Bears Fall to Beavers, 21-17
BERKELEY – All-America candidate Evan Weaver continued his memorable season with 21 tackles and a pair of sacks, but the Cal football team fell to Oregon State 21-17 on Saturday at California Memorial Stadium.
Weaver's performance gives him 105 for the season, marking the second straight year he's gone over the 100-tackle mark.
The Bears (4-3, 1-3 Pac-12) erased a 14-0 second-quarter deficit to go in front 17-14 late in the third, but the Beavers put together a 12-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in the game-winning touchdown with under five minutes to play.
Both teams finished with 282 yards of total offense. Cal struggled to run the ball, gaining just 107 yards on the ground on 43 carries. The Bears also allowed nine sacks.
"It was tough to get going running the ball," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. "You have to run the ball better. We took nine sacks. Some of that is protection. Some of that is getting rid of the football at the quarterback position. We have a lot of work to do there."
Cal got on the scoreboard on Greg Thomas' 44-yard field goal just before halftime, then cut the margin to 14-10 on a 1-yard scoring run by Christopher Brown Jr. midway through the third quarter.
Quarterback Devon Modster then found wide receiver Jordan Duncan down the middle of the field for a 33-yard touchdown pass with 32 seconds left in the third. It marked the longest touchdown catch of Duncan's career.
"It all comes down to executing," Duncan said. "As a team, we have to make sure everyone is on board doing their job. That's how you execute plays. It comes from all 11 men knowing their role and at the same time doing their job at a high level."
Cal's defense didn't allow much most of the game, and yielded just 20 yards of offense in the third quarter when the Bears forged their comeback. But Oregon St. notched five first downs on the winning drive, including three third down conversions, to go in front for good.
"You have to give Oregon State credit," Wilcox said. "They have a good offense. We need to acknowledge that. But we played really poor on three drives. That cost us, big time."
Weaver now has 335 career tackles, placing him one short of Ron Rivera for fifth place on Cal's all-time list. He now has three games this season with at least 18 tackles.
The Bears visit No. 13 Utah next Saturday at 7 p.m. PT. The game will air on Fox Sports 1.