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BERKLEY, Calif. — All you want in a game is an opportunity to win. Late in the fourth quarter, Utah had that, and then some.
But costly mistakes sprinkled throughout the game ended up being too much for the Utes to overcome in a 28-23 road loss to Cal.
Here are my instant observations following the game.
4th down conversions helped some, but one miss hurt down the stretch
Utah's streak of consecutive 4th down conversions grew to 9-9 on the season, with Zack Moss and Armad Shyne teaming up for 4-4 early on against Cal.
But with just under 11 minutes remaining and Utah down 21-17, Moss was stuffed short on 4th and inches at the Cal 11 yard line. Had Utah taken the points and kicked the field goal, Utah would have trailed only by 1, instead, just 6 plays later, Cal extended its lead to 28-17.
Utah fought back on their ensuing possession with a TD (2 point try failed), but instead of being down 5 or 4, Utah would have only been down 2 or 1.
Andy Phillips did badly miss a field goal from 48 yards out before the half, but I don't think that had any effect on this decision to go for it.
I'm not saying it was a bad call to not take the points, but a blown assignment on the 4th and inches call ended up causing Utah to leave points off the board on that drive.
Arguing with refs is a fruitless endeavor
Facing 1st and goal from the Cal 2 with 14 seconds remaining, Utah called a timeout. Or did they?
Whittingham was adamant on the sideline that he did not call a timeout, and was simply giving clarification saying he wanted to call a timeout after the play if the clock was still running. But the referees charged the timeout to Utah, giving them only 1 left. Utah tried a run on the first play, didn't get it and were forced to burn its last timeout.
That set up 3rd and goal from the Cal 1 with just three seconds remaining, and Utah was unprepared and had to rush to the line. Utah had to hurry the snap with the playclock winding down. The play was rushed and blockers went one way while the running back went the other, never a formula for success.
I'm not sure why Utah had to rush to the line on that third down attempt. But Whittingham was furious at the lost timeout and spent a lot of energy arguing with the officials on the sideline.
Bad calls are a part of every game. But bad calls don't cost you games. Great teams find a way to overcome and Utah just didn't get it done.
Injuries took a toll on the Utes, and credit Cal for capitalizing on mismatches
I've mislead you, and for that, I apologize.
We've been preaching depth, depth and depth all season long for the Utes. Depth on the defensive line, depth in the secondary, and depth in the wide receivers.
And not just guys filling up the two-deep. But playable, Pac-12 depth.
I was wrong.
Utah lost its starting center, corner and wide receiver against Cal. That is in addition to the previous starting center, running back, tight end and two all-conference defensive linemen being out as well.
The Utes had to go deep in the depth chart, and while most played admirably, at times the game was simply over their heads. Quite literally, too.
Starting center JJ Dielmen went down early against Cal. His replacement, Lo Falemaka, snapped the ball too high and over QB Troy Williams, turning a first and 10 into 2nd and 16.
Freshman Julian Blackmon was tasked with guarding the nation's leading receiver for a play. It ended badly, a 24 yard TD pass from Cal QB Davis Webb to Chad Hansen.
Give credit to Utah for battling back. But at the end of the day, they made lots of mistakes that, when added up, were just too much to overcome.
