With the Golden Bears pinned inside their own 10 after Isi Sofele muffed a kickoff return, Brock Mansion responded in a huge way. First he faked the handoff to Shane Vereen and rushed for 28 yards downfield to take them out of their own red zone. Then he threw a gorgeous deep ball to Marvin Jones that Jones hauled in for a 50 yard gain and set up first and goal. Shane Vereen punched the ball in on 2nd and goal to tie the game at 7.
After Cal tied it up, Washington State drove to midfield, but Reid Forrest pinned the Golden Bears deep with a good punt. When Cal went three-and-out, Washington State kicker Andrew Furney nailed a 51 yard field goal to give the Cougars the advantage. It was Furney’s first career college field goal.
On the next drive, Mansion threw an interception to Nolan Washington (the pass was intended for Michael Calvin) after not recognizing the coverage. But Washington State couldn’t advance the ball, and Furney couldn’t strike gold twice, missing a 50 yard field goal. Cal goes into halftime trailing by three. With Mansion still struggling to throw anything but short or deep balls (5 for 13 for 70 yards), will the Bears try to go back to reestablishing the run?