Wynn, Utah top Cal, 37-27
Published 11:54 pm Saturday, December 26, 2009
SAN DIEGO — Jordan Wynn threw for a career-high 338 yards and three touchdowns to rally No. 23 Utah from an early two-touchdown deficit to a 37-27 victory over California in the Poinsettia Bowl on Wednesday night
The Utes scored 27 straight points to win their ninth straight bowl game, the longest current streak in the country. The Golden Bears, in a bowl game for the school-record seventh straight year, had their four-game postseason winning streak snapped.
Wynn, a true freshman, improved to 3-0 at Qualcomm Stadium, including two section championships while the starter at suburban Oceanside High. He graduated last December and enrolled at Utah in January, allowing him to participate in spring ball.
Wynn completed 26 of 36 passes and improved to 3-2 as the Utes’ starter.
Utah’s defense came up big, too. The Utes sacked Cal’s Kevin Riley five times and intercepted him twice, with linebacker Stevenson Sylvester returning a tipped pass 27 yards for a touchdown late in the game. Riley also lost a fumble.
Shane Vereen, who scored twice, was the seventh Cal back to gain more than 100 yards in a bowl, finishing with 122 yards on 20 carries.
Utah (10-3) looked overmatched after Cal (8-5) scored twice in 11 seconds midway through the first quarter. Vereen scored on a 36-yard run and Eddie Young intercepted Wynn on the first play of Utah’s next drive and returned it 31 yards for a score.