Bears make a stand to hand Utes their first setback
Davis Webb threw four touchdown passes and California stopped Zack Moss from the one-yard line on the final play to win its second straight matchup against a ranked opponent, 28-23 over No. 18 Utah on Saturday at Berkeley.
Webb threw for 306 yards and connected on a pair of scoring strikes to Chad Hansen and Demetris Robertson to lead the Golden Bears (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12).
But it was the defense that sealed the win, stopping the Utes on three plays inside the two in the closing seconds. James Looney wrapped up Moss just short of the goal line on the final play to set off a celebration.
Cal had lost 11 straight games against ranked opponents before beating No. 11 Texas, 50-43, at home two weeks ago.
The Bears broke out to a 14-0 lead and then went stagnant against the ball-control play of the Utes (4-1, 1-1), who used touchdown drives of 21 and 13 plays to take a 17-14 lead late in the third quarter on Armand Shyne’s second touchdown run.
Webb answered with a 24yard touchdown pass to Hansen that put the Bears back ahead in the third and then added a 56-yarder to Robertson after Cal stopped the Utes on fourth-and-one from the 10.
at Washington State 51, Oregon 33: Luke Falk passed for 371 yards and a touchdown, Jamal Morrow rushed for 122 yards and two scores, and James Williams and Gerard Wicks also rushed for two touchdowns each as the Cougars (2-2, 1-0) overwhelmed the Ducks with 651 yards of total offense in winning their conference opener.
Oregon (2-3, 0-2) lost its third in a row, days after holding a team meeting aimed at engineering a turnaround.
at Colorado 47, Oregon State 6: Steven Montez had three long touchdown throws to Shay Fields and the Buffaloes easily handled an unfamiliar role as a heavy favorite in a conference game.
The last time the Buffs (4-1, 2-0) were double-digit favorites in a league game was Nov. 25, 2005, against Nebraska — and they didn’t wear the tag well, getting walloped, 30-3, by the Cornhuskers when they were part of the Big 12.
This time, they came in as an 18-point choice against the Beavers (1-3, 0-1) and they handled their business a week after a signature win at Oregon.
The Buffaloes entered this season 5-40 in Pac-12 play.