 win over WSU ending four-game slide

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, Calif. — Well, we knew coming in that previously ranked Washington State and Cal are pretty good football teams except when they aren’t.

The Cougs look bad when they can’t stop anybody, and when the Bears struggle they can’t score.  Those two storylines grew old in Pullman and Berkeley with all the losing. Since late September when WSU and Cal were both undefeated and nationally ranked, the two clubs combined for a 1-8 record.

So Saturday’s matchup offered redemption for one of the two teams, and more of the same for the other.

Who gained the upper hand?

Cal did, winning 33-20, as they welcomed back injured, offensive starters Michael Saffell, Kekoa Crawford and Devon Modster, three big reasons the Bears put up a season-best 33 points, one game after they were shutout in Salt Lake City.

“It just shows a lot of grit, coming off of a four-game losing streak,” said Modster, who threw for three scores and ran for another. “Our spirits didn’t die. We came out to work every day, and I think it showed tonight.”

The Bears scored just 24 points total in their previous three losses, but needed all of 45 seconds to find the end zone on Saturday night. Jaylinn Hawkins picked off Anthony Gordon’s first pass attempt of the game, and Christopher Brown Jr. covered 27 yards on a touchdown run one play later.

Any illusions that Cal was going to erase all its ills immediately were wiped out on the extra-point attempt when WSU’s George Hicks III scooped up a blocked kick and raced the length of the field for two points for the Cougars.

When is a touchdown not worth seven points on the scoreboard? In this case, when the Bears’ faulty place-kicking game gets involved. In that case, seven points is effectively reduced to four.

Defensively, the Bears were on point from the start, not only with Hawkins interception, but by getting off the field in a timely matter on Washington State’s next two possessions. But after tight end Gavin Reinwald fumbled trying to get extra yardage after a catch, WSU had a short field, and drew within a point on Drew Mazza’s 30-yard field goal.

Giving away points to a normally prolific WSU offense could have spelled disaster. Trailing only 6-5 after a lackluster beginning may have been the Cougars signal to bury Cal offensively, but it wasn’t. WSU committed too many penalties (10), couldn’t run the ball (16 yards on just 14 attempts) and didn’t do enough in the pass game despite racking up 407 yards passing on Gordon’s 58 pass attempts.

Instead, Cal limited WSU’s receivers after the catch, came up with Hawkins’ pick and a fumble recovery, along with a key stop early in the fourth quarter that preserved Cal’s 20-14 lead.

Meanwhile, the Bears took after halftime, as the Cougs imploded, building on their 13-11 lead at the break with a couple of big plays, most significantly, Makai Polk’s 52-yard catch-and-run that put Cal up 26-14 with 6:15 remaining. Polk, the freshman from Richmond, had just three catches all season prior to his touchdown, a moment of brilliance that saw Modster recognize the defense pre-snap, then have Polk take advantage after catching a simple screen pass.

“They were (in) cover zero and I knew it was going to be a big gain, but I didn’t know if it was going to be a touchdown or not,” Modster recalled. “But right when I threw it I saw a huge hole and Makai just did all the rest.”

The Bears are back in the postseason mix if they can gain at least one more win in their final three games. USC comes to Berkeley on Saturday, then the Bears visit Stanford. Both teams have been vulnerable at points this season, and Cal could benefit greatly if that resurfaces for either opponent. Bringing to an end the nine consecutive losses to Stanford probably is especially enticing to the Bears.

 

Bears start Coach Fox off with an impressive 87-71 win over Pepperdine

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY — After a pair of last place finishes in the Pac-12, a coaching change, and a great deal of personnel upheaval, the Cal Bears looked like a breath of fresh air in dispatching Pepperdine 87-71 in their season opener.

Coach Mark Fox, how about that improvement from last year’s 8-23 nightmare?

“I don’t know what happened last year,” Fox said emphatically. “We won’t even look at it.”

If anything can be learned at this early stage about Fox, who coached previously at Nevada and Georgia, he’s exceedingly positive while being extremely demanding. So far, 17 players, none of them new to the program–or old–according to Fox, have bought in.

Simply, the Bears are an empty slate, neither doomed to their recent past or promised to be improved. So far, improvement appears to be the path based on their come-from-behind win against the Waves.

Matt Bradley scored 25 points, and Paris Austin came up with 14 points, three assists keying a 52-point second half that carried the Bears after they trailed Pepperdine 37-35 at the half.

Andre Kelly, the beneficiary of some nifty passes from Austin, and newcomer Kareem South were Cal’s two other double-digit scorers, coming up with 16 points and 14 points respectively.

The Bears trailed by as many as seven points in the first half, and were still behind 49-46 with 14:35 remaining when Pepperdine went scoreless for five minutes and Cal took control. Bradley and Austin each scored six points in a 17-0 run that put the Bears up 63-49 with 10:05 remaining. The Waves banked on their 3-point shooting and lost, missing 19 of their final 25 attempts from distance.

Bradley experienced foul trouble in the opening 20 minutes and sat for a long stretch. But the second half was all his. The sophomore finished 8 for 11 from the field and made 5 of his 7 attempts from distance.

“I said, `Now you’re not in foul trouble. You can go and be aggressive and just play like you’ve practiced,'” Fox said of his halftime directive to Bradley.  “And to his credit he did just that.”

“When I came back in the second half it was second nature,” Bradley said. “I wasn’t really thinking much, I was just playing and felt really good.”

If the Bears have a focal point offensively, it undoubtedly would be the burly Bradley. The 6’4″ guard has started his Cal career by making 55 of 113 3-point attempts. On Tuesday, Bradley matched his career-best with five made threes.

Austin came off the bench and repeatedly burned the Waves with his dribble penetration and ability to finish. Remarkably, Austin registered just three assists even as it seemed had much more with his composed approach and pinpoint passing.

Colbey Ross led the Waves with 19 points, seven assists, but 17 of those came before halftime. Sophomore Kessler Edwards paced Pepperdine in the second half, scoring 15 of his 18 points after the break.

The Bears appear to be a much deeper and more balanced team than they were in 2018-19 as nine players saw action Tuesday.  They also expect to get big contributions from forward Kuany Kuany and big guard Juhwan Harris-Dyson, neither of whom played against Pepperdine. Fox hinted that the pair could return from injury rather soon with the Bears next scheduled to host UNLV on November 12.

Offensively Challenged: Cal’s makeshift lineup no match for Utah in 35-0 rout

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

Nothing went right for the Cal Bears on Saturday night.

With Utah leading 35-0 in the third quarter, and FS1 TV announcers Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman pulling out all the stops to hold their wandering, viewing audience, Brando referenced Joe Starkey and his 500th Golden Bears broadcast. The announcers quickly listed Starkey’s accomplishments with Cal, previously with the 49ers, and named Starkey’s broadcast partners including Lee Grosscup.

But when it came time to show Starkey at work, the TV camera found the iconic broadcaster blocked from view by a well-placed window frame in the pressbox. Only Starkey’s trademark bushy eyebrows were visible with color man Mike Pawlawski seemingly holding down the radio broadcast alone.

Oh well. The Cal-Utah football game needed all the help it could get. Even Starkey couldn’t assist.

Anything would have been better than focusing on a beat-up Bears’ offense that managed just six first downs and failed to cross midfield after its initial possession of the game.

Again, six first downs and no potential, scoring drives over the game’s final 53 minutes.  Ouch.

“Spencer can throw the ball. It was tough to get things going, which would be a little bit of an understatement,” coach Justin Wilcox admitted. “The run game, pass game, we’ve got to help him some more. We have to give him answers. I think Spencer did fine.”

Wilcox appeared to be willing to give his inexperienced offense a break. He wasn’t as forgiving with his heralded defense that offered a second-straight subpar performance.

“We didn’t play well. We didn’t play the run well. We didn’t play the pass well. We didn’t tackle very well. We didn’t do anything,” said Wilcox. “Their offense, whether it was run game or pass game, they kind of did whatever they wanted and we weren’t able to get enough stops.”

“We didn’t make the plays and they did. It’s really frustrating. We have to go back and keep encouraging the guys and keep coaching them and giving them answers.”

Brasch, the third stringer who got mop up duty last week versus Oregon State, made his first collegiate start behind a makeshift offensive line, missing notable receivers and working with a pair of knicked up runners all but insuring this one wasn’t going to be pretty. Utah’s dominating defense would see to that.

But to this extreme? Utah pitched a shutout against Pac-12 competition for the first time since joining the conference in 2011.

The Bears saw Utah’s Tyler Huntley methodically move the Utes up and down the field in a flawless first half. Hundley’s participation was a gametime decision and he played with a noticeable limp. No matter, Huntley completed 11 of 17 passes as the Utes rolled up 351 yards in total offense in the first half and led 28-0 at the break.

Cal’s streak of holding 14 consecutive opponents to 24 points or less ended before the halftime.

So what remains for a team that was nationally ranked a month ago, and now is mired in a four-game losing streak?

Most importantly, a week off for a group that has more than its share of bumps and bruises.

 

Cal’s uneven effort on both sides of the ball spells doom in 21-17 loss to Oregon State

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–Justin Wilcox wasn’t in the mood to explain all the complexities, but the synopsis was his Bears put forth an effort that was too uneven.

Too many poorly executed offensive plays, three, decisive Oregon State drives that saw the Cal defense compromised, and once the Bears fought all the way back–taking a 17-14 lead with 32 seconds remaining in the third quarter–nothing. Two three-and-outs, then after Oregon State regained the lead, and Cal starting quarterback Devon Modster was injured, freshman Spencer Brasch was forced into a near impossible spot for his first snaps at the Division I level.

“It’s a tough position to be in,” Wilcox explained. “First time he’s taken a snap.”

With 4:35 remaining, and Cal approaching midfield, trailing 21-17, Brasch, with one completion under his belt, couldn’t get another. OSU’s Jaydon Grant picked off Brasch effectively ending the Bears’ afternoon. Ironically in a game where the Beavers committed 13 penalties (and the Bears only two), Brasch’s intercepted pass would rank as the one quantifiable mistake for Cal. It would be costly.

Just as costly, the Bears were tardy to the party. Oregon State seized momentum and built a 14-0 with Isaiah Hodgins scoring on a 4-yard pass play with 4:33 remaining before halftime. OSU operated smartly to that point, mixing up runs and passes that kept Cal off balance.

At the same juncture, Cal’s run game was stalled on its way to a paltry 107 yards rushing on 43 carries. Modster again struggled, completing 12 of 27 passes for 151 yards. The  crowd and social media platforms reacted to offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin’s ambitious, but ineffective play calling.

That combination left the Bears trailing 14-3 at halftime, only after Greg Thomas’ 44-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining capped a 13-play drive that could have yielded more.

Cal’s offensive line again operated without starting center Michael Saffell and OSU pounced in his absence, producing season bests in sacks (9) and tackles for a loss (14).

“Some of that is protection,” Wilcox said of the sacks. “Some of that is getting rid of the football at the quarterback position. We have a lot of work to do there.”

Linebacker Evan Weaver, the nation’s leading tackler, came up with 21 tackles in the game, but Wilcox noted there were plays that Weaver failed to make. A 3rd-and-10 play for the Beavers during their game-winning drive turned into a 20-yard run for Artavis Pierce was especially vivid for Wilcox.

“We were in Bear defense, every gap is covered, I know exactly which one you’re talking about,” Wilcox said. “We had a chance to make the tackle and didn’t make it.”

“We had a couple of those. There was a second-and-five right before that where we had the guy in the backfield for minus three or four, so it was going to be 3rd-and-8, and we missed that tackle.”

The Bears lost a third straight after their 4-0 start gave them a Top 25 ranking. Up next are the Pac-12 South-leading Utah Utes, who have won their last two games, while allowing just 10 points. On Saturday, the No. 13 Utes knocked out Arizona State, 21-3.

 

 

 

Cal fades late in classic defensive struggle with No. 13 Oregon, lose 17-7

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

Cal’s heralded defense knew it had to be good Saturday night. Oregon’s defense quietly thought it could be that much better.

In a meeting of Pac-12 contenders, the Bears shut out quarterback Justin Herbert and the Ducks for nearly three quarters. But Oregon was even stingier, limiting Cal to 12 first downs and a touchdown in the first quarter.

Lifted by their defense, the Ducks came from behind in a 17-7 win that was hard earned as they come.

“These guys hold themselves to a high standard,” said Oregon coach Mario Cristobal of his defensive unit. “They’ve really established that amongst themselves in the locker room, through the way we walk, and the way we practice. All of us feel that we continue to elevate the status of our defense, and it’s exciting to watch.”

Devon Modster started fast in place of the injured Chase Garbers and was significantly better than his relief appearance against  Arizona State. But after the early scoring pass to Christopher Brown Jr., the Ducks pass rush quickened, and they methodically erased Cal’s receivers. The Bears were hurt significantly by the in-game injury to experienced center Michael Saffell that caused the line to shuffle.

“I thought (Modster) handled himself really well,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. “There were a couple of throws in there that he can make that we didn’t quite connect on, but I thought he was calm and his demeanor was good. I think he’s going to keep improving the more he plays.”

The Bears were hurt by two missed field goals by senior Greg Thomas, the second with fewer than four minutes remaining and Cal trailing by 10. But defensively, the Bears were as good as advertised, shutting out the Ducks in the first half, which hadn’t happened to the home team at Autzen Stadium since 2004.

Ashtyn Davis had a critical, red zone interception in the first half, Kuony Deng and Luc Bequette piled up the tackles as the Ducks attempted to move star linebacker Evan Weaver away from the path of the plays they ran. Camryn Bynum was outstanding in pass coverage for the Bears as well. But once, the Ducks got their big breakthrough with Cyrus Habibi-Likio’s short touchdown run to give Oregon their first lead, 10-7 with 1:38 remaining in the third quarter.

 

With Garbers lost to injury, ASU seizes an opportunity with big 24-17 upset win over No. 15 Cal

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, Calif. — By the numbers, Friday Night Lights in the Pac-12 conference has been pretty predictable.

Fifteen games, 13 wins for the home team.

But if you throw a veteran coach with the pedigree of Herm Edwards into the mix, the task of going on the road–against a good team–on a short week gains some clarity.

It did for Arizona State, and the task became even clearer when Cal quarterback Chase Garbers was felled with a shoulder injury.

“We forced them to throw the ball. We had to put our best guys on their guys and go cover them,” Edwards said.

“We’re playing the 15th ranked team on the road. You can’t be afraid to win. We had nothing to lose. The pressure was on them.”

In a tight ballgame that was tied after each of the first three quarters, the Sun Devils didn’t flinch. With the exception of the opening drive of the second half, the Cal running game was shut down. Garbers kept the Bears churning, throwing a 16-yard touchdown pass to Treveon Clark, but he was finished before halftime after he was tripped up and fell hard on shoulder.

The wopening drive of the second half provided momentum for Cal. They ran the ball on all 12 plays, played at a faster pace, and took a 14-7 lead on Christopher Brown Jr.’s 1-yard run.

But Arizona State answered right back, first with a big kickoff return from Brandon Aiyuk that was aided by a 15-yard penalty on Jose Ogunbanjo for grabbing Aiyuk’s face mask. Seven plays later, the Sun Devils were tied again after Benjamin Eno’s touchdown run.

Ogunbanjo gained some redemption when he recovered ASU quarterback Jayden Daniels fumble forced by linebacker Cameron Goode. That set up the Bears at the ASU 30-yard line with 11:58 remaining. But the Bears did little offensively, settling for Greg Thomas’ 47-yard field goal.

The field goal and the 17-14 lead would be Cal’s final push of the evening. Behind the running of Benjamin, ASU responded, turning a 15-play drive into a 21-17 lead with 6:16 remaining. Benjamin challenged himself and his offensive mates on the sideline prior to the drive.

“They don’t have their starting quarterback,” Benjamin told his teammates. “We have to take advantage of it.”

The Sun Devils registered back-to-back road upsets of ranked teams in nearly 15 years by beating the Bears, and No. 18 Michigan State two weeks ago. Edwards declared that being the visitor took the pressure off his team in both cases.

“When it’s a one-score game, you’re comfortable being uncomfortable,” Edwards said of his team’s mindset.

Afterwards, the Bears pointed to their lack of effort as the difference in the game.

“Can’t play very well and can’t win games when you’re not even making the simple plays, and we didn’t today. That was it,” said linebacker and defensive leader Evan Weaver.

The Bears failed to move to 5-0 for the first time since 2015. They travel to Oregon next week for a meeting with the No. 13 Ducks.

Garbers enjoys his best game, Cal improves to 4-0 with 28-20 win over Ole Miss

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

This time the concern wasn’t a slow start, or an overconfident finish. The Bears survived the heat, and the early, Eastern time zone kickoff and played with the lead throughout.

But in a game this close, something had to set the Bears apart, it may have been how they caught their second wind, and smoothly transitioned into the second half. A 14-13 halftime score grew to a 28-13 Cal lead in a matter of minutes, enough for the Bears to hold on for a 28-20 victory over Ole Miss, the first time a Pac-12 school has gone to SEC country and emerged with a win since Oregon won at Tennessee in 2010.

“We talked about some things schematically on both sides, but it was really a matter of execution,” head coach Justin Wilcox said. “I think it’s a little bit over stated, but the offense came out and had a great drive, and the defense got a couple three-and-outs back-to-back. But the middle of the game, second, and third quarters, the defense played better.”

Cal’s defense forced three, empty Mississippi possessions in the third quarter. Still trailing by 15, the Rebels put together a 14-play drive, but saw that squandered when Luke Logan missed a 29-yard field goal with 9:30 remaining.

Chase Garbers keyed the Cal attack with 357 yards passing and four touchdowns. Garbers threw a pick with Cal leading 14-10 in the second quarter. That was his first turnover since the opener against UC Davis, and it allowed the Rebels to climb closer with a second quarter field goal. But Garbers responded, throwing touchdowns less than three minutes apart in the third quarter.

The Bears operated for the most part without a power running attack with Christopher Brown Jr. and Marcel Dancy combining for 20 carries and fewer than 60 yards rushing. But Garbers made the offensive imbalance less noticeable by completing nearly half of his 24 completions for more than 10 yards, and completing passes to nine teammates in the process.

Wilcox eluded to the total, roster effort in assessing the win afterwards. The head coach also hinted to injuries mounted throughout the roster, an issue that the Bears overcame by contributions from numerous players.

“The guys who are banged up, we have to work to get healthy, and these other guys have to keep growing with the reps they are getting,” Wilcox said.

Mississippi quarterback Matt Corral led an attack that amassed 525 yards in offense and didn’t commit a turnover. But the Rebels lost Corral in the fourth quarter to a rib injury, and couldn’t realize a game-changing play. With backup John Rhys Plumlee seeing the first action of his college career, the Rebels pulled within 28-20. But a game-ending drive to possibly tie the game died on the one-yard line when Elijah Moore caught a pass and was stopped at the one-yard line, then on the next play, Plumlee’s rush up the middle was stuffed by Cal’s Evan Weaver.

Weaver came up with 22 tackles, bettering his career-best effort at Washington two weeks ago. Weaver has made at least 10 tackles 11 times in his Cal career. Mississippi’s fast start that netted 10 points on their first three possessions, frequently targeted Cal’s outside backers, who were integrating some new pieces. But the unit held up in subsequent Ole Miss possessions, keeping Cal from being forced to make schematic changes.

“The young guys know what they’re doing,” Weaver said. “They’ve been through camp, they’ve been here a few years. They got in and played great. They did a great job. A few miscues like I said, but nothing we can’t fix with film.”

The Bears attempt to realize a 5-0 start to the season on Friday when Arizona State visits Berkeley in a 7:30 pm start.

Cutting It Close: Bears happy to be 3-0, but not happy with narrow, 23-16 win over North Texas

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, Calif. — Winning is what it’s all about, but this early in the season, improvement is almost as important.

The Cal Bears jumped to a 20-0 lead over Conference USA opponent North Texas, which was exactly what they wanted after falling behind 10-0 in each of their previous wins.

But after punts on four, consecutive second half possessions, the Bears had to sweat out a final possession by North Texas with the Mean Green having a chance to win it with a touchdown.

“We have to play a lot better,” quarterback Chase Garbers said. “It starts with me. I just have to put ball in the right spot. Everywhere else we just have to execute better.”

Garbers may have given himself a harsh assessment, but he was a big factor in the win, carrying the ball a career-high 18 times for 70 yards. Where Garbers didn’t necessarily get it done was in the pass game, where he completed just 9 of 22 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown.

And the Bears managed just 17 first downs and 278 yards of total offense. Not enough to extend their second quarter lead, and not enough to put North Texas away early.

“Our guys play hard and the effort’s really good. Now the level of execution’s gotta match that for us to do what we want to do,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “We’re not there yet.”

Defensively, the Bears did what they intended for the majority of the game. North Texas senior quarterback Mason Fine threw for two scores, but both came in the second half, and a critical interception by Cal’s Traveon Beck was sandwiched in between the scores. Fine threw for 210 yards, but misfired on 19 of his 40 pass attempts.

“You have to credit Cal,” Fine said. “They did a great job defensively, mixed it up and didn’t let us drive it. They made the plays.”

Cal went the final three quarters scoring just three points, and while they flatlined offensively, injuries may have played a critical role. Christopher Brown Jr., Cameron Goode, Tevin Paul, Ben Hawk Shrider and Chinedu Udeogu all suffered in-game injuries and didn’t finish. Brown, the Bears’ most, productive offensive player thus far rushed for just 47 yards on 13 carries.

The Bears travel to Oxford, Mississippi on Saturday for a date with Ole Miss.

Cal Stays Cool: Bears shake off early adversity and deficit, squeeze past UC Davis, 27-13

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, Calif. — Coach Justin Wilcox hates it when his club loses the turnover battle, linebacker Evan Weaver–ever the perfectionist–never minces words when assessing the Bears’ defense, and running back Christopher Brown Jr.–a new voice in the mix–was simply doing what he was taught to do, in impacting the Cal football record book in just his first, collegiate start on Saturday.

If you’re keeping score that’s one positive, and two negatives, for the Bears on the occasion of their 2019 opener. But that positive–Brown’s 197 yards rushing, setting the record for a Cal running back in his first start–was significant enough to carry the Bears past UC Davis, 27-13 at Memorial Stadium.

Brown bludgeoned the Aggies for four quarters, carrying the ball 36 times as the Bears overcame an early 10-0 deficit and methodically wore down UC Davis in the opener for both teams. Brown’s 5-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, broke a 13-13 tie, and gave Cal a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“That’s what we expect of him,” Wilcox said of Brown. “He’s a big, physical guy and this is his type of game–give it to him and let him break tackles. He’s a hard guy to bring down. It was great to see him out there.”

The 230-pound Brown played sparingly as a freshman in 2018. But with Patrick Laird departed, he’s stepped into the feature back role flawlessly. And his preparation–as he and Wilcox noted after the game–couldn’t have been more effective. Fourteen of his 36 carries came in the fourth quarter, and none went for more than 26 yards. Throughout, Brown was a tireless nightmare for the Aggie defense, which eventually wore down in the final minutes.

“My plan was to follow my coaches’ rules,” Brown said after he easily surpassed Jahvid Best’s first start in 2008 totaling 111 yards rushing. “We have been doing the same thing all of camp and the plan was not to change anything from practice. The same as we have been doing all along meaning going through eye progression, reading the correct gaps, doing what Coach (Nicholas) Edwards teaches us to do day-by-day.”

Brown’s contributions were vital with the Bears fumbling the opening kickoff, and falling behind 7-0 less than two minutes into the contest. But the adversity didn’t end there. The Bears turned it over twice in their first four possessions and punted twice. UC Davis didn’t just settle either. The Aggies ran 25 offensive plays to Cal’s 10, and capped the longest drive of the day with Max O’Rourke’s 40-yard field goal that put UC Davis up 10-0. With an upset of Stanford in their recent history, the minds of all involved started racing with UC Davis off to a roaring start.

But Wilcox remained calm and resolute which rubbed off on his football team. Afterwards, he explained.

“There wasn’t any panic. The guys stayed with it. We knew there would be some adversity in this game,” he said.

Quarterback Chase Garbers, who would bounce back to throw a pair of touchdowns to Kekoa Crawford, didn’t overplay the slow start either. Garbers finished 16 of 28 for 238 yards passing and one pick.

“The fumble off the opening kickoff was definitely a momentum swing for them, putting them in our red zone. I think that attributed to it. I think also offensively we came out too loose,” Garbers said.

Defensively, beyond the rough start, Cal held its own. The Aggies were limited to 264 yards offensively stretched across 68 plays, and they accomplished little outside of their fast start. Still, defensive leader Weaver, didn’t like what he saw, saying the Bears accomplished little of what they set out to do. Still, he promised the Bears would be far better on Saturday when they visit the Washington Huskies in Seattle.

“Going forward it’s just how we respond,” Weaver said. “Can we clean up those little mistakes?”

Cal Goes Cold: Colorado advances to Pac-12 quarters with 56-51 win

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

photo by sportsradioservice.com Shawn McCullough

By Morris Phillips

Defense had the Cal Bears sniffing an upset in Las Vegas Wednesday afternoon. But their ineffective offense couldn’t close the deal.

The Bears fell 56-51 to Colorado in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament ending their season, and a three-game win streak that created belief the last place club could keep it rolling. But 34 percent shooting was no way to support a spirited defensive effort that forced the Buffs into 23 turnovers.

“We forced them into 23 turnovers. A team that typically takes care of the ball,” said coach Wyking Jones. “We were very active, very active defensively. What really hurt us is giving up ten offensive rebounds, out-rebounded us. It’s hard to win a basketball game when you get out-rebounded by that margin.”

While Jones was encouraged–certainly with how his team responded after 16 consecutive losses–he and his Bears were going home early. Colorado’s Tad Boyle got his team to Thursday’s quarterfinals, but the veteran coach noted they’ll have to play better to survive.

“I’ll say this about Cal, they’re much more active in their zone,” said Boyle in anticipation of a matchup with Oregon State. “I think their zone has gotten better since we played them in Berkeley. They do shoot gaps. They get their hands on balls. They’re very active in the zone. We didn’t really react as well as we needed to. But hopefully that will help us tomorrow.”

While the Bears frenetic defense forced turnovers, Colorado’s defense and rebounding had a more lasting effect, starting with the Buffaloes 13-2 run in the first half that gained momentum through the Bears’ repeated missed shots. Dylan Kountz’ steal and a dunk put Colorado up 23-14 with 4:51 remaining. That run didn’t bury the Bears, but they never drew even after that, only managing to cut the lead to two on a couple of occasions early in the second half.

“I just felt like the drought affected us, even though we still held them to a decent percentage–(Colorado) only shot 43 percent from the field–but we didn’t have the same kind of energy that we would have if we hadn’t had those scoring droughts.”

The Bears will likely spend the off-season looking for offense on the recruiting trail, as that aspect again let them down. But their defensive inprovement–once ranked 310th nationally–was noticeable on Wednesday and during the modest three-game win streak.