Cal Sports Report

Cal Football Game Summary: Bears Beat Stanford

Cal overcomes a 14-point, third-quarter deficit to beat Stanford for the fourth time in a row

Jake Curtis

Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza
Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
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Cal rallied from a 21-7, third-quarter deficit to beat Stanford 24-21 before a crowd of 52,428 in Berkeley on Saturday afternoon in the 127th Big Game.

It's Cal's fourth straight victory in the Big Game, and the victory makes Cal bowl-eligible.

The summary:

CAL 24, STANFORD 21

RECORDS: CAL (6-5, 2-5 ACC), STANFORD (3-8, 2-6 ACC)

PLAYER OF THE GAME:  Cal wide receiver Jonathan Brady. Brady had five catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns. He made an outstanding catch on the 22-yard touchdown reception that put Cal ahead in the closing minutes.

STAT OF THE GAME: Fernando Mendoza was sacked six times, but still led the Bears in rushing with 35 yards. He also threw three touchdown passes.

STAT OF THE GAME II: Cal had 371 yards of offense, including 232 in the second half. Stanford had 259 yards of offense, but just 81 in the second half.

TURNING POINT I: With Cal trailing 14-0 early in the second quarter, Bears quarerback Fernando Mendoza scrambled for 50 yards. A penalty on Stanford on that play added 10 yards, making it a 60-yard play to the Stanford 22-yard line. Mendoza ended the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Trond Grizzell to reduce the deficit to 14-7 and get Cal back in the game.

TURNING POINT II. Fernando Mendoza completed a 22-yard touchdopwn pass to Jonathan Brady. That and a two-point conversion gave Cal its first lead lof the game at 24-21 with 2:40 left in the game.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY:  Bears inside linebacker Cade Uluave did not play Saturday because of a lower-body injury.

KEY PLAY 1:  On a third-and-3 play from the Stanford 32-yard line, Ashton Daniels completed a 29-yard pass to Emmett Mosley V for a first down at the Cal 39-yard line. That led to Justin Lamson’s 1-yard touchdown run, giving Stanford a 7-0 lead with 7:49 left in the first quarter. Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels completed all six of his passes on that 75-yard drive.

KEY PLAY 2:  Stanford’s Tiger Bachmeier returned a punt 35 yards from the 11-yard line to the Stanford 46-yard line.  That led to the Cardinal’s 54-yard drive that ended with Justin Lamson’s 2-yard touchdown run that gave Stanford a 14-0 lead with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 3:  Cal’s Fernando Mendoza scrambled for a 50-yard run from the Cal 18-yard line to the Stanford 32-yard line. A defensive holding penalty on the play advanced the ball to the Stanford 22-yard line, making it a 60-yard play.  Three players later, Mendoza threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Trond Grizzell to reduce the Stanford lead to 14-7 with 11:04 left in the second quarter.

KEY PLAYS 4:  Stanford kicker Emmet Kenney missed a 53-yard field-goal attempt with 1:40 left in the second quarter, and Cal kicker Ryan Coe missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt with 22 seconds remaining in the first half.

KEY PLAY 5:  On a fourth-and-goal play from the Cal 2-yard line, quarterback Justin Lamson lateraled the ball to running back Micah Ford, who threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Emmett Mosley V. That gave Stanford a 21-7 lead with 6:33 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 6:  While returning a kickoff, Cal's Nohl Williams was hit hard by Stanford's Sam Mattingly, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Stanford's Jayson Raines at the Cal 20-yard line with 6:26 remaining in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 7:  Stanford holder Connor Weselman mishandled a snap on what would have been a 36-yard field-goal attempt by Emmet Kenney. Weselman then attempted a desperation thrw that was incomplete, turning the ball over to Cal at the 18-yard line with 5:30 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 8:  Cal's Fernando Mendoza completed a 30-yard pass to Trond Grizzell, putting the ball at the Stanford 24-yard line. That set up Ryan Coe's 46-yard field goal, reducing Stanford's lead to 21-10 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 9: Cal's Fernando Mendoza threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Brady. Mendoza's pass for a two-point conversion attempt was incomplete. The touchdown reduced the Stanford lead to 21-16 with 10:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAY 10: Fernando Mendoza completed a 6-yard pass to Jack Endries on a fourth-and 2 play from the Cal 38-yard line.

KEY PLAY 11: On that same drive, Mendoza completed a 36-yard pass to Nyziah Hunter to the Stanford 21-yard linbe.

KEY PLAY 12: On tha same drive, Mendoza completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Brady and . Mendoza completed a pass to Jaydn Ott for a two-points comversion to give Cal a 24-21 lead with 2:40 left in the fourth quarter.

QUARTERBACK STATISTICS: Cal's Fernando Mendoza was 26-for-37 for 299 yards, three touchdowns and no intercepions. He ran for 35 yards. Stanford’s Ashton Daniels was 14-for-26 for 139 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions., He also ran for a team-high 63 yards.

WHAT IT MEANS:  With its second conference win, Cal is assured of not finishing in last place in its first season in the ACC. Florida State, whose only conference win was against Cal, has completed ACC play at 1-7 and is now guaranteed of finishing alone in last place. Cal could finish with a winning overall record for the first time since 2019 if it wins next week’s game against SMU or a bowl game.

CAL'S BOWL BAROMETER:  Cal has a 99% chance of playing in a bowl game for the second straight season. Most experts predicted this past week that the Bears would play in the LA Bowl against a Mountain West team on December 18.  That is not certain, and things could change based on next week’s results. It’s conceivable that there will be more bowl-eligible teams that bowl spots available, which would leave some 6-6 teams without a bowl berth. Even if that’s the case, Cal would likely earn a bowl berth at 6-6.

NEXT GAME: Cal (6-5, 2-5 ACC) faces SMU (10-1, 7-0 ACC) in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, November 30. Kickoff time: 12:30 p.m. TV: ESPN2. SMU’s Saturday result: No. 13 SMU defeated Virginia 33-7 on Virginia’s home field to clinch a berth in the ACC title game.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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