Los Angeles Times: Cal Makes the Most Noise When It Counts

By Lonnie White, Times Staff Writer

LAS VEGAS — Brigham Young's fan support was as good as advertised, but it wasn't enough to help the Cougars overcome California on the field in the Las Vegas Bowl on Thursday night at Sam Boyd Stadium.  The attendance broke the previous Las Vegas Bowl record of 30,894 set in 2001 when Utah defeated USC. "BYU's crowd is ridiculous," said Jackson, who finished with six receptions for 130 yards, including a key 42-yard score at the end of the first half. "They were out here the whole game making a lot of noise and doing whatever they had to do to assist their team. I think that kept us energized to make more plays." With junior quarterback Steve Levy getting his second start of the season, Cal (8-4) featured a short passing attack and game MVP Lynch to hand the Cougars their fourth consecutive bowl defeat. "The end result is that we played good enough to lose by seven," BYU Coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "The disappointing aspect is it was a loss. The positive aspect is that we exhibited resiliency." The Cougars (6-6), who finished tied for second in the Mountain West Conference, made the game interesting behind quarterback John Beck, who established Las Vegas Bowl records for completions (35) and passing yards (352). After Cal took a 35-14 lead late in the third quarter, Beck rallied BYU with two of his three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. But his final pass was intercepted by Cal's Daymeion Hughes with 1:28 remaining. "They got us a couple of times with bubble pass plays," Cal defensive back Donnie McCleskey said about BYU's spread shotgun-based offense. " … But for the most part, once we got familiar with the stuff they ran, we did a good job against them."

California, which finished tied for fourth in the Pacific 10 Conference, controlled most of the first half, thanks to two touchdown runs by Lynch. But the Bears found themselves tied, 14-14, late in the half when BYU's Naufahu Tahi scored on a three-yard run with 38 seconds remaining in the second quarter. That set the stage for Jackson, who turned a short catch into a 42-yard touchdown to give Cal a 21-14 lead three seconds left before halftime. "I was getting anxious because I wanted the ball so badly," Jackson said. "We tried a couple of plays on that drive before the ball came to me. I turned out of my break and didn't feel anyone on me. Once I caught it, I just turned upfield and no one touched me." Jackson's touchdown gave Cal momentum into the second half and the Bears dominated the third quarter. Lynch reversed field and scored on a 35-yard run and Jackson made a diving catch for a 22-yard touchdown to give Cal a 21-point lead heading into the fourth. In the final quarter, Beck completed touchdown passes to Jonny Harline and Todd Watkins, but it wasn't enough. "I really thought that we were going to go down and score a touchdown on our final drive," Beck said. "We've been in two-minute drives before, but stuff happens. It didn't go our way this time."