California Pitches a Shutout

J.J. Arrington ran for 188 yards and a touchdown, and No. 7 California forced five turnovers in its second consecutive shutout victory, defeating No. 20 Arizona State, 27-0, on Saturday night.

Tim Mixon returned an interception 58 yards for a touchdown for the Golden Bears, whose increasingly dominant defense held Sun Devils quarterback Andrew Walter without a touchdown pass while posting consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1968.

Cal, which improved to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference, shut out Arizona, 38-0, last week before shutting down Walter and the Sun Devils’ high-powered offense. Arizona State failed to score inside the 10 in the closing minutes, and Cal ran out the clock on the Sun Devils’ first shutout loss since Sept. 30, 1995.

There might be even more good news for the Bears on Sunday: After losses by No. 3 Miami and No. 5 Florida State, they seem poised to reach the top five for the first time since 1952.

Freshman Robert Jordan caught seven passes for 116 yards and a touchdown in his second collegiate game, but Aaron Rodgers struggled to connect with his injury-plagued receiving corps. Rodgers threw a touchdown pass on the Bears’ first play but was held to 165 yards passing.

Cal relied on Arrington, who had another impressive performance. He reached 1,000 yards faster than any player in school history with his school-record seventh straight 100-yard game, and his one-yard touchdown dive in the fourth quarter put it away.

Walter passed for 238 yards for the Sun Devils (6-2, 3-2), who got their second blowout loss in three games after starting the season with five straight wins. Walter also failed to throw a touchdown pass, leaving him one behind John Elway’s Pac-10 career record of 77.

The latest-starting game in Memorial Stadium’s history was played under four stanchions of temporary lights. Cal’s 52,652 chilled fans still packed the house for Berkeley’s first meeting of ranked teams since 1993.

The Sun Devils made only two turnovers in their first five games, but they’ve made 10 in the last three. Arizona State lost four of its five fumbles, and Walter’s lone interception was returned for a score that broke open the game.