Jayden de Laura played well – at times very well – until the final two possessions. The Wildcats were in desperation mode, and de Laura forced two passes down the field that were intercepted. As Jedd Fisch noted, those picks came on second and first down. Unless it’s a last-play-of-the-game, Hail Mary situation, that shouldn’t happen. Taking a sack at the end of the first half, creating a longer field-goal attempt, also was a questionable decision. Overall, though, it’s hard to knock a guy who passed for 401 yards and two touchdowns with a 60% completion rate (including a handful of drops). De Laura repeatedly took advantage of Cal’s defense in the intermediate areas.
The only disappointing aspect regarding the running backs is that they didn’t get the ball more. Michael Wiley, Jonah Coleman and DJ Williams combined for 22 rushes and 27 total touches. Wiley had 14 carries for 79 yards – both season highs – and one touchdown. Coleman carried seven times for 28 yards and one score. Williams touched the ball only twice – a 15-yard rush and a 21-yard reception. It’s difficult to feed everyone when you have so many alluring weapons. But even Fisch conceded he doesn’t want to be an offense that passes for 401 yards and rushes for 135, at least not on a regular basis.
This group’s talents were on full display. Jacob Cowing continued to dominate in the middle of the field with his quickness and burst, catching seven passes for 133 yards and a touchdown. Dorian Singer notched career highs with eight grabs for 103 yards, including a spectacular sideline snag in the fourth quarter that set up Cowing’s touchdown. Tight end Tanner McLachlan also posted a career-best line (6-88), including a pair of diving catches. And freshman Tetairoa McMillan won a jump ball in the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown as part of a 3-59 outing.
Although Cal had two sacks, this was one of the line’s better performances. Pro Football Focus charged Arizona’s blockers with only eight pressures in 49 dropbacks. The running backs combined to average 5.5 yards per attempt. On the downside, the blocking broke down on a third-and-2 play in the third quarter that killed Arizona’s second possession of the second half. And Paiton Fears was called for holding to wipe out a de Laura scramble on the subsequent drive. With the UA defense floundering, that sequence proved pivotal.
The defensive linemen and linebackers struggled in every aspect. They couldn’t stop the run, yielding a mindboggling 354 yards on 38 attempts. Take out Cal’s game-ending kneeldowns, and the numbers are 357 and 36 – an average of 9.9 yards per carry. The Wildcats had a season-high 17 missed tackles, per PFF, and too often lost gap integrity. Equally concerning, Arizona failed to sack Jack Plummer, who had been the most-sacked quarterback in the Pac-12 entering Saturday. The Wildcats had 12 pressures, per PFF, but couldn’t get home. Kyon Barrs, Jalen Harris and Jacob Manu each had five tackles. Harris also had a pass breakup.
This unit didn’t fare much better. Plummer completed 18 of 28 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns. Safety Jaxen Turner, who’d been playing well, surrendered a 16-yard touchdown to J. Michael Sturdivant in the second quarter before exiting because of a shoulder injury. Redshirt freshman Isaiah Taylor replaced Turner and finished with a game- and career-high nine tackles (two solo, seven assisted). Isaiah Rutherford got beaten by Jeremiah Hunter for a 37-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. Safety Christian Young had a TFL and a pass breakup but also was flagged for pass interference in the end zone. Additionally, the safeties failed to provide the last line of defense on Jaydn Ott’s pair of 70-plus-yard TD runs.
Special teams weren’t a huge factor in this game. Tyler Loop made his lone field- goal attempt, from 37 yards, and booted five of his touchbacks for kickoffs. Arizona limited Mavin Anderson to an 18-yard return on the one that wasn’t. Kyle Ostendorp averaged 46.0 yards per punt and dropped one inside the 20, but he could have done better in a couple of situations in the second half. Ostendorp’s punt from the UA 29 in the third quarter traveled just 40 yards. An 11-yard return made for a net of just 29 yards and set up Cal at its 42. The Bears scored five plays later. In the fourth quarter, Ostendorp drilled a 60-yarder. But he outkicked his coverage, leading to a 21-yard return.
Cal outscored Arizona 28-7 in the second half, a strong indication that the Bears won the chess match between the coaching staffs. Fisch’s offense piled up 536 yards – the most during his tenure – but he got a little too pass-happy and up-tempo for our tastes. Game flow had something to do with that, but a more deliberate approach in the middle two quarters could have slowed things down and helped the defense. Defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen failed to come up with answers against a Cal offense that hadn’t exactly been lighting it up entering Saturday. He tried to mix up looks – deploying a third linebacker, blitzing, dropping eight – but nothing worked.
