Cal Football: Bears Beat UCLA 28-18 in Regular-Season Finale
Cal ran its road record to 4-2 and finished in a second-place tie in the Pac-12 North by beating UCLA 28-18 in the final regular-season game for both teams Saturday night in Pasadena, Calif.
Cal’s season is not over, however, as the Bears (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12) are bowl-eligible and await word on which bowl they will attend.
All bowl matchups will be decided by Sunday, Dec. 8, although some bowls may be able to name their participating teams before then. The Bears might be headed either to the Redbox Bowl in Santa Clara or the Las Vegas Bowl.
UCLA (4-8, 4-5) beat Cal 37-7 last year in Berkeley, and had won five of the past six games against the Bears, who last beat UCLA in Pasadena in 2009.
The Bears' 4-2 road mark is their best since 2005, when they also finished 4-2 in games played on their opponent's home field.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson 23-of-39 for 278 yards, one touchdown and one intercpetions, and running back Joshua Kelley ran 19 times for 76 yards.
Cal quarterback Chase Garbers was 17-of-29 for 230 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and running back Christopher Brown Jr. ran 18 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman wide receiver Makai Polk caught four passes for 78 yards and a touchdown.
The Bears took control of the game with a touchdown drive that started late in the third quarter and gave the Bears a 28-18 lead seven seconds into the fourth quarter. Brown put Cal in position to score that touchdown with a 38-yard run, then scored the touchdown on a 10-yard scamper.
Backup UCLA quarterback Austin Burton led a late drive to the Cal 2-yard line, but was stopped on a fourth-down play.
The Bears held a 14-10 lead at halftime and increased that to 21-10 on a 10-play, 83-yard touchdown drive. Brown carried the final yard for the score, but the key plays were a 29-yard reception by Nikko Remigio early in the drive, and a pass interference penalty on UCLA's Rayshad Williams in the end zone on a third-and-goal play from the UCLA 7-yard line.
UCLA made it a 21-18 game by scoring a touchdown on an 80-yard march and a two-point conversion.. The possession turned on a 39-yard pass reception by Kyle Philips, who was thrown down by Cam Goode after about a 10-yard gain, but Philips rolled over Goode without having his knee, elbow or butt hit the ground. Philips continued on for the big gainer to the Cal 19-yard line. A 1-yard scoring run by Kelley finished the possession.
Then Brown had his scoring run to make it a 10-point game, and the Bears held on from there.
Cal held a 14-10 lead at halftime, even though UCLA had 234 yards of offense while Cal amassed 180 yards.
UCLA scored the games first points on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Thompson-Robinson to Demertic Felton to make it 7-0 with 8:26 left in the first quarter. The key play on that 52-yar scoring drive a 20-yard run by Joshua Kelley on a third-and-15 play from the Cal 47-yard line.
Cal tied the score 7-7 on a 91-yard drive that ended with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Garbers to Makai Polk, who covered all the yardage himself on that tunnel screen.
Cal took a 14-7 lead on a 72-yard drive on the Bears’ first possession of the second quarter. The key play was a 28-yard completion to Marcel Dancy that put the ball at the UCLA 16-yard line. That scoring drive started at the Bears’ 28-yard line after Cal stopped UCLA a yard short on a fourth-and-7 play.
UCLA kicker JJ Molson reduced the deficit to 14-10 by kicking a 31-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
INJURIES: Cal wide receiver Kekoa Crawford was not in uniform Saturday and played only five games in the regular season.
Bears safety Ashtyn Davis, who was considered questionable for the game, started Saturday night’s contest, and had an interception in the fourth quarter.
CAL 28, UCLA 18
RECORDS: Cal (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12), UCLA (4-8, 4-5 Pac-12)
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Cal running back Christopher Brown Jr. had his second 100-yard game of the season and his first against an FBS opponent, rushing for 111 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. His 38-yard run and 10-yard scoring run on the same possession helped Cal extend its lead to 28-18 early in the fourth quarter.
TURNING POINT: A 44-yard touchdown pass from Chase Garbers to Makai Polk tied the game at 7-7 with 3:04 left in the first quarter. Polk did most of the work by catching the pass at the line of scrimmage and racing the rest of the way on the tunnel screen. It changed the momentum of the game after UCLA had controlled play to that point.
STAT OF THE GAME: Cal sacked UCLA quarterbacks six times, while Chase Garbers was not sacked at all.
STAT OF THE GAME II: Cal is 6-0 in games in which Chase Garbers played more than one half.
WHAT IT MEANS: Cal finishes in a tie for second place in the Pac-12 North, along with Oregon State and Washington, all at 4-5. The Bears had not finished higher than fourth in their division since the conference added two schools and was divided into two divisions in 2011. Cal finished fifth in the Pac-12 North each of the past two seasons. The Bears still have not had a winning conference record since 2009. Cal had lost five of its last six games against the Bruins before Saturday.
CAL’S BOWL BAROMETER: Cal's bowl chances are 99.9 percent as the Bears achieved the sixth win needed to become bowl-eligible last week. Seven bowl games, not including the College Football Playoff, are obligated to take a Pac-12 team, and only seven Pac-12 teams have the six wins needed to be bowl-eligible. If Utah is chosen for the College Football Playoff, one of those seven Pac-12 bowls would have to go outside the Pac-12 to get a team.
NEXT GAME: Cal vs. undetermined postseason opponent. Cal could play in any number of bowl games, with the official announcement on the Bears’ bowl destination and opponent expected on Sunday, Dec. 8, soon after the final College Football Playoff rankings are released that day. It is possible some bowl matchups may be determined before that, however. The Redbox Bowl in Santa Clara against a Big Ten team and the Las Vegas Bowl against a Mountain West opponent (Boise State possibly) are among the bowl possibilities for Cal. Whether Utah qualifies for the College Football Playoff may affect the Bears’ bowl destination.
