JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Jared Goff threw seven touchdown passes and California used a rare defensive stop and a 34-yard field goal in double overtime from James Langford to snap a 15-game Pac-12 losing streak by beating Colorado 59-56 on Saturday.
On a day that Goff and Sefo Liufau both threw seven touchdown passes and the teams combined for more than 1,200 yards offense it ended up being defense and the kicker that won the game for the Golden Bears (3-1, 1-1).
Colorado (2-3, 0-2) could not punch it in after having first-and-goal from the 2 to open the second overtime, as Cal stopped four straight running plays capped by Jalen Jefferson knocking Liufau for a 3-yard loss on fourth down from the 1.
Cal failed to get a first down on its possession but Langford came on and calmly drilled the kick that gave the Bears their first conference win since beating Washington State on Oct. 13, 2012.
Goff finished 23 for 41 for 449 yards, hitting Bryce Treggs on a 25-yard score on the first possession of overtime.
Liufau was just as prolific, going 46 for 67 for 449 yards, including a 25-yard score to Nelson Spruce that tied the game after one overtime. Spruce finished with 19 catches for 176 yards and three touchdowns.
Goff and Liufau traded big plays down the stretch with each throwing a pair of touchdown passes in the final 3:23 of regulation to send the game to overtime.
Liufau started the scoring barrage with a 6-yard TD pass to Spruce that put Colorado up 42-35.
But that lead was short-lived as Goff was flushed out of the pocket to his right and threw back over the middle where he hit Stephen Anderson in stride for the game-tying 75-yard score.
Jake Kearney intercepted Liufau on the next play from scrimmage for Cal. That set the stage for Goff’s 40-yard TD pass to Chris Harper with 2:29 remaining.
But a week after allowing five touchdowns, including a last-second Hail Mary in a 49-45 loss at Arizona, the Bears once again wilted late when Bruce Bobo got behind Cedric Dozier for a 30-yard TD catch with 21 seconds to play that tied the game at 49.
Both teams missed field goals early in the fourth quarter with Will Oliver going wide left for Colorado from 45 yards and Langford missing to the right from 42 yards for Cal. Oliver also missed a pair of 39-yard attempts in the first half for Colorado.
Cal trailed 28-14 at halftime before taking the lead by scoring touchdowns on its first three drives of the second half, including a pair of throws from Goff to Kenny Lawler.
But Colorado responded and tied the game at 35 in the final minute of the third on a 12-yard pass from Liufau to Spruce.
Cal came into the game having outscored the opposition 56-0 in the opening quarter but Colorado quickly reversed that trend with three first-quarter touchdown passes from Liufau to take a 21-7 lead.
The Bears tried to get back into the game with a 92-yard catch-and-run by Daniel Lasco, who took a swing pass from Goff, eluded three defenders with a nifty cutback and then broke a tackle by Kenneth Olugbode on the way to the longest pass play in Cal history. The previous long came three years ago on a 90-yard pass from Zach Maynard to Keenan Allen.
Cal then self-destructed late in the half with two personal fouls and a third-down pass interference call that led to Frazier’s 1-yard run that made it 28-14.
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