Garbers-McIlwain QB combo a hit in win

PROVO, UTAH >> This Cal football season already has taken some unexpected twists and turns. But the Golden Bears are 2-0 after their 21-18 win at BYU on Saturday night, and that’s a bottom line they can live with.

One week after using three quarterbacks in an opening victory over North Carolina, coach Justin Wilcox whittled that down to two — and neither of them was 2017 starter Ross Bowers.

Redshirt freshman Chase Garbers got the starting call, and sophomore transfer Brandon McIlwain played extensively as Wilcox found an equation that got stronger as the game unfolded.

“I’m proud of how they competed,” Wilcox said. “This is a really good run defense and when you can create the element of the quarterback being a threat to run the ball, it stresses defenses. It changes the math.”

No kidding: Cal’s two leading rushers in the game were their quarterbacks. McIlwain ran it 16 times for a game-high 74 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown keeper that made it 21-10 early in the fourth quarter, and three runs to gain a first down as the Bears ran out the final minute. Garbers had 45 yards in five carries.

Together: 119 rushing yards without a single negative play among 21 attempts.

Garbers was only 5 for 13 passing for 52 yards in the first half, when the Bears built a 7-3 lead. He completed 13 of his final 15 tries, with a 52-yard touchdown throw to Kanawai Noa, and his first collegiate interception.

McIlwain, known more as a runner than passer while at South Carolina, was 5 of 7 for 38 yards passing.

“It was awesome,” McIlwain said of the two-quarterback arrangement. “I loved every minute of it. It was so fun and it worked, It got us a win. Both of us are going to continue whatever we need to do to continue to win.”

Here are takeaways from the Bears’ victory:

• The Bears’ defense appears to be for real. BYU’s only offensive touchdown came with 51 seconds left after Cal held the Cougars to a total of 21 yards and no first downs through the first 26 minutes of the second half.

“We played awesome,” said linebacker Evan Weaver, who had 12 tackles, three pass breakups and a quarterback hurry. “You can just tell this defense wants to come play every day and dominate the football every single play.”

• Nothing is written in ink after two games, but it appears Bowers’ role has been marginalized a year after he started every game and passed for more than 3,000 yards.

“This is nothing Ross hasn’t done,” said Wilcox, suggesting Garbers and McIlwain were better fits for the game plan against BYU. “He’s disappointed and it’s tough. I don’t blame him one bit. He’s handled himself extremely well. It’s not the easiest position to be in.”

• The Bears have played what they consider to be two strong run defenses in North Carolina and BYU, and the result is Patrick Laird has been well contained.

A year after rushing for more than 1,100 yards, he is averaging 3.2 yards per carry. He had 30 yards in 10 attempts against BYU.

• The Bears were a mixed bag on special teams. Steven Coutts averaged 42.5 yards on six punts and the Cougars had a net minus-4 yards on three punt returns. Jaylinn Hawkins cleanly corralled BYU’s onside kick try in the final minute after the Cougars scored a touchdown and two-point conversion to get within three points. But Vic Wharton III fumbled while trying to field a punt early in the fourth quarter, setting up BYU at Cal’s 16yard line. The defense bailed him out on Traveon Beck’s interception.

• It’s still hard to know how good these Bears might be. Their Week 1 opponent, North Carolina, was clobbered 41-19 by East Carolina on Saturday. And BYU’s opening win at Arizona is diminished by the Wildcats’ 45-18 loss at Houston.