Bears’ backup plan fails vs. OSU
BERKELEY >> The thick fog that sat in Strawberry Canyon behind Memorial Stadium on Saturday turned into a dark cloud over Cal after a 21-17 loss to Oregon State.
The Bears (4-3, 1-3) dropped their third straight game after a 4-0 start, allowing the Beavers to assemble three long scoring drives while their own quarterbacks were sacked nine times. Cal starter Devon Modster, who passed for 151 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 76 yards, left the game after sustaining an undisclosed injury on a scramble early in the fourth quarter.
By the time true freshman Spencer Brasch came on as his replacement, the Beavers (3-4, 2-2) had marched 80 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in front of 42,064 fans.
Brasch completed his first pass, had his third one tipped and intercepted and was sacked twice on the Bears’ final possession, which began on the Cal 8-yard line with 57 seconds left and no timeouts remaining.
Here are the takeaways: ANOTHER QB GOES DOWN >> It’s uncertain how seriously injured Modster might be. Coach Justin Wilcox said he didn’t know a thing immediately afterward. Modster was the Bears’ No. 2 un
til Chase Garbers was injured against Arizona State on Sept. 27. There is no timetable on when Garbers might return.
Brasch, from Gilbert, Arizona, finished 2 for 6 for 24 yards in a near-impossible situation.
“Tough position to be in. First time he’s taken a snap and we’re asking him to go the distance,” Wilcox said. “We’ll keep working with him.”
FAMILIAR OCTOBER SKID >> Cal began the 2017 and 2018 seasons 3-0 before losing three in a row each time. This year it was a 4-0 start, and now the Bears have dropped three in a row again.
“We’ve got to start winning,” cornerback Camryn Bynum said. “We’ve got to learn how to not lose. We’re beating ourselves.”
Cal has not had a winning record in the month of October since 2009, and it’s not possible this season. They are 0-2 this month and close out October next Saturday at Utah. The Utes, by the way, beat Oregon State 52-7 last weekend in Corvallis. ERRATIC ON DEFENSE >> OSU netted just 21 total yards on their 11 non-scoring drives. Linebacker Evan Weaver had much to do with that, totaling 21 tackles, including two sacks, to boost his Fbs-leading total to 105. Cal held its 14th straight opponent to fewer than 25 points.
None of that mattered to Wilcox, who pointed to the Beavers’ three long scoring drives and saw nothing he liked.
“Defensively, we had some good stops throughout the game,” Wilcox said. “We had three awful drives ... that cost us big-time.” LOSING THE BATTLE UP FRONT >> Cal’s injuryplagued offensive line allowed nine sacks — equaling the most the Bears have surrendered at least dating back to 2000 — and paved the way for running backs to gain just 50 yards on 22 carries.
“It was tough to get going running the ball,” Wilcox said. “You have to run the ball better. And we took nine sacks. Some of that is protection. Some of it is getting rid of the football at the quarterback position. We have a lot of work to do there.”
Cal scored just 17 points against an Oregon State defense that had allowed at least 30 in every other game against an FBS opponent.