Weekend Wrap: Cal Drops Second Straight Game, Out Of Top 25 Polls
A bye week was simply not enough to cure any ills that were diagnosed in a road loss at Utah. Cal got back on the field for another tough battle on the road against a Pac-12 South opponent, and once again returned home with a loss. Cal's 40-24 loss at UCLA dropped the Golden Bears to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in Pac-12 play, and dropped the team out of the Top 25 of the major polls as a result. Now it is time to pick up the pieces and get back to winning with the goal of getting to the postseason still well within sight.
The Thursday night matchup at UCLA was a case of bad timing for the Golden Bears. Having a week off to regroup form a road loss at Utah should have been a nice benefit for Cal, but UCLA was looking to shrug off a two-game losing streak. With the talent on UCLA's roster, that was bad news for Cal. UCLA's offense piled up 573 yards on Cal's defense, with freshman quarterback Josh Rosen throwing for 399 yards and three touchdowns and receivers Thomas Duarte and Devin Fuller each pulling in at least 100 yards and combining for all three touchdown plays. UCLA found plenty of room to work, averaging 8.1 yards per pass in the game, and the running game was working well for the Bruins with 174 rushing yards and a 4.1 rushing average per play. Those kinds of averages will take a toll on any defense, which was the case for Cal.
Cal's offense just struggled to get going as well. While UCLA was tacking on points on the scoreboard, Cal was forced to punt or turnover the ball on downs. By the time Jared Goff got the Bears in the end zone, UCLA was already up 23-10.
Despite the lopsided result, there were some positives to draw on for Cal. After turning the ball over as frequently as they did against Utah, Cal secured the football much better against the Bruins. Cal did not lose the football once, with Goff completing 32 of 53 pass attempts for 295 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
Game Ball: UCLA QB Josh Rosen
UCLA's phenom freshman quarterback regained some confidence against Cal, coming one yard shy of a 400-yard performance. Rosen, one of the top quarterback recruits in the Class of 2015, threw three touchdowns without an interception and showed good poise in leading UCLA to a win.
Around the Pac-12 North
It was another solid weekend for Stanford. The Cardinal pounded Washington, 31-14, to cement their first-place standing in the Pac-12 North. Stanford is now a trendy playoff candidate as they continue to show off what could be the most complete team in the Pac-12. Washington State also opened some eyes this weekend with a road win at Arizona, 45-42. The Cougars are now just one win shy of becoming bowl eligible and they get to host Stanford this week. Oregon State dropped to 2-5 with a loss at home to Colorado. The Beavers are getting closer to being ineligible for the postseason. Oregon was idle this week.
What's Next?
California returns home this week for the first time since the beginning of October against Washington State. Their visitors this week will be the suddenly resurgent USC Trojans, who just handed Utah their first loss of the season. USC is playing under an interim head coach and have plenty of talent to make things difficult for Cal. USC leads the all-time series, 66-25-4 and Cal has not beaten the Trojans since 2003 (back when Aaron Rodgers was the quarterback for Cal).
Kevin McGuire is a Philadelphia area sports writer covering the Philadelphia Eagles and college football. McGuire is a member of the FWAA and National Football Foundation. Follow McGuire on Twitter @KevinOnCFB. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
