Cal Football Game Summary: Bears Blow Big Lead, Lose to No. 8 Miami

Sellout crowd in Berkeley sees Cal let a 25-point, third-quarter lead slip away as the Hurricanes score the game-winner in the final minute

California Golden Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

A sellout crowd of 52,428, the first Cal sellout since the 2022 Big Game against Stanford, saw Cal blow a 25-point, second-half lead in a 39-38 loss to No. 8 Miami in Berkeley on a hot Saturday night.

When Cal took a 35-10 lead with 8:06 left in the third quarter, it appeared Cal would get its first win over a top-10 team since it defeat No. 8 Washington State 37-3 in 2017. But Cal could not hold the lead as Miami scored the go-ahead touchdown with 26 seconds left on Cam Ward's 5-yard pass to Elijah Arroyo.

It was Cal's first non-Big Game home sellout since a 2013 game against Ohio State, when the Bears' stadium's capacity was 62,647.

Cal fans will be left to question why a targeting call was not made against Miami on a third-down play from the Cal 46-yard line on Cal's nest-to-last possession while the Bears still had the lead. It forced Cal to punt and the Hurricanes went 92 yards for the game-winning score.

"I'm not going to talk about that," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said of that non-call. "You can write whatever you want."

Brock Osweiler, who did the commentary for ESPN for the game, said he definitely thought it was targeting:

For anyone who missed it, this was the play in question. pic.twitter.com/5ubAy5xRpl

— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 6, 2024

The question was whether Wesley Bissainthe's hit was to Fernando Mendoza's head or his shoulder.

NO. 8 MIAMI 39, CAL 38

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

PLAYER OF THE GAME, OFFENSE: Miami quarterback Cam Ward. After Cal had a 35-10 lead, Ward threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead the comeback victory.

STAT OF THE GAME: Cal had four pass plays of more than 50 yards for the first time in at least 10 years and probably much longer ago than that. Two of the four were touchdown passes.

STAT OF THE GAME II: Miami rolled up 575 yards of total offense and outgained the Bears by 205 yards, Miami had 30 first downs to 13 for Cal.

STAT OF THE GAME III: Cal had just 47 rushing yards for the game.

TURNING POINT: On a play from the Miami 8-yard line with Cal leading 38-32, Cam Ward threw a 77-yard completion to a wide-open Xavier Restrepo, putting Miami in position for the go-ahead touchdown in the final minute.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Ryan Coe remained the place-kicker for Cal despite going 5-for-11 on field goals in the first four games. Guard Sioape Vatikani, who left the game against Florida State on a cart, was considered “probable” for Saturday’s game, but he did not play. Defensive back Matthew Littlejohn was not available either. Wide receiver Tobias Merriweather and wide receiver Kyion Grayes, who were projected as starters before the season began, missed their fifth straight gams.

KEY PLAY 1: On the first play of Miami’s second possession, Mark Flecher Jr. ran for 33 yards to the Cal 35-yard line. It led to the first score of the game, which came on a 3-yard Fletcher run, giving the Hurricanes a 7-0 lead with 6:19 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 2: Cal’s Francisco Mendoza completed a 57-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jack Endries to tie the score 7-7 with 3:58 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 3: On a fourth-and-2 play from the Cal 45-yard line, Miami’s Cam Ward completed a pass to tight end Elijah Arroyo, but he was stopped for a 1-yard gain by Cal safety Miles Williams, turning the ball over to Cal. The Bears scored on the resulting possession

KEY PLAY 4: Cal’s Fernando Mendoza completed a 51-yard pass to Trond Grizzell, putting the ball at the Miami 5-yard line. Jaydn Ott then scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to put the Bears ahead 14-7 with 13:43 left in the first half

KEY PLAY 5: Miami’s Andres Borregales kicked a 46-yard field goal, reducing Cal’s lead to 14-10 with 9:07 left in the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 6: On a fourth-and 1 play from Cal 34-yard line, Fernando Mendoza threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Jaydn Ott, giving Cal a 21-10 lead with 8:00 minutes left in the first half.

KEY PLAY 7: Cal's Nohl Williams intercepted a Cam Ward pass at the Miami 40-yard line and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown that gave Cal a 28-10 lead with 13:07 left in the third quarter. It was Cal's 11th interception of the season and Williams fifth interception of the season.

KEY PLAY 8: Fernando Mendoza completed a 56-yard pass to Jaivian Thomas, putting the ball at the Miami 29-yard line. It led to Chandler Rodgers' 9-yard touchdown run, giving Cal a 35-10 lead with 8:06 remaining in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 9: Miami's Cam Ward threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to IIsaiah Horton to reduce the Cal lead to 38-25 with 10:28 remaining in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAY 10: Miami quarterback Cam Ward scored a touchdown on a 24-yard scramble to reduce the Cal lead to 38-32 with 4:04 left in the fourth quarter

KEY PLAY 11: On a play from the Miami 8-yard line with Cal leading 38-32, Cam Ward completed a 77-yard pass to Xavier Restrepo, putting the ball at the Cal 15-yard line with 1:28 left

KEY PLAY 12: On a third-and-20 play on that same possession, Ward completed a 22-yard pass to Damien Martinez, putting the ball at the Cal 3-yard line with 37 seconds to go.

KEY PLAY 13: Cam Ward threw an 5-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Arroyo with 26 seconds left to put Miami ahead 39-38 after the made extra point.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME: Cal running back Jaydn Ott had seven carries for just 2 yards rushing. He also had a 66-yard touchdown reception. But he did not play in the late stages of the game and it's unclear whether an injury was involved. Wilcox said afterward that he would have to look into that.

QUARTERBACK STATISTICS: Cal's Fernando Mendoza was 11-for-22 for 285 yards, two touchdowns and one interception; Cal's Chandler Rogers was 1-for-2 for 12 yards; Miami’s Cam Ward was 35-for-53 for 437 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

WHAT IT MEANS: Cal demonstrated it can play with the big boys, but this was a major gut punch for the Bears, who let an opportunity to record a major upset slip away. It will be difficult to bounce back from this one. A win over the No. 8 team in the country would have made the Bears an outside threat for the ACC title. Instead, the loss comes close to eliminating Cal's chances of winning the conference championship.

CAL'S BOWL BAROMETER: The Bears' chances of landing a bowl berth are at about 50%, losing an opportunity to virtually lock up a bowl berth .

NEXT GAME: Cal (3-2, 0-2 ACC) vs. Pittsburgh (5-0, 1-0 ACC), Saturday, October 12 at Pitt’s Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Kickoff time: 12:30 p.m. Pacific time (3:30 p.m. Eastern time). TV: ESPN or ACC Network. Pitt result Saturday: Pittsburgh improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1991 with a 34-24 road victory over North Carolina on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers were picked to finish 13th in the ACC in the preseason poll, but they are likely to be ranked in the top 25 when the AP poll is released on Sunday

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