Bears’ losing streak reaches 6
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox turned 46 on Saturday. By the end of the Bears’ 38-10 loss at Oregon State, Wilcox might have felt about 40 years older.
The Beavers dominated the game in all three phases, and thus the Bears will lug a sixgame losing streak, a 3-7 overall record and a 1-6 mark in Pac-12 play into next Saturday’s Big Game against Stanford at Memorial Stadium.
“We haven’t played up to the standard that we’ve set as a team,” Wilcox said. “We haven’t coached well enough. We haven’t played well enough. It’s just totally unacceptable. I don’t know what else to say.”
Cal at least has won three games in Berkeley this year, but Saturday’s loss means the Bears own a winless road record (0-5) for 2022. Since the start of the 2020 season, the Bears are 1-12 in road games; their 41-11 romp in last year’s Big Game at Stanford is their lone win away from Memorial in that stretch.
Cal’s offense scored five touchdowns and racked up 469 yards in a 41-35 loss at USC the previous Saturday. Against the Beavers, the Bears’ offense did not account for a touchdown and generated just 160 yards. Quarterback
Jack Plummer, who threw for 406 yards and three TDs against the Trojans, went 22-for-34 for 151 yards in Corvallis.
Saturday’s loss ensures the Bears will not go to a bowl game this season. “It’s obviously very disappointing,” Plummer said. “Quite frankly, with the way we’ve played, we haven’t earned (the right) to play in a bowl game.”
The Beavers (7-3, 4-3) held freshman running back Jaydn Ott to 20 yards on eight carries. The Beavers massively outgained the Bears on the ground, 166 yards to 9. OSU freshman Damien Martinez ran for 105 yards on 23 carries, his fourth
consecutive 100-yard game.
Oregon State converted two fourth downs on its opening possession. On 4th-and-2 from the Cal 47, the Beavers’ jack of all trades, Jack Colletto, connected with a wide-open Anthony Gould on a 37-yard completion to the 10.
Then on 4th-and-goal from inside the 1, QB Ben Gulbranson snuck across the goal line to make it 7-0.
Things quickly got worse for the Bears. On the first play of their ensuing possession, linebacker Kyrei Fisher-Morris picked off a Plummer pass intended for J.Michael Sturdivant on a slant. The Beavers were in business at the Cal 31.
Oregon State covered those 31 yards in six plays, with Jam Griffin accounting for the final 5 yards on a run over the right side to make it 14-0 Beavers late in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, it became 21-0 after Cal was forced to punt from its 7. Gould fielded the punt at his 45, broke to his left and was gone for a 55-yard return for a touchdown.
Cal mustered just 53 yards in the opening half. The Bears had another makeshift line, with starter Ben Coleman out because of injury, but Plummer defended his linemen.
“Those guys held their own,” Plummer said. “It comes down to us executing and we did not do that today. Those guys did fine.” The Beavers sacked Plummer twice.
The Bears managed to get on the board only because of their defense. On a 3rd-and-1 from the OSU 39, Gulbranson and Martinez had a mixup on the handoff, and Cal’s Xavier Carlton forced a fumble. Freshman defensive back Jeremiah Earby scooped up the loose ball and took it 33 yards to the end zone.
That made it 21-7, and that’s the way the half ended.
Oregon State outscored Cal 10-0 in the third period. Gulbranson’s 8-yard TD pass to Tre’Shaun Harrison made it 31-7 with 4:03 left in the quarter and pretty much eliminated any doubt about the outcome.
A play early in the fourth quarter encapsulated the Bears’ frustration. On 2nd-and-goal from the 5, Plummer was pressured, kept retreating and then tried to throw the ball away. However, it didn’t get to the line of scrimmage and it wound up being a 24-yard intentionalgrounding penalty.
“You’ve got to learn from what we just went through right there and you’ve got to take that on the chin, and then you’ve got to get up,” Plummer said. “You’ve got to get up and you’ve got to keep
fighting.”
Briefly: Freshman Michael Luckhurst, the son of former Cal kicker Mick Luckhurst, converted his first collegiate field-goal attempt, a 36-yarder early in the fourth quarter. Dario Longhetto, the Bears’ usual kicker, missed a 48-yard try in the third quarter. … Colletto left the game in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. … Defensive players out for the Bears included linebackers Braxten Croteau, Muelu Iosefa and Ryan Puskas and defensive backs Lu-Magia Hearns III and Collin Gamble. … The Bears have lost the past six Big Games at Memorial Stadium. Cal’s last win over the Cardinal in Berkeley came in 2008 when Jahvid Best ran for 201 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-16 decision.