California Golden Bears Athletics
California
3-1 , 1-0
Arizona
2-2 , 0-1
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 14 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
| California | 7 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 49 |
Ott Leads Cal To 49-31 Win Over Arizona
9/24/2022 6:39 PM | Football
Freshman Running Back Rushes For 274 Yards, Three Touchdowns
BERKELEY — Jaydn Ott ran for 274 yards and three touchdowns and the Cal football team opened Pac-12 play with a 49-31 victory over Arizona on Saturday at FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium.
Ott scored on a 73-yard run on the second play from scrimmage, an improbable 18-yarder in the third quarter after he had appeared to be stopped for a short gain, and then another 72-yarder to ice it late in the fourth.
"Every time I touch the ball, I feel like I'm going to score," Ott said. "That's my mentality."
It was the most rushing yards in a single game by an FBS player this season and the third-most in Cal history, trailing only Jahvid Best's 311 against Washington in 2008 and Jerry Drew's 283 against Oregon State in 1954.
"That's explosive," Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox said. "We've been talking about it for a long time. You've seen it in flashes. We saw it a bunch today. He's a dynamic guy and has the ability to take it to the house from a lot of spots."
Jack Plummer added three touchdown passes for the Golden Bears (3-1, 1-0), who won their sixth straight home game. It's their longest winning streak at Memorial Stadium since a nine-gamer in 2008-09.
Cal also ended a six-game skid against Arizona (2-2, 0-1) by beating the Wildcats for the first time since 2009.
A year after Arizona beat COVID-depleted Cal 10-3 at home for its only win in 2021, the teams exceeded that point total after both teams scored touchdowns on the opening drive.
It was a back-and-forth, high-scoring affair in the first half with Ott scoring on a 73-yard run on the second play from scrimmage to set the tone.
The Wildcats scored on four of their first five drives of the game, getting two short TD runs by Jonah Coleman and Michael Wiley and a 24-yard TD pass from de Laura to Tetairoa McMillan.
Plummer threw a 16-yard TD pass to J. Michael Sturdivant in the second quarter and gave Cal the lead early in the third when he found Keleki Latu from 3 yards out on fourth-and-1.
Ott added his second TD midway through the third quarter. He ran into a group of defenders at the 13 yet managed to keep his feet and snuck out of the scrum to run it into the end zone to make it 35-24.
Ott added his second breakaway run late in the fourth quarter.
The Bears are on the road with a date at Washington State next Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The game will air on the Pac-12 Network.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
ARI 0, CAL 7
CAL - Ott,Jaydn 73 yd run (Longhetto,Dario kick), 2 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:43
ARI 7, CAL 7
ARI - Coleman,Jonah 1 yd run (Loop,Tyler kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:01
ARI 14, CAL 7
ARI - Wiley,Michael 1 yd run (Loop,Tyler kick), 9 plays, 92 yards, TOP 04:23
ARI 14, CAL 14
CAL - Sturdivant,J.Michael 16 yd pass from Plummer,Jack (Longhetto,Dario kick) 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 03:22
ARI 21, CAL 14
ARI - McMillan,Tetairoa 24 yd pass from de Laura,Jayden (Loop,Tyler kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:56
ARI 21, CAL 21
CAL - Brooks,DeCarlos 3 yd run (Longhetto,Dario kick), 13 plays, 82 yards, TOP 06:16
ARI 24, CAL 21
ARI - Loop,Tyler 37 yd field goal 10 plays, 41 yards, TOP 02:53
ARI 24, CAL 28
CAL - Latu,Keleki 3 yd pass from Plummer,Jack (Longhetto,Dario kick) 8 plays, 87 yards, TOP 04:03
ARI 24, CAL 35
CAL - Ott,Jaydn 18 yd run (Longhetto,Dario kick), 5 plays, 58 yards, TOP 02:14
ARI 24, CAL 42
CAL - Hunter,Jeremiah 37 yd pass from Plummer,Jack (Longhetto,Dario kick) 6 plays, 71 yards, TOP 02:53
ARI 31, CAL 42
ARI - Cowing,Jacob 14 yd pass from de Laura,Jayden (Loop,Tyler kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:17
ARI 31, CAL 49
CAL - Ott,Jaydn 72 yd run (Longhetto,Dario kick), 2 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:55
