Texas vs. California: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 Upset

California, behind a huge evening from quarterback Davis Webb and a controversial fumble call late in the fourth quarter, upset No. 11 Texas on Saturday night, 50-43. 

Webb threw for 396 yards and four scores, and rushed for another touchdown, Chad Hansen caught 12 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns, and Vic Enwere ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns of his own as California moved to 2-1 on the season and defeated Texas for the second year in a row.

Enwere was the center of attention at the end of the game for all of the wrong reasons, however.

The running back appeared to have scored the game-sealing touchdown with 1:22 remaining in the game, but replays showed he actually dropped the ball in celebration before reaching the end zone. 

However, officials ruled that Texas didn't pick up the ball quickly enough for it to be ruled a fumble recovery, granting California the ball at the 1-yard line which allowed the Golden Bears to run out the clock.

"The ruling on the field was a touchdown, which replay determined that there was a fumble at the 1-yard line," Big 12 referee Mike Defee told ESPN.com's Kyle Bonagura. "The ball rolled into the end zone, came to rest, Cal players ran past it, and many Texas players ran past it. I think it was 14 [Dylan Haines] that picked up the ball and handed the ball to the official."

Defee added: "He was ruling that there was a time element there that constituted no immediate recovery. Therefore, by rule, the ball goes back to the team that was last in possession at the 1-yard line."

Not everyone bought that explanation, however, including Calvin Watkins of ESPN:

Travis Haney of ESPN concurred:

Texas (2-1) head coach Charlie Strong wasn't about to allow a judgement call to be blamed for his team's loss.

"I don't think that hurt us," he said, per Mike Finger of the Houston Chronicle. "No. 1, the ball shouldn't have gotten down there."

Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News thought that was the right perspective to take:

Indeed, Strong probably could have found any number of things to blame for the upset loss.

A defense that gave up 507 total yards. An offense that, despite amassing 568 yards, also turned the ball over twice and couldn't engineer a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter. Neither Shane Buechele or Tyrone Swoopes looked particularly convincing at quarterback. Trent Domingue missing two of his four field-goal attempts. Strong's own questionable decision to punt the ball back to California in the waning moments and trust a defense that hadn't had success slowing down the Golden Bears all evening. 

"I don't want to say we felt helpless," cornerback Sheroid Evans said of the defense, per Finger. "But we just didn't execute. We shot ourselves in the foot, and it was all our fault."

Neither defense was particularly effective, as Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post joked:

There were positives for the Longhorns. D'Onta Foreman (157 rushing yards, two touchdowns) and Chris Warren III (119 rushing yards, two touchdowns) paced a rushing attack that churned out 308 yards on the ground. And the Longhorns started the game like they had been shot out of a cannon, scoring on their first four possessions.

Certainly, Texas is a better football team than it was a year ago, which was evident to everyone, per Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman:

But ultimately, California's offense was too much for Texas to overcome. Even if the Golden Bears dropped the ball, literally, at the end.

“Proud of the way they persevered and fought,” California head coach Sonny Dykes told Ritchie Lee of the Daily Californian. “It’s a big win for our program.”

This is another disappointing loss for Strong and the Longhorns after such a promising start to the 2016 campaign. Indeed, the defeat will probably put to rest, at least temporarily, any talk that Texas is back among the nation's elite, as Jon Solomon of CBS Sports noted:

What Texas won't have, more than likely, is a top-15 ranking after the loss. While the Longhorns probably won't be knocked out of the Top 25 for a seven-point loss on the road, they'll certainly drop in the rankings after being upset.

California is unlikely to ascend into the Top 25, meanwhile, but after their offensive showing on Saturday night, teams in the Pac-12 will certainly take notice. Jared Goff may be gone, but the Golden Bears didn't appear to miss a beat against Texas.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.