Bears Run Past Arizona State, 24-21

Saturday, September 30

Berkeley, CA

12:00 PM

California

3-2 , 1-1

Arizona State

1-4 , 0-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Arizona St.	7	0	6	8	21
California	7	3	7	7	24

Box Score (PDF)

Jaydn Ott (1) had 165 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Bears.

Photo by: Al Sermeno/KLC fotos

9/30/2023 4:41 PM | Football

Box Score Highlights Postgame Notes Stats (XML)Stats (PDF)Postgame Pressers (Bhaghani, Hunter, Jackson, Littlejohn, Ott, J. Sirmon, Wilcox, Wilson)

Ott Leads Way With 165 Rushing Yards

By: Cal Athletics

BERKELEY – The California football team rushed for 196 yards – including 81 during a pivotal clock-draining drive in the fourth quarter – and the Golden Bears put away Arizona State 24-21 on Saturday afternoon at California Memorial Stadium.

Sophomore Jaydn Ott gained 165 yards on the ground with a touchdown on a career-high 29 carries, as the Golden Bears eventually dispatched the Sun Devils in the final football game between the teams as members of the Pac-12 Conference.

Cal's final drive took 6 minutes, 28 seconds off the clock and consisted of 18 plays – 15 of which were rushes. The possession ended at the Sun Devils' 1-yard line with 2:50 remaining in the game, and the Bears' were able to turn back Arizona State's final drive and preserve the victory.

"We're happy with the win, especially in the Pac-12 this year," Cal inside linebacker Jackson Sirmon said. "There is always stuff you can get better at. We look at every game as an opportunity."

Quarterback Sam Jackson V threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Hunter and backup tailback Isaiah Ifanse added a 1-yard scoring scamper for the Bears, who never trailed and built a 24-13 lead after Ott's 2-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

Linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr registered a career-high 15 tackles while Jackson Sirmon added 13, and defensive back Matthew Littlejohn came up with his first career interception. Myles Jernigan also forced a fumble on the final play of the first half, which was recovered by Xavier Carlton.

Punter Lachlan Wilson made a significant impact on the game with seven punts for an average of 49.7 yards. Among his efforts was a career-high 59-yarder early in the third quarter.

"You could make the argument he was the MVP for us today," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said.

The Bears remain home next week when they host No. 19 Oregon State for their homecoming game at 7 p.m. The contest will air on the Pac-12 Network.