Fernando Mendoza's Birthday Wish: A Victory Over No. 8 Miami

The Cal quarterback, 21, is excited about facing his hometown team on Saturday night but trying to stay grounded

Fernando Mendoza / Melina Myers-Imagn Images

For Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who turned 21 on Tuesday, this week is all about making grown-up choices.

That includes not losing track of what’s important as he preps for a Saturday night showdown against No. 8 Miami, his hometown team. 

“Preparing for this game and having a great game on Saturday, that’d be the best birthday present,” Mendoza said.

There are a lot of potential distractions here, with ESPN staging its College GameDay program Saturday morning on campus for the first time, and his parents traveling to the Bay Area to watch the ESPN-televised game in person at Memorial Stadium.

“I have personal implications for the game, really, really wanting to succeed and do well against Miami,” said Mendoza, who grew up in the shadow of the campus. “But at the same moment, especially as the quarterback, you want to do so, so well and you put all that added, unneeded pressure on yourself, that’s when you end up not performing as well.

“It’s a blessing to see Cal get recognized on a national stage. It’s an amazing opportunity to play these guys . . . night game, top-10 team, GameDay. Whether the GameDay set is rocking with Cal fans — which I know it will — and whether the stadium’s sold out . . . regardless, the team knows it’s 11 on 11 football.”

Mendoza’s growing maturity is showing itself on even the most basic level. After joining several teammates in dying his hair blonde during fall camp, he has decided that wasn’t a great idea. Mendoza has now tried a darker dye three times in an effort to return to his normal hair color.

“I didn’t realize how hard hair dye is . . . to get it out,” he said. “At this point, I just know that never in my life will I dye my hair again.”

If the topic comes up again next summer, Mendoza said he will campaign for  “more of a hair-friendly team bonding thing.”

Big smile for Jared Goff /

ON GOFF’S PERFECT GAME: Mendoza watched the Detroit Lions’ 42-29 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football and was blown away by ex-Cal star Jared Goff’s 18-for-18 passing performance.

“That’s crazy,” he said. “As a quarterback, it’s extremely tough to, like the term in baseball, throw a perfect game. Seeing a Cal alumni, Jared Goff, do that was extremely special. I’m smiling right now because that’s crazy. 

“It’s not like the guy was just dinking and dunking — he was making some extremely impressive throws.”

Goff finished with 292 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown pass from wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

“And that (touchdown) catch, that was the cherry on top,” Mendoza said. “Props to him. He’s definitely someone I look up to.”

Asked if he’d enjoy getting the chance to catch a TD pass, Mendoza said the Bears had a similar play in their repertoire last season, involving running back Jaydn Ott as the passer. They never used it.

“Maybe in future, that’d be really cool. Mendoza said. “I’m obviously very confident in my hands.”

SACKS AND FALSE STARTS: Mendoza, sacked 13 times the past two games, said both his body and mind are in a good place. “Especially with the bye week and all the momentum we have,” he said.

He acknowledged the Bears face a big challenge against what he called Miami’s “amazing front seven.”

Refusing to throw his offensive line under the bus, Mendoza said, “I think it’s on me to get the ball out a little quicker. I would say I take a lot of the responsibility for a lot of the sacks.”

The Bears also have struggled with pre-snap penalties, in particular false starts. 

“Whenever we have a slow start, it’s very self-inflicted,” he said. “It’s been big emphasis on execution and holding each to an accountable standard. Let’s minimize our mental errors. Let’s be focused.”

OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS: Mendoza is among an impressive collection of former Cal athletes and coaches who share October birthdays. Here are some of the others: 

Oct. 1: Fernando Mendoza (2003); Oct. 2:  Lindsay Gottlieb (1977); Oct. 3: Pappy Waldorf (1902); Oct. 6: Helen Wills Moody (1905); Oct. 8: Matt Biondi (1965); Oct. 11: Darrall Imhoff (1938); Oct. 14: Justin Forsett (1985) and Jared Goff (1994); Oct. 24: Jaylen Brown (1996); Oct. 27: Mary T. Meagher (1964); Oct. 28: Bob Melvin (1961); Oct. 30: Phil Chenier (1950); Oct. 31: Les Richter (1930)