Garbers’ stoic manner is tested by Stanford
Cal QB has no problem recalling winning TD run
Chase Garbers’ public demeanor rarely changes.
Sideline shots of Garbers on Saturday at Oregon State showed a similar expression after his touchdown pass put Cal ahead with eight minutes remaining and his interception that sealed the Bears’ loss seven minutes later.
But even the stoic Cal quarterback will say that last year’s
Big Game altered his life. At least, a little.
“You just kind of get noticed more by a bunch of Cal people,” Garbers said on a Zoom call after he was introduced by a Cal official who said the quarterback “etched his name into Big Game heroism.” “Definitely, school that next week was a little interesting when we were on campus.”
As usual, Garbers didn’t expand on what made school
“a little interesting” last year after he led the Bears to a 2420 victory that snapped Stanford’s ninegame winning streak in the series.
The 6foot2, 205pounder went 20for30 for 285 yards and a touchdown and ran 13 times for 72 yards, including the gamewinning 16yard scramble with 79 seconds left.
“We scored and ended up winning the game,” Garbers
said.
Don’t let the apparent aloofness of the junior from Newport Beach (Orange County) fool you for a second. He’s as competitive and dialedin as they come.
Having rewatched his gamewinning run only one time while sheltering at home earlier this year, Garbers still could recount the exact details.
Cal was trying to get the ball to Christopher Brown Jr., but the running back was taken out of the play by linebacker Curtis Robinson, who darted to get underneath the route. With the defensive line pushing the pocket, Garbers stepped up and made a move to break through an arm tackle.
Seeing space to his left, he took off in that direction. He read receiver Nikko Remigio’s block and raced to the pylon.
“To execute the twominute drill on that big of a stage, with the whole stadium filled out, when you’re down and the away team, it was huge for the offense,” Garbers said.
Stanford linebacker Gabe Reid said of Garbers: “He’s a dangerous weapon. We saw that last year in the Big Game. He kind of gashed us, so we’re definitely emphasizing doing your assignment. It’s not about trying to do too much, but working together to try to bring him down. It’s about getting everybody to the ball.”
Fans often define Cal quarterbacks by how they perform in games against Stanford. Just ask Kevin Brown, Steve Levy and Dave Penhall, who each led the Bears to an improbable Big Game win.
But Garbers is different. He was good before his careerdefining victory and has shown signs of being great since then.
Cal is 137 when Garbers starts and 134 when he plays more than a half. He’s the Pac12’s active leader in wins and has a Redbox Bowl Offensive MVP on his mantel after a fivetouchdown performance against Illinois last year.
After impossible circumstances in the season opener, which called for Cal to prep for UCLA without defensive linemen and travel to Pasadena — all in about a 40hour timespan — Garbers went 18for33 for 122 yards and an interception.
He bounced back Saturday at Oregon State with a 28for42, 315yard, threetouchdown day that graded out at 92% on offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave’s scale.
“Confidence comes from one source and one source only, and that’s demonstrated performance,” Musgrave said. “Chase played here as a young player and got some good experience and took some lumps, like we all do when we start out playing. I think he’s learning as he goes along. …
“He’s climbing, he’s learning, and he’s gaining from every single rep that he gets.”