BERKELEY – Defense kept the California football team within striking distance into the final minutes of its home opener on Saturday against Auburn, but the Golden Bears weren't able to turn takeaways into enough points, falling 14-10 in front of 44,141 at California Memorial Stadium.
Cal's defense forced four turnovers, including a fumble forced by safety Patrick McMorris with just over four minutes remaining in the game. That gave the Bears the ball in Auburn (2-0) territory, needing a touchdown trailing by just four points.
Quarterback Sam Jackson V hit wide receiver Trond Grizzell for 11 yards and an Auburn unnecessary roughness penalty added 15 more, quickly putting the Bears at the Tigers' 15-yard line. However, the Bears weren't able to find the end zone, and Auburn subsequently picked up the third-down conversion it needed to run out the rest of the clock.
"Our defense did a really good job for most of the night," Travers Family Head Coach Justin Wilcox said. "We're going to show our guys what they did right and encourage them, but this is a team game and it's about winning, and we didn't get the job done."
Jackson – who exited Cal's season-opener early with an injury – initially entered the game midway through the second quarter and provided the offense with an instant boost. The Bears immediately went 65 yards in six plays, capping things off with a Jaydn Ott 14-yard touchdown scamper to go up 10-7.
"I was just looking to give the team a spark," said Jackson. "Just like in our first game, we were explosive from the jump. I was just looking for ways to get the guys going and get the offense going."
Ott finished the night with a game-high 78 rushing yards before missing the final quarter due to injury. Jackson completed 14-of-27 passes for 126 yards.
Linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr had a career night, leading all players with 13 tackles and helping force a turnover less than 90 seconds into the game as he pursued Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne to the sideline and knocked the ball free just before Thorne went out of bounds. That led to Cal's first scoring drive, as kicker Michael Luckhurst connected from 39 yards out.
That was the first of three fumbles recovered by the Bears' defense, which forced four turnovers – not including a turnover on downs to begin the second half – for the first time since the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl against TCU. Cal also totaled three sacks and picked off one pass on a high throw in the second quarter that went off a receiver's fingertips before being reeled in by cornerback Nohl Williams.
"We just wanted to play fast, play physical, and play our game," Elarms-Orr said. "We're a really good defense and we're a really good team. We just wanted to get to the quarterback, tackle in space, knock back tackles in the run game, and I feel like we did a pretty good job of doing that."
The Bears outgained Auburn 273-230 on offense, but missed key opportunities going 1-for-4 in the red zone.
Cal will look to bounce back next Saturday, Sept. 16 when it hosts Idaho at 1 p.m.
