BERKELEY, Calif.– Oh, what a difference a season can make.
A year after the California football team was upset in Tucson on Homecoming, the Golden Bears came out looking as if revenge was in their thoughts, as they routed the Wildcats 45-27 at California Memorial Stadium.
The Arizona football team (1-3, 0-1 Pacific 10 Conference) showed late signs of life, but it was the first quarter that came back to haunt the Wildcats.
In the frame, the No. 6 Golden Bears (4-0, 1-0) scored 28 points en route to a 45-27 victory in front of 56,021.
“”We came out slow and we didn’t execute our defense when we had to and that’s what happens,”” said linebacker Spencer Larsen.
Arizona came within 11 points of California with 13:01 to play, but the Golden Bears scored on their next drive to seal the victory.
Quarterback Willie Tuitama set single-game records in both completions (42) and pass attempts (61). He finished the day with 309 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also had a key fumble on a sack deep in his own territory and it was recovered for a touchdown by the Bears’ Tyson Alualu.
“”They were doing a good job of keeping some stuff away from us downfield,”” Tuitama said. “”I think they saw the stuff from last week against New Mexico when we had taken a lot of shots. They did a good job of taking away some of the deep stuff for us.””
The game appeared to be one of defense at the outset. California started the game with a three-and-out and Arizona followed with their own three-and-out.
But on the next three drives, the Bears scored 21 points, adding on another seven with the fumble recovery.
The Bears had 157 total yards in the first quarter alone. The Wildcats also helped them move downfield with five penalties for 48 yards.
Arizona’s defense contained highly-touted wideout DeSean Jackson nicely, holding him to only 39 yards on three catches.
More importantly, they kept him out of the end zone both on offense and special teams. Jackson’s lone return went for a one-yard loss.
“”We took him out of the game, and they hurt us in a lot of other ways,”” UA head coach Mike Stoops said. “”That’s the balance you have to have with a guy like that.””
True freshman Nicolas Grigsby started for the first time in his college career, getting the team’s first rushing touchdown of the year. Grigsby totaled 42 yards rushing, 21 receiving and the touchdown.
Grigsby created the team’s only real rushing threat, as Chris Jennings only had one rush for no gain.
Tuitama also had his first career rushing touchdown, a one-yard push in the third quarter.
On the other side of the ball, Justin Forsett carried the team on his legs with 119 yards and two touchdowns. On his second touchdown he took a direct snap in the shotgun formation and ran the ball in three yards.
Offensively for Arizona, the story of the game was again told by missed opportunities. It was able to move the ball well against a good defensive team, but red zone inefficiency contributed to a lack of points.
Defensively, the team continues to try to find answers after trying to replicate a dominant 2006 campaign.
“”Defensively, I thought we just made some mistakes at some critical times,”” Stoops said. “”We knew it was going to be a tough deal defensively because they stretch you so well in the run game, in the quarterback and on the perimeter.””
