Can Cal Protect Fernando Mendoza After 13 Sacks the Past Two Games?

No. 8 Miami leads the ACC in sacks per game while the Bears are 130th nationally in sacks allowed

Fernando Mendoza is sacked during the 2023 Independence Bowl / Paul Karge/The Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

There is no shortage of plotlines entering Cal’s game Saturday night at Memorial Stadium against No. 8 Miami:

— Can the Bears slow down quarterback Cam Ward and a Hurricanes’ offense that ranks second nationally, averaging 49.4 points per game?

— Will the bye week have helped the Bears solve the pre-snap penalty issues that plagued them in their 14-9 loss at Florida State?

— Has Cal sorted out its kicking game, where Ryan Coe drilled a 51-yard field goal at FSU but missed six kicks this season including four from inside 40 yards?

There is one other elephant in the room as the Bears (3-1, 0-1 ACC) prep for the Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0): Keeping quarterback Fernando Mendoza upright.

Mendoza was sacked a career-high seven times in the loss to FSU.

He was taken down six times a week earlier in a win over San Diego State.

That’s 13 sacks in two games after surrendering just three in the first two games. The current pace is a recipe for failure, not to mention the potential harm it can do to Mendoza.

It adds up to 16 sacks or 4.0 per game, which ranks Cal in a tie for 130th nationally. They share that spot with South Carolina, better than only South Florida, which is giving up 4.2 sacks per game, and Old Dominion, which has absorbed 4.75 per game.

There is not a single culprit here. Like most things in football, lots of folks have a hand in this. The offensive line is the easiest target. But receivers must get open, giving the quarterback a viable target.

And the quarterback — in this case, Mendoza — plays a role.

On the Bears’ final offensive snap at Florida State — fourth-and-16 from the Seminoles’ 23-yard line with less than a minute left — coach Justin Wilcox hardly let Mendoza off the hook after he took his seventh sack.

“We have to throw the ball. We can’t eat the sack,” Wilcox said after the game. “They’re in zero across the board. We’ve got to throw the ball. It’s not going to get better than 1-on-1. We have to give our guys a chance to make a play. And we did not do that.”

The challenge Saturday is made more difficult by the fact that Miami leads the ACC and ranks third nationally, averaging 3.6 sacks per game. 

The Canes’ defensive ends are coached by Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor, in his second season with the program. The 50-year-old was a star for the Miami Dolphins, compiling 139.5 career sacks.

Miami could be stronger up front still with the expected return of 2023 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year Rueben Bain Jr., sidelined by injury since the opening series of the season's first game. A 6-foot-3, 275-pound sophomore, Bain had 13 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks last season.

"We know what type of player he is," Canes coach Mario Cristobal said. "He looked great in warmups last week. I mean he was right there and could have probably could go this past week, but we chose and medically chose the right route. The correct route because it just guarantees him better health going forward."

The state of Cal’s O-line remains uncertain. Starting guard Sioape Vatikani, perhaps the team’s top offensive lineman, made his season debut at FSU after missing the first three games due to injury.

But Vatikani was taken off the field at Florida State on a cart after sustaining what appeared to be a head or neck injury. He was examined at a local hospital and Wilcox confirmed he had movement in his extremities but had no further information.

We will have our first access to Wilcox since then during his Tuesday media session, but it’s more likely than not that we won’t get a definitive report on Vatikani’s availability for Saturday.