MAKING A STAND
Weaver’s defensive stop, Garbers’ prolific passing help Bears improve to 4-0
On a day it appeared the defense was taking a holiday, No. 23 Cal unleashed its most prolific offensive performance of the season to stay unbeaten with a 2820 victory at Ole Miss.
Of course, linebacker Evan Weaver had the last word, stuffing a quarterback sneak attempt inside the 1-yard line by freshman John Rhys Plumlee as time expired.
So after Chase Garbers assembled a career day with 357 passing yards and four touchdowns and Weaver collected a career-high 22 tackles, it’s worth asking whether this Cal team is perhaps better than we expected.
The Bears already have road wins against Washington and Ole Miss, the latter being their first over a team from the Southeastern Conference at the time since beating Tennessee at Knoxville in 1977.
Coach Justin Wilcox praised his team for its grit, but had special thanks for a healthy contingent of Cal fans at Vaught-hemingway Stadium.
“You felt them on the field,” he said. “They showed up from the West Coast and the East Coast and everywhere in between, and probably some from different continents.”
The upcoming gauntlet is ferocious, with games against four Top 25 teams in their next five outings. That stretch begins Friday night at home against No. 24 Arizona State.
Now 4-0 for the first time
since 2015, the Bears seem to be on their way to exceeding the limitations put on a team that was picked to finish fifth in the Pac-12 North.
Here are the takeaways: WHAT’S POSSIBLE FOR THIS TEAM? >> No doubt, the road ahead for the Bears is rugged: No. 24 Arizona State on Friday, followed by game against No 16 Oregon, No. 10 Utah and No. 19 Washington State. Then comes USC, which beat the Utes on Friday night. The only chance to exhale for the next two months may be an Oct. 19 home game against Oregon State.
But the Bears clearly are improving, certainly on offense. And they also may get healthier in the coming days and weeks. Three outside linebackers, including starters Cam Goode and Tevin Paul, sat out Saturday with injuries. Their replacements were redshirt freshman Nick Alftin — who practiced at tight end two weeks ago — and freshman Braxten Croteau.
Top running back Christopher Brown Jr., saw limited action — although he caught a first-half touchdown — and starting offensive lineman Valentino Daltoso also remained sidelined by injury.
WHERE DID THIS OFFENSE COME FROM? >> In his previous three games against FBS opponents, Garbers totaled 333 passing yards with one touchdown. So no one could envision the redshirt sophomore would pile up 357 yards and four TDS against the Rebels.
Without Brown at full strength and facing a stout Ole Miss front, the Bears went to the air from the start and Garbers appeared calm throughout.
“I thought Chase . . . not even close, that was his best game,” said Wilcox, now 9-0 in regular-season nonconference games at Cal. “How comfortable he was, how confident he was. I thought he just played awesome.”
Cal’s biggest issue on offense last year — other than turnovers — was the lack of downfield passing. Against Ole Miss, the Bears had nine pass plays that covered at least 15 yards, including one by backup Devon Modster, who was finally cleared to play as a UCLA transfer and took one snap when Garbers was shaken up after a sack.
• Interim athletic director Keith Carter said he was “extremely disappointed” with the Pac-12 officiating crew. Carter contended that the third-down play that came before the final play should have been reviewed.
“We are extremely disappointed with the officiating at the end of the game and are expecting a full explanation from the PAC-12 regarding the call and subsequent non-review of the 3rd down play,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter.
“We feel strongly that the play should been reviewed by the PAC-12 officials in the review booth. Even if the play didn’t result in a touchdown, the spot of the ball on 4th down was questionable.”