Just two seasons after finishing 1-11, California is off to a 4-0 start. The Golden Bears' latest triumph came in Seattle, where they beat Washington 30-24 behind another strong performance from quarterback Jared Goff. This is the first time Cal has beaten the Huskies since 2008.
The Bears' secondary, so maligned in recent years, showed marked improvement. Huskies' quarterback Jake Browning didn't complete pass until the second quarter, and he ultimately finished with only 152 yards.
Goff, meanwhile, finished with 342 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Though starting running back Daniel Lasco missed his second straight game, Cal enjoyed some bruising ground success from backup Vic Enwere, who rumbled his way to 84 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
What this win means for Cal: The Bears' resurgence continues. Sonny Dykes' team remains undefeated, and they should be favored next week when Washington State visits Berkeley. It's important for Cal to rack up as many wins as possible in this stretch, because Murderers' Row awaits after that: Utah, UCLA, USC, Oregon.
What this loss means for Washington: The Huskies are now 2-2 heading into their bye week. Washington's offense is obviously still a work in progress, and five turnovers proved devastating, but the Huskies' defense showcased some of the opportunism that made it effective last year -- Sidney Jones' 70-yard fumble recovery-turned-touchdown kept this game close.
Players of the game: Goff and Cal defensive lineman Kyle Kragen. This wasn't Goff's sharpest performance by any stretch of the imagination, but he still commanded the game flow in successful fashion behind 342 passing yards, and a gutsy fourth-down run that sealed the game in the final minute. Kragen posted a team-leading six tackles and 2.5 sacks. He also broke up a pass.
Stat of the game: The Bears ran 92 plays, while Washington only ran only 55. This discrepancy was already huge at halftime -- Cal held a 49-25 edge -- and that put the Bears in firm position to physically control the game down the stretch. Goff's final fourth-down conversion, in which he bounced off a hit to move the chains on the second effort, was a solid demonstration of this.