The California Golden Bears received the opening kickoff, and Coleman Edmond took it to the Cal 30. After some nice rushing by Isi Sofele to set up a third and short, Marvin Jones dropped a short out pattern for what would have been an easy first down for the Bears.
Cal was forced to punt, and Tyler Hansen made that ball move. He found Paul Richardson, Rodney Stewart, Kyle Cefalo and Matthew Bahr for 10+ yard completions and put Colorado in the red zone. But Stewart couldn't convert a fourth-and-one, and the ball went back to Cal.
The Bears moved the ball better on the second drive. Sofele picked up a first down on two rushes, and Maynard connected with brother Keenan Allen for a huge third down conversion. But after Maynard found fullback John Tyndall on the short read for another first down, he backpedaled on his next throw and jump passed it, and it was picked off by Colorado linebacker Jon Major. Colorado took advantage of that quickly: Hansen found Richardson streaking down the sideline past Cal cornerback Steve Williams for a 36 yard gain, a screen to Stewart gave the Buffs another 17 yards, and Will Oliver's 27 yard field goal gave Colorado a 3-0 lead.
For more from the Cal perspective, go to the California Golden Blogs. For more from the Colorado perspective, head to Ralphie Report.