The California Golden Bears posted their fourth consecutive loss against the University of Washington Huskies in a game where neither team looked particularly good. The two teams combined for eight turnovers and 168 penalty yards. In the end, Washington had 14 unanswered points in the final 18 minutes, guaranteeing the 3-7 Cal a losing season, just their second of the Jeff Tedford era.
SB Nation's Cal Blog California Golden Blogs has a detailed recap of the game, and they managed to find a silver lining in Cal's performance:
The game was not without some bright moments for the Bears. With fellow wide receivers Keenan Allen and Bryce Treggs out with injuries, freshman Chris Harper stepped up his game perhaps more than could have been reasonably expected. Harper caught seven passes for 101 yards and scored Cal's only touchdown of the game on a reverse. Both Harper and fellow freshman Darius Powe Jr. made incredible catches that are worthy of making an ESPN SportsCenter top 10 list. C.J. Anderson rumbled for 160 yards on 22 carries and had a career-long 64-yard run.
Despite those optimistic thoughts, they note that the 2012 season is likely to get worse:
Cal has dropped three straight and has seen its season spiral toward a crash-and-burn. It can only get worse, with Oregon coming to Berkeley next Saturday, they of the high-powered offense that can hang half a hundred on people without much of a sweat. With Cal already depleted and/or hobbled with injuries to key players such as Allen, Maynard, Bryce Treggs, Matt Summers-Gavin (who left Friday's game in the third quarter), and Kendrick Payne (who did not play Friday), the prospect of facing the Ducks is all the more daunting, with the potential for embarrassment high.
Cal's final two opponents are currently a combined 14-1, and stand a good shot at entering their games against Cal 17-1. The Oregon State Beavers don't have the fearsome offense that Oregon does, but their defense is only allowing 17 points per game. The Ducks defense is no slouch, allowing 19.4 ppg.
The full post has a lot more, so head over to California Golden Blogs and check it out by clicking here.