It was a complete game by the Golden Bears defense, as Clancy Pendergast’s unit shut down the Bruins from start to finish. Here’s the recap from the Cal SB Nation blog, California Golden Blogs (read the rest of it here!).
Nothing needs to be sorted out by a defense that’s finding its mojo at just the right time. These were the stars of the game from start to finish. It was a complete team effort, as ten Golden Bears had three tackles or more.
The Revolver offense UCLA ran so successfully against Texas (264 yards on the ground overall) came to a halt in Memorial. UCLA managed 16 rushing yards on their first drive and then put up only nine more the rest of the game, finishing at about one yard a carry. That number shrinks to three yards if you average in Johnathan Franklin’s very next carry, where Chris Conte stripped the ball from his hands and Josh Hill recovered it inside the red zone, setting up Vereen’s second touchdown and a 14-0 Cal lead. (I should mention Derrick Hill somewhere; his stats aren’t impressive, but when he’s in, there’s just no space at all for the running backs inside.)
And the pass defense was equally up-to-the-task. Darian Hagan, Bryant Nnbauife, Marc Anthony, Steve Williams, D.J. Campbell all broke up a pass apiece. Hagan also added an interception of Prince, forcing UCLA’s quarterback to a horrid performance (13 for 31 and barely 3 yards per attempt).