BERKELEY — Cal coach Justin Wilcox referred to as it “a pivotal moment for the team.” Quarterback Fernando Mendoza mentioned the Bears face a fork within the street.
What’s subsequent for Cal will probably be important after basking in faculty soccer’s nationwide highlight at each ends of Saturday earlier than a fourth-quarter collapse in a 39-38 loss to No. 8 Miami.
In that case, it was acceptable. Greater than 3,000 wildly enthusiastic Cal followers jammed Memorial Glade within the coronary heart of the campus earlier than daybreak Saturday morning to wow the ESPN ‘College GameDay’ crew.
Then 52,428 stuffed Memorial Stadium — Cal’s first sellout towards anybody aside from Stanford since 2013 towards Ohio State when the Strawberry Canyon facility had a capability of 62,647.
“We were very appreciative of all that happened today,” Wilcox mentioned. “The fans were incredible, the student body was incredible.”
And for a lot of the evening, Cal answered the decision in its first-ever Atlantic Coast Convention dwelling recreation. The Bears (3-2, 0-2 ACC) led 35-10 halfway by the third quarter and 38-18 lower than a minute into the ultimate interval.
This system’s first victory over a top-10 opponent since 2017 was in attain.
Then the roof caved in. Quarterback Cam Ward threw two touchdowns and ran for within the fourth quarter because the Hurricanes (6-0, 2-0) scored 21 straight factors. His 5-yard TD cross to tight finish Elijah Arroyo and the following additional level with 26 seconds left crushed the Bears and their followers.
Listed here are takeaways:
What’s subsequent?
The Bears will make their third East Coast journey of the season to face Pitt on Saturday afternoon. Led by redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein, a switch from Alabama, the Panthers improved to 5-0 for the primary time since 1991 and can probably transfer into the AP Prime 25 after a 34-24 win at North Carolina.
“Everybody’s got to make the decision to respond,” Wilcox mentioned. “And it’s not going to happen right now, tonight. It might not happen in the morning. But by the time we all come in Monday, that’s what we have to do.”
“Every team ahead of us is beatable,” Mendoza mentioned. “We believe Miami was the best team we faced all year and it sucks. This one really, really hurts. It’s all about our response.”
The non-targeting name
The Bears led 38-32 with 1:50 left when Miami linebacker Wesley Bissainthe drilled Mendoza as he tried to scramble for yards on a third-and-17 play from the Cal 42.
Whereas Mendoza remained on the turf for a number of moments, ESPN commentator Brock Osweiler mentioned “by definition that is 100 percent targeting.” The video replay confirmed that Bissainthe led along with his helmet, hitting Mendoza round his neck or head.
However officers deemed it authorized after a video assessment, forcing Cal to punt. Lachlan Wilson’s 46-yard kick pinned the Canes again at their 8-yard line. However Ward discovered a wide-open Xavier Restrepo for a 77-yard completion to the Cal 15, and the die was forged.
Wilcox declined to touch upon the non-call. “I’m not going to talk about that,” he mentioned. “You can write whatever you want.”
Mendoza mentioned afterward he was feeling tremendous.
Fourth-quarter onslaught
Cal entered the ultimate quarter-hour of taking part in having outgained Miami 344 yards to 297. However within the fourth quarter, the nation’s second-highest scoring group rolled up 278 yards —together with 238 by the air — and the Bears totaled simply 26 yards.
“We ran out of gas,” Wilcox mentioned. “We didn’t make enough plays in the second half against an extremely talented team.”
Ott’s disappearance
Operating again Jaydn Ott, slowed a lot of the season by an ankle damage, scored on a 5-yard run and a 66-yard reception. However he wasn’t on the sphere for a lot of the fourth quarter.
Wilcox appeared to recommend Ott wasn’t absolutely wholesome on the end. “I don’t have a full update,” he mentioned. “There were a couple things that came up so we’ll see where that’s at.”
Practically a Miami dream
Mendoza, who had 4 completions of greater than 50 yards and totaled 285 passing yards and two TDs, grew up a half-mile from the Miami campus. The character of the loss to his hometown group was numbing.
Requested how his childhood self would have felt in regards to the likelihood he bought Saturday evening, Mendoza mentioned, “If you would have told me we’d won, I’d probably cut off a leg for that.”
