On a night that featured a near three hour weather delay, the California Golden Bears knocked off No. 14 Washington, 20-19 at Husky Stadium. The loss broke UW’s 15-game home winning streak.
After UW kicker Peyton Henry made a 49-yard field goal to give the Huskies a 19-17 lead with 2:05 remaining, Cal QB Chase Garbers marched the Golden Bears 74 yards to UW’s 1-yard line to set up a game winning field goal with 12 seconds remaining. Greg Thomas’ 17-yard field goal was never in doubt as California stunned the Huskies for the second consecutive year.
‘”Hats off to Cal, they played better than us,” Washington head coach Chris Petersen said following the loss. Petersen said that two things jumped out to him without watching the film. “I think we need to tackle better. I think that showed up tonight. I think we missed too many tackles. We got to get our pass game into a better rhythm. It just seems like we’re just a little out of sorts there and not really throwing the ball like we’re capable of.”
After an electric Husky debut against Eastern Washington, UW QB Jacob Eason struggled against one of the nation’s top secondaries. Eason finished 18-30 passing for 162 yards and one interception. The Georgia transfer didn’t have his best stuff tonight but it didn’t help that the Huskies had at least a handful of drops.
After the 2 hour and 39-minute weather delay, the Huskies came out and played some pretty good football despite most of the 66,327 in attendance already gone. Washington jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter and looked like they would run away from the Golden Bears. But UW failed to take advantage of their good field position. The Huskies dropped too many passes and had two crucial turnovers.
California’s offensive line manhandled UW’s front seven in the second half. Cal rushed for 192 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. It’s something Washington’s not used to seeing after leading the conference in scoring defense the last four seasons.
Washington’s offense finished with 348 yards of total offense. UW moved the ball but made too many mistakes – from dropped passes, turnovers, and errant throws. Washington also was 0-3 on redzone touchdowns – having to settle for three field goals. Even with all that, running back Salvon Ahmed had 119 yards rushing – including a 21-yard TD on 4th-and-one in the second quarter.
Player of the game
California linebacker Evan Weaver said they would win this game earlier this week and they did just that. Weaver was everywhere for the Golden Bears – finishing with 18 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one forced fumble.
Key Takeaway
Washington’s defense has a lot to clean up. Missed tackles, losing contain, and inexperience showed up big time tonight for a usually stout defense. California’s offense is anything but elite and they made them look really good tonight. It’s early in the year but a lot of fixing has to be done.
Key Stat
Washington in two games has yet to force a turnover on defense. Making matters worse, UW turned the ball over two times tonight. California was 5-0 last season when winning the turnover battle. In a game that was going to be low scoring, UW needed to win the turnover margin.
Looking ahead
Washington hosts Hawaii next Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
