Quarterback Fernando Mendoza Provides Hope in Cal's 52-40 Loss to OSU

The Bears score more points in his debut than they did with Goff, Rodgers, Roth, Bartkowski or Morton.

Justin Wilcox was seething, nearly speechless, as he tried to wrap his head around abysmal performances by Cal’s defense and kickoff coverage team against No. 15 Oregon State.

But he seemed about as happy as a coach can be after a 52-40 loss while discussing what he saw from first-time starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

“I thought he did a heck of a job,” Wilcox said.

After five games of uneven play at the position by Sam Jackson V and Ben Finley, Cal made a change on Saturday night.

Mendoza, a redshirt freshman from Miami who had thrown one garbage-time pass in his college career, gave the Bears and their fans more than 207 passing yards and two touchdowns. He gave them hope.

He also helped them score more points than Cal put up in the starting debuts of Jared Goff, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Roth, Steve Bartkowski and Craig Morton.

And more than the Bears had scored in 16 previous games against Top-25 opponents during the Wilcox era.

“He was not perfect, but brought energy to the game. You could tell the tempo on offense was different,” Wilcox said. “He threw the ball pretty well, he made some plays with his feet. Overall, I’m very pleased with what Fernando did for his first start in that environment against that defense.”

Moments later, Wilcox confirmed the obvious. “You can assume Fernando’s starting next week.”

The opponent will be just as good and the landscape even more daunting when the Bears (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12) visit No. 16 Utah on Saturday afternoon. The Utes (4-1, 1-1) have played all season without star quarterback Cam Rising, still recovering from a serious knee injury, but they are almost unbeatable at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Utah has won 17 in a row at home, 28 of its past 29 games. Cal has not beaten the Utes on the road since 1963.

Mendoza will arrive at Salt Lake City with eyes wide open.

“I know we have a hard stretch with a lot of ranked teams or whatever you call it . . . I think this is a great opportunity,” Mendoza said. “The team is looking forward to Utah next week. It’s going to be a great environment. And I can’t wait to play there.”

Wilcox and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital had hinted the past couple weeks that this change could be coming. They made sure to include mentions of Mendoza when asked about the ongoing quarterback competition.

“He earned the opportunity by what he’s done and also the lack of consistency we’ve had at the position,” Wilcox said.

Mendoza said he was a bit nervous until completing his first pass, then it all felt like “glorified practice.”

He wound up completing 21 of 32 attempts, with one interception. He also ran four times for 41 yards.

The crowd of 34,930 included Mendoza’s father and two of his uncles, who made the flight from Miami after the Fernando called home Thursday with the big news. The four planned a Sunday morning family breakfast.

Mendoza entered his senior year at Columbus High School in the fall of 2021 expecting to play his college ball at Yale in the Ivy League. Cal began pursuing him after that season, and was the only FBS school to offer him a scholarship.

He said he felt nothing but support from his fellow QBs, noting that he and Jackson roomed together at the team hotel on Friday night and Jackson quizzed him and offered encouragement.

On Saturday morning, Mendoza found a note Jackson had left for him on his bed:

“Fernando, you’re going to have a tremendous game. Love you, brother.”

As the players arrived at Memorial Stadium, sixth-year running back Isaiah Ifanse, who sits at the locker next to Mendoza, wondered how the barely 20-year-old was holding up in the hours leading to his big moment.

“At first I was worried he wouldn’t be as calm as he was,” Ifanse said. “When I looked at him when we were getting ready, he looked super-confident. He was ready to go.”

Afterward, Mendoza thanked everyone involved, naming each of Cal’s five O-line starters and saluting the Bears’ receivers and backs. He even mentioned Oregon State defensive coordinator Trent Bray — respectfully calling him “Mr. Bray” — and saying it was a great challenge to face the Beavers.

Mendoza called the experience “the best time of my life.”

“It was just great playing with my brothers. To fight alongside them meant the world to me,” he said. “I think I played pretty well, but at the end of the day the only thing that matters to me is winning.

"I believe I did decently well for my first start . . . I’m just looking forward to Utah. I know we’re going to have a chance against them and I just can’t wait.”

Cover photo of quarterback Fernando Mendoza by Kelley L. Cox, KLC fotos

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo