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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The defense dominated, Zach Maynard played turnover free and California got to enjoy being on the other side of a lopsided game for a change.
Maynard threw for one touchdown and ran for another and California's defense completely shut down Utah's offense to help the Golden Bears get their first Pac-12 win of the season, 34-10 over the Utes on Saturday.
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"It is one win, but it was desperately needed, no question about that," coach Jeff Tedford said. "We said last week that we were going to start the season over (with this game)."
Isi Sofele ran for 84 yards and a score, Keenan Allen caught a TD pass and Josh Hill returned an interception 32 yards for a score as the Bears (4-3, 1-3) controlled the entire game after being outscored 73-24 in losses to Oregon and Southern California the past two games.
Cal took advantage of four turnovers and held the Utes (3-4, 0-4) to just 57 yards of offense in the first three quarters to snap the three-game losing streak. It all started with the run defense, which limited Utah to 12 yards in the stingiest performance by the Bears in nine years.
"We came out saying that whoever it is, they're not running up the middle," defensive end Trevor Guyton said. "That's on the d-line. We did whatever we could to make sure they had to bounce it out. That happened and everyone else responded by not letting them run outside or throw the ball. When you do that it's hard to lose games."
Jon Hays threw three interceptions and lost a fumble as Utah's rough introduction to the new conference continues. The Utes and fellow Pac-12 newcomer Colorado are the only teams in the conference without a Pac-12 win as Utah has lost its first four conference games for the first time since 2002, when it resided in the Mountain West.
"There are a heck of lot better athletes and level of play, no doubt about that," coach Kyle Whittingham said. "That's what we expected. We're not sitting here surprised. We expected this to be a very challenging and a very difficult conference and it's proven to be exactly that."
With starting quarterback Jordan Wynn and tight end Dallin Rogers out with season-ending injuries and leading receiver DeVonte Christopher sidelined by an ankle injury, the Utes offense generated nothing against Cal's defense.
Hays was 11 for 22 for 148 yards with the four turnovers, running back John White was held to 39 yards on 15 carries a week after gaining 171 yards at Pittsburgh and Utah managed a paltry 177 yards for the entire game.
"I'm embarrassed," White said. "We need more effort out there, we need more fight. This is killing me right now."
That made the job easy for a Cal offense that had been held to 24 points in back-to-back lopsided losses to Oregon and Southern California. Maynard bounced back from a four-turnover performance last week against the Trojans to complete 19 of 29 for 255 yards. Allen had eight catches for 78 yards, including an impressive one-hander with his left hand.
"The defense did a great job today," Maynard said. "That builds momentum. It builds momentum for us. We get great ball position every time and it's easier to move the ball that way."
Cal scored 20 points in the second quarter to seize control of the game and proceeded to put it away quickly in the second half. After the defense came up with another three-and-out to start the third quarter, Maynard capped an 87-yard drive with a 4-yard keeper that made it 27-0.
Hays was drilled by David Wilkerson and threw his second interception in Cal territory later in the quarter. After being briefly replaced by Griff Robles, Hays was intercepted again on the opening play of the fourth quarter with Hill returning it for the score to make it 34-0.
The Utes finally managed to get on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter on a 36-yard field goal by Coleman Petersen. White added a 14-yard TD run in the closing minutes.
Cal held Utah to two first downs, 27 total yards and negative 6 yards rushing on the way to taking a 20-0 halftime lead. Sofele's 5-yard run early in the second quarter got the Bears on the scoreboard. Aaron Tipoti then forced a fumble with a hard hit on Hays on the next play from scrimmage, setting up the first of Giorgio Tavecchio's two first-half field goals.
Utah finally got into Cal territory for the first time late in the second quarter with help from two personal fouls against the Bears. But on first down from the 30, Mychal Kendricks intercepted Hays and returned the ball 32 yards to the Utah 42. Maynard threw a 30-yard pass to Marvin Jones and then Allen took a short pass and ran in for a 12-yard touchdown with 27 seconds left in the half.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
