BERKELEY, California -- If the Cal football team had designs on making a good first impression to kick off the 2015 season, consider Saturday's 73-14 victory over Grambling State about as emphatic a tone-setter as the Bears could've hoped for.
Jared Goff kicked off his junior season in fine fashion, completing 24 of 32 passes for 309 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Kenny Lawler was Goff's main target as the junior from Pomona, Calif. made six catches for 69 yards and equaled a school record with three touchdown receptions. The Bears amassed 656 yards of total offense and the 73 points are the second-most in program history behind only an 86-point performance against Pacific in 1991.
For all the offensive numbers Cal put up, it was the defense that provided some of the most emphatic lines on the stat sheet. The Bears scored two defensive touchdowns in a game for the first time since Sept. 11, 2010 against Colorado. Cal also intercepted four passes, the Bears' most since they grabbed four against UCLA in 2012, and forced five turnovers for the first time since picking up six in that same game.
"I thought we played well," Cal head coach Sonny Dykes said. "Our players were really excited about having a chance to get out and play and compete this Saturday and I thought they played well. I was proud of them. It got a little sloppy at times and there are a lot of things we need to improve on to become a good football team but I certainly thought it was a good starting point."
The highlights started right off the bat Saturday on a sun-splashed day in Strawberry Canyon. And, it was the defense that set the stage for the good times to come. A three-and-out on Grambling State's opening drive gave the Bears the ball on the Tigers' 41 and it took Cal just three plays to find the south end zone. Running back Daniel Lasco did the honors, rumbling over right tackle for a four-yard touchdown to score the first points of the new season.
Cameron Walker continued the defensive theme when he plucked a ricochet off the back of an unsuspecting Grambling State receiver and returned it 14 yards for his first career touchdown. Darius Allensworth grabbed another interception to put the Bears in plus territory again and Goff found Lawler for a three-yard touchdown.
A blocked punt by Matt Rockett put Cal (1-0) in position yet again and Goff hooked up with Lawler again for a 19-yard touchdown and 28-0 Cal lead. And, with 21 seconds left in the quarter, Devante Downs put an exclamation point on the season's first period with an 8-yard interception return for a touchdown of his own, tying the school record for points in a quarter (Baylor, 2002) and making it 35-0.
"Hopefully it's the first step of our defense getting on the same level as our offense nationally," Walker said. "We've been talked badly about since I've been here, the past three years, so it's finally time to get rid of that and make forward strides."
Goff's rapport with his receivers showed more and more as the first half went on, but it was Lawler who could be found most often in the end zone. His 16-yard touchdown reception with 3:11 left in the first half made it 42-0 Bears and tied him with Keenan Allen for seventh on Cal's all-time TD reception list with 17. Lawler has six TD catches in last two games, dating back to last season.
"Probably every touchdown I threw to Kenny, I wouldn't have thrown three years ago," Goff said. "Those were all timing routes, stuff we've worked on in the offseason. I have to trust him, he has to trust me to throw it to the right spot. He did a great job today."
The Bears carried a 52-0 lead into halftime, their biggest lead at intermission and most points in any half in program history. Touchdown runs by Tre Watson and Jeffrey Coprich and a 63-yard touchdown pass from Chase Forrest to Bug Rivera rounded out the scoring for the Bears. Grambling State (0-1) got on the board with 12:40 left to play when Trevon Cherry found Brandon Byrdsong for a four-yard touchdown pass and added another score a few minutes later when Martez Carter broke free for a 90-yard touchdown run.
Cal returns to Memorial Stadium next Saturday as the Bears host San Diego State at 2 p.m. That game will be televised live by Pac-12 Networks. From there, Cal hits the road for two in a row as it travels to Texas on Sept. 19 and Washington on Sept. 26. The Bears come home to start October when Washington State visits for the Bears' homecoming on Oct. 3.
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