No. 5 California 42, Washington 12

[DJRamFan]

Nov. 13, 2004

SEATTLE (AP) J.J. Arrington ran for 84 of his 121 yards in the second half and Aaron Rodgers shook off a slow start to throw two touchdown passes to help No. 5 California beat Washington 42-12 on Saturday.

Marshawn Lynch added another 121 yards rushing with TD runs of 32 and 70 yards and a 29-yard scoring reception as the Golden Bears (8-1, 6-1 Pac-10) won their third straight over the Huskies (1-9, 0-7).

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Washington, which will mercifully close its worst season in 35 years next week at rival Washington State, hasn't finished winless in conference play since going 0-7 in the old Pac-8 back in 1973.

Arrington, who came in as the nation's No. 4 rusher with a 161.8 average, has posted 100-yard efforts in all nine games this season, a school record. The Pac-10 record is 11 by Southern California's Marcus Allen in 1981, when he won the Heisman Trophy.

Arrington is 45 yards from breaking Chuck Muncie's 29-year-old school record of 1,460 yards rushing. He'll get another shot when the Bears play rival Stanford next weekend.

The Bears didn't play their best, but their 35 second-half points were more than enough. Rodgers had two silly interceptions and Arrington was held to 37 yards rushing when Cal led 7-6 at the break, his lowest first-half output this season.

The Bears woke up in the third quarter, starting with a blocked punt in Washington's end zone by Greg Van Hoesen. Justin Forsett recovered for a touchdown, and Cal was rolling.

The Huskies pulled to 14-12 early in the third on a 77-yard catch-and-run from Casey Paus to Craig Chambers, giving Washington fans reason to believe an upset was possible.

Those hopes were flattened when Cal scored twice in a span of just over a minute late in the third.

Lynch broke a 32-yard scoring run, faking out one would-be tackler and beating another to the corner of the end zone. Paus then threw an interception to Cal's Wendell Hunter, leading to Arrington's 5-yard TD run and a 28-12 lead.

Rodgers made it 35-12 early in the fourth quarter with a 13-yard TD strike to Garrett Cross. Lynch broke into the secondary for a 70-yard run late in the fourth period to cap the scoring.

Rodgers finished 12-of-23 for 161 yards passing with two TDs and two interceptions.

Paus was 20-of-44 for 328 yards with three interceptions and one TD. Chambers had eight receptions for 189 yards, while Kenny James finished with 96 yards rushing on 23 carries.

Cal was a 31-point favorite, but it was clear the Huskies would give everything they had for a possible upset.

It was the final home game for coach Keith Gilbertson, who is stepping down after the season, as well as 15 seniors. Before kickoff, the captains gave their departing coach an honorary letterman's jacket.

Emotion carried the Huskies in the first half. Washington's defense was charged up, holding the Golden Bears scoreless in the first period for the first time since Cal's narrow loss to USC on Oct. 9.

The Huskies couldn't maintain their momentum. Paus finished with three interceptions and kicker Evan Knudson, who was good on first-half field goals of 36 and 26 yards, missed another 36-yard try and botched a PAT kick.


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