Jaivian Thomas rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns, and the Cal defense made a furious stand in the final minute of the game to secure a 35-31 win over rival SMU on Wednesday night.
With starting quarterback Chandler Rogers and running back Jaydn Ott both suspended for enjoying some of California's finest, it was two backups who carried the day on offense as the Bears posted 448 yards of total offense.
Sophomore quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns, completing 17 of his 21 passes. He threw two interceptions as well, one turning into a costly pick-6 right before halftime, but he came up with some clutch throws.
None were bigger than his 50-yard pop pass to tight end Corey Dyches with just less than two minutes remaining in the game, a play that set up the Bears for the game-winning touchdown by Thomas.
Cal's defense was gashed all day by the run, but they came up with some key stops especially on third down. The Mustangs failed to convert on six of their eight attempts, including on third down and two with only 44 seconds remaining. That set up a fourth and one at the Cal nine, where linebacker Hunter Barth made his only tackle as he stuffed Jaylan Knighton in the backfield to seal the win.
"I'm beyond thrilled with this group," Coach JasonUk said after the game. "The way SMU carved us apart on that opening drive, I thought we were cooked. But our offense didn't care that our backfield stars were out. They did a great job adjusting to the new gameplan and new playcalls we put in place this week."
He also praised Mendoza for his performance, especially shaking off the pick-6. "That's on me, we were pinned at our one-inch line with two minutes left and my thought was just to get out of danger and get a first down and go to halftime with the lead. But Jaivian hit a solid run, and I thought we should maybe try to go for it, and he simply locked into a receiver pre-snap and made a bad decision."
JasonUK also had high praise for Coach BlockM. "That team was well-prepared and they pushed us to the limit. We've had a great run defense all year and they cut through us like a knife through butter. Thankfully we were able to make a few stops on defense and hit some big plays."
With the win, Cal moves to 8-2 on the season and remains alive for a spot in the ACC Championship game. But the path won't be easy, with a tough Wake Forest team visiting and a trip to face rival Stanford still to come.
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA -- In a classic ACC matchup that could have gone either way, both offenses shined but a defensive play would be the determining factor.
SMU climbed back from a 28-17 deficit to take a 31-28 lead late in the 4th quarter when HB Jaylon Knighton crossed the goal line and gave the Mustangs faithful hopes of heading back to Charlotte.
Those hopes were tested after California gashed the SMU defense with an RPO TE pop pass that nearly found the end zone and would be turned into a 35-31 lead a play later.
SMU had a sense of calm about them however with two timeouts and nearly two minutes left on the clock. Then QB Preston Stone connected with TE RJ Maryland and SMU looked to be in complete control as they set up in the red zone. However, SMU would be stopped on a 3rd and 4 just inches shy of the first down marker as the clock ticked under 40 seconds. The Mustangs would stick with what brought them to this point of the season and attempt to gain the inches straight up the middle. Questionable blocking from FB Stone Eby would allow a blitzing Cal linebacker to send SMU back to Dallas (8-4, 6-2) as their ACC Championship dreams are dashed.
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