Cal Football Game Summary: Bears Clobber Oregon State

Cal takes a 31-0 lead at halftime and emphatically ends its four-game losing streak

Cal linebacker Hunter Barth / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Cal ended its four-game losing streak with a 44-7 victory over Oregon State on Saturday afternoon in Berkeley.

Cal took a 31-0 lead at halftime, which was the Bears' largest halftime margin in nine years. Oregon State's only score came with five minutes left in the game.

The summary:

CAL 44, OREGON STATE 7

RECORDS: CAL (4-4, 0-4 ACC), OREGON STATE (4-4)

PLAYER OF THE GAME:  Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza set a career high for passing yards as he went 27-for-36 for 364 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran five times for 25 yards and was not sacked.

STAT OF THE GAME:  Cal had 356 yards of offense and 20 first downs in the first half, while Oregon State had 82 yards of offense and four first downs in the first half.

STAT OF THE GAME II: Cal did not allow any sacks. The Bears had allowed 27 sacks coming into the game, and only two FBS teams had allowed more.

STAT OF THE GAME III: Oregon State, which entered the game ranked eighth in the nation in rushing yards per game at 239 yards per contest, was limited to 60 rushing yards and 2.2 yards per carry.

TURNING POINT:  Cal scored touchdowns on its first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead, and the Bears were never threatened.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY:  Running back Jaydn Ott was in the starting lineup Saturday after missing the past two games with a leg injury. . . . Linebacker Cade Uluave, the team’s second-leading tackler, did not play because of a lower-body injury.  . . . . WR Tobias Merriweather returned to practice this week, but he did not play Saturday. He was projected to be a starter, but has not played this season. . . . TE Corey Dyches did not play. . . . .  Guard Sioape Vatikani played Saturday after playing in just one of the first seven games . . . . Starting offensive tackle T.J. Session was not available Saturday. . .  WR Kyion Grayes did not play.

KEY PLAY 1:  On Cal’s first possession, quarterback Fernando Mendoza completed a 40-yard pass to Trond Grizzell, giving Cal the ball at the Oregon State 11-yard line. It led to Cal’s first score, as noted in Key Play 2.

KEY PLAY 2:  On a third-and-8 play from the Beavers’ 9-yard line, Mendoza completed a short pass to Jaivian Thomas, who caught the ball at the 12-yard line before being stopped. But before going down, Thomas lateraled to Mendoza, who caught the ball at the 15-yard line and ran the rest of the way for a touchdown that gave Cal a 7-0 lead with 11:33 left in the first quarter.  According to the official statistics, Mendoza both threw a touchdown pass and had a receiving touchdown on that play. Officially, Mendoza was not credited with a reception, but he was credited with a touchdown reception and 15 receiving yards.

NANDO BIG STEPPIN' 🤯@qb_fernando takes the lateral from @jaivianthomas to get in the endzone!

📺 ESPN2
📲 https://t.co/9KCKBeDwEb#GoBears | #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/smiZZV3499

— Cal Football (@CalFootball) October 26, 2024

KEY PLAY 3:  Mendoza completed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Nyziah Hunter to give Cal a 14-0 lead with 8:59 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 4:  Cal’s Derek Morris kicked a 33-yard field goal, increasing the Bears lead to 17-0 with 14:08 left in the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 5:  Cal safety Craig Woodson intercepted a Gevani McCoy pass at the Oregon State 47-yard line.  It set up Derek Morris’ 47-yard field goal, which gave Cal a 20-0 lead with 9:31 remaining in the first half.

KEY PLAY 6: With 9:31 left in the second quarter, Ben Gulbranson replaced Gevani McCoy as the Oregon State quarterback.

KEY PLAY 7:  Mendoza completed a 24-yard pass to Jordan King, putting the ball at the Oregon State 18-yard line. That led to Jaivian Thomas’ 2-yard touchdown run followed by a two-point conversion pass to Mikey Matthews, giving Cal a 28-0 lead with 5:09 remaining in the first half.

KEY PLAY 8: Derek Morris kicked a 19-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, giving Cal a 31-0 lead.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME: Cal running back Jaydn Ott had five carries for zero yards in the first half, and he finished with 10 carries for 11 yards. But he had four receptions for 58 yards.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME II: Fernando Mendoza had the first touchdown catch of his career, but officially Mendoza had no receptions in the game. Yes, you read that correctly. (See Key Play 2.)

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME III: Freshman Cal kicker Derek Morris was 5-for-5 on field goal attempts. The five field goals tied a school record for most field goals on a game.

QUARTERBACK STATISTICS: Cal's Fernando Mendoza was 27-for-36 for 364 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 178.3. Oregon State’s Gevani McCoy was 2-for-5 for 3 yards, no touchdowns and one interception for a passer rating of 5.0. Oregon State Ben Gulbranson was 11-for-20 for 131 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

WHAT IT MEANS:  Cal ended a four-game losing streak and finishes 4-0 in nonconference games. The Bears' four remaining games are all against ACC opponents. At 4-4, Cal still has a chance to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2019.

CAL'S BOWL BAROMETER:  Cal has a 50% chance to get a bowl berth. The Bears need to win two of their final four games to become bowl-eligible. Those games are against Wake Forest, Syracuse, Stanford and SMU. At this point, it appears SMU will be the only clear favorite over Cal in those last four contests.

NEXT GAME: Cal (4-4, 0-4 ACC) has a bye next weekend, then faces Wake Forest (4-4, 2-2 ACC) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Friday, November 8. Kickoff time: 5 p.m. Pacific time (8 p.m. North Carolina time). TV: ACC Network. Wake Forest Saturday result: Wake Forest beat Stanford 27-24 on Saturday and also has a bye this coming week.

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