UA FOOTBALL BLOG: Cal 24, Arizona 16

The smell of roses just got a little fainter for Wildcat fans, but it’s not completely gone. Last night’s 24-16 loss to Cal (7-3, 4-3 Pac-10) definitely didn’t help matters. Arizona (6-3, 4-2 Pac-10) had many chances to win, but this is the type of mistake-filled game that tends to favor the home team.

Cal out-gained Arizona 362 to 276 and held a five-minute time of possession advantage. Both teams turned the ball over twice, but Cal owned a 105-yard edge in the rushing battle.

Quarterback Nick Foles (typically one of the nation’s most efficient passers) was off his game. He went 25-41 throwing the ball, but for only 206 yards (five yards per attempt). He did have one touchdown pass to AJ Simmons in the third quarter, but threw a costly interception and was sacked three times. Prior to this game, Foles had only been sacked twice.

Foles’ counterpart Kevin Riley didn’t have a stellar game, either, going 13-22 for 187 yards and two interceptions, but Arizona’s struggles in the punting game consistently gave Cal the ball with excellent field position.

Keola Antolin rushed for 75 yards on 19 carries, but fumbled once and left the game late in the fourth quarter after re-aggravating his lingering ankle injury. Starter Nic Grigsby missed most of the game with his sore shoulder, but attempted to make a go of it in Arizona’s final drive.

Cal’s Shane Vereen was the star of the show, rushing for 159 yards on 30 carries and scoring once in place of starter Jahvid Best, who missed last night’s action after suffering a terrible fall in last week’s contest against Oregon State.

Arizona’s best chance to win came with four minutes left in the game after Cal took an 18-16 lead, but a freak play put an end to the Wildcats’ comeback hopes. Foles had a tipped pass batted back into his hands, but the sophomore didn’t realize that you couldn’t throw the ball twice in one possession. His second pass to Delashaun Dean was complete, but the penalty pushed the Cats out of field goal range.

After UA’s fourth-and-17 pass play failed, Vereen went 66 yards on the next play for the clinching touchdown.

The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for Arizona. The squad’s last defeat came at Washington, 36-33.

The loss puts Arizona into a three-way tie with Stanford and Oregon State for second in the Pac-10 standings, but the Wildcats own victories over both of those squads, which would give Mike Stoops’ squad the tiebreaker if any of those teams end up tied at the end of the season.

Things don’t get any easier for Arizona, as the Wildcats host Pac-10-leading Oregon on Saturday. An Arizona win would give the Wildcats the tiebreaker over the top-four teams in the conference, while a loss would essentially end this squad’s hopes for a Pac-10 title.

Updated 8:10 p.m. -- Cal seals the win by doing what few teams have been able to do -- sacking Nick Foles. UA's sophomore can't get anything going as Cal wins 24-16.

Check back soon for my postgame recap.

Updated 8:05 p.m. -- Well, you don't see that very often. Nick Foles' initial pass was tipped, but he caught the rebound. Unfortunately, the sophomore had no idea that it was illegal to throw it again. He completed the pass to Delashaun Dean, but the penalty stifled UA's drive.

Shane Vereen scored on the very next play with a 66-yard touchdown jaunt, but Cal failed to convert the extra point. It's 24-16 Cal with only 1:21 left.

But that missed extra point means the game isn't over. Arizona is still in this game, believe it or not.

Updated 7:50 p.m. -- Shane Vereen and the Cal Golden Bears broke off big yards out of the Wildcat formation, but UA's defense stood tall in the red zone, holding Cal to a field goal. Cal 18, UA 16, 4:46 remaining.

Vereen has now crossed the 100-yard plateau, as he tore up Arizona's defense at the edges. But big defensive tackle Earl Mitchell ate up anything the Bears ran up the middle, leading to Cal's short field goal.

But when a team settles for field goals that deep in the red zone, it typically comes back to haunt it. Not to keep bringing up UA/Washington, but...

Now it's Arizona's turn to make something happen in the clutch. Foles looked much better on that last drive, but Cal bailed him out with a pair of pass interference penalties.

If Arizona hopes to keep that Rose Bowl dream alive, it needs a big drive. Travis Cobb gives UA excellent field position. It's up to Foles now.

Gut-check time, Wildcat fans.

Updated 7:35 p.m. -- Nick Foles redeems himself. The sophomore QB shook off a rough second half to find tight end AJ Simmons twice on that drive, including that 8-yard touchdown pass to put UA ahead 16-15 (2-pt attempt no good).

Arizona was boosted by a pair of brutal pass interference penalties from Cal. The Bears certainly haven't played a smart game tonight, and Jeff Tedford is likely going to get quite upset when the team reviews the film from this game.

As for Simmons, it's great to finally see him get involved in the offense. With Rob Gronkowski missing the entire year, Simmons expected to play a more prominent role, but he came into the game with only six catches. There's 12:22 remaining -- can UA's defense rise to the challenge?

Updated 7:25 p.m. -- Kevin Riley is doing his best to keep Arizona in it. Cal appeared poised to score another TD, but Riley (in the face of a big blitz) lofted it into the end zone with only UA's Joe Perkins anywhere near the ball. Cal still leads 15-10, but it's Matt Scott time now.

Nick Foles hasn't gotten anything going this second half, so it'll be up to the speedy sophomore to jump-start this offense.

I can't stress it strongly enough -- Riley's pass was just dreadful. Given the circumstance, it was a real back-breaker. Arizona has no right to still be in this game, but here they are. Fifteen more minutes to make something happen.

Updated 7:05 p.m. -- Cal's Skylar Curran makes an outstanding 27-yard TD grab (while being interfered with by Devin Ross) to put Cal ahead 15-10 (two-point conversion no good) with 8:29 left in the third quarter.

Arizona has done nothing but shoot itself in the foot. Punter Keenyn Crier (who never saw the field against Washington State) is having a game to forget, and his 14-yard shank-a-roo deep in UA territory set up that Cal TD.

Crier is typically one of the better punters in the Pac-10, but he's been dreadful today. The field position battle means everything in a tight game like this, and Crier hasn't held up his end of the bargain.

Arizona looked to reclaim momentum earlier, when Cam Nelson picked off Riley on a bomb attempt toward the end zone. Riley forced that ball into double coverage and Nelson easily snagged the badly underthrown ball. However, Arizona's offense failed to get anything going, once again.

Updated 6:55 p.m. -- Both teams dodged a bullet there. After Nick Foles' interception, Cal's Giorgio Tavecchio badly missed a 47-yard field goal attempt after an impressive UA defensive stand. It's still 10-9 Arizona.

There's no getting around it now. Arizona's offense is out of sorts. Foles had a rare lapse in judgment and forced that ball into a crowd. Still, it bounced off of Delashaun Dean's hands and it was a throw the lanky wideout should've hauled in.

No Nic Grigsby has really hurt the Cats tonight. Arizona needs to start mixing it up (where are all those wide receiver screens and reverses?) and doing more to keep Cal's defense on its toes. UA's offense is awfully predictable right now.

Updated 6:25 p.m. -- It hasn't been pretty, but Arizona is ahead 10-9 after a lightning-quick first half. Maybe these players want to wrap this up in time to watch the Pacquiao-Cotto fight.

Alex Zendejas closed UA's scoring with a 36-yard field goal, but Cal answered with a terrific 25-yard pass play between Kevin Riley and Verran Tucker to set up a last-second Giorgio Tavecchio field goal to keep Cal in it. Letting Cal score that quickly can't sit will with defensive coordinator Mark Stoops.

Let's face facts: Arizona has NOT looked good in these first two quarters. The Cats have only held possession for 12 minutes, and outside of Antolin's 34-yard rush in the second quarter, have been unable to get a steady rushing attack.

Riley, who hasn't provided much of a threat in the passing game, has put together an efficient first half and Shane Vereen has more than held up his end of the bargain in place of Jahvid Best. Wideout Marvin Jones has been the player of the half with five catches and 66 yards.

However, Cal hasn't done anything to put this game away, despite the time of possession advantage. Look for Arizona to get its act together in this second half and start moving the ball with more purpose.

Updated 6:10 p.m. -- Cal might be winning the yardage and time of possession battles, but Arizona is ahead on the scoreboard 7-6.

If Arizona fans learned anything from the Washington game, it's that you have to put away a team when you have the chance. Cal hasn't, and Arizona has all the momentum.

UA took over on its own 6-yard line and thanks to an electric 34-yard run from Antolin (see how hard he grips the ball for the rest of the game) and a heck of a grab from Dave Roberts in the red zone (third and forever, took a big shot but held onto the ball) led to Antolin's two-yard plunge for the score.

Let's see how Arizona's defense responds. They did a terrific job holding down Cal on the last possession.

Updated 5:40 p.m. -- Arizona trails 6-0, but it could've been much, much worse.

Keola Antolin ruined UA's second drive with a fumble, giving Cal excellent field position deep in Arizona territory. Shane Vereen promptly turned a sure 15-yard loss into a 9-yard gain, thanks to Ricky Elmore's inability to tackle. Yet, Cal was unable to punch it into the end zone.

Cal coach Jeff Tedford got way too cute in the red zone and attempted to run the option with his slow-as-molasses QB Kevin Riley, who fumbled it on a hard Earl Mitchell hit. Cal fell on the ball and set up for a short field goal.

Arizona has shown the ability to move the ball with the short pass game, but Antolin is seriously struggling. Look for Sonny Dykes to open things up a bit and figure out how to limit these mistakes.

Updated 5:15 p.m. -- Cal draws first blood behind a 46-yard field goal to put the Bears ahead 3-0.

Cal did a great job moving the ball, with Kevin Riley connecting on a pair of long pass plays. Shane Vereen also got rolling, with his most impressive carry coming on a near-fumble that turned into a 5-yard gain, thanks to a tremendous second and third effort.

But UA's defense stifled the Cal attack once the Bears approached the red zone. Arizona's defensive line looks fast on the edges and the linebackers are covering a lot of ground.

Let's see what the Wildcats do on offense with this good field position.

Updated 4:45 p.m. -- Hello and welcome to another exciting Saturday night of college football. Tonight, the Arizona Wildcats (6-2, 4-1 Pac-10) travel to Berkeley to battle the California Golden Bears (6-3, 3-3).

Cal is, of course, without the services of Jahvid Best, who'll sit out tonight's game after his scary injury last week against Oregon State. However, the Bears are still a dangerous opponent with loads of speed.

Don't underestimate the "trap game" potential for the Cats tonight, who have a huge showdown with Pac-10 leaders Oregon scheduled for next week in Tucson. Even ESPN's College Game Day is talking about making the trip to the Old Pueblo if Arizona can get through tonight's game unscathed.

On paper, the Wildcats should be too talented and too diverse for Cal, especially if the red-hot pass-rushing duo of Brooks Reed and Ricky Elmore can get in Kevin Riley's face. But Arizona is only 1-2 in road games and Cal faces the team's toughest test in more than three weeks.

The first quarter will be key tonight. If Arizona comes out flat, it could be a long night.