Cal Sports Report

Cal Football Game Summary: Bears Blow Lead, Lose to North Carolina State

Cal loses its fourth straight game, and those four losses have been by a combined nine points

Jake Curtis

Cal place kicker Derek Morris
Cal place kicker Derek Morris / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
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Cal lost to North Carolina State 24-23 on Saturday afternoon in Berkeley.

Cal has now lost four games in a row by a combined margin of nine points. This time the Bears had a 13-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Bears missed a chance to take the lead when freshman place-kicker Derek Morris missed a 28-yard field goal with 1:45 remaining.

NORTH CARLINA STATE 24, CAL 23

RECORDS: CAL (3-4, 0-4 ACC), NORTH CAROLINA STATE (4-4, 0-4 ACC)

PLAYER OF THE GAME:  North Carolina State freshman quarterback CJ Bailey. Although he was sacked six times, Bailey was 25-for-36 for 306 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

STAT OF THE GAME: North Carolina State was 8-for-17 on third down, and Cal was 2-for-14 on third down

TURNING POINT: Cal place-kicker Derek Morris missed a 28-yard field goal with 1:34 remaining in the fourth quarter that would have given Cal a two-point lead.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY:  Running back Jaydn Ott, tight end Corey Dyches, guard Sioape Vatikani, and outside linebacker Ryan McCulloch did not play for Cal.

KEY PLAY 1:  Cal’s Jaivian Thomas scored a touchdown on a 49-yard run. It was the Bears’ first running play of the game. Freshman Derek Morris kicked the extra point to give Cal a 7-0 lead with 13:47 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAYS 2:  After North Carolina State got a first down at the Cal 2-yard line, the Bears defense pushed the Wolfpack back 7 yards over the next three plays before Kanoah Vinesett kicked a 27-yard field goal on fourth down to reduce the Cal lead to 7-3 with 27 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 3: Cal’s Jaivian Thomas fumbled at the Cal 47-yard line. It was recovered by North Carolina State’s Isaiah Crowell, who returned it to the Cal 34-line with 6:27 left in the second quarter.  It led to the Wolfpack’s first touchdown, as noted in Key Play 4.

KEY PLAY 4:  On a fourth-and-8 play from the Cal 32-yard line, North Carolina State quarterback CJ Bailey completed a 31-yard pass to KC Concepcion, giving the Wolfpack a first down at the 1-yard line. Two plays later Concepcion scored a touchdown on a 2-yard run, giving North Carolina State a 10-7 lead with 3:20 left in the first half.

KEY PLAYS 5: Cal freshman Derek Morris kicked a 47-yard field goal on his first collegiate field-goal attempt. It tied the game 10-10 with 1:12 left in the first half.

KEY PLAY 6: Fernando Mendoza completed a 22-yard pass to Byron Cardwell Jr., putting the ball at the North Carolina State 17-yard line with 29 seconds remaining in the second quarter. It led to a 26-yard field goal by Derek Morris that gave Cal a 13-10 lead with seven seconds left in the first half.

KEY PLAY 7:  A fumble by North Carolina State receiver Noah Rodgers was forced by Marcus Harris and recovered by by Cal's Ca, Sidney at the Wolfpack 33-yard line with 14:43 left in the third quarter. It led to Derek Morris' 24-yard field goal, which gave Cal a 16-10 lead with 9:10 remaining in the thirdquarter.

KEY PLAY 8: North Carolina State punt returner Jalen Coit fumbled a punt and it was recoved by Cal's Liam Johnson at the Wolfpack 16-yard line with 1:21 to go in the third quarter. It led to Jaivian Thomas' 7-yard touchdown run that gave Cal a 23-10 lead with 24 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAYS 9: A 29-yard Wolfpack pass completion to Justin Joly and a 28-yard completion to KC Concepcion led to CJ Bailey's 1-yard touchdown pass to Dacari Collins on a fourth-down play. That cut the Cal lead to 23-17 with 11:30 left in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAY 10: North Carolina State's CJ Bailey completed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Hollywood Smothers to give the Wolfpack a 24-23 lead with 6:32 remaining in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAY 11: Cal's Derek Morris missed a 27-yard field goal attempt with 1:34 left in the fourth quarter, keeping North Carolina State ahead 24-23/

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME: Cal outside linebacker Teddye Buchanan had 15 tackles, including two tackles for loss, and broke up a pass.

QUARTERBACK STATISTICS: Cal's Fernando Mendoza was 30-for-42 for 282 yards, no touchdowns and no nterceptions. North Carolina State’s CJ Bailey was 25-for-36 for 306 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

WHAT IT MEANS:  Cal has lost four games in a row, all in ACC competition, and is in last place in the 17-team conference. Cal's margin of defeat in those four games combined is nine points, and it was the second time Cal let a significant lead in the second half get away. The Bears led Miami 35-10 in the third quarter, and they led Saturday's game 23-14 entering the fourth quarter. Cal lost both.

CAL'S BOWL BAROMETER:  Cal's bowl chances took a hit in this game in which Cal was a 9.5-point favorite. The Bears must win three of their last five games to become bowl-eligible. Cal's bowl chances now stand at 40%.

NEXT GAME: Cal (3-4, 0-4 ACC) vs. Oregon State (4-3), Saturday, October 26, at Cal’s Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. Kickoff time: 1 p.m.  TV: ESPN2. Oregon State Saturday result: Oregon State lost to UNLV 33-25 Saturday night. On the final play of the game, Oregon State threw an incompletion after getting to the UNLV 6-yard line.

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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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