Instant Reaction: Cal's upset bid falls short against Notre Dame

Well, after a million chances the Bears do not pull out the upset this week.

Notre Dame won, 24-17.

The Bears were *thisclose* to pulling out a win versus Notre Dame. A Jeremiah Hunter Hail Mary catch away from tying the game at 24-24 or going for two to end it. But, as with all things lately, *thisclose* wasn’t quite close enough.

First Quarter

N/A

Second Quarter

14:27, Cal - J. Michael Sturdivant 18 yard reception from Jack Plummer. 7-0, Bears

8:54, Notre Dame - Chris Tyree 21 yard reception from Drew Pyne. 7-7, all

4:11, Cal - Dario Longhetto's 24 yard field goal is good. 10-7, Bears

Third Quarter

9:14, Notre Dame - Audric Estime 1 yard run. 14-10, Irish.

4:48, Cal - Jack Plummer 1 yard run. 17-14, Irish

Fourth Quarter

14:48, Notre Dame - Blake Grupe 47 yard field goal is good. 17-17, all

9:16, Notre Dame - Michael Mayer 6 yard reception from Drew Pyne. 24-17, Irish.

When the Irish turned to a tempo run game later in the game, it looked like the Cal defense was immediately on its heels. Almost concurrently, the Notre Dame pass rush started getting home on almost every single play. From there on out, the game spiraled and Cal’s trenches couldn’t keep up with Notre Dame.

However, it’s arguable that the real turning point of this game came when the Bears were called for a phantom offside penalty on a Notre Dame field goal miss.

That missed call almost immediately cost Cal points, as the Irish scored a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 just a few plays later. If Cal takes over with momentum and the lead there, this game could have unfolded very differently there.

If not for Jack Plummer’s legs, this game might have ended up a whole lot worse than it did. Plummer ended up with 34 rushing yards after the sack total is taken out, but doing some loose math he had around 70 yards on the ground, saving Cal’s offense on way too many occasions. The box score for Plummer is ugly, but anyone watching that game can tell you exactly how much the Cal starting quarterback did to try and drag this team to victory all day.

The senior member of the Cal linebacker crew recorded a career high in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks Saturday. His final stat line: 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss. Just an absolutely unbelievable day for Sirmon for a team that needed someone to step up and make plays on defense too many times today.

Interesting officiating aside, Cal lost this game because it cannot protect Jack Plummer, plain and simple. The skill positions on offense and the entire defense is clearly good enough to challenge a team like the Irish, but with no ability to protect Plummer the Bears could not get anything going after the first part of the game. Notre Dame ended the day with six sacks and eight tackles for loss, but had it not been for Plummer’s mobility that sack total would have probably been in the double digits.

If the Bears can’t find a way to protect or call plays that put their offensive line in more favorable positions, it’s going to be a long season and a lot of training table visits for Jack Plummer.

It means that this Cal team needs pass protection answers and it needs them fast. It’s unlikely that a personnel switch happens at this point, but the Bears are going to have to look at their playbook and decide what they can and cannot run, along with which extra players they need to bring in to help the protection. Something has to give in the passing game, but the answer cannot continue to be relying on Jack Plummer to bail the team out.

Jack Plummer: 16-37, 182YDS, 1TD, 0INT, 34YDs rushing

Jeremiah Hunter: 5 catches, 66YDs

J. Michael Sturdivant: 4 catches, 61YDS, 1 TD. 1 carry, 2YDs

Mavin Anderson: 4 catches, 38YDS

Jaydn Ott: 2 catches, 11YDs. 13 carries, 33 yards

Jermaine Terry: 1 catch, 8YDs

DeCarlos Brooks: 5 carries, 43YDs