The only time it looked like UC Davis had a chance to make a comeback, Hastings would be intercepted by freshman cornerback Jeremiah Earby and from there the game would genuinely be put to bed. The 4th quarter was a stalemate until Jack Plummer would throw his final touchdown of the day to Mavis Anderson, making the final score 34-13 Cal. An impressive game by a quarterback who before the game started was the biggest variable fans and media had going into the game.
The topic of discussion from every media guy in the stadium was “how good is Cal’s quarterback Jack Plummer?” and this first game can make anyone believe that Plummer might be the guy.
If you only watched the first quarter of this game, then Plummer made no impression on you. Between getting sacked twice in the first 2 drives to getting intercepted by Teddye Buchanan of Davis in the 3rd drive, Plummer was not the guy that would be considered a person who can lead a team. At the end of the quarter, it was 7-0 UC Davis and energy was down in Berkeley, but the second quarter would change the energy for the rest of the day.
At the start of the quarter, Plummer only had 4 passing yards. By the time he was on the field this quarter, he strung together 3 straight passing first downs, 2 of them to Junior receiver Jeremiah Hunter who would end his day with 78 yards and a touchdown which would occur on this exact drive that tied up the game 7-7.
Plummer would get the ball back halfway through the 2nd quarter and in 4 minutes and 8 seconds, he led the team 87 yards for another passing touchdown to backup running back Jayden Ott. 14-7 Cal. Plummer was showing poise all through the quarter and before the half, Cal would get a field goal (17-7), but the highlight before the half was how Plummer led the drive only passing to Hunter and Ott.
After halftime momentum was clearly in Cal’s favor after UC Davis quarterback Miles Hastings would throw an interception to Craig Woodsoon for a touchdown making the game 24-7 Cal. A 60 yard touchdown run by Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. would scare the fans a little, but that touchdown would be the last for the Aggies today.
Plummer would lead the team down the field all 3rd quarter, but would only get a field goal. His composure when the pocket collapsed was the highlight of his day. Cal’s offensive line never was able to keep UC Davis from getting to Plummer, but his awareness would leave him unscathed. He was obviously my standout performer today, but Jeremiah Hunter, Jayden Ott, and Jeremiah Earby were the players that deserved a round of applause for making big plays when it mattered.
The only weaknesses I saw from this Cal team was the offensive line and that’s not a surprise considering their All Pac-12 o-linemen Brett Johnson will be out due to injury. The defense of Cal is very strong from what was seen today.
The secondary never let a big pass get through and inside linebacker Jackson Sirmon is clearly the leader of this Bears defense. All that being said, Cal will be tested heavily this season, playing Notre Dame, Oregon, Stanford, and USC, so even though this game against UC Davis is a good confidence booster, it’s still just the first game of the season. At least the coaching staff can breathe a sigh of relief knowing Jack Plummer is their guy for 2022.
Next week Cal will host UNLV at 1pm in Berkley.
