Washington Football: 3 takeaways from shocking loss to Cal

After a lengthy delay, Cal pulled the upset over Washington football. What did we learn from the Golden Bears’ shocking win?

After playing into the early morning hours, Cal pulled the 20-19 upset over Washington on a late Greg Thomas field goal. It was the perfect, wacky way to wrap up a crazy college football Saturday.

3. The delay can’t be a Washington excuse

When seeing an upset after a delay, it’s easy to jump on that delay as a reason for the loss. It certainly created a unique situation, but at the end of the night, both teams had to deal with it.

If anything, it’s the away team that usually has more of a gripe during a weather delay. The home locker rooms are far more comfortable than the away locker rooms in most stadiums. While both teams waited out the two-and-a-half hour lightning delay, the Huskies setting was far more familiar for them.

It wasn’t the delay that caused the Husky loss, but the missed opportunities. The biggest of those came late in the fourth quarter. With 4th-and-1 on the Cal 2-yard line, a false start forced Washington to settle for a field goal. Instead of taking the lead in that moment, the Huskies only made it 17-16 in favor of Cal at the time.

Both teams had to face the weather delay, and when morning came, it was Cal to stepped up to the challenge.