Cal Falls to the Number One Offense in the Country, 43-15
Cal played Oregon Thursday night on ESPN primetime. The much anticipated game was exciting…until the second half at least. Cal took the lead at the beginning of the game with a 27-yard field goal from kicker Giorgio Tavecchio, but Oregon quickly answered with 53-yard run from LaMichael James. James had his third consecutive 200+ scoring game, the best in the nation and a new Oregon record. Tavecchio tacked on three more points with a 38-yard field goal, making the score 7-6. Oregon enhanced their lead with a 17-yard touchdown run from De’Anthony Thomas. Cal was able to cut the score to 14-9 with a 54-yard field goal from Tavecchio, his career best. The bears stopped Oregon on a fourth down attempt to regain possession with 8:24 left in the half. QB Zach Maynard then found brother Keenan Allen open for a 12-yard touchdown and put Cal on top 15-14.
Oregon shot out of a cannon in the second half and ran off with the game without looking back. Cal’s offense was put on freeze for the remainder of the game, something that cannot happen while playing the nation’s best offense, no matter how good your teams defense is. This was definitely a different game from last years 15-13 Oregon win in Berkeley during the 2010-2011 season. The facts are, Oregon’s offense is stronger, faster, and deeper. Even when star running back LaMichael James went out for the rest of the game with an injury, their offense did not slow down. Cal’s next match is another Thursday ESPN game against USC.
BYU Snaps Spartans two game win streak, 29-16
The San Jose State Spartans traveled to Utah to play BYU and were handed their fourth loss of the season. BYU quickly took the lead in the first quarter when a bad snap sailed out of the end zone for a safety which was followed by a 21-yard touchdown pass from Riley Nelson to Richard Wilson. The Spartans put three points on the board with 17 seconds left in the first with a field goal from Jens Alvernik. Spartan’s QB Matt Faulkner threw an interception that resulted in a BYU touchdown. Another touchdown passes from Nelson put BYU ahead 23-3. The Spartans could not answer with a touchdown of their own before the half, but did have another field goal from Alvernik to make the score 23-6. After the half, the Spartans got their first touchdown from Jason Simpson on a 1-yard run, cutting BYU’s lead to 10. With 36 seconds in the third, BYU’s kicker Justin Sorensen hit a 42-yard field goal. In the fourth, each team had a field goal and the final result was a BYU win, 29-16. The Spartans needed more than one touchdown to have a chance in this game. Matt Faulkner threw for 255 yards with two interceptions. The Spartans run game did not look on as they only had 70 yards on the ground. The Spartans play Hawaii next Friday for Homecoming. The game will also be shown on ESPN.
A Woman's Guide to Football 