The Utes found ways to win throughout the game and never doubted their ability.
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It didn’t have the familiar and traditional ring to it, but Cal and Utah’s contest Saturday became a battle featuring the final two undefeated teams left in the Pac-12.
Utes cornerback Dominique Hatfield picked off two of Goff’s passes.
Utah has the resume of a No. 1 team in the nation.
The Utes missed several opportunities to grab a sizable lead with erratic offense.
Somehow, the Bears trailed just 24-17 after a nightmarish first half by Goff and the offense. It’s a play that won’t come through most of the time, but when it does, it pays off nicely. The defense did the rest for the Utes. This most recent triumph over Cal, one in which Booker ran wild and a rapidly improving Utah secondary intercepted Goff five times, adds further oomph to the resume.
“My offensive line deserves credit”. QB Travis Wilson is a good game manager and usually doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, however he is only averaging 171 passing yards per game (10th in the PAC 12), but he has rushed for 200 yards. We also ask him to always hit the right shoulder, always throw his receiver open, always call the right play, always know where to step to avoid the rush. “Whether it’s receiving or running the ball or even blocking, I just got to do it all”. The Heisman contender couldn’t overcome the ball-control issues that put the Golden Bears (5-1, 2-1) in a hole.
Cal freshman nickel back Trey Turner had his first career interception in the first half. Hatfield had another interception in the fourth quarter and Williams recovered a fumble.
“I think we’re going to respond better than ever”, Goff said in a near-defiant tone. On the other hand, Cal’s schedule in the first half hasn’t featured the high-profile teams that Utah has played. He threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns, but completed just 53 percent of his passes and was held to 7.2 yards per attempt by the opportunistic Utah defense.
Takeaway: The Devils were a bit sloppy but mostly took care of business in advance of a big game at Utah this Saturday. “Probably the worst game of my life”, he called it. “There are going to be arguments on certain things, we’re not going to see eye to eye but for us to be able to communicate through those disagreements and come to a solid conclusion is something that will help on the court as well”.
So after such an exhausting, stressful 1st half, you could perhaps forgive a defense if they broke down a little, gave in somehow. Goff now holds 23 school-records in addition to touchdown passes.
Wilson threw two interceptions in the second quarter but redeemed himself with under four minutes to go in the first half, throwing a 54-yard touchdown pass to Cory Butler-Byrd.
The Utes are not only trying to win the conference, but stay in contention for the College Football Playoff. 7 UCLA last week. It will have a good chance to do just that as it returns home to play Oregon State. From that day through the end of last season, Cal’s record was 40-55.
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Utah, 5-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play, takes the field next on October 17, when they will host the Arizona State Sun Devils. Quarterback Sefo Liufau passed for 389 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown pass to Devin Ross in the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough.
