Cal powers to win as QB Garbers breaks school mark

BERKELEY >> After quite easily pocketing its first Pac12 win of the season and its first over an FBS opponent, there were no bold reassessments of the big picture by Cal.

The Bears’ 26-3 victory over Colorado in front of 36,264 fans at Memorial Stadium under cloudy but dry skies on Saturday afternoon left them feeling joy and relief. They also kept things very much in perspective after snapping a three-game losing streak.

“It feels really good. A lot of smiling faces in the locker room,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “I want them to enjoy this — it’s been a difficult stretch. We don’t want it to be the highlight of the season.”

The Bears (2-5, 1-3), picked to finish third in the Pac-12 North, remain at home next week against Oregon State then travel to Tucson to face winless Arizona. The regular season ends with a home date vs. USC before road games

against Stanford and UCLA.

Senior quarterback Chase Garbers put his name in Cal’s record book by rushing for a single-game best 96 yards, giving him 1,025 for his career to move past legendary Joe Kapp for most rushing yards by a Bears’ quarterback. Kapp had 931 in a career that ended with the 1959 Rose Bowl.

“It’s really an honor to be a record-holder of some sort,” Garbers said. “I’m really proud of myself but all the credit goes to the other 10 guys on offense. They’re the reason I can run, I can throw.”

Garbers was nearly perfect in the first half, completing 12 of 15 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 82 yards as the Bears built a 23-3 lead. He finished 22 of 29 for 225 yards without a turnover.