Bears' speed kills Cougars in bowl game
By Jeff Call
LAS VEGAS — In a city known for fast-living, California had its vast array of fast athletes on display Thursday night in the Las Vegas Bowl. Ultimately, that speed killed BYU as the Golden Bears ran past the slower, mistake-prone Cougars, 35-28, before a bowl-record crowd of 40,053 at Sam Boyd Stadium. Cal sophomore running back Marshawn Lynch earned bowl MVP honors after rushing for 194 yards and three touchdowns. "Cal's running backs are exceptional," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "They have great athletes. They're fast and athletic." Lynch praised his offensive line, which opened holes for him. "They put it out there, and I just ran with it," he said. "It wasn't me. I was just running behind the front five up there." "We knew he was a good back," Cougar linebacker Cameron Jensen said of Lynch. "He was hard to bring down." Freshman wide receiver DeShawn Jackson added a pair of touchdowns for the Bears, hauling in six passes for 120 yards, including a 42-yard catch-and-run just before halftime when he broke a few tackles and raced into the end zone. The play swung the momentum back in Cal's favor at intermission. The Cougars trailed by as many as 21 points, 35-14, in the second half before cutting the deficit to seven at 35-28 with 5:35 remaining in the game. In the waning moments, BYU was driving for the potential game-winning touchdown when quarterback John Beck was picked off by Bear cornerback Daymeion Hughes with 1:28 left. "Coming back is something we've been doing all year long," said Beck, who completed 35 of 53 passes for 352 yards — all were Las Vegas Bowl records. "On that final drive, I thought we were going to win it. But stuff happens. It didn't go our way." The Cougars finished the season with a 6-6 record. They haven't won a bowl game in nine years.
Cougar running back Curtis Brown is dejected after Las Vegas Bowl loss. He rushed for only 28 yards on 12 carries. BYU looked overmatched from the outset as Cal took the opening kickoff and promptly — not to mention effortlessly — marched 65 yards for a touchdown as Lynch scored on a 3-yard run. The Cougars got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter on a 92-yard drive. BYU's offense started clicking, methodically moving the ball downfield, capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Curtis Brown, tying the score. The Bears retook the lead on their next possession as Lynch scampered 23 yards for a touchdown — his second of the game. Three plays after that, Beck was hit by Nu'u Tafisi in the backfield as he attempted a pass to tight end Jonny Harline. The ball fluttered in the air and was intercepted by Bear defensive back Harrison Smith at the BYU 43. The Cougar defense forced a three-and-out by Cal, giving the BYU offense the ball back. During that ensuing drive, Beck threw a pass toward the sideline to Harline, who juggled the ball while he was stripped by Smith. The ball came loose and Harline recovered it before it went out of bounds. At first, the officials ruled the play a catch, but after a review, the call was reversed, forcing the Cougars to punt. The two teams traded punts before BYU embarked on an 89-yard drive highlighted by a leaping, 52-yard catch by wide receiver Todd Watkins, who caught five passes for 93 yards in his final game as a Cougar. That long play set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Fahu Tahi that knotted the score at 14 with 38 seconds remaining. Cal didn't waste any time responding, however, scoring in 27 seconds on a 42-yard TD pass from Steve Levy to Jackson to put the Bears ahead 21-14 at the half. After stopping BYU on its first drive of the second half, Lynch struck again, scoring on a 35-yard run to lift Cal to a 28-14 advantage.
The Bears increased their lead on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Levy to Jackson that gave them a 21-point lead. BYU didn't go away, however. The Cougars scored on a touchdown pass from Beck to Harline to cut the deficit to 35-21, then, on fourth-and-goal from the nine, Beck hit Watkins for a touchdown to make it 35-28. "I felt they recovered just fine," Mendenhall said of his players' second-half rally. "They played like they've been taught to play and how they've been trained." After Cal drove into BYU territory and missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt, Beck and the Cougars received one more chance to complete the comeback. But Beck was hit as he threw down field and Hughes cradled the ball. Mendenhall credited the Bears' play and lamented his team's 12 penalties for 103 yards. Eleven of those penalties came in the first half. He added that he didn't emphasize special-teams enough during bowl preparation as Cal won the field-position battle. "The end result is we played good enough to lose by seven," Mendenhall said. "The disappointing aspect is it was a loss. The positive aspect is that we exhibited resiliency. We know we could have won that game, and, again, we played good enough that we knew we could have beaten this team and lost by seven. Cal was a great measure for us."
COUGAR STATS: John Beck's interception in the second quarter against Cal was his first pick since the first quarter of the Air Force game. Beck had attempted 157 passes in 16 quarters during that stretch. Beck's 352 yards was his 11th 300-yard passing game in his career and the eighth in BYU history. Nathan Meikle set a career high with 12 receptions for 93 yards against the Bears and had a 25-yard punt return nullified by a penalty. Meikle's 12 catches were the most by a BYU player this season.
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