Cal Sports Report

Cal Football Game Summary: Bears Lose a Close One to No. 22 Pitt

Cal suffers its third straight agonizing loss in a two-point defeat on the road.

Jake Curtis

Cal running back Jaivian Thomas
Cal running back Jaivian Thomas / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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Cal lost another heartbreaker, falling to No. 22 Pittsburgh 17-15 Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh.

Both teams had two touchdowns and one field goal, but a missed two-point conversion attempt after Cal's first touchdown and another failed two-point conversion on its second touchdown were the difference. Cal had a chance to take the lead with less than two minutes left, but Cal's Ryan Coe missed a 40-yard field goal with 1:50 remaining.

It's the third straight loss for Cal, while Pitt is 6-0 for the first time since 1982. Jaydn Ott did not play for Cal.

No. 22 PITT 17 CAL 15

RECORDS: CAL (3-3, 0-3 ACC), PITT (6-0, 2-0 ACC)

PLAYER OF THE GAME:  Pitt running back Desmond Reid. Reid rushed for 120 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown run, and also caught a critical 19-yard pass on a fourth-and-9 situation in the first half.

STAT OF THE GAME: Cal commited 12 penalties for 110 yards.

STAT OF THE GAME II: Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza was sacked six times, the third time Cal has allowed six sacks or more in a game this season.

STAT OF THE GAME III: Cal intercepted two passes, giving the Bears 13 picks for the season, which leads the nation.

TURNING POINT: Pitt’s two successful fourth-down gambles in the first half.

---With Cal leading 6-0, Pitt went for a first down on a fourth-and-5 play from its own 49-yard line in the first quarter.  Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein completed a 19-yard pass to Desmond Reid on that play and that led to a Pitt touchdown that gave the Panthers a 7-6 lead.

---Leading 7-6 in the second quarter, Pitt went for a first down on a fourth-and-1 play from its own 28-yard line. On that play, Desmond Reid ran 72 yards for a touchdown, to give the Panthers a 14-6 lead.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY:  Running back Jaydn Ott, whose status was listed as “probable” for Saturday’s game, did not play. He accompanied the team to Pittsburgh, but did not dress. . . . Cal tight end Corey Dyches, who has 11 catches for 139 yards this season, was not available because of an injury suffered last week. . . . Outside linebacker Ryan McCulloch did not play . . . . Guard Sioape Vatikani  and nickelback Matthew Littlejohn did not play.

KEY PLAY 1: On a third-and-19 play from the Cal 44-yard line, Fernando Mendoza completed a 23-yard pass to Jonathan Brady for a first down on Cal’s first possession. It led to Jaivian Thomas’ 21-yard touchdown run, giving Cal a 6-0 lead with 9:01 left in the first quarter.  A two-point conversion attempt, in which holder Lachlan Wilson attempted a pass, failed.

KEY PLAY 2:  On a fourth-and-5 play from the Pitt 49-yard line, Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein completed a 19-yard pass to Desmond Reid for a first down. That possession ended with Reid’s 5-yard run touchdown run, giving Pitt a 7-6 lead with 5:16 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 3: On a fourth-and-1 play from the Pitt 28-yard line, Pitt’s Desmond Reid ran 72 yards for a touchdown, giving Pitt a 14-6 lead on the first play of the second quarter.

KEY PLAYS 4:  Cal cornerback Lu-Magia Hearns III was called for pass interference twice for 30 penalty yards during a Pitt possession that ended with a 58-yard field goal by Pitt’s Ben Sauls, increasing the Panthers’ lead to 17-6 with 10:04 left in the second quarter.

KEY PLAYS 5:  Pitt was penalized twice for 30 yards on one Cal drive that ended with Cal kicker Ryan Coe making a 39-yard field goal, cutting the Pitt lead to 17-9 with 5:57 left in the first half.

KEY PLAY 6: Early in the fourth quarter, Fernando Mendoza completed a 27-yard pass to tight end Jack Endries, and on the same possession Mendoza completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Endries. Again Cal failed to convert a two-point attempt, keeping Pittsburgh ahead 17-15 with 10:35 left in the game.

KEY PLAY 7: On a third-and-14 play from the Cal 49-yard line, Fernando Mendoza threw an incompletion, but Pitt was called for pass interference, giving Cal a first down at the Pitt 36-yard line with 4:32 left in the fourth quarter. It put Cal in position for a feald goal, but . . .

KEY PLAY 8: Cal kicker Ryan Coe missed a 40-yard field goal attempt wide right with 1:50 left.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME:  Pitt linebacker Braylan Lovelace had two sacks and three tackles for loss.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME II: Cal tight end Jack Endries had eight receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown.

QUARTERBACK STATISTICS: Cal's Fernando Mendoza was 27-for-37 for 272 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Pitt’s Eli Holstein 14-for-28 for 133 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. It was Holstein's least productive game of the season.

WHAT IT MEANS:  Cal lost its third straight game, eliminating any chance for an ACC title. The Bears are still looking for their first ACC victory, and they have not shown they can win close games.

CAL'S BOWL BAROMETER: Cal has about a 50% chance to earning a bowl berth after their third straight loss.

NEXT GAME: Cal (3-3, 0-3 ACC) vs. North Carolina State (3-4, 0-3 ACC), Saturday, October 19, at Cal’s Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. Kickoff time: 12:30 p.m.  TV: ACC Network. North Carolina State Saturday result: North Carolina State lost a home game to Syracuse 24-17 on Saturday night. Freshman C.J. Bailey was the Wolfpacks's quarterback in Saturday's loss and is likely to be NC State's quarterback against Cal with Grayson McCall sidelined.

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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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