College football: Golden Bears stop Miami
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Jose Carlos Fajardo/Contra Costa Times
Photo: California’s Zack Follett had
two sacks and forced a key fumble as the Golden Bears beat Miami 24-17 on Saturday in the Emerald Bowl.
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Freshman's first catch seals win for California
12/27/2008 - 12/28/08
SAN FRANCISCO — Zack Follett concocted the final pass-rushing move of his California career and slipped past the Miami linemen who taunted him all night. He chased down Jacory Harris from behind, clubbing the ball from the freshman quarterback's hand with one big swipe.With just enough of the brains, heart and nerve exemplified by their senior linebacker, the Golden Bears proved there's no place like 12 miles away from home with a 24-17 victory in the Emerald Bowl on Saturday night.
After Follett forced that turnover deep in Miami territory with 3:28 left, Anthony Miller scored the go-ahead touchdown on his first career catch 47 seconds later. Although the ending was unlikely, with a freshman tight end cradling a perfect pass from a quarterback who was mostly terrible, the final result was no shock to Cal (9-4).
"We couldn't let them come across the country and beat us in our backyard," said Follett, the defensive player of the game with nine tackles — four for losses — and two sacks.
Jahvid Best rushed for a bowl-record 186 yards and two touchdowns, yet the Golden Bears still needed a big defensive play and an unlikely hero to hold off the Hurricanes (7-6).
Cal quarterback Nate Longshore shook off a dismal 10-for-21 performance in his final game with that scoring pass to Miller.
Miami stayed in it with strong pass defense and a solid game from Harris, who went 25-of-41 for 194 yards and two TDs in his second career start while subbing for the suspended Robert Marve. Harris had won 31 straight starts dating back to his high school career in South Florida, but his fumble cost the Hurricanes in their first bowl game under coach Randy Shannon.
Laron Byrd and Thearon Collier caught Harris' scoring passes for Miami, which tied it on Matt Bosher's 22-yard field goal with 9:13 to play.
After Cal's Giorgio Tavecchio missed a 34-yard field goal with 4:24 left, Follett knocked the ball away from Harris on third down.
"I was trying to get ready to throw the ball out of bounds, and I didn't see him," Harris said. "It was a great play by him. I'm kind of sad that I let the senior class down. I wanted to send them out with a bang, and we slipped up on that."
