Cal Football: Colorado In-Game Thread - Bears Fall 20-13 in Overtime to Winless Buffs
Cal's season took a turn in the wrong direction after a 20-13 overtime loss at Colorado on Saturday in Boulder, Colorado.
The Bears (3-3, 1-2) were handcuffed offensively much of the afternoon by one of the nation's statistically worst defensive teams. Cal had just 35 rushing yards against a run defense that ranked last in FBS.
The Buffs had allowed 43.2 points through the first five games, but Cal managed just a single touchdown for the second week in a row.
Colorado scored on its first possession of overtime but Cal could not answer. Jack Plummer's fourth-down pass from the 11-yard line could not be pulled in by Keleki Latu.
Th Bears now embark on the toughest stretch of their schedule with games against Washington, Oregon and USC the next three weeks.
Colorado, which made a coaching change after its most recent game, won the first time in six tries. Interim coach Mike Sanford is now 1-0 with the Buffaloes.
The thread:
Coin toss: Colorado won the toss, elected to defer. Cal received the opening kickoff -- a touchback.
14:09 1st Q: On third-and-10 from the 37, Jack Plummer overthrows his target and is intercepted by CU's Tyrin Taylor at the Colorado 34. But the Cal defense forces a 3-and-out. Cal 0, Colorado 0.
5:33 1st Q: Dario Longhetto misses a 54-yard field goal. Cal had driven to the CU 26-yard line with a first down, then had consecutive plays that lost yardage, forcing what would have been a career-long FG by Longhetto. Cal 0, Colorado 0.
END OF FIRST QUARTER: Cal has 74 yards and five first downs; Colorado has 23 yards and no first downs. Passing yards are 54-2. Biggest contributor for Cal is WR/PR man Jeremiah Hunter, with 2 catches for 17 yards and 3 punt returns for 34. Bears facing a 4th-and-1 at the CU 19. Cal 0, Colorado 0.
14:49 2nd Q: LB Jackson Sirmon of Cal intercepts pass by Owen McCown, setting up the Bears at the Colorado 47-yard line. Cal 0, Colorado 0.
8:50 2nd Q: The Cal offense, averaging just 2.7 yards per play against the worst defense the Pac-12, squanders a great chance after Sirmon's INT. A personal foul vs. Colorado puts the Bears at the 30 but they get no closer and Lomghetto misses a 48-yard FG, again wide left. The Bears are giving the winless Buffaloes hope, always a bad idea. Cal 0, Colorado 0.
4:11 2nd Q: Cole Becker kicks a 31-yard field goal and the Buffaloes have just their second lead of the entire season. They previously had a 3-0 edge on TCU. The Bears actually dodged a bullet because a penalty for an illegal receiver downfield wiped out an 11-yard TD pass from McCown to Daniel Arias and Colorado settled for three points. The big play on the drive: McCown's 41-yard completion to Arias to the Cal 12-yard line. Colorado 3, Cal 0.
HALFTIME: Colorado 3, Cal 0. A disappointing first-half performance by the Cal offense, which totaled just 103 yards, including 29 in the second quarter. The Bears had seven first downs to six for CU. Turnovers were even at 1-1. The Buffs gained 4.6 yards per snap, Cal just 2.9.
Plummer seemed out of rhythm much of the half and finished 11 for 22 for 8- yards with his third interception of the season. Ott gained 12 yards on the first play of the game then totaled just 17 on his other nine carries - less than 2 yards per attempt. The offensive line failed to consistently create holes for the Bears against a defense that was allowing more than 43 points per game.
Cal has two quarters to get this figured out or their season heads in a dramatically downward direction. CU gets the third-quarter kickoff, so the Cal defense will to continue to deliver.
11:47 3rd Q: LB Myles Jernigan hits QB Owens and forces a fumble on CU's fourth-and-2 play from the Bears' 36-yard line. Nate Burrell recovers for Cal, which now has two takeaways. Bears will start at their own 45-yard line. Colorado 3, Cal 0.
5:49 3rd Q: Cal scores as J.Michael Sturdivant makes a beautiful over-the-shoulder diving catch in the end zone on a 14-yard pass from Plummer. It caps a seven-play, 47-yard scoring drive set by by Justin Richard-Baker's 26-yard punt return to the Colorado 47. Jeremiah Hunter apparently is out with an injury. Longhetto's PAT is good. Cal 7, Colorado 3.
END OF THIRD QUARTER: Cal 7, CU 3. Cal still leads but that lead is precarious. CU will start the fourth quarter with a second-and-goal at the 3 after a 37-yard pass completion on a trick-play pass from wide receiver Jordyn Tyson to wideout Montana Lemonious-Craig to the Cal 5.
Third-quarter totals: CU has 233 yards, Cal 165 yards. First downs Cal 11-10.
14:25 4th Q: Freshman Anthony Hankerson plows in from the 1-yard line and Colorado regains the lead. The drive covers 58 yards in six plays and featured J.T. Shrout, a Tennessee transfer, at quarterback in place of the freshman McCown, who apparently is banged up. The PAT was good. Colorado 10, Cal 7.
12:55 4th Q: Plummer completes a pass to Latu for a first down into Colorado territory, but the sophomore tight end has the ball knocked loose and Reed recovers for Colorado. Cal's first lost fumble of the season. Buffs start at their own 27. Colorado 10, Cal 7.
12:24 4th Q: The Bears get the ball back when Collin Gamble jars the ball loose from Deion Smith after a short pass reception and Xavier Carlton recovers the fumble at the Colorado 45-yard line. Fifth turnover of the game, the third by CU.Smith did not get up after the play and is being taken off the field on a cart, his head secured on a board. Colorado interim coach Mike Sanders escorts Smith's mother onto the field to be with her son. Colorado 10, Cal 7.
10:20 4th Q: Longhetto's 27-yard field goal ties the score. Cal 10, Colorado 10.
4:30 4th Q: Colorado marches 69 yards in 14 plays, eating 5:50 off the clock, before Becker converts a 24-yard field, putting the Buffs back in front. Colorado 13. Cal 10.
0:00 4th Q: Longhetto connects on a 34-yard field goal on the final play of regulation after the Bears drove from their own 25-yard line. Plummer completed six passes on the drive, including five in a row at one point. His 20-yard completion to Mavin Anderson gave the Bears a first down at the CU 19. Plummer went to Kaleki Latu for 9 yards to the 10 and Ott picked up the first down with a 3-yard run to the 7. Plummer then threw incomplete twice before being backed by Nikko Reed to the 16. That sent Longhetto onto the field for the FG. Cal 13, Colorado 13.
First overtime: Colorado scores on a 22-yard leaping catch by Lemonious-Craig. The play was initially ruled incomplete but the decision was reversed after an official review. Colorado 20, Cal 13.
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Here are some numbers pertinent to the game:
— 0: Lost fumbles by Cal this season
— 1: Cal road victories in its past 10 tries
— 2: Total turnovers lost by the Bars this season
— 7: Years since Cal started the Pac-12 with a 2-1 record (2015)
— 11: Years since Cal won at Boulder (2011), although they have played at CU just twice since then
— 15: The point spread favoring Cal, which has climbed a half-point since it opened
— 16: Years since Colorado began the season 0-6 (2016)
— 23: The closest final-score point spread in any of CU’s first five games
— 30.3: Average yards allowed by the CU defense on 35 big plays this season, representing 41 percent of the yards allowed by the Buffs on just 10 percent of their opponent’s plays
— 32: Net rushing yards by the Bears against WSU in their most recent game
— 274: Rushing yards by Cal freshman Jaydn Ott vs. Arizona
— 294: Average rushing yards allowed by Colorado, which ranks last in FBS
*** Here's our complete game preview.
Cover photo of Cal coach Justin Wilcox by Darren Yamashita, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
