BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Punting mishaps, untimely penalties and a WSU touchdown that was originally called an incomplete pass by officials, but was overturned on the field proved to be the difference in Cal's 21-17 loss to the Washington State Cougars.

Struggling offensively from the outset, Cal opened the game with a four-play drive that saw Joe Igber run for 7 yards and Kyle Boller's first pass tipped at the line of scrimmage by WSU DL Melvin Camarena. On fourth down, a low snap to Cal punter Nick Harris forced the kicker to hang onto the ball that led to a 12 yard loss. WSU took over at the Bears 20-yard-line, but Cal's defense held firm, keeping the Cougars out of the end zone. A 22-yard field goal by Anousith Wilaikul gave WSU an early 3-0 lead.

The Bears offense couldn't sustain a drive on its second attempt of the game and Harris was forced to punt again from Cal's own 26. After WSU nearly blocked the kick, the Cougars' Collin Henderson fumbled the return on the Cougars' 29. Cal's James Bethea recovered the ball to start the Bears first scoring drive.

Following a short run by Chase Lyman in the middle of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown play. Mark Jensen converted the point to give the Bears a 7-3 lead with 9:15 left in the first quarter.

After a 37-yard pass play from WSU quarterback Jason Gesser to WR Milton Wynn with 3:30 left in the opening period, Cal's defense stifled WSU on the Cougars next three plays, capped by Andre Carter's sack of Gesser on 3rd-and-10, resulting in a 9-yard loss. At the end of the first quarter, Cal's defense held the Cougars to just 66 yards passing and zero yards on the ground.

In WSU's first drive of the second quarter, Gesser went to the end zone on a pass intended for Curtis Nettles, but Cal's Chidi Iwuoma broke up the play at the goal line. At the end of the 16-play, 68-yard drive, the Cougars had to settle for a 30-yard field goal, cutting the Bears lead to 7-6.

In an uncharacteristic miscue by Harris, Cal's punter missed the ball on his next kick. WSU's Jeremy Thielbahr quickly recovered the football on the Bears 18-yard-line. The Cougars scored on a 6-yard draw play up the middle by RB Dave Minnich and converted the two-point try on a pass from Gesser to Marcus Williams, taking a 14-7 lead over Cal.

Starting from their own 35-yard-line with under nine minutes to go in the half, Cal strung together an impressive 12-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in a 6-yard touchdown run by Boller. The key play in the drive came on 4th-and-1 when Joseph Echema rambled 8 yards to give the Bears a first down. Jensen added an extra point, tying the game at 14-14.

Just before the intermission, Gesser hit Milton Wynn 38 yards down the field. A roughing penalty tacked on an extra 15 yards to the play and WSU threatened from the Bears 36-yard-line. A key play on 3rd-and-12, Cal's Chris Ball broke through the offensive line and sacked Gesser for a 16-yard loss that forced the Cougars to punt from their own 45 with less than a minute to go in the half. The Bears and Cougars went into the locker room deadlocked 14-14

Cal struck first in the second half on a 20-yard field goal by Jensen with 7:04 to play in the third quarter. The 51-yard, 14-play drive gave the Bears a 17-14 lead.

But with 4:56 left in the quarter, WSU's special teams stepped up and Erik Coleman blocked a Harris punt. The ball was recovered by the Cougars' Adam Hawkins and returned to the Bears 24-yard-line. Harris made the tackle, but was called for a facemask penalty that gave WSU the ball at Cal's 14-yard-line.

Less than a minute later, in what turned out to be the game's deciding touchdown, Gesser found Williams in the far side of the end zone. The wide receiver bobbled the 10-yard pass that was originally called incomplete, but was reversed on the field, giving the Cougars the score. After Wilaikul's extra point, WSU recaptured the lead 21-17.

On Cal's next drive, Echema returned the Cougars' kickoff 53 yards to the WSU 33-yard-line. Just before the end of the third quarter, Cal's Igber raced 25 yards down the left sideline and into the end zone, but the play was called back on a holding penalty against the Bears. After a 4-yard pass to Saleem Muhammad on 3rd-and-15, the Bears went for it on 4th down. WSU's Mory Banks intercepted Boller's pass intended for Lyman with 1:36 left in the period. Cal went 1-for-5 on fourth down conversions in the game.

Cal drove deep into Cougar territory with less than six minutes to go in the game on running plays by Echema and Igber. The Bears had a 1st-and-10 opportunity from WSU's 11-yard-line, but were denied on four plays and turned the ball over on downs as Boller was sacked with 3:23 left in the game.

In WSU's final drive of the game, Gesser connected on a 56-yard pass to a streaking Marcus Williams who outran both Cal's Harold Pearson and Bert Watts.

The Bears defense held the Cougars' to just 41 yards rushing, but gave up 238 yards in the air. Cal's Boller completed 11 of 31 passes for 89 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for another score. Igber and Echema both carried the ball 18 times with Igber netting 74 yards and Echema 72. Cal's FS Namdi Asomugha led the Bears with 8 tackles.