Senior quarterback Davis Webb passed for four touchdowns and rushed for one in his California debut and junior receiver Chad Hansen had the best game of his career as the Golden Bears rolled to a 51-31 nonconference victory over Hawaii in college football’s season opener at Sydney, Australia, on Saturday afternoon.
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California Golden Bears’ Khalfani Muhammad, right, rushes past Hawaii Rainbow Warriors’ Damien Packer on his way to scoring a touchdown during the opening game of the US college football season at Sydney’s Olympic stadium in Sydney, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016.
Webb, a Texas Tech transfer, would lead the Golden Bears to 51 points and a win in Australia over Hawaii, at one point bowling over a defender into the end zone by himself. A crowd of at least 75,000 is expected at ANZ Stadium, and the event will feature “America-style food” and tailgating-surprisingly, something Aussies don’t already do.
California Golden Bears’ Khalfani Muhammad, right, rushes past Hawaii Rainbow Warriors’ Damien Packer on his way to scoring a touchdown during the opening game of the USA college football season at Sydney’s Olympic stadium in Sydney, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016. He found Chad Hansen for a 17-yard score midway through the first quarter, then hit up Hansen a second time near the end of the second. At the start of the third the Hawaii offense put together a drive that was 7 plays for 4 yards, luckily it ended in points with Rigoberto Sanchez 42-yard field goal.
Not to be outdone, the gallant Rainbow Warriors marched down field at every opportunity, behind their diligent offensive line and dependable quarterback, Ikaika Woolsey. Webb was 38 for 54 and 441 yards passing, with no interceptions. Running back Vic Enwere was also solid, averaging 7.3 yards per carry, going for 73 yards in 10 carries.
Hawaii was without three key players for unspecified disciplinary reasons.
“Even after the game, I had no idea how many catches I had”, said Hansen, who fell just two receptions short of a Cal record. He’ll get Hawaii going, no doubt in my mind. It’s the seventh straight year that Hawaii, part of the Mountain West conference, has opened against a Pac-12 team, and Hawaii is 2-5 in that span. Not Hawaii’s way on Saturday. The Golden Bears will head home and get some rest as they don’t play next weekend, but travel south to face San Diego State on September 11.
The Rainbow Warriors next head to Ann Arbor to face No. 7 MI on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 12:00 p.m. EST (6:00 a.m. HT).
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