The first fifteen minutes brought to mind what Cal could have been in 2020, a grind-it-out team that could keep opposing offenses off the field. The last 45 minutes brought to mind the familiar downfalls of the Bears when they've had losing streaks in 2017-20, as the Bears only mustered 3 points in the final 3 quarters, falling in the opener to Nevada, 22-17.

Cal got the ball to start, with a solid return from Nikko Remigio. The Bears took the ball 63 yards on 15 plays, using over 9 minutes of clock, eventually punching in their first score of 2021 with Damien Moore. Moore scored his first career touchdown on the play, despite leading Cal in rushing in 2020.

After a Nevada three and out, Cal went back to work with a strong running game, as Chris Brooks put together 25 yards on 3 carries, followed by 12 yards by Damien Moore. While the Bears missed on a couple passes, a shot play to Jeremiah Hunter went down to the 7 for 28 yards, and Chase Garbers hit Nikko Remigio on play action for an easy score, that made it 14-0 with a lot of confidence that Cal had turned the corner offensively.

That confidence did not last, as Nevada put together a solid drive, aided by a pass interference call by Chigozie Anusiem, with Brandon Talton hitting from 44 on the first of his three field goals.

Cal then went away from the run in the second quarter, with -3 yards on the ground in the frame. That led to three consecutive three and outs, as Carson Strong would flash his NFL potential on a 43 yard touchdown throw to Romeo Doubs. Garbers would notably bounce a short pass toward Jake Tonges, which led to a solid Nevada punt return by Doubs and a field goal to put Nevada down 1 right before the end of the half.

Second Half

Strong had a couple misses, but found Tory Horton deep on the left sideline for 46, then Elijah Cooks for 16 and a score to put Nevada up 19-14. Cal would break up the ensuing two point conversion, but didn't muster offense through the air, as a pass to Trevon Clark didn't connect, and a checkdown to Damien Moore went for 7 out of the necessary 10.

Cal did enough on the next drive to force a 49 yard field goal, with Luc Bequette picking up a big sack, but Talton nailed his third of the game. Talton would miss one after another Cal drive stalled. Cal went back to the run for a while, with Kekoa Crawford finally making a reception for 27 yards, but the drive would stall at the 6 as Garbers overthrew Nikko Remigio on a short out, with Dario Longhetto knocking a field goal through.

After Miles Williams made a fantastic toe tap interception at his own 1, Cal started running the ball again. DeCarlos Brooks had the longest offensive play of the day for the Bears, 38 yards on only his second career touch, but Garbers was sacked on a 3rd and 8 from the 9 and Longhetto pushed a 40 yard field goal left.

Cal forced another punt with a key pass breakup by Chigozie Anusiem, but Garbers would underthrow Hunter for an interception by Isaiah Essissima. Thanks to a Nevada false start and a holding penalty, Cal got the ball back on their own 20 after a punt, with 1:55 left but after Garbers hit Kekoa Crawford on 1st down, a WIll Craig hold, a couple short completions, and a Marcel Dancy drop. That ended it, as Hamish McClure took the final kneeldowns for Nevada.

Takeaways:

- Cal's run game, which averaged 5.7 yards per carry, had all but 9 of their rushing yards in the 1st and 4th quarters, with only six rushing attempts during those middle quarters

- Collin Gamble struggled in his first start, getting burned a couple times twice on deep balls. Lu-Magia Hearns saw some of his first action coming in for Gamble, as Williams also took some of his first reps for Daniel Scott

- Some of the same old bugaboos popped up for Cal, a missed field goal, not taking shots downfield, giving up a couple long throws in the midst of a somewhat decent performance against Carson Strong (22-39 for 312 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT), a couple big punt returns from Nevada from two returner sets. These are the things Cal can't allow to happen if they want to 'finish the job, and while it's still a long season, this is a big blow to the hopes Cal had going into the year.