Cal-UCLA Football Summary: Bears Lose to No. 18 Bruins

Cal led 21-10 in the first half but could not pull off the upset in its final game of the season

Cal gave No. 18 UCLA a scare, but the Bears could not pull off the upset, losing to UCLA 35-28 on Friday afternoon in Berkeley in Cal's final game of the regular season.

Cal had a lead of 21-10 in the first half and was ahead 28-27 in the fourth quarter. But the Bruins made the plays down the stretch on Chip Kelly's 59th birthday. 

Here is the game summary.

NO. 18 UCLA 35, CAL 28

RECORDS: UCLA (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12),  CAL (4-8, 2-7 Pac-12)

PLAYER OF THE GAME:  UCLA quarterback Dorian-Thompson Robinson. He completed 21 of 30 passes and accounted for three touchdowns -- one passing and two rushing.

TURNING POINT:  After Cal took a 28-27 lead in the fourth quarter, UCLA drove 73 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. That score and two-point conversion gave the Bruins a seven-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

CAL PLAYERS NOT AVAILABLE FRIDAY: Cornerback Lu-Magia Hearns III, cornerback Kaleb Higgins, outside linebacker Braxten Croteau, wide receiver Tommy Christakos.

KEY PLAY 1:  UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jake Bobo to complete a 55-yard drive and give UCLA a 7-0 lead with 7:04 remianing in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 2: UCLA kicker Nicholas Barr-Mira attempted a 33-yard field goal that hit the left upright and bounced back, no good, leaving the Bruins' lead at 7-0 with 3:15 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 3: Cal's Jack Plummer completed a 46-yard touchdown pass to J.Michael Studivant that tied the score 7-7 with 16 seconds left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 4:  On a fourth-3 play from the UCLA 46-yard line, the Bruins' Colson Yankoff ran for five yards and a first down.

KEY PLAY 6: On that same UCLA possession, UCLA's Zach Charbonnet was stopped inches from the goal-line on a third-and-goal play from the Cal 1-yard line. UCLA was penalized 5 yards for an illegal procedure penalty before the start of a fourth-and-1 play, so UCLA's Nicholas Barr-Mira kicked a 23-yard field goal to give UCLA a 10-7 lead midway through the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 7: On a fourth-and-1 play from the Cal 26-yard line, the Bears' Jackson Sirmon took a direct snap on a fake-punt play and ran 2 yards for a Cal first down.

KEY PLAY 8: On that same Cal possession, Cal's Jack Plummer threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to a tightly guarded Jeremiah Hunter, giving Cal a 14-10 lead with 4:37 left in the first half.

KEY PLAY 9: Cal's Jackson Plummer threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Hunter, who made an outstanding catch amid tight coverage.  That gave Cal a 21-10 lead with 58 seconds left in the first half.

KEY PLAY 10: On a play that started with 40 seconds left in the first half, UCLA quarterback Dorion Thompson-Robinson threw a 32-yard pass to Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, putting the ball at the Cal 26-yard line.

KEY PLAY 11: On that same UCLA possession, UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson ran 18 yards for a touchdown that reduced Cal's lead to 21-17 with 18 seconds remaining in the first half.

KEY PLAY 12: On a third-and-10 play from the Cal 32-yard line, UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw an 18-yard completion to Jake Bobo for a Bruins first down at the Cal 14.

KEY PLAY 13: On that same possession, Dorian Thompson-Robinson ran 14 yards for a touchdown, giving UCLA a 24-20 lead with 7:06 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 14: On a fourth-down play from the UCLA 44-yard line Cal right-footed punter Jamieson Sheahan fielded a poor snap on a bounce, ran to his left and kicked the ball with his left foot. The ball was downed at the UCLA 12-yard line.

KEY PLAY 15: Cal's Jeremiah Hunter fumbled the ball on a punt return, and UCLA's Laiatu Latu recovered at the Cal 43-yard line with 1:47 to go in the third quarter. UCLA turned that into a 26-yard field goal by Nicholas Barr-Mira, increasing UCLA's lead to 27-21 with 14:01 left in the fourth quarter. (UCLA failed to score a touchdown after getting a first down at the Cal 8-yard line.)

KEY PLAY 16: Cal's Jack Plummer threw a 49-yard completion to Jeremiah Hunter, giving Cal a first-and-goal at the UCLA 8-yard line.  On the next play, Plummer threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jaydn Ott, giving Cal a 28-27 lead with 11:16 left in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAY 17: UCLA's Zach Charbonnet ran 5 yards for a touchdown to complete a 73-yard scoring drive.  That and a two-point converson on a completion to Jake Bobo gave UCLA a 35-28 lead with 7:53 remaining in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAY 18:  On a fourth-and-2 play from the Cal 22-yard line with 2:01 left, UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw an incomplete pass.

KEY PLAY 19: On a fourth-and-6 from tthe Cal 26-yard line, Cal's Jack Plummer completed a 12-yard pass to Jaydon Ott, but Ott fumbled and the ball was recovered by UCLA's Car Jones Jr. at the Cal 38-yard line.

STAT OF THE GAME: UCLA had 541 yards off offense compared with 361 yards for Cal.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME:  Cal quarterback Jack Plummer threw incompletions on his first four pass attempts of the game, then completed 14 passes in a row for 192 yards and three touchdowns.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME II: Cal wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter had eight catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME III: UCLA's Zach Charbonnet rushed for 119 yards on 24 carries.

QUARTERBACK STATS: Cal’s Jack Plummer was 24-for-34 for 294 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.  UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson was 21-for-30 for 189 yards and one touchdown and no interceptions, and he ran for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

WHAT IT MEANS:  Cal lost its eighth game of the season, which is the most losses by a Bears team since 2013, when they went 1-11.

CAL'S BOWL BAROMETER:  Cal has a 0% chance of landing a bowl berth.

NEXT GAME: Cal will upen its 2023 season with a road game against North Texas on Sept. 2.  The Golden Bears will then play Auburn on Sept. 9 in Berkeley. 

Heading into their games on Saturday, Nov. 26, North Texas is 6-5 with a game against Rice on Saturday, and Auburn is 5-6 coming into its Saturday game against rival Alabama.

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Cover photo of Jack Plummer by Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports

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