Bears’ bid for big play in 4th quarter backfires
PULLMAN, Wash. — Eyes still stained red and heart still aching as Saturday night ticked toward Sunday morning, Cal backup quarterback Brandon McIlwain shouldered the responsibility for the Bears’ 19-13 loss to No. 8 Washington State.
“I saw Pat (Laird) open, but I overthrew him a little bit. I’ve got to find a way to get that done,” McIlwain said during a makeshift news conference in a weight room adjacent to Martin Stadium. “… I’ve got to make a better decision on that play. We were in a position where we had a chance, and if I make a little better decision, we still have a chance . ...
“I take it on myself not to have that turnover, not to throw that interception.”
The play in question was the most indelible mistake on a night when the teams combined for a bunch of them. Cal was driving for what would have been a go-ahead score, having marched 76 yards and having just converted a fourth-down run for a fresh set of downs at the Washington State 12-yard line.
McIlwain, the team’s changeof-pace, run-first quarterback playing behind starter Chase Garbers, rolled to his right and tried to squeeze a pass to Laird, who was double covered and had the boundary of the end zone acting as a third defender.
McIlwain overthrew his running back by so much that Skyler Thomas, the defensive back trailing Laird by 2 or 3 yards, had to leap to make the catch before completing the interception in the end zone.
“We can’t throw it to the other team,” Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. “We run enough quarterback runs with Brandon. It’s kind of a shot play. If it’s not there, we’ve got to keep it or throw it out of bounds.”
The throw and the play call were obviously questioned after the game, but the more confounding issue might have been why McIlwain was even in a game that was tied 13-13 with 7½ minutes remaining.
The transfer from South Carolina committed 11 turnovers during Cal’s three-game losing skid from Sept. 29-Oct. 13 and was allowed to attempt only one pass (a completion for minus-2 yards) in spot duty off the bench in back-to-back wins over Oregon State and Washington.
“We’re trying to find some explosiveness,” Wilcox said. “It’s hard to go 13, 18, 17 plays to get points. We’re trying to give the guys some answers. He’s probably one of the most explosive guys on the offense. …
“Obviously, it’s a bad play, because we gave it to the other team. We’re just trying to find some answers for the offense, so we can put some more points on the board.”
McIlwain runs as hard as any fullback in the nation and showcased his dynamic playmaking ability with 35 carries for 230 yards and three touchdowns in the Bears’ first two Pac-12 games. However, he hasn’t proved to opponents that he can be consistent passer.
They’re selling out to stop the run when he subs in for Garbers, and it’s working.
In the past four games, McIlwain has 22 carries for 43 yards (1.95 yards per carry). In the same span, Garbers — playing in three of those games — has run 29 times for 123 yards (4.24 yards per carry).
Garbers ran 11 times for 67 yards against Washington State and completed 15 of 26 passes for 127 yards, one touchdown and one interception. After the interception, Garbers chased down Willie Taylor III and forced a fumble that bounded through the end zone for a Cal touchback.
Washington State gave the Bears another chance after McIlwain’s interception, missing a chip shot field goal from 30 yards with 3:31 remaining. Cal gained just 3 yards and ran just 52 seconds of clock on its second-life possession, and the Cougars zipped 69 yards for the winning score as attention shifted back to the Bears’ would-be go-ahead drive that wasn’t.
“Brandon is an athlete and a competitor,” senior fullback Malik McMorris said. “… It’s a team effort. We’re going to look on film and see other plays where we could have scored. …
“It sucks that it happened and was so catastrophic.”