Sept. 4, 1999

Game Stats
Game Quotes
Game Notes

BERKELEY - The Bears used big plays by Marcus Fields on offense, Deltha O'Neal on defense and special teams, and a stifling second half defense to emerge with a 21-7 victory over Rutgers in both teams' season opener.

After Cal forged a 14-7 lead late in the second quarter, the Bears relied on its highly touted defense, which held Rutgers to just 67 offensive yards in the second half. Cal's "Hit Squad" sacked Rutgers quarterback Mike McMahon seven times for a loss of 40 yards.

Cal tailback Marcus Fields led all rushers with 123 yards while Rutgers running back Jacki Crooks led his team with 108 yards rushing

The Bears started the game with a bang, parlaying O'Neal's 50-yard return of the opening kickoff into a quick TD, as Fields sprinted 49 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.

After Cal held Rutgers on three straight plays, it appeared that Cal might dominate action. However, that was not the case.

The Knights struck back on their second possession, marching 75 yards in 10 plays, capped by McMahon's 16-yard scoring strike to L.J. Smith on a 3rd-and-12 situation. The Knights got into striking distance when McMahon connected down the middle of the field to Crooks on a 20-yard completion to the Cal 25.

Another Cal big play on special teams late in the first quarter set up a scoring threat when Damian Marzett partially blocked Charlie Titus's punt, giving Cal the ball at its own 44 yard line. But after an impressive 35-yard ramble by Joe Igber, the drive stalled. Jeremy Hershey's 35-yard field goal attempt, however, bounced off the right upright.

Freshman quarterback Kyle Boller replaced Samuel Clemons in the middle of the second quarter. After a shaky start, including a fumble on the snap from center on the first play, he settled down to complete a pair of first down passes, including one for 11 yards to Sean Currin.

However, the drive stalled when Boller fumbled the ball away at the Rutgers 29 when attempting to scramble out of the pocket.

Four plays later, O'Neal again came to the rescue when he intercepted a McMahon pass intended for Errol Johnson and returned it 75 yards for the TD.

Cal got a big break on its first offensive play in the third quarter when referees ruled that Joel Young's knee was down before a fumble that would have given Rutgers the ball at Cal's eight-yard line. The Bears then drove 79 yards behind the rushing of Fields, who gained 58 yards including a 47-yard run.

The Bears had another chance to score with just under five minutes left in the third, but Hershey's field goal attempt form 28 yards out was wide left.

One of O'Neal's few mistakes in the game came at the end of the third when he fumbled a punt return that was recovered by Rutgers linebacker Dax Strohmeyer at the Bear 45. Cal's defense held the Scarlet Knights to -2 yards total offense in the third quarter. After the game, O'Neal revealed that he had suffered a badly sprained thumb while playing on defense and that contributed to his fumble.

The Bear defense completely shut down Rutgers on their first six drives of the second half, holding the Knights to a cumulative minus 9 yards. Rutgers did put together a solid drive with time running out, but O'Neal ended a final threat when he intercepted a McMahon pass in the end zone with 1:17 left in the game.

	        1	2	3	4		F
Rutgers	        7	0	0	0	-	7
California	7	7	7	0	-	21
GAME STATISTICS
	Qtr	Time	Play	Score
C	1	14:38	Fields 49 run (Hershey kick)	7-0
			Scoring Drive: 49 yards in 1 play, :22
R	1	6:30	Smith 16 pass from McMahon (Barone kick)	7-7
			Scoring Drive: 75 yards in 10 plays, 4:33
C	2	4:15	O'Neal 75 yard interception return (Hershey kick)	14-7
C	3	10:53	17 yard pass from Boller (Hershey kick)	21-7
			Scoring drive: 79 yards in 7 plays, 2:58
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
RUSHING
CAL:
Fields	11-123
Igber	7-55
RUTGERS:
Crooks	27-108
Thomas	3-10
PASSING
CAL:
Clemons	2-2-14
	0 TD/0 Int
Boller	15-8-89
	1 TD/0 Int
RUTGERS:
McMahon	29-15-183
	1 TD/2 Int
RECEIVING
CAL:
Young	2-6
Currin	1-11
RUTGERS:
Smith	4-42
Johnson	3-65
Thomas	3-29
Crooks	3-29
TEAM STATISTICS	        CAL	        RU
First Downs (Rush-Pass-Pen.)	13 (6-5-2)	20 (8-9-3)
Rushing (Att-Net Yds.)	        34-162	        47-104
Passing (PC-PA-Int.)	        10-17-0	        15-29-2
Passing Yards	                103	        183
Total Offensive Plays	        51	        76
Total Offensive Yards	        265	        287
Punts-Average	                5-47.6	        8-39.4
Penalties-Yards	                8-61	        8-70
Fumbles                         3-2	        2-0
Time of Possession	        23:20	        36:40