CALIFORNIA — Three minutes.

That’s all it took to knock Slippery Rock University’s football team from the brink of an impressive comeback to a hopeless hole to dig out from Saturday at Adamson Stadium.

The ninth-ranked Rock wound up on the wrong side of a 52-26 score in a PSAC West game against No. 24 California (Pa.). SRU lost its all-time leading rusher, Shamar Greene, on the play that began its three-minute nightmare.

“Things just got crazy there,” California coach Gary Dunn said.

SRU (4-1, 1-1) trailed 14-0 in the second quarter before putting together a 75-yard scoring drive. Greene highlighted the march by breaking free for a 50-yard run to set up his own 3-yard scoring run with 4:03 left in the half.

California’s Jimmy Wheeler fumbled the ensuing kickoff when he was hit by Andrew Bridgeforth. Bridgeforth also recovered the ball and returned it 26 yards to the Vulcans’ 4-yard line.

Bridgeforth nearly scored on the play, but was hauled down from behind by Luke Smorey.

“Our motto is to always make them run another play,” Dunn said. “You never know what might happen. Another play is the potential for a mistake.”

On first down from the 2-yard line — following a California penalty — Greene fumbled and Cal’s Juwan Turner fell on the loose football. During the scramble, Greene injured a shoulder and left the game. He was taken to a nearby hospital for further evaluation and is out indefinitely.

“That played turned out to be a 21-point swing,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said. “That and losing Shamar ... We never recovered from it.”

The Rock forced a three-and-out and regained possession at the Vulcans’ 35 following a shanked punt. But quarterback Don King III was intercepted by Jordan Bowman, who returned the theft 68 yards for a touchdown with 1:42 left in the half.

King was intercepted again on SRU’s next possession, his third-down pass picked off by Brenden Edwards, who returned it 38 yards to the SRU 3. Tom Greene caught a 2-yard TD pass from Michael Keir with 30 seconds left before halftime and it was 28-7.

“Don panicked a bit on that last one, but he was under heavy pressure all day,” Lutz said. “This was the second straight game we struggled to run the football. We did not play well up front.

“We can’t be put in a position where we have to throw on every down. That’s just not who we are.”

King was sacked three times and was hit repeatedly. California’s Keir, on the other hand, threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns on the day.

California (4-0, 2-0) receiver Garry Brown caught six passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for the Vulcans’ first score. Brown set California career records of 29 receiving touchdowns and 2,690 career receiving yards Saturday.

Both records fell on California’s last scoring play of the day, a 53-yard touchdown strike to Brown late in the fourth quarter.

“We were a hungry football team today. We wanted to show what we could do,” Brown said.

SRU played Saturday without Butler graduate and middle linebacker Bob Vernick, who is nursing an ankle injury. Cornerback Titus Howard and linebacker John Conglose left the game with injuries.

Greene had 74 yards rushing at the time of his injury.

“We were having communication issues up front,” SRU offensive line coach Chris Conrad said. “They (Cal) do a lot of moving around and blitzing on defense.

“We knew if we stood around and didn’t move up front, we’d be in trouble. And that’s what happened. We’ll address it and fix it.”

The Rock scored three touchdowns in the second half. The first occurred on special teams. A snap sailed well over the California punter’s head and SRU’s Pat Minenok recovered the ball in the end zone.

Dontez Rash scored on a 3-yard run and Nathaniel Musselman threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Carnel Harley late in the game.

The loss snapped an 11-game regular season winning streak for The Rock.

“We’re still in this race, but we have to play with a little more heart,” Lutz said. “It’s gut-check time.”

Notes: SRU has lost in seven of its last nine trips to Adamson Stadium. ... California won despite taking 14 penalties for 124 yards and turning the ball over three times. ... The Rock allowed 50 points in a game for the first time since Sept. 29, 2012, vs. Kutztown. ... Marcus Martin led SRU with 13 tackles, including two sacks. He now has 37.5 sacks in his career and 59 tackles for loss, one shy of Matt Kinsinger’s school record for TFL’s. ... Greene improved his career totals to 4,275 yards rushing and 35 TDs. ... Derrick Fulmore intercepted a Keir pass, the Cal QB’s first pick of the season. He has 17 TD passes. ... Seneca Valley graduate and California senior tight end Ryan McCauley had two catches for 39 yards. ... SRU hosts Mercyhurst at 6 p.m. Saturday.

California 52, SRU 26

Slippery Rock 0 7 7 12 — 26

California (Pa.) 7 21 14 10 — 52

SRU C

17 First Downs 21

32-120 Rushes-Yards 38-92

176 Passing Yards 280

17-36-2 Comp.-Att.-Int 20-35-1

296 Total Yards 372

3-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-2

12-77 Penalty Yards 14-124

First Quarter

C — Garry Brown 2 run (Will Brazill kick), 9:37

Second Quarter

C — Jordan Dandridge 31 pass from Michael Keir (Brazill kick), 6:32

SRU — Shamar Greene 2 run (Jake Chapla kick), 4:03

C — Jordan Bowman 68 interception rerturn (Brazill kick), 1:42

C — Tom Greene 2 pass from Keir (Brazill kick), :30.3

Third Quarter

C — Brown 28 pass from Keir (Brazill kick), 11:32

SRU — Patrick Minenok recovered fumble in end zone (Chapla kick), 8:51

C — Nick Grissom 1 run (Brazill kick), 4:03

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Dontez Rash 4 run (kick failed), 13:28

C — Brazill 27 field goal, 10:52

C — Brown 53 pass from Keir (Brazill kick), 4:31

SRU — Carnel Harley 15 pass from Nathaniel Musselman (kick blocked), 2:45

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SRU, Shamar Greene 12-74, Dontez Rash 3-31, Dominic Dingle 8-28, Don King III 7-0, TEAM 2-(-13). California, Nick Grissom 16-102, Jalen Bell 7-29, Jimmy Wheeler 5-17, Garry Brown 2-5, John Franklin 2-(-1), Michael Keir 5-(-14).

Passing: SRU, Don King III 13-31-134-2, Nathaniel Musselman 4-5-42-0. California, Michael Keir 20-35-280-1.

Receiving: SRU, Marcus Johnson 3-44, Drew Scales 3-38, Leroy MCclain 2-37, Carnel Harley 3-36, Cornelius Raye 2-18, Taishan Tucker 1-5, Dontez Rash 1-0, Brian McNally 1-0, Dominic Dingle 1-(-2). California, Garry Brown 6-136, Ryan McCauley 2-39, Jordan Dandridge 2-38, Luke Smorey 4-33, Paul Butler 2-20, Tom Greene 4-14.