Cal QB Fernando Mendoza Will Not Play Against SMU

Bears running back Jaivian Thomas and offensive tackle Nick Morrow also unavailable for Saturday's game

Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Cal quarterack Fernando Mendoza, who was named the ACC quarterback of the week for his play last week against Stanford, will not play against SMU today (Saturday) because of an illness, as reported by Cal's pregame radio show.

As a result, quarterback Chandler Rogers will make his first start as a member of the Cal team. He is a better runner than Mendoza, but he has not been as effective as Mendoza as a passer. Rogers was the starting quarterback at North Texas last season, but he has attempted just 10 passes for Cal this season, completing four for 33 yards. He has run the balll 17 times for 77 yards and one touchdown, and Cal has used him at quarterback when it needed a running hreat at the quarterback spot.

He competed with Mendoza for the starting job during preseason, but Mendoza won the job and solidified his posiion as the No. 1 quarterback in the first few games. Cal coaches wanted to give both Mendoza and Rogers playing time in the first two games, but Rogers never got much playing time.

Mendoza, a third-year sophomore, has completed 68.7% of his passes this season with 16 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions.

Also unavailable for Cal today are running back Jaivian Thomas, the teams' leading rusher, and starting offensive tackle Nick Morrow.

Thomas has rushed for 598 yards and 6.6 yards-per-carry average as the backup to Jaydn Ot, who will again be the starting running back but is averaging 2.9 yards per carry. Thomas rushed for 169 yards early this season against San Diego Sate, but had just 15 rushing yards on five carries last week against Stanford.

Ott has rushed for 264 yards this season and has battled an ankle injury through much of the season.

Mendoza's absence is due to an illness, not an injury, so presumably he would be available for Cal's bowl games, but he will not play against ninth-ranked SMU in Dallas. Cal was already a 12-point underdog in the game, and this information may change the spread even more.

Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport