Bears provide thrills in late-night win
BERKELEY — The clock was approaching midnight, the game wasn’t close to being finished, and the NCAA record book was in the process of being rewritten.
It was wild, exhausting, thrilling, confounding, chaotic, long — goodness, it was long — and, of course, heart-stopping. It was … “Another boring Cal football game,” coach Sonny Dykes quipped.
The Bears’ latest great escape came in the form of a 52-49 double-overtime victory over Oregon on Friday in which Cal set a major college record by running 118 plays from scrimmage.
The Bears improved to 3-2 in games decided by a touchdown or less and 3-0 at home. All three affairs in Memorial Stadium have been close, from the pulsating victory over Texas to the goal-line stand against Utah and now this, Cal’s first win over the Ducks since 2008.
“I remember going into overtime thinking, ‘Man, another one of these games,’” said Bears linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk, who sealed the victory with an interception in the second overtime.
“Every one of our games is close, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Coach always raves on the toughest team wins, and we were the tougher team.”
Three take-aways:
Cal was resourceful
The Bears scored 52 points and gained 636 yards without their top playmaker, receiver Chad Hansen, who did not play because of an ankle injury suffered in the loss at Oregon State.
In his place, running backs Khalfani Muhammad and Tre Watson combined to rush for 302 yards.
Watson also caught two touchdown passes, including a marvelous diving grab late in the second quarter.
Freshmen receivers Demetris Robertson and Melquise Stovall each had six catches, while Vic Wharton, a transfer from Tennessee, had seven catches.
Good, bad and ugly The offenses were terrific,
and the grit was impressive. But the opposite is also true: The defenses were terrible, the execution was spotty (28 combined penalties), and several coaching decisions were confounding.
One example: The Bears led 34-14 in the third quarter when they got too cute and handed the momentum over to Oregon.
On fourth-and-1 from their own 30, they eschewed a traditional punt, kept the offense on the field, then had quarterback Davis Webb attempt a pooch.
His punt went 10 yards, giving the Ducks ideal field position. It took them five plays to score. Two minutes later, they scored again. Five minutes later, they scored again — and took a 35-34 lead in the process.
“The third quarter was bad,” Dykes said. “We didn’t manage the field position very good, and that was my fault. I gave (Oregon) a couple of short fields.”
Only gets tougher
The Bears are used to playing close, taxing games deep into the night. But their next challenge — at USC on Thursday — might be the toughest: Fresh off four hours and two overtimes, they must play a road game on a short week against an opponent that had a bye.
That’s right: The Trojans, who have won three in a row after their rough start, have this weekend off.
“Crazy, absolutely nuts,” Dykes said of the schedule. “Absolutely makes no sense.”