The California Golden Bears bounced back from a two game losing streak with a 35-7 domination of the UCLA Bruins. Cal was led by strong performance from running back Shane Vereen as he had 151 rushing yards, 51 receiving yards, and two rushing touchdowns. The Cal defense brought the pressure as they were able to get to UCLA QB Kevin Prince on a regular basis, totaling five sacks and numerous QB pressures.
Cal more or less had this game in the bag by the end of the first half as they went on a 28-0 tear by halftime. Shane Vereen rushed for both his touchdowns in the first quarter, while Kevin Riley threw and ran for touchdowns to stretch the lead to 28 before the end of the half.
Cal seemed to take their foot off the gas on offense in the third quarter, but UCLA was never able to take advantage. UCLA got a big kickoff return to start the third quarter and turned it into a touchdown. They forced a Cal punt but Kevin Prince followed that up with an interception. Cal missed a subsequent FG and UCLA had a nice little drive scoring. However, the Cal defense stiffened up to force the punt and would never really let UCLA get going after that. UCLA did get down into Cal territory late in the game but couldn’t get the garbage time TD.
The Bears had been riding a two game losing streak and now gets to head down to USC with a bit of momentum. The Bears haven’t beaten USC since their triple overtime upset in 2003 of the then #3 Trojans down at the Coliseum. It’s safe to say Cal will need a monster effort from Shane Vereen and some semblance of competence from Kevin Riley.