Cal suffers deflating overtime loss
Cal's season took a dramatic turn in the wrong direction on Saturday after a 20-13 overtime loss at Colorado.
The Bears (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12) were 15-point favorites over the Buffaloes (1-5, 1-2), who had come no closer than 23 points in any of their five previous games.
Colorado made a coaching change after its most recent game, and a defense that had allowed more than 43 points per game gave Cal trouble all afternoon on Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.
The Bears finished with just 35 net rushing yards against the country's statistically worst run defense. Cal was 5 for 17 on third downs and Jack Plummer was forced to throw 52 passes just to keep the Bears close.
Cal now embarks on the toughest stretch of its schedule with games the next three weeks against Washington, Oregon and USC.
Colorado scored on the first possession of overtime, with Montana Lemoious-Craig making a spectacular, leaping catch on the corner of the end zone on third-and-7 from the 22. The play was initially ruled
incomplete but an official review reversed that call, giving CU a 20-13 lead.
Cal got the ball needing a touchdown, but Plummer's fourth-and-goal pass from the 11 to tight end Keleki Latu was broken up, giving Colorado the victory.
Plummer completed six passes on the game-tying drive, including five in a row, with a 20-yard connection to wide receiver Mavin Anderson getting the Bears to the Colorado 19.
Plummer passed 9 yards to Keleki Latu to the 10 and Jaydn Ott picked up the first down with a 3-yard run to the 7.
With less than a minute remaining, Plummer threw
incomplete on the next two plays before he was sacked on a blitz by Nikko Reed for a 9-yard loss to the 16 with 2 seconds left.
Dario Longhetto booted a 34-yard field goal on the final play of regulation, forcing overtime.
Colorado used a 14-play, 69-yard drive to set up Cole Becker's 24-yard field goal that made it 13-10 with 4:30 left. The drive took nearly 6 minutes off the clock.
Cal finally scored on a over-the-shoulder diving catch by J.Michael Sturdivant on a 14-yard TD pass from Jack Plummer for a 7-3 lead with 5:49 left in the third quarter. The 47-yard scoring drive was set up by
Justin Richard Baker's 26yard punt return.
Colorado went back in front 10-7 on the second play of the fourth quarter when freshman running back Anthony Hankerson piled in from the 1. The TD came two plays after the Buffs used some trickery, with receiver Jordyn Tyson completing a 37yard pass to Montana Lemonious-Craig to the 5-yard line.
The teams traded turnovers with Xavier Carlton recovering a fumble by Deion Smith at the Cal 45 after a big hit by Collin Gamble. Smith did not get up after the play and was taken off the field on a cart.
The Bears drew even when Longhetto converted a game-tying 27-yard field goal with 10:20 to play.
The Buffaloes, outscored 109-39 in the first half of their previous five games, led 3-0 at the break after a hugely disappointing performance by the Bears' offense.
Cal had just 103 yards in the first half, 29 in the second quarter.