College football is often judged like a beauty pageant. Winning is often not enough as teams are ranked according to style points.
Friday’s bout with ASU was the regular season finale and the California Golden Bears made sure to impress the judges.
“We should be in a better bowl game with the way we ended the season,” junior quarterback Zach Maynard said. “We won our last conference game. We’ll see how it plays out with the rest of the games this week.”
Cal’s (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12) 47-38 victory over the Sun Devils (6-6, 4-5) guaranteed the Golden Bears a winning season for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons.
The Bears came into the game with the best defense in the Pac-12, but the offense stole the show in the back-and-forth game, which featured five lead changes.
“Offense, I thought played very, very well today,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. “Ran the football. Threw the football. Thought they put a complete effort together.”
Tedford’s praise for the offense was certainly warranted, as the Golden Bears accumulated more yards against ASU than any other conference opponent this season with 484.
Junior running back Isi Sofele garnered a lot of attention earlier this week when Oregon State coach Mike Riley called him the best running back in the conference, but the Bears offense attack was balanced on Friday and did not rely on Sofele. Cal gained 237 yards through the air and picked up the other 247 yards on the ground.
The rushing attack was led by Sofele’s 145 yards and junior running back C.J. Anderson’s two touchdowns.
“C.J. came in when I needed a break, I came in when he needed a break,” Sofele said. “That kept us out there 100 percent each time.”
Anderson also recognized the importance of having two efficient running backs, although he did joke that he was trying to take Sofele’s place on the depth chart.
“Isi, with the shakes and the wiggles he has and me being a bruiser, I wear the defense down and Isi just runs around the corner like he always does,” Anderson said. “So the one-two punch is very good.”
Cal’s ability to run the ball was evident, but the Golden Bears, who scored on nine of 12 offensive possessions, also experienced success through the air. Maynard completed 19-of-26 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown.
Tedford was proud of his quarterback’s decision-making, maturation and ability to make plays with both his legs and his arms. There are plenty of reasons why Maynard was able to pick apart the Sun Devils defense, but the quarterback keeps it simple and believes it is a result of confidence and a strong offensive line.
“I’m just a lot more prepared than I was,” Maynard said. “I’m getting the offense down, I’m digesting it well. There’s a lot of reads and it’s finally coming to me.”
Defensively, the Golden Bears allowed 477 yards to the Sun Devils, but they were able to force four turnovers.
“Turnovers are really key to wins,” Tedford said. “If you can win the turnover battle, then typically you’re going to win football games.”
Cal may have had nothing tangible to play for sine they had already secured a bowl bid and lost to rival Stanford, but the Golden Bears’ victory over the Sun Devils was Cal’s first road win since September, 10 and will provide the team with momentum as they wait to hear which bowl they will play in.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
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