My google skills must not be very good. I couldn't find anything about most yards rushed in a Cal game. Anyone know?

Jahvid Best had 311 versus Washington 2008.

Strykur said:

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Jahvid Best had 311 versus Washington 2008.

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Wasn't that in 1 half?

GoOskie said:

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My google skills must not be very good. I couldn't find anything about most yards rushed in a Cal game. Anyone know?

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TV broadcast said third most in Cal history. First was Jahvid. Second was from a Oregon State game in the 70s or 80s.

JB was a Chieftain said:

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Strykur said:

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Jahvid Best had 311 versus Washington 2008.

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Wasn't that in 1 half?

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IIRC he only played a few snaps in the second half. I was super pissed Tedford didn't give him a handful more carries as he would have undoubtedly set the NCAA rushing record.

Very different situation than Ott at AZ though. We had a strong all around team that season and completely dominated UW that game.

How about the most for a true freshman??

PtownBear1 said:

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JB was a Chieftain said:

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Strykur said:

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Jahvid Best had 311 versus Washington 2008.

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Wasn't that in 1 half?

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IIRC he only played a few snaps in the second half. I was super pissed Tedford didn't give him a handful more carries as he would have undoubtedly set the NCAA rushing record.

Very different situation than Ott at AZ though. We had a strong all around team that season and completely dominated UW that game.

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Also UW was awful that year (they went 0-12). Cal did not need to work very hard to beat them.

Highlights:

Incredible performance by Off today! Football was FUN again at Memorial Stadium! I think 2nd highest rushing total was in the late '50's by a guy named Jerry Drew? My memory's not positive but I think it was a 12 carry, 290+ yard performance.

Dgoldnbaer said:

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Incredible performance by Off today! Football was FUN again at Memorial Stadium! I think 2nd highest rushing total was in the late '50's by a guy named Jerry Drew? My memory's not positive but I think it was a 12 carry, 290+ yard performance.

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It was Jerry Drew with 283 yards in 1954 vs. Oregon State. I was only a year old so a bit before my time. However, Ott's performance is the most yards in Pac-12 history in a single game for a true freshman.

Do you think he might get freshman POW again?

Dgoldnbaer said:

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Incredible performance by Off today! Football was FUN again at Memorial Stadium! I think 2nd highest rushing total was in the late '50's by a guy named Jerry Drew? My memory's not positive but I think it was a 12 carry, 290+ yard performance.

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11 carries for 283, 268 in first half!

bonsallbear said:

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Do you think he might get freshman POW again?

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If he's not the PAC offensive player of the week (forget freshman) something is seriously wrong. No way he doesn't get this.

Would urge anyone interested in helping us find NIL opportunities for Ott visit CAlegends.com and donate today. We are going to need to show the kid some love.

https://calegends.com/donation/

Wow! Those numbers are unreal. I wonder whatever happened to him? Injury?

Dgoldnbaer said:

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Wow! Those numbers are unreal. I wonder whatever happened to him? Injury?

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I don't know. It was a different era. I think Oregon St., the opponent, was really bad then.

UrsusTexicanus said:

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Dgoldnbaer said:

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Incredible performance by Off today! Football was FUN again at Memorial Stadium! I think 2nd highest rushing total was in the late '50's by a guy named Jerry Drew? My memory's not positive but I think it was a 12 carry, 290+ yard performance.

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It was Jerry Drew with 283 yards in 1954 vs. Oregon State. I was only a year old so a bit before my time. However, Ott's performance is the most yards in Pac-12 history in a single game for a true freshman.

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Went to that game, it seemed as if he could just run at will

It's not too early to get excited about Ott. We've seen a lot of great backs at Cal (and in the conference) and Ott has already made his mark. He reminds me a bit of DAT at Oregon but he's built just like Marshawn was as a Frosh (5'11" 190). He might not have unlimited speed but he's obviously capable of taking it to the house on any play. DAT measured 5'9", 174 and ran a 4.5 flat at the combine. He terrorized the conference (7.8 ypc!) so it's not just about measurables. He's already shown himself to be a good all around back with some nice blocking and none of the yips that young players sometimes have with loose ball handling or messy handoffs. As Ott continues to get comfortable, watch out.

If he stays healthy, he's going to be a great one.

Do you remember whatever happened to him? a one-hit wonder? A career ending injury?

Dgoldnbaer said:

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Incredible performance by Off today! Football was FUN again at Memorial Stadium! I think 2nd highest rushing total was in the late '50's by a guy named Jerry Drew? My memory's not positive but I think it was a 12 carry, 290+ yard performance.

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I did attend that game. I was 12, so I had some understanding of what I was witnessing. I forget much of it, but what the Cal record books tell us about Jerry Drew is that he was a reserve fullback at Cal from 1953 to 1956. The record book shows that in his first year, 1953, he had one of the longest runs from scrimmage in Cal history, 91 yards, against the University of Pennsylvania. In 1954, vs Oregon State, he had one of the greatest days for a running back in Cal history, scoring 3 touchdowns, and racking up 283 yards on only 11 carries! An incredible 25.7 yards per carry!

In the first half, Drew played briefly, with 4 carries for 15 yards. He entered the game again, midway through the 3rd quarter, and in the rest of the 2nd half, he ran for 268 yards on 7 carries, an average of 38.3 yards per carry! Scoring on touchdown runs of 67, 59, and 55 yards.

https://calbearshistory.com/2020/08/11/jerry-drew-the-day-the-dam-broke/

Drew missed the entire 1955 season due to injuries. In 1956 Jerry Drew was suspended for 6 games by the NCAA, not for anything he did as I remember, but as part of the punishment that Pappy's team was hit with for the Ronnie Knox scandal, which led to the dissolution of the conference, and reforming into the AAWU. Drew played in the final 6 games of the season, where he gained only 109 yards on 42 carries. He was never the same after his injury.

Another Cal record book from 2011 lists the best single game performances by a Cal running back:

Javid Best: 311 yards on 19 carries, 16.4 yards per carry.
Jerry Drew: 283 yards on 11 carries, 25.7 yards per carry, vs Oregon State 1954
Johnny Olzsewski: 269 yards on 20 carries, 13.5 yards per carry, vs WSU 1951

https://calberk_ftp.sidearmsports.com/custompages/www.calbears.com/fls/30100/old_site/pdf/m-footbl/2011-12/misc_non_event/11-footbl-mg-sec-7.pdf

Now we add to that list the name of Jaydn Ott: 274 yards on 19 carries, 14.4 yards per carry, vs ASU 2022

Unit2Sucks said:

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It's not too early to get excited about Ott. We've seen a lot of great backs at Cal (and in the conference) and Ott has already made his mark. He reminds me a bit of DAT at Oregon but he's built just like Marshawn was as a Frosh (5'11" 190). He might not have unlimited speed but he's obviously capable of taking it to the house on any play. DAT measured 5'9", 174 and ran a 4.5 flat at the combine. He terrorized the conference (7.8 ypc!) so it's not just about measurables. He's already shown himself to be a good all around back with some nice blocking and none of the yips that young players sometimes have with loose ball handling or messy handoffs. As Ott continues to get comfortable, watch out.

If he stays healthy, he's going to be a great one.

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Staying healthy is the key. Of the three best single game performances by a Cal running back, all of them had their careers affected or shortened by serious injuries. Jahvid Best as we know, had that terrible concussion at Cal, and was forced to retire from the NFL after 3 years due to multiple concussions. I worried that he would get badly injured, with all the chances he took trying to hurdle or jump over defenders.

Jerry Drew missed his junior season with injuries, and did not play well as a senior. He was drafted, I think by the 49ers, but did not make an NFL roster, as far as I know.

Johnny Olzwewski was perhaps the best back in the country at the time and was injured by a targeted hit in a game against USC. I was at that game, standing at the railing by the field, about 20 yards from the play, and saw it clearly. Several USC defenders gang-tackled Johnny O, and held him down on the turf, while USC linebacker Pat Canamella grabbed Johnny O's foot and twisted it almost 180 degrees. It wrenched Johnny O's knee, and he was never the same again. He was able to play several years in the NFL, where he was mostly used as a blocking back.

Hopefully, Ott will not be overly reckless in trying to score or get that extra yard. And hopefully he will be fortunate to avoid the big injury. He has plenty of talent and tools to be a truly great one.

BearGreg said:

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Thanks for the posting the Best highlights vs. UW.

He exited the game with 11:02 on the clock in the 3rd quarter with 311 yards. Let that sink in a bit.

Had he played the remainder of the game, no doubt in my mind that he'd have the NCAA record.

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Agreed. I was one of the (I'm sure many) BIers who was fortunate enough to watch that game live and it really did feel like he was going to break it every time he touched the ball. On his 84 yard TD, I knew he would score before he even crossed the line of scrimmage. I think he easily would have gone over 400 yards had they kept him in for the rest of the quarter.

We've all seen some incredible performances but I don't think I'll ever see anything like that again in my life. It felt like everyone else was running in sand and he was wearing track spikes.

I too was at that game - in fact saw him play every game he did. He was so electrifying - definitely a threat to go the distance every time he touched the ball. His running style though put me in fear he'd get hurt - not a concussion but his knees.

Muncie is my all time favorite back (incomparable to anyone else) then Jahvid & Marshawn. From pure joy watching a running back carry the ball, I'd have to rank Russell White way up there. If he was a step faster he'd have been playing many years in the NFL. His moves - hip going one way, shoulder dipping & going the other way - were incredible. And his great peripheral vision - was one helluva runner.

And one more ... Marc Hicks! Played in mid '80's. Definitely a 'would've been, could've been'! Knee injury.