Coach Jack Clark (Tim Mickiewicz photo)

California sealed its 24th national title with a 59-7 victory over BYU in Saturday’s college men’s Division I national championship at Stanford University.

The Golden Bears led 40-0 at halftime, the eventual result never appearing to be in question from around the midway point of the first half.

“We were prepared for a hard game with them and I think we had the right plan,” coach Clark told ARN. “We moved them around a bit and made it hard for them, but they’ve had a great season BYU has.

“It’s hard to get to the final game on the final weekend and they should be very proud.”

Asked how he felt about racking up national title #20, “Better than the alternative,” is how Clark replied.

On the other side of the ball, BYU felt that they had a chance going into the game, although they weren’t expecting to run into a buzzsaw.

David Smyth

“From the first minute we were under pressure,” BYU head coach David Smyth told ARN. “We weren’t able to get a platform, no go forward, and their pressure around the breakdown was intense.

“We just couldn’t cope with it and within five minutes I could tell our boys were struggling. We were just second best all over the park.

“I’ve got to go away over the summer and sit down myself and sit down with the other coaches and we’ve got to start looking at where we’re at as a program, things that we need to change. Second place isn’t bad but it’s unacceptable really in the greater scheme of things.”