Wild, wild Webb — former Texas Tech quarterback leads Cal past Texas, 50-43

By Steve Habel, Senior Editor

BERKELEY, Calif. — There is no way that the Texas Longhorns’ 50-43 loss Saturday night to California can be considered anything but a step backward for the suggestion that UT had surged back into the ranks of the pertinent of the college football world.

What 50,448 fans in California Memorial Stadium and a red-eyed nationwide viewership discovered (or was it reaffirmed?) was that the Texas defense can’t stop anyone, save from the occasional team like UTEP. With the game in the balance late in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns folded, finally doomed by defensive breakdowns, bad execution and poor coaching decisions.

The record will show that Cal quarterback Davis [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]Webb, who transferred to the East Bay after failing to keep his job at Texas Tech, hit Chad Hansen on a 12-yard touchdown pass for the deciding score with 3:41 to play. It was one of five touchdowns for Webb (four throwing and another on the ground), who connected with nine different receivers for 396 yards through the air.

Texas (2-1) got the ball back with plenty of time for its offense to move downfield for the tying score, and two timeouts to help in that cause. But suddenly the passing lanes that had been open earlier in the game were taken away from freshman quarterback Shane Buechele, and three plays netted next to nothing and forced Texas to punt and rely on its defense.

That was a pipe dream. The Golden Bears picked up nine yards on two runs and forced the Longhorns to burn those two clock stoppages. Then, needing only a yard to gain a first down and put the game away, Cal running back Vic Enwere shot through a huge hole in the Texas line and raced into the end zone with a meaningless touchdown that added insult to the Longhorns’ injury.

But the football somehow slipped out of Enwere’s left hand at the 1-yard line and was ruled a fumble. Officials huddled and looked at the replay and decided that the loose ball had rolled into the end zone but was not immediately recovered, basically denying the Longhorns any kind of unlikely, last-gasp chance.

“This is a tough and disappointing loss,” Texas coach Charlie Strong said after the game. “We gave up too many big plays on defense, and we had our chances on offense and turned it over a couple of times. In our first road game, we expected to play better. We had to have our team better prepared and we didn’t.”

Texas defensive tackle Paul Boyette summed things up even more succinctly: “It wasn’t a talent issue. It wasn’t a scheme issue. We did not execute the game plan. Guys have to learn their assignments.”

The loss overshadowed a monstrous night running the ball by UT’s D’Onta Foreman (157 yards on 21 carries) and Chris Warren III (18 rushing attempts for 119 yards). Each scored two touchdowns as the Longhorns amassed 307 yards on the ground and a 568 yards of total offense on 90 snaps — both season highs.

Cal countered with 507 yards of total offense and Enwere’s 110 yards on 18 carries. The Golden Bears’ defense forced two turnovers; Texas forced none.

The first half was a back-and-forth offensive exhibition as the two teams racked up a combined 68 points and 596 yards of total offense.

Texas got two first-quarter rushing touchdowns from Warren (from four and 12 yards, respectively) and another on the ground by Foreman that covered four yards and a lengthy stretch of his arm to reach the ball across the goal line. The Longhorns also got a 41-yard scoring pass from Buechele to Jacorey Warrick on which Buechele just threw the ball into a spot in the end zone and let the mercurial Warrick run past two defenders to catch it.

UT kicker Trent Domingue added a 38-yard field goal and precocious freshman defensive back Brandon Jones flew in from the edge of the line to block a punt that rolled out of the end zone for a safety. It was Jones’ second punt block in the past two games.

The Golden Bears scored first on a picturesque 29-yard touchdown pass from Webb to Jordan Veasy and added a pair of short touchdown runs by Enwere before another 29-yard scoring strike from Webb, this time to Melqui Stovall.

California (2-1) turned two Texas turnovers into touchdowns, the final one a 23-yard connection from Webb to Hansen that handed the Golden Bears a 35-33 lead at intermission.

The Longhorns had a chance to take the lead on the final play of the first half but Domingue’s 53-yard field goal attempt was wide right. He missed another, from 49 yards away, on UT’s first possession of the third quarter.

Theretofore unseen defense and the attrition and injuries that come from the offensive pace the two teams produced in the first half took over and resulted in the scoreless third quarter.

But on the Longhorns’ initial offensive snap of the fourth quarter, Foreman burst through a huge hole in the middle of the Cal line and sprinted 47 yards untouched for the touchdown, allowing Texas to regain the advantage at 40-35.

Then, as expected, the Golden Bears woke from their quarter-long slumber and put together a nine-play, 76-yard drive to take the lead right back. Webb used a little slight-of-hand to fool the Longhorns on a 1-yard touchdown run and then a little more on a reverse pitch to Hansen for a two-point conversion.

Texas tied the game with 5:29 to play on Domingue’s 35-yard field goal, but all that did was hand the ball back to Webb and the talented Cal offense, which seemed to have all the answers when the game was on the line.

“Texas did a great job of executing its game plan, but all week long we wanted to be tougher and get more effort, and we did that tonight,” Webb said. “The credit is due to our offensive line and our coaching staff that helped us prepare this week.”

The Longhorns will have an open week to try to solve their defensive woes, returning to action Oct. 1 with their Big 12 Conference opener versus Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

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