SAN FRANCISCO – It was dark, cold and gloomy at AT&T Park on Saturday, and the Washington State offense mirrored the weather as the California Golden Bears dominated the Cougars on both sides of the ball in a 30-7 romp.
“I don’t know what happened,” WSU defensive end Travis Long said. “It just seemed like by game time not all of us were ready, focused.”
A fifth straight loss adds to the pressure on coach Paul Wulff. The Cougars are 8-38 in four years under Wulff, and athletic director Bill Moos has repeatedly said he won’t decide whether to retain Wulff until the end of the season.
“It’s something we’re not going to think about, (but) it’s a big red-light issue,” offensive guard John Fullington said. “We’re just going to go out and focus on next week.”
The Cougars (3-6 overall, 1-5 Pacific-12 Conference) must win their three remaining regular-season games to become bowl eligible, starting Saturday at home against 20th-ranked Arizona State (6-3, 4-2).
The Cougars were all wet in the late-afternoon and early-evening rain that fell. They trailed 23-0 at halftime – WSU’s first scoreless first half this year – then missed perhaps six tackles on the first play from scrimmage in the second half. Cal ended that drive with a 43-yard touchdown run on an off-tackle play on fourth-and-1.
Missed tackles, blown blocks, overthrown passes, dropped balls, needless penalties, a botched field goal from 27 yards … from a negative standpoint, the Cougars did it all.
“We do immature, dumb things,” Wulff said.
“I felt like we were ready to play,” WSU safety Tyree Toomer said. “But once the game got going, (the Cougars were) a little bit slow reacting.”
If not for the inability of Cal quarterback Zach Maynard to connect with wide-open receivers on deep routes, the final score could have been much worse. The Bears were winning so handily that Maynard was pulled from the game late in the third quarter after he was shaken up, even though coach Jeff Tedford said Maynard was fine.
WSU might have been shut out for the first time since a 42-0 loss at Arizona State last October, but linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis recovered a fumble on Cal’s 18 on the final play of the third quarter. Rickey Galvin then scored on a 5-yard run in the rain and wind before what was left of an announced crowd of 35,500.
Toomer finished with a career-high 10 tackles, one more than Hoffman-Ellis. Galvin, who grew up a Bears fan near the Berkeley, Calif., school, ran hard to gain 73 yards on 12 carries.
The Bears (5-4, 2-4) gained 411 yards and held WSU to a season-low 224. California junior tailback Isi Sofele ran for a career-high 138 yards and one touchdown.
“I thought our offensive line played great,” Tedford said. “I thought Isi ran really hard.”
Wulff complimented the Bears – “They are the best-looking team that I have seen in this conference, period” – but he added, “Our defensive front and linebackers clearly did not play very well.”
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.