Jared Goff had yet another Heisman performance Saturday against Washington State University as he led the #24 California Bears to a 5-0 record for the first time since 2007 and brought his team back from being down 14 nearing halftime to the 34-28 victory.

The game featured two dominant passing performances by both Luke Falk and Goff. Falk went 24 for 48 on the day for 374 yards, two touchdowns and a late interception down the middle by Damariay Drew with 3:30 left in the game that sealed the fate for the Cougars.

Goff went 33 of 45 for 390 yards, four touchdowns and one interception on the day, surely making him an early season contender for the Heisman Trophy.

The Cougars got on the board first when Falk completed a four yard pass to River Cracraft to put them up, but just four minutes later Goff found the open Bryce Treggs to complete a 34 yard pass to knot the teams at seven all.

In the second quarter Washington State showed some domination finding the end zone twice on a Gerard Wicks seven yard run and Falk one yard run to put them up 21-7 nearing halftime. But with just 34 seconds remaining in the half, Goff managed to get a pass into the corner of the end zone to Kenny Lawler, who got his first of two touchdowns on the day to take the two sides into halftime 21-13.

The Cougars received the ball first to start the second half, and on the opening possession near midfield, the team decided on fourth down to go for a fake punt. This was to no avail as Zach Charme fumbled it after getting hit by Tony Mekari. The Golden Bears' Stefan McClure recovered it and returned it for 45 yards to the house to bring Cal down by just one point 21-20.

On the ensuing drive however Washington State went 15 plays and 79 yards where Falk found Gabe Marks to put the Cougars back up 28-20. The offensive frenzy continued. However, Cal’s next possession led to a fumble. Washington State then drove 26 yards to the Cal 23 after Falk was sacked for a 9 yard loss to set up a 40 yard field goal attempt. Erik Powell would miss it to keep the score at 28-20.

Following the missed field goal, the Bears drove 77 yards where Goff again found Lawler who took the pass 18 yards following the catch to the end zone to bring Cal within 2 of Washington State 28-26.

In the bag of trickery Cal shocked everyone when they went for a surprise onside kick that Matt Anderson recovered on the Washington State 48. It took the Bears just 1:39 for Goff to find Maurice Harris for 24 yards and the touchdown along with the Two-Point conversion to Treggs to give Cal its first lead of the day 28-34.

The fourth quarter saw both defenses step up, as several turnovers by Washington State left them in defeat as Cal would ride out the for the win to go 5-0. This was Wazzu's 28th loss in a row against ranked opponents and it left them in a disappointed 2-2 record in a game they were very much deserving of a result.

#24 Cal, who will surely be moving up in the standings, will next week travel to take on #10 Utah who is 4-0. It will surely be a critical Pac-12 match for one of these sides to prove themselves as a serious contender for the College Football Playoff.

Washington State will travel to Eugene and take on the Oregon Ducks who are unranked for the first time in 98 weeks and will take on Colorado later today. 

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About the author
Brandon Farris
Brandon Farris is a Seattle Correspondent helping cover the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers as a staff photographer and reporter.