Jaydn Ott ran for 274 yards on 19 carries and scored three touchdowns.
Freshman running back Jaydn Ott raced 73 yards for a touchdown on the game’s second play, dashed 72 yards to break the game open in the fourth quarter and wound up with the third highest rushing total in program history as the Bears kicked off Pac-12 play with a 49-31 win over Arizona in front of 37,216 at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
The first-year player from Norco, California, became the first Bears player to rush for 200 yards since Patrick Laird had 214 against Oregon State in 2017. Ott provided another highlight play to push the Cal lead to 35-24. He burst up the middle from the Arizona 18, was stopped at the 13, kept moving his feet with his back to the end zone, then burst free for the TD with 4:59 left in the period.
By halftime, the Wildcats had 329 yards on 8.7 yards per clip. Cal struggled to contain de Laura, who was 14 for 21 for 235 yards with a touchdown. Wide receiver Jacob Cowing caught five first-half passes for 109 yards.