The Cal State Golden Bears trail the ASU Sun Devils at halftime, 17-7. Cal's offense has struggled in the face of pressure from ASU's defensive line, both failing to move the ball and Isi Sofele coughing up a fumble late in the half.
Cal managed less than 150 yards of offense in the half, with Zach Maynard going 3-for-8 while throwing for 63 yards, and Sofele adding 89 yards on 12 carries. The Golden Bears' only score came on a three-play, 76-yard drive for a touchdown that featured a 44-yard pass to Keenan Allen and a 24-yard touchdown rush by Sofele. The seven drives other than that one have resulted in five punts, a fumble and the end of the half.
Cal is also having a problem with penalties, collecting seven flags for 68 yards. ASU has been called for only one penalty for five yards.
The Golden Bears' defense is doing its best to keep Cal in the game. Midway through the second quarter they stopped ASU in the red zone to force a field goal, but after Sofele's fumble the defense was unable to stop ASU from putting up another touchdown.
The game isn't yet out of hand for Cal, but they'll need to regroup at the half and eliminate the preventable mistakes in the second half.
