California 50, Southern Utah 31
When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, September 8, 2012
Where: AT&T Park, San Francisco, California
Temperature:
62°
Head Official:
Mike Mothershed
Attendance:
57745
By SportsDirect Inc.
California 50, Southern Utah 31: Keenan Allen scored two touchdowns as the host Bears broke open a close game by scoring 24 points in the first 7:32 of the fourth quarter.
The Golden Bears (1-1), clinging to a 20-17 lead to start the fourth quarter, got a 19-yard touchdown catch and a 69-yard punt return for a score from Allen to avoid their second straight home loss.
Brad Sorensen threw four touchdown passes for Southern Utah (0-2), an FCS school from the Big Sky Conference which was playing a Pac-12 school for the first time.
California looked to have the game in hand late in the first half with a 20-3 lead. Southern Utah, though, scored on a Hail Mary on the final play of the second quarter when Sorensen hit Cameron Morgan for 37 yards to cut the deficit to 20-10.
The Thunderbirds took the opening kickoff in the second half and went 75 yards in 12 plays, capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass from Sorensen to Henna Brown.
Allen's TD reception from quarterback Zach Maynard extended the lead to 27-17 on the first play of the fourth quarter, and the Bears got a 61-yard interception return for a touchdown by Marc Anthony before Allen sealed the game when he returned a punt 69 yards for a score after fumbling the kick.
Sorensen completed 31 of 45 passes for 292 yards.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Tailback Isi Sofele, who had four 100-yard games last year for California, had 104 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown. ... The Bears outgained Southern Utah 353-83 in total yards in the first half, but two turnovers and 10 penalties killed several scoring chances. ... The Golden Bears are 6-0 all-time against FCS members. ... California is 62-5 under coach Jeff Tedford when scoring more than 30 points.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Southern Utah |
|
California |
Brian Wilson
|
Player |
Isi Sofele
|
17 |
Attempts |
19 |
74 |
Yards |
104 |
4.4 |
Avg Yards |
5.5 |
0 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Receiving
Southern Utah |
|
California |
Fatu Moala
| Player |
Chris Harper
|
9 |
Receptions |
7 |
85 |
Yards |
94 |
9.4 |
Avg Yards |
13.4 |
1 |
Touchdowns |
0 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
Southern Utah
|
371 |
79 |
292 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1.0 |
2 |
California
|
518 |
289 |
229 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
5.0 |
0 |