Bears Down: California Lets One Slip Away in Arizona

If you play well, you’re probably going to win. If you dominate, you are going to win.

These truths, which seem so incontrovertible, were violently sullied when things went final in Cal’s 10-9 defeat in Tucson tonight. The Bears, who had controlled the tempo and style of the game from the very first snap, let this one get away. And with it went pretty much every last shred of their Rose Bowl hopes.

Indeed, in a game as heartbreaking as this one, words with any less poetry or pathos simply don’t cut it. Feel free to leave some of your own in the comments. But for now, let’s get down to brass tacks.

The fact of the matter is that I don’t think anybody looked at this game and predicted a defensive struggle that would leave both offenses in a heap until the final two minutes.

Sure, there were plenty of people who pointed out that Cal’s defense might regain their number one form now that they were no longer faced with the impossible task of stopping Chris Ault's pistol offense. But on the flipside, there was Arizona and their conference-best passing attack.

Despite coming out with a no huddle offense that looked custom-designed to get the Cal defense winded in a hurry, it soon became apparent that the Bears were not going to be so easily mastered.

Nick Foles was pressured by Cameron Jordan and others pretty consistently in Arizona’s first couple of possessions. And it didn't take long before Foles looked completely outside his comfort zone. The man who entered the game with a 78.6 completion percentage suddenly started just lofting them up for grabs, and there were several plays in which he desperately tried to jettison the football as he was being taken down for a sack (only one of which was called for intentional grounding).

On offense, the Bears were far from spectacular. But they didn’t make any mistakes, and Riley looked very poised in what looked to be a very unpredictable pocket. Arizona's studly pass rush was neutralized early, and was a non-factor all game. Nevertheless, when the Bears jumped out to a 6-0 lead on the strength of two Giorgio Tavecchio field goals with about five minutes left in the half, the game hardly felt like it was in the bag. And this feeling only worsened when the Wildcats drove down the field into Cal territory on their ensuing possession following Tavecchio’s second field goal.

But then, something very strange happened. It’s not too often that you see an interception that should, by all rights, be credited to two different players. But that’s exactly what happened.

On yet another desperate pass that Foles lofted into the end zone, it looked for a moment like the ball was going to land safely out of bounds. Enter Marc Anthony, who calmly leaped up and tipped the ball back in play into the waiting arms of Chris Conte.

The turnover allowed the Bears to head into the locker room at halftime with a shutout.

It was at that point that a win started to look like a real possibility. The Bears had allowed nearly twice as many yards as they had gained (160 to 88), and they were losing the time of possession battle, but it was obvious that the Wildcats were going to have to own up to the harsh reality that they had underestimated a more than worthy opponent.

Things continued on in this fashion early in the third quarter. Cal continued to sputter on offense, but they were still able to capitalize on strong defense and costly Arizona brain farts (they ended up with 9 penalties for 97 yards). Arizona managed a field goal with about ten minutes remaining in the quarter, but Cal once again came out and stuck to their game plan.

It was a very conservative approach: many handoffs to Vereen and a lot of throw-aways from Riley. It was mistake-free football, but also the kind of football more befitting a three-touchdown lead than a lead easily overcome with a long-overdue touchdown.

Nevertheless, they stuck to it. They stuck to it even after Tavecchio missed a 33-yard attempt off the left upright. They stuck to it even after Vereen and Sofele’s legs got them in the red zone, only to settle for another field goal with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter. They stuck with it after every defensive stop. And they stuck with it when they drove deep into Arizona with less than four minutes to go.

And why not? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Right?

Well, after Tavecchio missed a 40-yarder with just over three minutes remaining, and the Arizona faithful came to roaring life as Foles and co. took over on their own 30-yard line, only then did a general sense of dread start to creep into the collective spine of Bears fans everywhere.

And like that, a completion here, a completion there, a 52-yard bomb to the previously quiet Juron Criner, and Arizona was knocking on the door.

An offsides call against Cal set them up inside the 5 yard line, and then it was a simple matter of Foles putting the ball where only the 6’4” Criner could catch it. At long last, Arizona had decided to join the game. And just in time, as it were.

Oh sure, Cal got the ball back with 1:11 left on the clock and two timeouts, and all they needed to do was get in field goal range. But that sense of dread lingered. And in retrospect, it’s worth considering whether or not it may have somehow infected the Cal players and coaching staff. As such, it was hardly a surprise when Riley, who had been solid—not good, not great, but solid—lofted one that was too high for Marvin Jones.

Unfortuantely, it was just right for Arizona’s Joseph Perkins.

And that, as they say, was that. There’s your ballgame, folks. Drive home safely. And if you must, the closest bridge is two miles on your right.

With four undefeated teams in the conference, it seems highly unlikely that a team with at least two losses is going to be able to find themselves in the Rose Bowl mix at the end of it all. Of course, Cal fans are a realistic sort, and we knew that this was going to be the case from the start. Nevertheless, a loss like this still hurts, and the weight of it has the potential to carry over.

But Cal’s players, coaches, and fans should all take solace in the fact that the Bears just gave one of the best teams in the country all they could handle, and had every right to win the game. The ends may be undesirable, but the means were damn fun while they lasted. And that's worth something.