Cal kicker Giorgio Tavecchio made his first three field goals against Arizona, accounting for all nine of the Bears’ points in the first half. Two of the field goals came from 46 yards out, inducing cheers from many fans at Memorial Stadium.

However, his first attempt in the third quarter, a 47-yarder with less than 13 minutes left in the frame, was well short.

SCORE: Arizona 10, Cal 9

The way this game is going, Tavecchio’s success might end up being very important for the Bears.

Everybody wearing blue and gold inside Memorial Stadium loves Giorgio Tavecchio right now. Tavecchio just hit a 46-yard field goal (his third of the game already) as time ran out in the first half to send Cal into the locker room trailing by only a point and with a little momentum. Tavecchio has hit two attempts from 46 yards and a third from 22.

Those last points could prove to be pretty big. Things were starting to go Arizona’s way in the second quarter, as the Wildcats took a 10-6 lead with 22 seconds left in the first half. The Bears, though, fielded the kickoff at their 34-yard line and, rather than taking a knee, moved the ball to Arizona’s 29-yard line — within Tavecchio’s range — on two big completions by Kevin Riley. Riley hit Verran Tucker for a gain of 25 on a deep out, then found Alex Lagemann — who always seems to be open over the middle — open over the middle for seven yards to set up Tavecchio’s kick.

The Bears jumped out to a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter before Arizona’s offense finally woke up. Tailback Keola Antolin broke off a 34-yard run and Nick Foles completed a 19-yard pass to the Cal one-yard line to set up a touchdown run by Antolin. The Wildcats tacked on Alex Zendejas’s field goal on their next possession to make the score 10-6.

One thing we’re seeing that has become all to familiar is the offense’s inability to finish off drives in the end zone. Cal is moving the ball pretty well — Shane Vereen has 49 yards on 15 carries and Riley is 9-for-15 for 108 yards — but the Bears stall when they get inside Arizona territory. Best (worst?) example: Driving down to the Wildcats’ two-yard line, only to have Riley fumble on third down trying to cut into the end zone on an option keeper.

The defense, meanwhile, is doing a good job of keeping Arizona’s speed in check, for the most part. Antolin’s 34-yard run was the only big play that the Bears have given up so far. We’re seeing a couple different looks at linebacker — namely, Chris Little and Mychal Kendricks. Both of those guys are fast and athletic (Little is a converted safety), so that might be geared towards shutting down the Wildcats’ playmakers. So far, they’ve been pretty successful. Arizona quarterback Nick Foles is 14-for-20, and throwing a lot of quick screens and outs like Cal was anticipating, but the Bears are limiting yards after the catch. They must also be doing a decent job plugging up holes at the line of scrimmage because Antolin — who ran all over them last year, largely because of how well he hides behind blockers — hasn’t gotten much beyond that big run.

Arizona gets the ball to start the second half — another reason why that last field goal by Tavecchio was so important. That starts in about three minutes. Stay tuned.

FIRST HALF STATS

Total Yardage: Cal — 35 plays for 158 yards; Arizona — 31 plays for 168 yards
First downs: Cal 9, Arizona 10
Rushing yards: Cal — 20 plays for 50 yards; Arizona — 11 plays for 56 yards
Passing yards: Cal 108, Arizona 112

Cal held the ball for 11:30 in the first quarter and came out of it leading 3-0. The Bears put together one decent drive on their first possession, which ended with a 46-yard field goal by Giorgio Tavecchio. They’re moving the ball in large part because Shane Vereen is fighting for yards out of the backfield.

Cal then forced a fumble by Keola Antolin and, although the offense got down to the WIldcats’ two-yard line, had to settle for another field goal. On 3rd-and-goal from the two-yard line, Riley optioned right, kept it and fumbled. Skylar Curran recovered it at the five-yard line. Tavecchio hit a 22-yard field goal to put the Bears up, 6-0.

The defense is playing well. We’re seeing some personnel that we haven’t seen much: Chris Little at linebacker, Mychal Kendricks in the game a lot, Bryant Nnabuife and Josh Hill switching off at cornerback. It might be a strategy to get Cal’s speed on the field to cancel out Arizona’s speed. So far, it’s working. Nick Foles is accurate, but the Wildcats aren’t getting many yards after the catch, and Keola Antolin isn’t getting loose like he did against the Bears last year.

First-Quarter Stats:

CAL
Kevin Riley: 6-for-9, 63 yards
Shane Vereen: 11 carries, 45 yards
Marvin Jones: 4 receptions, 52 yards

ARIZONA
Nick Foles: 3-for-5, 19 yards
Keola Antolin: 4 carries, 14 yards

Jahvid Best was interviewed on the field before the game — the first interview that the tailback has given since his injury last Saturday. He said he’s “feeling a lot better” and looking forward to returning to the field, although there is no timetable as to when that return is expected. Best also said that he has received a lot of support while recovering from the frightening concussion.

“It’s been amazing, the amount of love and support I’ve been shown,” he said according to a release from Cal Athletics. “People came to visit me in the ER, I’m getting mail every day — I just got a lot of love. I want to say thank you to my family, my friends and all the fans around the world that have been showing me a lot of love.”

The Bears used an 11-play drive to score on their first possession against Arizona at Memorial Stadium. It ended in a 46-yard field goal by Giorgio Tavecchio.

SCORE: Cal 3, Arizona 0

Let’s see how the Cal defense performs against the Wildcats’ quick-out offense.

Jahvid Best is here and on the sideline, and was a captain for the Bears for the pre-game coin toss. Cal won the toss, electing to receive. Arizona will kick off and defend the south goal.

For your reading pleasure, here are Daily Cal features about three players on the Bears football team:

• Mike Mohamed, who leads the Pac-10 in tackles, makes his family a priority.
• Shane Vereen will be the starting running back in Jahvid Best’s absence.
• The spotlight shines on Eddie Young in his final game at Memorial Stadium.

Cal (6-3, 3-3 in the Pac-10) takes on Arizona on Saturday at 4 p.m., and the game will be televised on Versus.

Cal’s game against Arizona on Saturday, Nov. 14 will kickoff at 4 p.m., and will be televised by Versus.

Start time for the Big Game the following weekend has not yet been determined. That announcement is expected either on Monday, Nov. 9, or Sunday, Nov. 15.

As you have probably heard by now, tailback Jahvid Best suffered what coach Jeff Tedford called a “pretty serious concussion” when he hurdled for a touchdown during the Cal football team’s 31-14 loss to Oregon State on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

For more details on Best’s injury, click here. For a recap of the game, click here.

Stay tuned for more updates throughout the week.

Cal tailback Jahvid Best sustained a concussion on his seven-yard touchdown run during the second quarter of the Bears’ game against Oregon state on Saturday, according to a statement released by Cal media relations.

Best was carted off the field on a stretcher and taken to the emergency room.

We’ll keep you posted with more updates as they come. For now, more information can be found here.