Cal Bears: Jordan Kunaszyk Rakes in Awards for Big Game Against Cougars

After a big performance in the Cal Bears’ upset win over the Washington Cougars, linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk piled up the awards.

Last Friday, the Cal Bears pulled off one of the biggest wins in recent school history, not only upsetting the eight-ranked and unbeaten Washington State Cougars, but blowing them out by a final score of 37-3. The victory became Cal’s second against a top-10 team since 1978, along with a triple-overtime win against USC in 2003.

The team’s defense put together one of their best performances in years, ratting Washington State quarterback, and potential Heisman candidate Luke Falk from the very beginning. Falk’s first pass attempt of the evening was intercepted, and he would throw four more picks throughout the contest as part of a seven-turnover affair. Cal also sacked Falk nine times, the most by a Bears’ defense since 2005.

There were plenty of big contributions on the defensive side to the blowout win. Redshirt freshman cornerback Camryn Bynum recorded the first two interceptions of his career. Senior defensive lineman James Looney picked up 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Gerran Brown recorded his first career sack and recovered a fumble, which he returned 26 yards for his first touchdown.

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While it’s imperative those performances are not overlooked, the biggest contribution came from redshirt junior linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk. He had the best game of his young career and filled up the stat sheet, recording 11 tackles, 2.5 sacks worth 31 lost yards, a forced fumble, an interception, and another quarterback hurry.

For his efforts, Kunaszyk was named the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Week, joining a growing list of Bears to win this season. Fellow linebacker Devante Downs, a senior, has tken home the award twice already this season, for his efforts on opening weekend against North Carolina (13 tackles, .5 tackles for loss, forced fumble, interception) and after a week three win against Ole Miss (14 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, interception, seven quarterback hurries).

Three Conference Defensive Player of the Week awards matches a Cal school record, equaling the mark set four times previously, most recently in 2008.

Kunaszyk didn’t just earn recognition within the conference, either. On Sunday, he was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, becoming the first Cal defensive player to ever earn the prestigious award. He is the fourth Bear overall, joining DeSean Jackson (9-30-07), Shane Vereen (11-23-09), and Jared Goff (9-28-14), who all took home the offensive version of the award in the past.

In addition, Kunaszyk was named the Rose Bowl Game Pac-12 Player of the Week, Cal’s Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week, and College Sports Madness Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.

On the season, Kunaszyk has racked up 23 tackles to go along with 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, and a forced fumble despite missing three of the first four games of the season due to injury. Last year, he totaled 51 tackles and an interception, with the pick sealing an overtime win against the Oregon Ducks.

Next: Bears Pull Off Huge Upset of Cougars

The Bears sit 4-3 on the season, with the win against the Cougars snapping a three-game losing streak and putting them back on a good path to Bowl eligibility. Kunaszyk and Downs will attempt to lead the Cal defense to another strong performance this weekend when the Bears play host to the Arizona Wildcats. Arizona is 4-2 after a win against the UCLA Bruins this past weekend.

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