During the weather delay of Cal's overnight win over Washington, the Bears had a unique situation. The didn't know when they'd be getting back on the field, so Justin Wilcox told his squad to relax and sent out for a few easy materials.

"We had them take their shoulder pads and their cleats off and relax," Wilcox said, "something like that, you don't want to go to sleep and you don't want to sit there and bang your head against a wall for two hours and forty minutes. We got some PB&Js and some snacks, Gatorades and waters, and just hung out."

That served right guard McKade Mettauer well, as the true freshman offensive lineman acted like you'd expect an offensive lineman would.

"I didn't take my pads off (at first), went outside," Mettauer said, "it was still raining so I took my pads off, ate a couple pickles, (drank) pickle juice, a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, just what an O-lineman needs to get back out there."

It was a new situation for everyone there, including CB Cam Bynum.

"It was kinda fun because of how weird it was," Bynum noted, "it was my first time in a weather delay, the unknown is pretty fun, like 'wow, we're in here for two and a half hours during a game,' it was a fun time being in there, and we had started the game, we knew we were going to go back out there and have fun, first drive we had a three and out, had a lot of energy to go back out there and keep it up. I tried to lay down and take a nap, but we were just out there talking about the game, what we got the first series."

Will Craig and the Replacements

One unfortunate bit of business was that sophomore offensive lineman Will Craig was ruled out for the year (lower body).

"We feel for him, he's taking it hard, as we all are," Wilcox said, "but he'll be back and rehabilitated. It's part of our game, we hurt for him, and these guys put in a ton of time year-round, there's workouts and meetings, and it's really important to him."

Craig is eligible for a redshirt year, thanks to only playing one game this year.

Craig was out on Saturday, but the offensive line pulled through in the second half, rushing for 6.7 yard per carry (after 3.2 in the first half)

"Early in the game we had a few penalties," Wilcox noted, "they came back and in the second half, noticeably ran the ball effectively and protected well against some really good players and schemes."

And they did it with a former walk-on in Henry Bazakas filling in for Craig at left tackle.

"He did a good job, Henry played through an injury himself," Wilcox said, "he walked on here and just worked extremely hard, we're really glad he's with us, we need him."

They also had Mettauer at right guard, as Valentino Daltoso only played 13 reps, starting at left tackle, but going out with his own injury. That left Mettauer to play, and play well, not allowing a QB pressure in the pass game.

"I think he did a hell of a job," Wilcox said, "for a freshman to go in with a 'crack count' as we call it, you can't hear very well, "even though some people left, it was still loud, you couldn't go to cadence. In that environment, against that team, their talent and some of the looks they give you, he did a hell of a job."

"It's unfortunate that I got this opportunity because of Will Craig's injury," Mettauer added, "but I feel like it was a great opportunity for to show that I deserved to be in that spot, especially being at Washington, the defensive line that Washington has, it was a great test for me."

Getting Back Late

Cal's Sunday meetings weren't affected by the delay, but their return to Berkeley was. Wilcox noted that they plane got back to Oakland at around 5:30 AM.

Bynum

Cam Bynum made one of the strongest plays of the Washington game, getting an interception against a massive target in Hunter Bryant.

"They split out Hunter Bryant," Bynum noted, "their big tight end, to the field. Just me and him, isolation, I knew he was gonna run deep and try to big body me, so I just bailed out and had my eyes on the quarterback, and managed to pick it off."

It was Bynum's fifth career interception, his second against Washington.