Cal Win, Notre Dame Loss Add Intrigue to Bears' Game Vs. Irish
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Suddenly Cal's game next week at Notre Dame has taken on new significance.
It's the Bears who will carry a 2-0 record into Notre Dame following a 20-14 victory over UNLV on Saturday in Berkeley, while eighth-ranked Notre Dame will lug an 0-2 mark into next week's game after its stunning 26-21 home loss to Marshall on Saturday.
If Cal plays like it did in the first quarter of Saturday's game, the Bears might have a chance against the Irish. If Cal's offense struggles in the red zone like it did in the rest of the game, giving UNLV a chance to pull out a win in the closing minutes, the Bears will probably help the Irish get their first win.
And there is this significant sidebar: Is Cal freshman running back Jaydn Ott, who was impressive again Saturday despite so-so statistics, ready to impress a national television audience at one of the most famous venues in college football?
---Click here for a game summary of Cal's win over UNLV---
Notre Dame had won 30 of its previous 31 home games before Saturday, but the Irish certainly looked beatable on their home field on Saturday against a Marshall team picked to finish fourth in its six-team division of the Sun Belt Conference.
"I did hear that they lost," said Cal safety Daniel Scott, whose blitzes on consecutive plays ruined UNLV's chance to take a lead late in the game. "They're still a really good team, one of the top caliber teams in the country. Definitely going to buckle the chin strap a little more, focus a little bit extra in the film room."
Cal drove right down the field for touchdowns on drives 55 and 80 yards in its first two possessions Saturday. Quarterback Jack Plummer was 8-for-8 for 125 yards and touchdown after one quarter. And he was 17-for-22 for 205 yards and a score in the first half, which ended with Cal holding a 17-7 lead.
Cal scored only three points in the second half and none in the fourth quarter. After the first quarter, four opportunities in the red zone resulted in just two field goals.
Plummer had 73 passing yards in the second half when he went 11-for-17, but overall he performed well, despite being sacked four times.
And he is the one Cal player who has experience playing at Notre Dame Stadium. He was Purdue's starting quarterback when the Boilermakers visited Notre Dame last season. Plummer went 25-for-36 for 187 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in that 27-13 loss to the 10th-ranked Irish, which took place on Sept. 18, almost exactly one year before he plays in that facility next week, on Sept. 17.
He too was aware that Notre Dame lost Saturday.
"I did hear they lost," he said. "I think the guys are going to be hungry, and we're going to be playing a team that they're going to be hungry. It's going to be a good game."
It took a few standout defensive plays by Cal in the closing minutes to enable the Bears to avoid an upset themselves.
Cal led 20-14 when UNLV faced a third-and-goal from the Cal 8-yard line with just under three minutes left. But safety Scott blitzed on third down and again on fourth down, applying enough pressure on Rebels quarterback Doug Brumfield that he could not come close to completing a pass on either down.
The fourth-down Scott rush:
UNLV had one more chance when it regained possession at its 44-yard line with 1:03 left.
The key defensive play on that possession was provided by Cal outside linebacker Henry Ikahihito, who was a tight end at Nevada for two years before being moved to defensive end at junior college last year.
He sacked Brumfield for a 13-yard loss back to the UNLV 45-yard line with the clock running with 30 seconds left. With no timeouts left, the Rebels could do little with their final two plays.
Ott was impressive again, although he did not have as many opportunities as he did last week, when he carried 17 times for 104 yards.
Against UNLV, he had seven carries for 52 yards (7.2 yards per attempt) and a touchdown as well as three receptions for 16 yards and 12-yard touchdown catch.
His 23-yard run below was Cal's longest running play of the game.
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Cover photo of Jack Plummer is by Darren Yamashita, USA TODAY Sports
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