New defensive coordinator Art Kaufman's group held Northwestern to 354 yards of offense, culminating with the stop to keep the Wildcats from tying the game. The turnaround started Northwestern's 12-play scoring drive for its second touchdown of the game, coming with 2:31 left on the clock in the third quarter. Daniel Lasco bobbled a pass on Cal's next offensive play and was intercepted by linebacker Collin Ellis, who had two pick-6s in Bears 2013 loss to the Wildcats. Cal would score five plays later when Goff connected to Lawler again on a seven-yard touchdown pass. Offensive coordinator Tony Franklin went with a surprise early in the game, putting speedy freshman quarterback Luke Rubenzer in the game, who led Cal with 48-rushing yards.