Forget the 342 passing yards and two touchdown passes, which helped Jared Goff tie a school career record. However, his run near the end of Saturday’s game at Husky Stadium, which sealed a 30-24 win over Washington, impressed those who know him best.
Forget the 342 passing yards and two touchdown passes, which helped Jared Goff tie a school career record.
California players have grown to expect those gaudy statistics from their record-breaking quarterback.
However, his run near the end of Saturday’s game at Husky Stadium, which sealed a 30-24 win over Washington, impressed those who know him best.
The Golden Bears thought they’ve seen it all from their blond-haired pocket passer, who may be the first player taken in next year’s NFL draft. But they hadn’t seen this.
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“Man, he showed courage,” receiver Kenny Lawler said laughing. “Skinny Jared, he had to get the first and he did. He’s a leader and that’s what leaders do.”
To recap: Cal led 27-7 midway through the third quarter before Washington staged a second-half comeback and outscored the Golden Bears 17-3 to pull within six points.
After the Huskies used their final timeout, Cal had fourth-and-four at the UW 34 with 60 seconds remaining. Goff audibled out of a running play to Tre Watson in favor of a quarterback run to the left.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior ran into traffic at the line before plowing forward and moving a crowd for 5 yards.
“We were pretty happy because the play didn’t go as we expected it to,” Lawler said. “But we still had to play on. That’s what Jared did. He made something out of nothing and that won us the game.”
Forgive Lawler, who may have overstated the importance of the fourth-down conversion. Cal (4-0, 1-0) forced five turnovers and accumulated 481 yards while limiting UW (2-2, 0-1) to 259.
Still, the bigger point is Goff was very good Saturday when he had to be in front of 61,066 at Husky Stadium and 17 NFL scouts.
On third down, he completed 7 of 11 passes for a touchdown (an 8-yard hook up with Lawler) and an interception.
Cal got stuffed on two fourth-and-short plays during the game before Goff’s 5-yard run near the end.
“What he did for us on that fourth down is indicative of what he’s done for us this year,” coach Sonny Dykes said. “He does what he needs to do to give us a chance to win. It was a great play. He just gutted it out and made the first down.”
Otherwise it was a fairly mundane performance by Goff when measured by his high standards.
Despite constant pressure from the Huskies, who had five sacks, Goff completed 24 of 40 passes for 342 yards, including an interception at the goal line with a second remaining in the first half.
Dykes counted a half dozen drops by Cal receivers that hurt Goff’s completion percentage. He also credited the Huskies, who limited the Bears to just two touchdowns on six red zone drives, including a second quarter goal-line stand when Cal failed to punch it in after four tries inside the UW 1.
“Their defense was the best defense I played against in a long time,” said Goff, who is 1-2 against the Huskies. “They scouted us very well and played us very well.”
Goff was particularly impressed with UW nose tackle Elijah Qualls, an old friend, who finished with two sacks.
“He was after me,” Goff said. “I told him in the middle of the game, ‘Hey stay off my knees.’ I was just joking around, but he’s a helluva player.”
The same can be said for Goff.
| Clutch on third down | |
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California’s Jared Goff converted on 7 of 13 third-down passing situations on Saturday. He had three incompletions, took two sacks and was intercepted once, but here are his completions: |
|
| Situation | Result |
|---|---|
| Second quarter, third-and-five | 21-yard pass to Darius Powe |
| Second quarter, third-and-seven | 8-yard pass to Trevor Davis |
| Third quarter, third-and-goal | 8-yard TD pass to Kenny Lawler |
| Third quarter, third-and-10 | 13-yard pass to Darius Powe |
| Third quarter, third-and-five | 20-yard pass to Kenny Lawler |
| Third quarter, third-and-10 | 13-yard pass to Steph Anderson |
| Fourth quarter, third-and-eight | 27-yard pass to Bryce Treggs |