Cal Football: Bears' Win Over UCLA Gives Cal an Impressive Road Record
A lot of laudable numbers came out of Cal's 28-18 victory over UCLA in Pasadena on Saturday night, but in my mind the most impressive number is one most people might overlook.
OK, there were a lot of missed tackles, especially by Cal's defensive backs in the first half. But let's not haggle. Generally, Saturday's game had a lot of encouraging aspects.
Let's start with the obvious facts that should mollify Cal fans if not completely satisfy them:
--Cal (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12) has assured itself a winning record and a bowl berth for the second straight season. The last time the Bears accomplished those two things in consecutive seasons was 2008 and 2009 when Jeff Tedford was the coach.
--Despite having a mediocre game by his standards, Bears linebacker Evan Weaver set a school record for tackles in a season, recording nine stops for a total of 173, which leads the nation and is six more than Cal's Hardy Nickerson had in 1985. He has a good chance of being named a first-team All-American.
--The Bears finished tied for second place in the Pac-12 North. The Bears had not finished higher than fourth in their division since the Pac-12 added two schools and split into two divisions in 2011. Granted, the Bears still finished with a losing conference record, but finishing tied with Washington (as well as Oregon State) has to feel pretty good after being pegged to finish fifth in the preseason coaches poll.
--The Bears went 6-0 in games in which Chase Garbers played more than one half. That may leave Cal fans moaning about what could have been, but in the real world it demonstrates what Cal can expect down the line from the third-year sophomore quarterback.
--Cal recorded a season-high six sacks on Saturday night, while not allowing the Bears' quarterback to be sacked at all. Aside from turnover margin, sack margin is one of the leading indicators of success in a given game. UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson is an agile quarterback who is a threat to run despite being slowed by a leg injury this week. He had minus-34 rushing yards against Cal. Meanwhile, Garbers rushed for 40 yards.
--Sophomore running back Christopher Brown Jr. rushed for over 100 yards against an FBS opponent for the first time this season. Yeah, I know, UCLA ranks 11th in the Pac-12 and 118th (of 130 teams) in the nation in total defense, but the Bruins are not bad against the run. His 111 rushing yards, including a 38-yard run in the Bears' decisive final touchdown drive that ended with his touchdown run in the video below, show what Brown can do when he and the offensive line are relative healthy.
But we still have not come to the most impressive fact about this Cal team.
It is simply this: The Bears finished 4-2 in road games.
That may not seem spectacular, but consider this: It is Cal's best road record in 14 years, matching the 4-2 road record of the 2005 Cal team that finished 8-4 and featured furture NFL standouts Marshawn Lynch, DeSean Jackson and Justin Forsett.
The only road games Cal lost were against Oregon and Utah, both of whom are ranked in the top 14 and are unbeaten at home this season. Cal lost to Oregon 17-7 with second-string quarterback Devon Modster making his first start as a Cal player, and the Bears got crushed 35-0 by Utah when freshman Spencer Brasch, the Bears' third-string quarterback, made his first collegiate start.
Otherwise 4-0.
"The road is a tough place to play, especially in the Pac-12 when you have to go to Washington and Oregon and Utah," Garbers said in the video. "4-2 says a lot about who we are as a team and it says we're not going to back down and put up a fight."
Maybe road wins over Washington, Mississippi, Stanford and UCLA are not as impressive as they would be most years, but 4-2 away from home against Power Five opponents counts for something.
"The fact that we show up and do our thing and don't let the circumstances dictate," Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. "When you go on the road, especially in this conference, it's tough.
"I just appreciate the mindset the guys have when they come on the road. Focusing on what we can control and not worrying about the crowd or the lights or the weather. Our guys do a good job of blocking those things out."
And you end up with this:
