Offensive, defensive struggles handcuff Bears against Utes
Zack Moss ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns, breaking two school rushing records in the process, as Utah drubbed Cal 350 on Saturday night in Salt Lake City.
The Bears, who were outgained 473 yards to 83 and trailed by four touchdowns at halftime, have lost four in a row after starting 40 and reaching No. 15 in the Associated Press poll.
“This was crushing,” Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. “There’s nothing worse. It makes you want to throw up.”
After becoming Utah’s career leader in yards rushing a week earlier, Moss increased his total to 33 touchdowns on the ground and surpassed former 49ers running back Del Rodgers, who set the previous mark of 31 from 1978 through ’81. Moss also reached 100 yards rushing for the 15th time, breaking the school record he had shared with Devontae Booker and John White IV.
“It all feels really good, especially when it comes with winning,” said Moss, who also finished with 89 yards on three receptions.
Cal (44, 14 Pac12) had held 14 consecutive opponents under 25 points, the longest active streak in the country, but it took Utah (71, 41) just a half to snap that streak.
“We didn’t play well,” Wilcox said. “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. 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.
“It’s not for a lack of effort. We didn’t have a lot of loafs on tape. 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. That’s our job. We don’t talk about the other side of the ball. It’s a team game. We don’t talk about if the offense does this or that, or doesn’t. It’s a team game.”
In his first start, freshman quarterback Spencer Brasch was 7for19 passing for 47 yards. Regular starter Chase Garbers and backup Devon Modster were both injured.
“They had great coverage, and their front is phenomenal,” Brasch said. “They are so solid all the way around. They just beat us up and down the field.”
With 22 tackles, Cal linebacker Evan Weaver moved past Mike Mohamed (340) and Ron Rivera (336) to fourth on Cal’s career tackles list. Weaver has 357.
Camden Lewis kicked a 26yard field goal as time expired as host Oregon extended its winning streak to seven games with a 3735 win over Washington State late Saturday.
CJ Verdell ran for 257 yards and three touchdowns for Oregon (71, 50 Pac12), which hasn’t lost since the season opener against Auburn.
Anthony Gordon, a Terra NovaPacifica and CCSF alum, passed for 406 yards and three touchdowns for Washington State (44, 14).
Latest poll: The No. 1 vs. No. 2 game between Alabama and LSU on Nov. 9 looks set, though the order of the Crimson Tide and Tigers changed in the Associated Press Top 25 in one of the closet votes ever.
LSU flipflopped with Alabama on Sunday to become the new No. 1 in the AP poll. LSU received 1,476 points, two more than Alabama, for the closest margin between 1 and 2 since No. 1 Florida State was two points ahead of Auburn on Oct. 5, 2014.
No. 3 Ohio State was not far behind with 1,468 points. Eight points separating first from third is the fewest during a regularseason poll since the current point system went into place in 1978. The previous low was Dec. 3, 1979, when No. 1 Ohio State was 10 points ahead of No. 3 USC, with Oklahoma in between, two back of the Buckeyes.
Alabama received the most firstplace votes this week with 21. LSU and Ohio State both got 17 firstplace votes. No. 4 Clemson received seven firstplace votes. There have been three No. 1 teams this season, and none of them has lost.
Barring some weirdness with the voters next week, the AlabamaLSU game in Tuscaloosa, Ala., will be the 26th No. 1 vs. No. 2 regularseason game, including conference championship games. The No. 1 team is 1582 in those games, including LSU’s 96 victory at Alabama in 2011, the last time No. 1 and No. 2 met in the regular season.
With the advent of the Bowl Championship Series in 1998 and later the College Football Playoff, 12 matchups have become frequent during bowl season. Overall, No. 1 is 28212 in those games. After LSU and Alabama played as 1 and 2 in the regular season, the teams had a rematch in the BCS championship game in January 2012 won by the Crimson Tide.
Heading into that BCS championship was the last time LSU was No. 1.