Big Game Thread: Cal Wins Thriller, Earns Bowl Eligibility

Cal's 24-21 triumph was its fourth straight against Stanford and gives the Bears their sixth win of the season

Fernando Mendoza / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Two of the primary goals in any Cal football season are to earn bowl eligibility and win the Big Game.

The Golden Bears achieved both objectives with their 24-21 win over Stanford in front of 52,428 fans at Memorial Stadium.

Cal (6-5, 2-5 ACC) was coming off a disappointing 33-25 home defeat to Syracuse, a game far more one-sided than the score suggests. Stanford (3-8, 2-6) snapped a six-game skid last week with a surprising 38-35 win over then-No. 19 Louisville.

PERSONNEL UPDATE: Cal ILB Cade Uluave did not warm up with the team and will not play for the second week in a row.

COIN FLIP: Cal won the toss and deferred. The Bears will kick off to Stanford and wll defend the north end zone.

7:49 1st Q: Stanford goes 75 yards in 12 plays and take the lead on a 1-yard QB keeper by backup Justin Lamson, who comes in for short yarage situations. Starter Ashton Daniels was 6 for 6 passing for 54 yards, including a 29-yard completion to freshman WR Emmett Mosley V, and also ran twice for 10 yards. Stanford 7, Cal 0

1:27 1st Q: Once again, Stanford knifes effortlessly through the Cal defense, going 54 yards in eight play before Lamson runs it in from 2 yards. Stanford has 127 yards of offense to 18 for Cal. Stanford 14, Cal 0

11:04 2nd Q: Fernando Mendoza throws a 16-yard back-shoulder pass to Trond Grizzell in the end zone and the Bears are on the board. Mendoza began the 4-play, 82-yard drive with a 50-yard scramble to the Stanfod 32-yard line and a penalty against Stanford moved the ball 10 more yards to the 22. Per Cal athletics, Mendoza's 50-yard scamper was the longest by a Bears QB in at least 25 years, dating back to 1999. Stanford 14, Cal 7

HALFTIME: Stanford 14, Cal 7. Each team missed a long field goal try late in the half but that was as close as we got to another score. Cal's defense settled in a bit after being shredded on Stanford's first two possessions. The Cardinal had just 51 yards in the second quarter and QB Ashton Daniels was 1 for 5 passing for 3 yards after going 9 for 9 for 87 yards in the first quarter.

Mendoza finished the half 9 for 15 fir 77 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed six times for 47 yards. Jaydn Ott managed just 11 yards on four attempts. Stanford has run 41 players to27 for the Bears. The Cardinal has a total yardage edge of 177-139 and 10 first downs to 7 for the Bears.

Cal will get the ball first to start the second half.

6:33 3rd Q: Cal went 3-and-out on its first possession of the half and Stanford responded with an 11-play, 52-yard drive capped by some trickery on fourth and goal from the 2. Short-yardage QB Lamson took the snap, lateraled the ball to RB Micah Ford, who passed to Emmett Mosley V in the end zone for the TD. Stanford 21, Cal 7

0:47 3rd Q: Ryan Coe delivers a 46-yard FG to cap a 12-play, 54-yard drive that featured a 30-yard completion from Mendoza to Grizzell to the Stanford 24. Stanford 21, Cal 10

10:09 4th Q: Mendoza drills a 30-TD completion to Jonathan Brady for a touchdown that caps an 11-play, 71-yard drive. Mendoza was 5 for 7 for 70 yards on the possession. The Bears tried for the two-point conversion but Mendoza threw incomplete to Grizzell in a crowd. Stanford 21, Cal 16

2:40 4th Q: Mendoza throws down the middle to Brady, who makes a finger-tip catch in the end zone for a 22-yard TD, giving Cal its first lead of the game. Mendoza then tossed a shovel pass to Jaydn Ott, who powered over for the 2-point conversion. The Bears went 98 yards in 11 plays, overcoming two sacks, in a drove that consumed 5:05 off the clock. Big plays on the drive were Mendoza's 5-yard completion to Jack Endries on fourth-and-2 to the Cal 43 and his 36-yard pass to Nyziah Hunter to the Stanford 21 on the next play. Cal 24, Stanford 21.

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Some pre-game reading: 

— Our Big Game preview, touching on just about everything you need to know to be ready for today’s matchup

— Jaydn Ott can possibly become Cal's all-time career rushing leader in the Big Game

— A Stanford beat writer answers our 5 Questions about the Bears’ Big Game opponent

— Which two Cal players landed spots on ESPN’s All-Underrated Transfer Portal Team? 

— Our weekly ACC game picks, including how we view the Big Game

— One of the Bears’ top committed recruits is scheduled to take in the Big Game

— Sixth-year safety Craig Woodson sends a message to Stanford