But Can Cal QB Fernando Mendoza Do It Again on the Road at Utah?

The redshirt freshman was outstanding in his first collegiate start last week, but playing at Utah is a very different challenge

Cal redshirt freshman quarterback Fernando Mendoza passed one significant test by performing well in his first collegiate start last week against 15th-ranked Oregon State. That was at home. Before a friendly crowd. With virtually no expectations of him.

But can he do it on the road? Against the 16th-ranked team in the nation? At Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City where Utah almost never loses? At altitude? Before a sold-out stadium of passionate fans who will loudly jeer every tiny mistake he makes? Against one of the best defenses in the country? With expectation raised considerably?

Last week's test was essentially an entrance exam. This week's test is like the bar exam.

Mendoza smiles when asked about the test on Saturday afternoon at Utah (4-1).

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Mendoza said. “Like I told the offensive coaches when they gave me the nod. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I wanted to be thrown into the fire playing two ranked teams in my first two starts. So I’m really excited to play at that Utah crowd. My godfather, who is from Utah, is visiting so I’m really excited about that. I’ve heard Utah is an electric atmosphere from other players who played there in previous years, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

This is what Mendoza is really looking forward to: The Utes rank fifth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 11.8 points a game. They have won 17 home games in a row, the second lonest home winning streak in the country, behind only Georgia. They have had 79 consecutive home sellouts, and Saturday is sure to be the 80th. And they are loud.

UCLA freshman quarterback Dante Moore was ranked fifth in the country in passer rating when the Bruins, then 3-0 and ranked 22nd, went into Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium. Moore’s first pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, and Moore finished 15-for-35 with one touchdown and one interception and did not get his team on the scoreboard until less than four minutes remained in the game.

In last week’s 52-40 loss to Oregon State in Berkeley in his first college start, Mendoza went 21-of-32 for 207 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while helping his team score 40 points in by far the best performance by a Cal quarterback this season.

But as Moore discovered, Utah’s home field and crowd are a different animal. And Mendoza knows he has never faced anything like it -- which is what he likes about it.

“I played at a decently large high school [Columbus High School in Miami-Dade County in Florida], so I got some big crowds, but this is entirely different,” he said. “I know they say they have a great fan base, and I just can’t wait, because I know it’s going to be electric. It’s going to be a great opportunity. At the end of the day these are the moments you live for, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Oh, and one other thing: Rice-Eccles Stadium is 4,637 feet above sea level, and some say the altitude wears down opponents and plays a role in the Utes’ success at home.

“I’m entirely confident in my conditioning and my ability to keep up as well as my teammates,” Mendoza said, as he named every single person involved in Cal’s conditioning staff. “However, it’s going to be an interesting task, and I can’t wait to handle it.”

Mendoza has a habit of naming every person involved in his preparation, even opposing coaches. Last week it was Oregon State defensive coordinator Trent Bray (“Mr. Bray”) that Mendoza named without prompting. This week he mentioned Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley (“Coach Scalley had done a really, really good job,” Mendoza said) before any reference was made to the Utes defensive coach.

“When you’re preparing for a team for numerous hours each day, you research a little bit about their defensive coordinator and head coach and staff,” Mendoza said. “You kind of just want to see sometimes who they are, their history, previous teams they’ve coached in order to kind of get a little more tips and tendencies from them and teams they’ve coached in the past.”

Uh, I guess the kid will be ready.

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