Cal Sports Report

Cal Football Game Summary: Bears Beat Stanford

Bears win the Big Game for the third straight year and need to win next week to become bowl-eligible

Jake Curtis

In this story:

Cal defeated Stanford 27-15 the 126th Big Game on Saturday at a sold-out Stanford Stadium.

The Bears won the Big Game for the third consecutive season and can now become eligible for a bowl if they beat UCLA next Saturday night in Pasadena.

Jaydn Ott rushed for 166 yards on 36 carries, and Trond Grizzell had 136 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Game summary:

CAL 27, STANFORD 15

RECORDS: CAL (5-6, 3-5 Pac-12), STANFORD (3-8, 2-7 Pac-12)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Cal running back Jaydn Ott. Ott carried the ball 36 times and rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown. He also caught two passes for 22 yards.

PLAYER OF THE GAME II: Cal wide receiver Trond Grizzell. Grizzell, a walk-on, caught seven passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns.

TURNING POINT: Cal's Fernando Mendoza completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Trond Grizzell to give Cal a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The Bears never lost the lead.

KEY PLAY 1: On a fourth-and-2 play from the Stanford 24-yard line, Cal running back Justin Williams-Thomas was stopped for a 1-yard gain, a yard short of the first down, turning the ball over to Stanford early in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 2: Midway through the first quarter, Stanford’s Bryce Farrell muffed a punt and his presumed fumble was recovered by Cal’s Patrick McMorris at the Stanford 25-yard line. But McMorris was called for catch interference and Stanford kept the ball. Because Farrell had called for a fair catch, he is given a chance to catch the ball in the air after it bounced off his chest and popped up in the air. McMorris had grabbed the ball after it popped up in the air before it hit the ground, illegally preventing Farrell from making a fair catch.

KEY PLAY 3: Cal’s Fernando Mendoza completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Trond Grizzell, giving Cal a 7-0 lead with 5:03 left in the first quarter. The TD completed an 88-yard drive that included a 32-yard reception by Jack Endries.

KEY PLAY 4: On a third-and-12 play from the Stanford 34-yard line, Stanford’s Ashton Daniels completed a 31-yard pass to Sam Roush. It was initially ruled incomplete, because Roush did not appear to catch the ball inbounds, but the ruling was overturned after a review, which indicated Roush had one foot down inbounds. Later on that possession, Stanford’s Joshua Karty kicked a 44-yard field goal to reduce the Cal lead to 7-3 with 22 seconds left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 5: Cal’s Fernando Mendoza completed a 54-yard touchdown pass to Trond Grizzell to give Cal a 14-3 lead with 13:13 left in the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 6: On a first-down play from the Stanford 38-yard line, Cal’s Fernando Mendoza threw a pass that was intercepted the Cardinal’s Zahran Manley at the Stanford 9-yard line. Manley returned it to the 34-yard line, but after a Cardinal personal foul call, Stanford took over at its 19-yard line.

KEY PLAY 7: Stanford’s Joshua Karty kicked a 53-yard field goal to cut the Cal lead to 14-6 with 54 seconds remaining in the first half.

KEY PLAY 8: Cal's Fernando Mendoza takes a big hit from Stanford's Tristan Sinclair at the Stanford 25-yard line, and Mendoza leaves the game with 6:32 left in the third quarter.  Sinclair was called for targeting, and Sinclair is ejected.  It gives Cal a first down at the Stanford 13-yard line. Ben Finley takes over at quarterback for Cal. (Mendoza returned to the game on Cal's next possession.)

KEY PLAY 9: Later in that same possession, Cal's Jaydn Ott scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run, giving the Bears a 21-6 lead with 5:45 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 10: Stanford's Ashton Daniels threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Tiger Bachmeier. Daniels' run for the two-point conversion was stopped short. Daniels' run was originally ruled a successful two-point conversion, but a review indicated Daniels knee touched the ground just before the goal-line. The touchdown cut the Cal lead to 21-12 with 4:25 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 11: Stanford's Joshua Karty kicked a 50-yard field goal to reduce Cal's lead to 21-15 with 46 seconds left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 12: On a fourth-and-8 play from the Stanford 31-yard line, Cal;'s Fernando Mendoza completed a 21-yard pass to Trond Grizzell to the Stanford 10-yard line. Three plays later, Mendoza threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Hunter. On the two-point conversion attempt, Mendoza's completion to Hunter ended up just short of the goal-line.  It left Cal with a 27-15 lead with 10:19 left in the fourth quarter.

STAT OF THE GAME: Cal outgained Stanford 455-290, and the Bears had 29 first downs to 12 for Stanford.

STAT OF THE GAME II: Cal converted first downs on four of its five fourth-down attempts.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME: Cal running back Jaydn Ott rushed for over 150 yards in a game for the fifth time this season.

QUARTERBACK STATISTICS: Cal's Fernando Mendoza was 24-for-36 for 294 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.  Stanford’s Ashton Daniels was 18-for-35 for 188 yards, one TD and no interceptions.  He also rushed for 68 yards.

WHAT IT MEANS: Cal beat Stanford for the third straight time, and the Bears won their second straight game this season following a four-game losing streak.  Cal can still finish with its first winning season since 2019 if it beats UCLA to earn a bowl berth and then wins the bowl game.

CAL'S BOWL BAROMETER: Cal's bowl chances stand at about 40%. The Bears must beat UCLA to become bowl-eligible, and Cal is likely to be an underdog in that game on the road.

INJURIES: Cal inside linebacker Cade Uluave left the game with an injury in the second quarter. He did not return.

Cal backup running back Isaiah Ifanse, defensive lineman Ethan Saunders and safety Raymond Woodie III did not play Saturday because of injuries. Backup quarterback Sam Jackson V was not available either.

Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels was questionable during the week with a hand injury, but he was the starter Saturday.

NEXT GAME: Cal (5-6, 3-5 Pac-12) vs. UCLA (7-4, 4-4 Pac-12) at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., Saturday, November 25. Kickoff time: 7:30 p.m. TV: ESPN. UCLA beat USC 38-20 on Saturday afternoon.

Cover photo of Trond Grizzell by Cal Athletics

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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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