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Anatomy of a Play: 4th and 1 to McMorris

There were arguably three offensive plays that changed the tone of the Cal - North Carolina matchup. The first was the targeting penalty at the end of the first half, which gave Cal the opportunity to go into the half down only 3. The last was the 43-yard slant to Vic Wharton on an RPO, which set the Bears up with 1st and goal at the 4, allowing for them to wear the clock down more on the way to a dagger of a touchdown. The second one though might have been the gutsiest call of them all, a 4th and 1 play action pass to FB Malik McMorris.

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"It was the perfect situation," McMorris said, "they called the formation, I was like, 'out of that, this could be the play.' I was like, 'I'm just gonna run fast and if I'm open, I'm open.' So I just ran at an angle at the guy who thought I was gonna hit him, I kinda ole'd him, and then I was like 'just run fast,' and then Ross threw a money ball in. Never have I seen a ball thrown like that and never have I caught one (like that) until then, perfect timing."

The setup of the play used a couple of nuances brought in the last couple of years, and a couple of quirks set into the offense by Beau Baldwin

First, you can see that Cal is in an unbalanced formation, with the tight end (tackle JD Hinnant wearing #85, something the Bears did last year), covered by the inside receiver, Jordan Duncan.

Second, you see Bowers under center, something the Bears utilized on short yardage situations, all runs except for this one.

Third, you see eight men in the box for UNC, playing up to stop the run, as the Bears had previously converted with Enwere, who's in the backfield.

The crux of this play is two-fold. First is the playfake to Enwere, which draws the linebackers up a few steps, getting them that much more out of position to make any play on this ball. The second is the route combo by the receivers. Jordan Veasy, on the outside, runs a little smash, while Duncan runs a corner and takes the two DBs with him. This clears the area for McMorris to make a play.

There's one more obstacle here, which is the outside linebacker, #23, who ends up running with McMorris after he realizes the fake.

"We were expecting the guy who ended up running out with Malik to kinda crash down a little bit more," Bowers said, "so it wasn’t going to have to be a throw that I had to float over, but football’s a crazy sport, so he ended up running with him, and Malik made a heck of a catch, that’s not an easy catch, especially running that way over the shoulder."

The selling out to stop the run made the play a little bit easier on one end, but the execution to float the ball and the over-the-shoulder catch made this play more difficult than it could or should have been, but McMorris made the play, one that linebacker Gerran Brown noted that he had a few doubts about.

"I honestly didn't think he was gonna catch it, but that's the thing about Malik," Brown said, "I've been playing with him since I was 15, I remember one time in a freshman game he hurdled someone, and every time he touches the ball he does something special. I saw the ball go up, I thought 'ah I don't think the receiver's gonna get there,' but sure enough I saw 99 running, I knew it, I knew Malik was going to catch it."

The play ended with McMorris dragging a defender all the way to an 18 yard gain, setting up Ross Bowers' 20 yard TD strike to Jordan Duncan to give the Bears a lead they wouldn't relinquish, and McMorris's rumble down the sideline set it up perfectly.

"Not too many 290 pound guys can do that," Bowers said. "so it’s a special play by him."

"I trust him and he’s gonna make the play," offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin added, "Most of the time that ball goes to Malik, but there are other receivers on that route too, but I just trusted the play would work as it was being thrown, I never had a doubt."

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