Patrick Laird Is 51 Yards Shy Of Becoming A 1,000-Yard Rusher
FB11/21/2017 1:14 PM | By: Cal Athletics
Cal Heads To UCLA For Regular-Season Finale
- TV: FS1/FOX Sports Deportes – Chris Meyers (Play-By-Play), Evan Moore (Analyst)
- *Cal Radio: KGO 810 AM – Joe Starkey (Play-By-Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Todd McKim (Sideline Reporter)
- *also available on the Cal Bears Sports Network Powered by Learfield, TuneIn (tunein.com) and Sirius XM Satellite Radio (Sirius 83/XM 83/Internet 83)Â
- ^Cal Student Radio: KALX 90.7 FM – Jack Hinson (Play-By-Play), Shavit Kereen (Analyst) Â
- ^also available at kalx.berkeley.edu
California heads to UCLA for its 2017 regular-season finale Friday in the Rose Bowl. The Golden Bears are seeking one more win to gain bowl eligibility for the second time in three years after a previous three-year postseason absence. Â
Cal enjoyed a seven-year streak (2003-09) of playing in bowl games before a five-win 2010 season ended the run. Since playing in the 2011 Holiday Bowl, Cal has been in only one bowl game from 2012-16 at the 2015 Armed Forces Bowl though the Bears had five-win seasons in 2014 and 2016 to fall one game shy of bowl eligibility. Cal's all-time bowl record is 11-10-1.
Cal is 9-6 in regular-season finales since 2002, including a 36-10 win over UCLA last season and a 48-46 victory against Arizona State in 2015 for a two-game win streak.Â
Cal last beat UCLA in Pasadena with a 45-26 victory in 2009. Since 2000, the home team has won all but two contests with the other exception a 36-34 UCLA victory at Cal in 2014.Â
Patrick Laird is 51 rushing yards shy of becoming the 19th 1,000-yard rusher in school history and the first since Daniel Lasco (2014). His 40 receptions this season are the most by a Cal running back since 1988 and nine shy of the school's single-season record for the position. Â Â
Ross Bowers is 203 yards shy of becoming Cal's seventh 3,000-yard passer in school history. Cal has had a 3,000-yard passer each of the last four seasons in Jared Goff (2013-15) and Davis Webb (2016).Â
Vic Wharton III needs 190 receiving yards to become the eighth 1,000-yard receiver in Cal history with Chad Hansen (1,249) the most recent last season.Â
The last time Cal had a 1,000-yard rusher and receiver in the same season was 2011 when Isi Sofele rushed for 1,322 yards and Keenan Allen had 1,343 yards receiving.Â
Matt Anderson, Cal's all-time leading scorer with 303 career points, tied Doug Brien in career field goals last Saturday at Stanford and has a current total of 56. Â Â
Cal is among the national leaders in several big play categories on defense with the Bears tied for 10th in turnovers gained (23), tied for 14th in defensive touchdowns (3), tied for 14th in interceptions (14) and tied for 25th in fumbles recovered (9). Â Â
Cal is among the nation's top teams on fourth down on both sides of the ball, ranking 12th nationally in fourth-down conversion percentage (16-23, 69.6%) and tied for 24th in fourth-down conversion percentage defense (7-17, 41.2%).