University of Washington
California
No. 13 Washington Football Gets A Scare
September 29, 2001 | Football
Sept 29, 2001
By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer
BERKELEY, Calif. - Cody Pickett completed 18 of 33 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns as No. 13 Washington held off California 31-28 on Saturday.
Washington (3-0, 1-0) has won 11 straight games and eight consecutive Pacific-10 Conference games.
California (0-4, (0-2) has lost 19 straight games to Washington, dating to Nov. 6, 1976, in Seattle.
Paul Arnold caught five passes for 116 yards, including two TD passes from Pickett, as Washington overcome a 21-7 first-half deficit and two missed field goals. Rich Alexis had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs.
Kyle Boller completed 21 of 36 passes for 265 yards and four touchdowns for the Golden Bears, who have squandered early leads against Washington for the past three years.
The Huskies trailed 21-17, but scored on Alexis' 1-yard dive on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter to go up 24-21. Alexis added another 1-yard run with 5:26 to go.
Cal made it close with Boller's 20-yard touchdown pass to Chase Lyman with 3:23 left.
Cal struck on its first possession with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Boller to Sean Currin. The score followed a trick 15-yard pass from fullback Marcus Fields to Boller.
On their next possession, the Bears extended their lead to 14-0 on Boller's 19-yard pass to tailback Joe Igber, who played only sparingly last weekend because of a sprained right ankle.
The Huskies recovered a fumble on Cal's 42, and Pickett hit Arnold for a 42-yard touchdown on the ensuing play, narrowing the gap to 14-7. It was Pickett's first career TD pass.
Cal rebounded on the next series with Boller's 14-yard TD pass to tight end Jordon Hunter.
John Anderson hit a 42-yard field goal midway through the second quarter to make it 21-10. Anderson missed a 34-yard field goal attempt with 3:11 to go before halftime.
Hampered by another bad snap, Anderson missed a 21-yard field goal in the third quarter. But Washington recouped the damage with a 62-yard touchdown pass from Pickett to Arnold, making it 21-17 with 4:43 left in the quarter.
The Huskies have a recent history of come-from-behind victories over Cal.
Last year, the Bears built a 24-13 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Washington scored 23 points over a six-minute span to win 36-24.
The year before, Washington pulled off a 31-27 win after the Bears led 24-17 in the fourth quarter.
