Cal Sports Report

Cal Won by 18 points, but It Really Came Down to Three Plays

A game-changing kickoff return, a gamble and an outstanding catch by a redshirt freshman made the difference against UC Davis

Jake Curtis

Cal wide receiver Nyziah Hunter
Cal wide receiver Nyziah Hunter / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
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The final score of Cal’s 31-13 victory over UC Davis on Saturday suggests the Bears dominated the game, but it was really just three plays that allowed Cal to win its opener and avoid an embarrassing loss.

--Pivotal Play No. 1: The Game-Changer

A player who did not touch the ball played a key role in this play, which turned the game around.

UC Davis had just scored a touchdown on a nine-play, 66-yard drive that gave the Aggies a 13-7 lead with 4:42 left in the first half. UC Davis had controlled the game to that point, and an upset seemed possible.

Cal sent Jaydon Ott back to return the ensuing kickoff, indicating how important it was.  And UC Davis, knowing how dangerous Ott is as a returner, avoided kicking in his direction.   Instead the short kick went to Nohl Williams, who caught the ball by the left sideline at the 20-yard line.

“They said at the special-teams meeting they probably wouldn’t kick it to Jaydn,” Williams said.

After catching the kick, Williams sprinted up the left side, avoided tacklers as he tight-roped the sideline and broke through for an 80-yard kickoff return that put Cal ahead 14-13 just 10 seconds after Davis had taken the lead. The play changed the entire complexion of the game.

Even though Ott did not touch the ball, his presence caused UC Davis to try a short, angled kickoff -- which set Williams up for a touchdown run.

--Pivotal Play No. 2: The Gamble

Cal still held a 14-13 lead in the second half when Cal faced a fourth-and-4 from the UC Davis’ 49-yard line with 10:19 left in the third quarter.  The Bears had only 102 yards of total offense at that point, compared to 249 yards for the Aggies. The safe moved seemed to be a punt, since giving the ball back to the Aggies near midfield would have given them an excellent chance to take the lead. 

Justin Wilcox opted to go for a first down.

He noted how the Cal defense had controlled the Aggies on their first two offensive possessions of the second half, but the crux of his decision was this:

“I kind of needed something to break the dam,” Wilcox said.

After the third-down play, Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza was not sure whether the coaches would decide to punt or go for it on fourth down.

“That’s one time where you’re not really sure,” Mendoza said, “but once the offense stayed on the field, I was very excited that Coach Wilcox had faith in the offense.”

Mendoza hit Mikey Matthews on a 7-yard slant to get the first down.  Six plays later, Cal scored a touchdown to make it a 24-13 game, and suddenly Cal was in control.

“We felt like we had a good play, good matchups and able to complete it and get some momentum, because that seemed to change,” Wilcox said.

If Cal had failed to convert that fourth-down play, especially if UC Davis had scored as a result, Wilcox would have been criticized for taking such a risk at that point.  Failure on that play conceivably could have cost Cal the game.  Instead it helped assure a win.

“Great play, good momentum shift,” Mendoza said of the fourth-down conversion.

“We just needed a play,” Wilcox said, “and that was a key play.”

--Pivotal Play No. 3: The Clincher

Cal still had a 24-13 lead when it faced a fourth-and-2 situation from the UC Davis 3-yard line early in the fourth quarter.  The Bears eschewed a field goal and tried for a touchdown that would virtually ensure victory.

Mendoza’s pass intended for redshirt freshman Nyziah Hunter was low, nearly hitting the ground before it reached a tightly covered Hunter a yard deep in the end zone.

Hunter had made the first reception of his college career earlier in the game, and this pass into the end zone seemed destined to fall incomplete.  Somehow Hunter got his arms under the ball and caught it for the score to give Cal a comfortable 31-13 advantage.

“I never even expected to play in this game,” Hunter said, “Just came in ready. I forgot the feeling of what a touchdown is.”

And what was the feeling, Nyziah?

“I got to be honest,” he said, “I kind of blacked out.”

That score, in the first minute of the fourth quarter, sealed the win for Cal.

Even new Cal chancellor Rich Lyons was in the postgame locker room to share the celebration:

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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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