Balance Carries Bears To Senior Day Victory

Saturday, November 4

Berkeley, CA

2:00 PM

California

5-5 , 2-5

Oregon State

1-8 , 0-6

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Oregon State	7	6	7	3	23
California	14	6	10	7	37

Stats (PDF)Highlights Quotes Notes

Patrick Laird rushed for a career-high 214 yards Saturday vs. Oregon State

Photo by: Al Sermeno/KLC fotos

11/4/2017 5:20 PM | Football

Box Score Game Highlights Laird Highlights Final Stats (PDF)Final Stats (XML)Notes Quotes Wilcox Post-Game Presser Anderson Post-Game Presser Bowers Post-Game Presser Davison III and Looney Post-Game Presser Laird Post-Game Presser Laird Post-Game Pac-12 Networks Interview

Cal Posts Big Offensive Numbers By Land And By Air In 37-23 Win Over Oregon State

By: Cal Athletics

BERKELEY – A balanced offensive attack helped the Cal football team grind its way to big yardage totals both on the ground and through the air and the Bears wrapped up their 2017 schedule by taking another step forward with a 37-23 victory over Oregon State at California Memorial Stadium.

Saturday's win came with plenty of offensive highlights for Cal (5-5, 2-5 Pac-12). Patrick Laird set career-highs with 214 yards on 33 carries and scored one touchdown while Ross Bowers completed 24 of 30 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns. Vic Wharton III was Bowers' primary option in the passing game and hauled in eight passes for 121 yards and a touchdown.

The Bears put the cap on Saturday's victory early in the fourth quarter, driving 53 yards on seven plays and taking a 37-20 lead on an 8-yard touchdown run by Vic Enwere. Oregon State added a field goal with 6:10 left to play but Cal ran the clock out with Laird becoming the first Cal player to rush for over 200 yards since Jahvid Best ran for 311 against Washington in 2008.

"Offensively, we stayed in rhythm most of the game against a team that's playing really emotionally charged football, playing good football. They've got good players and good schemes. I'm really proud of our offense and how they executed today," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. "Defensively, defending that offense with the amount of shifts and motions and deception, I thought a couple got us early but I thought the guys settled down and played with good discipline and good effort running to the football and got stops when we needed to and forced them to kick field goals. As a group, it was great in terms of competitive spirit and getting a win back at home on Senior Day. That's a big deal."

10 third-quarter points helped Cal take a 30-20 lead into the fourth as, even with Oregon State (1-8, 0-6) fighting to stay in contact, the lead widened for the Bears. A 31-yard field goal by Matt Anderson gave way to a 5-yard touchdown run by Oregon State's Thomas Tyner but Cal punctuated the quarter with a big drive of its own to re-establish momentum. The Bears needed just five plays to go 74 yards and a quality pump fake by Bowers freed Jordan Veasy for a wide open 25-yard touchdown with 1:41 left in the period.

Cal carried a 20-13 lead to halftime thanks to a big first half from Laird and an efficient effort from Bowers. Oregon State got the scoring started on a trick play as a double pass resulted in a 26-yard touchdown pitch and catch from Tuli Wily-Matagi to Ryan Nall.

The Bears responded quickly to take a 14-7 lead by the end of the quarter. A 12-yard run by Laird tied the score and Bowers put Cal in front by finding Wharton with a perfect fade to the corner of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown pass.

"I don't worry about the stats too much, but when I have a sense that we're moving the ball down the field, that's really what I care about," Laird said. "I thought Ross did a really good job connecting with receivers and reading the boxes. We have the run-pass options and sometimes when he'll pull the ball and throw it, we get eight or 10 yards and I'd go up to him and say 'hey, good pull, I don't know how many yards I would've gotten on that.' We did a good job spreading the ball out this game."

Cal added to its lead early in the second quarter and made a little history in the process. A 45-yard field goal by Anderson pushed the advantage to 17-7 and made Anderson the school's all-time leading scorer as he passed Doug Brien's mark of 288 points. Oregon State cut into the lead with a pair of 49-yard field goals by Jordan Choukair but Anderson had the last word, making a 49-yarder of his own as time expired.

Though Saturday's game marked the final home contest of 2017, Cal still has two more road games to turn its attention to after a bye week. The 120^th Big Game takes place Nov. 18 at Stanford and the regular season concludes on Nov. 24 at UCLA. Kickoff time for the Big Game has yet to be announced while the UCLA contest will kick off at 7:30.

"It's great to be in a position to earn ourselves another game," Bowers said. "This bye week is going to be huge for us. We can't get in the mindset that it's just a bye week. We have to get significantly better in whatever the little things are and then get ready for our next game. We've got our eye on that sixth win for sure but we're taking it one day at a time still."