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.
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