Bowers ‘hungry’ for berth in bowl
PASADENA — Ross Bowers sure hopes to make this a better weekend than his last one.
Trailing Stanford 17-14 on Saturday and having moved into Cardinal territory with about 7½ minutes left, Bowers threw an interception that cost the Bears that night and ruined his birthday the next day.
“It was a heartbreaker. It hurt. It still hurts. I think it always will,” Bowers said this week. “… That was probably the worst birthday I’ve had.”
Bowers spent the day alone, save for his parents bringing him some food and his dog, a Golden Retriever named Buck, but he’ll have plenty of people with him for the Thanksgiving weekend and plenty of reason to celebrate if he can lead Cal to victory at UCLA on Friday.
The Bears (5-6, 2-6 Pac-12) are one win shy of a bowl berth; Cal has played in the postseason only once in the past five years. They’re one of 17 teams playing for a bowleligible sixth win this weekend, with eight spots available.
“This is kind of like a playoff game,” Bowers said. “You’ve got to win to get the next one. We’re going to come out hungry. Last week’s loss was really tough on us, and we’re coming back kind of pissed off.”
UCLA has beaten Cal in 13 of the past 17 games in the Rose Bowl. The Bruins haven’t lost at home all season, a feat they haven’t accomplished since 2005.
Bowers needs just 203 passing yards to become Cal’s seventh quarterback to post a 3,000-yard season, but the Bears’ game plan probably will
focus on running. Running back Patrick Laird, who was a walk-on until a month before this season started, is 51 yards away from reaching the 1,000 milestone.
Laird has been at his best the past two games, averaging 6.9 yards per carry and totaling 367 yards and two touchdowns. The junior should have lots of running lanes Friday against a UCLA defense that got head coach Jim Mora fired Sunday.
Seven players from the 2016 UCLA defense are in the NFL, including three defensive linemen who are starting. The remaining crew is yielding 491.5 yards of total offense per game, which ranks 123rd out of 129 teams.
The rushing defense allows 288.7 yards per game — better only than San Jose State (293.6) — and 5.7 yards per carry.
“I think they’re playing better as the season goes along,” Cal offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin said. “I know some of the numbers, but I think some of those numbers were from early in the year. Recently, you’ve seen some things that are really impressive.”
The Bears’ defense will have a challenge of its own, trying to slow quarterback Josh Rosen, who has picked apart defenses all season. The potential No. 1 pick in the NFL draft is averaging 351.5 passing yards per game, second in the nation to only Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph (374.1).
The 6-foot-4 junior completes 62.1 percent of his passes and has thrown 24 touchdown passes. He’s coming off a 421-yard, three-touchdown virtuoso performance against USC, extending his school records for 300- and 350-yard games to 17 and 11.
UCLA runs a true pro-style offense, using big backs and targeting its tight ends as the go-to receivers. Cal will try to mix coverages and move Rosen off his spot, but it’s almost impossible.
“He’s kind of an unflappable guy,” Cal defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter said. “He’s good at just about everything. He does a great job going through his reads. He’s got a big-time arm. That stands out. He’s very athletic. He can set up quick and avoid the rush. The ball gets there on time and in a great spot.”