The Blaze

By Josh Green

On a gloomy, rainy Saturday afternoon in the Bay Area, the California Golden Bears hit the Arizona State Sun Devils with the eye of the storm in a 50-17 victory in front of 51,599.

Kevin Riley threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns, and Shane Vereen rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears, who bounced back nicely after an embarrassing 48-14 loss to USC last weekend.

The Sun Devils, coming off a bye week, lost any momentum they gained two weeks ago when they defeated the Washington Huskies in Seattle. They struggled on both sides of the football, allowing 371 total yards while only gaining 234, and were outplayed in almost every possible way. Offense. Defense. Special teams. You name it.

“They kicked our rear ends,” head coach Dennis Erickson said, “Everything you can do to lose a football game we did. There was no aspect of the game that we even came close to competing with them.”

For the fourth straight game, ASU scored first. Quarterback Steven Threet led an eight-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a Thomas Weber 28-yard field goal. That was the only lead the Sun Devils had all game, as Cal responded with 40 unanswered points.

The game was basically over by halftime, as the Bears took a 26-3 lead into the locker room, thanks to 184 passing yards and two touchdowns from Riley.

ASU had to play the second half without Threet, who suffered a concussion at the end of the first half. Samson Szkakascy took over quarterback duties.

The Bears scored the first 14 points of the second half before ASU got on the board with an Oliver Aaron 1-yard touchdown return on a blocked punt. Safety Clint Floyd scored the other touchdown for ASU on a 25-yard fumble return late in the fourth quarter.

It was another disappointing effort by the Sun Devils, who reverted to the same bad habits that played a big part in their heart-breaking losses to Wisconsin, Oregon, and Oregon State. They failed to convert in the red-zone the few times they were there, they failed to tackle on special teams, and they failed to show any discipline, as they were penalized nine times for 72-yards.

“I’m disappointed for our fans and for our team,” linebacker Brandon Magee said, “We have to go back home and learn from out mistakes.”

The loss severely damages ASU’s hopes of going to a bowl game. They must now win four of the remaining five games to reach the seven win mark necessary to become bowl eligible. Three of the remaining five games are against teams currently ranked in the top 25.

“It’s two steps back for us,” Erickson said, “We’ve taken a lot of steps forward in this program this year. Then, all of the sudden, you get blindsided. To me, we’ve made a lot of progress, but this knocked us back. Now we get to see what we’re made of.”

The good news for the Sun Devils is that their next game is against Washington State, the only winless team in the Pac-10.

***

injury notes

-Steven Threet will undergo a series of tests this week to determine if he will be able to play next Saturday against Washington State. If he is unable to play, expect Brock Osweiler to make the start.

-Linebacker Oliver Aaron suffered a concussion as well. It has not been announced whether he will play next Saturday.

-Linebacker Shelly Lyons broke his foot during the second half. There is no official word on how much time he will miss.

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