BERKELEY, Calif. -- After California's wild, three-overtime upset of No.
13 UCLA, quarterback Kyle Boller was lifted onto the shoulders of his teammates
and mobbed by the fans who rushed the field.
"This is crazy, I mean, I never imagined the fans running down the field,"
Boller said. "Going through what we've gone through in the past few weeks,
it's indescribable, it's a lot of fun."
Joe Igber ran 3 yards for a touchdown in the third overtime, and Boller hit
Geoff McArthur with the 2-point conversion pass as Cal (2-4, 1-2 Pac-10) ended
a four-game losing streak with a 46-38 victory over UCLA (4-2, 1-2).
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| California's Jemeel Powell intercepts a pass in triple-OT to seal the victory over UCLA.(AP) | |
Cornerback Jameel Powell intercepted Cory Paus on the final play for UCLA,
which has lost eight-straight on the road. Paus, who threw for 308 yards and
four touchdowns, was stunned.
"Yes it's frustrating," Paus said. "It's as frustrated as I've ever been
in my life."
Powell, who had two interceptions, was buried by fans and teammates.
"It was starting to hurt, because everyone was piling on me," he said.
"But it was a good hurt."
The Bruins scored twice in the fourth quarter to make it 28-all at the end
of regulation. Paus, who hit 20-of-39 passes, also ran for a 1-yard score to
force a second OT.
Chris Griffith hit a 35-yard field goal to give UCLA a 38-35 lead, but Mark
Christian-Jensen answered with a 37-yarder of his own for Cal, setting up the
third OT.
Boller completed 16-of-34 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns,
including a 22-yard scoring pass to Derek Swafford on the first OT drive that
gave Cal a 35-28 lead.
"We just didn't make any plays in overtime," Bruins coach Bob Toledo said.
"We didn't do a good job of covering receivers, we didn't have a good
pass-rush going, and when we did, Boller scrambled out of it and made some big
plays."
California has a recent history of upsetting the Bruins: Last season, the
Bears shut out UCLA 17-0 at the Rose Bowl, snapping the Bruins' 13-game home
winning streak.
"They deserved this," Cal coach Tom Holmoe said. "They've been down on a
lot of Saturdays, and today they're all smiles."
With UCLA trailing 28-14 with 8:43 to go, Paus hit Akil Harris with a
20-yard touchdown pass.
On Cal's ensuing possession, UCLA linebacker Tony White picked up Igber's
fumble, and the Bruins tied it on Paus' 35-yard pass to Freddie Mitchell.
The Bears went up 7-0 on Boller's 23-yard scoring pass to Igber with 6:34 to
play in the first quarter. Boller had a 22-yard run to highlight the six-play
drive.
Paus, expected to go deep against Cal's poor pass defense, hit Mitchell with
a 42-yard pass on the following series. Bryan Fletcher tied the game with a
13-yard TD catch from Paus, despite double coverage by Cal.
Boller wasn't about to be out-thrown. He faked a handoff to Igber and then
hit him with a 36-yard scoring pass that put Cal up 14-7 in the second quarter.
On the next series, Cal free safety Namdi Asomugha intercepted Paus and ran
the ball back 31 yards for a touchdown, putting Cal ahead 21-7 with 9:09 left
in the second quarter.
Before the half, the Bruins got as close the 1-yard line, but on fourth down
Paus' pass to tight end Gabe Crecion fell incomplete. Cal got the ball back,
but Boller fumbled on the 5 -- giving the Bruins another shot.
This time, Paus found Fletcher in the end zone with a 4-yard pass and the
Bruins narrowed the deficit to 21-14 at halftime.
Powell opened the second half by intercepting Paus on the 20. Cal got to the
9, but running back Saleem Muhammed fumbled, giving the ball back to UCLA.
Joe Echema ran 1 yard with 4:48 left in the third quarter to put Cal up
28-14. H-back Keala Keanaaina, who has at least one reception in each game this
season, had a 24-yard catch on the drive.
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