Cal Football Summary: Bears Stay Close but Lose to Washington
Cal held Washington to its lowest scoring total of the season, but the Huskies still beat the Bears 28-21 Saturday night in Berkeley.
Cal got the ball at its own 40-yard line with 1:13 left trailing by seven points with no timeouts remaining. The Bears got to the Washington 42-yard line, but Jack Plummer threw an incompletion on fourth-and-2 from there, ending the threat.
The game summary:
WASHINGTON 28, CAL 21
RECORDS: CAL (3-4, 1-3 Pac-12), WASHINGTON (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12)
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Penix 36-for-51 for 374 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He entered the game leading the nation in passing yards per game.
TURNING POINT: After Cal scored to tie the game 14-14 in the third quarter, Washington drove 75 yards for a touchdown to take a 21-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. Cal went three-and-out on its ensuing possession.
INJURY NOTE: Jeremiah Hunter, Cal's leading receiver coming into the game, did not play because of an unspecified injury. Guard Matthew Cindric, who had started each of Cal's first six games, did not play and is out for the season with an undisclosed injury. Cornerback Lu-Magia Hearns III did not play either because of injury.
KEY PLAY 1: Washington's Peyton Henry kicked a 40-yard field goal to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead with 10:45 left in the first quarter.
KEY PLAY 2: Henry kicked a 35-yard field goal to put Washington ahead 6-0 with 2:01 remaining in the opening quarter.
KEY PLAY 3: Henry missed a 34-yard field goal attempt, keeping the score at 6-0 with 10:01 left in the first half.
KEY PLAY 4: On second-and-goal from the Washington 8-yard line, Cal quarterback Jack Plummer scrambled to his right and fired a touchdown pass to J.Michael Sturdivant. The 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive gave Cal a 7-6 lead with 10:20 left in the third quarter.
KEY PLAY 5: Washington's Cameron Davis scored a touchdown on a 6-yard run, and Michael Penix Jr. threw a completion to Ja'Lynn Polk for the two-point conversion to put Washington ahead 14-7 with 4:48 to go in the third quarter. The touchdown completed an 11-play, 70-yard drive.
KEY PLAY 6: Cal's Jack Plummer completed a 48-yard touchdown pass to J.Michael Sturdivant to tie the game 14-14 with 2:10 left in the third quarter.
KEY PLAY 7: Michael Penix Jr. threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jalen McMillan on a third-and-10 play, giving the Huskies a 21-14 lead with 13:49 remaining in the fourth quarter.
KEY PLAY 8: Michael Penix Jr. threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Taulapapa, giving Washington a 28-14 lead with 10:19 left in the fourth quarter.
KEY PLAY 9: Jack Plummer completed a 34-yard pass to Mavin Anderson, giving Cal a first down at the Washington 35-yard line.
KEY PLAY 10: Later in that same drive, on a fourth-and-7 play from the Washington 8-yard line, Jack Plummer threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Mavin Anderson to reduce Washington's lead to 28-21 with 6:11 remaining in the fourth quarter.
KEY PLAY 11: Facing a third-and-10 play from the Cal 28-yard line, Jack Plummer was sacked, forcing Cal to punt with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter.
KEY PLAY 12: On a fourth-and-2 play from the Washington 42-yard line, Jack Plummer threw an incompletion.
STAT OF THE GAME: Washington outgained Cal 245-83 in the first half and Cal had just 5 rushing yards in the first half but Washington held only a 6-0 lead at halftime.
STAT OF THE GAME II: Cal's Jack Plummer was sacked five times.
INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME: Cal wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant had eight catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
QUARTERBACK STATS: Cal's Jack Plummer was 21-for-34 for 245 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. .Washington's Michael Penix Jr. was 36-for-51 for 374 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions
WHAT IT MEANS: Cal has lost three games in a row and its winning percentage dropped under .500 for the first time this season.
CAL'S BOWL BAROMETER: Cal's bowl chances stand at 20% with Oregon, USC and UCLA among its final five opponents, and the Bears needing three more wins.to be bowl eligible.
NEXT GAME: No. 10 Oregon (6-1, 4-0 Pac-12.) at Cal (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12.................), Saturday, October 29. Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. TV: FOX or FS1. Oregon defeated UCLA 45-30 on Saturday afternoon in Eugene and is now the only Pac-12 team unbeaten in conference play. The Ducks have won six in a row and they scored more than 40 points in all six of those games.
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Cover photo of Jack Plummer by Darren Yamashita, USA TODAY Sports
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