Cal rallies to beat Washington State, 34-28

BERKELEY, Calif. _ Safety Damariay Drew’s pass interception with 31/2 minutes left helped No. 24 Cal stay unbeaten Saturday with a shaky 34-28 victory over Washington State in front of 42,042 fans at Memorial Stadium.tmpplchld Jared Goff completed two third-down passes on the ensuing possession, and the Bears (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) went on to equal their best start since 1950. They hadn’t been 5-0 since 2007 and will need to win on the road against No. 10 Utah next Saturday to reach 6-0 for the first time since the Pappy Waldorf era.tmpplchld A year after outlasting the Cougars (2-2, 0-1) in a back-and-forth 60-59 marathon in Pullman, Washington, the Bears used seven sacks and four take-aways to overcome an uneven performance by the offense.tmpplchld Drew, who did not attend Cal a year after an assault charge for an on-campus incident in the spring of 2014, stepped in front of WSU receiver Tyler Baker to pick off Luke Falk’s pass at the 10-yard line with 3:29 left.tmpplchld The Cougars got the ball back at their own 20-yard line with 12 seconds left, but their comeback ran out of time.tmpplchld Goff passed for 390 yards and four touchdowns, becoming the school’s career leader in that category with 68. Kenny Lawler caught two of the TDs, giving him 22 for his career.tmpplchld But the Bears’ run game was erratic and Cal turned the ball over twice.tmpplchld The Bears took a 34-28 lead into the fourth quarter after an action-packed third period.tmpplchld Cal took its first lead on Goff’s fourth TD pass of the game _ an inside screen to Maurice Harris, who caught the ball in a crowd and broke free for a 24-yard dash to the end zone with 42 seconds left in the quarter.tmpplchld Goff’s two-point pass to Bryce Treggs was ruled out of bounds and incomplete, but the call was reversed on review and the Bears led by six.tmpplchld Cal struck first in the half when WSU’s fake punt try blew up. Darius Allensworth knocked the ball loose from punter Zach Charme, and Stefan McClure returned the fumble 45 yards for a touchdown.tmpplchld But the Cougars struck back, pushing their lead to 28-20 when Luke Falk passed 4 yards to Gabe Marks, capping a 15-play, 79-yard drive.tmpplchld A missed field goal by the Cougars set up the Bears, who went 77 yards in six plays, with Goff passing 4-for-4 for 63 yards. His 20-yard back-shoulder pass to Lawler in the right corner of the end zone got the Bears within 28-26 with 2:21 left in the quarter. Goff’s two-point pass try under pressure was intercepted.tmpplchld Cal pulled within 21-13 at halftime after Goff drove the Bears 80 yards in five plays in the final 3 minutes of the second quarter.tmpplchld He threw 40 yards to Lawler, 11 yards to Daniel Lasco, 8 yards to Khalfani Muhammad, then delivered a 9-yard TD to Lawler, who made a one-handed catch in the end zone.tmpplchld Matt Anderson, who had converted his first 22 PAT kicks this season, missed wide, and the Cougars’ lead remained at eight points.tmpplchld Earlier, Goff threw a 34-yard TD to Bryce Treggs, breaking the Cal career touchdown pass record. He and Kyle Boller (1999-2002) entered the day sharing the record at 64.tmpplchld Goff was intercepted on the third play of the game and misfired badly more than once early. But he warmed up and finished the half 15-for-22 for 210 yards.tmpplchld Cal’s run game, however, provided very little support. The Bears ran 14 times for just 28 yards, despite no lost yardage from sacks. Lasco played for the first time in three weeks because of a hip injury but twice was stopped on fourth-and-1 tries.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)tmpplchld Visit the San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) at www.mercurynews.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld