BERKELEY — Ninety-eight yards of Huge Sport historical past gave Cal its fourth straight victory over Stanford and a bowl eligibility for a second 12 months in a row.
Trailing all day and down 21-16 with 7:45 to play at Memorial Stadium, the Bears marched 98 yards in 11 performs with Fernando Mendoza firing a 22-yard landing go to Jonathan Brady with 2:40 left.
Cal transformed the two-point conversion on a shovel go to Jaydn Ott and the Bears claimed a 24-21 victory within the 127th version of the rivalry earlier than 52,428 followers on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears’ protection then acquired the again when Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels threw incomplete on fourth down from his personal 20-yard line, and Cal (6-5, 1-5 ACC) ran the clock out.
The Bears trailed 14-0 within the first quarter and had been down 21-7 halfway via the third interval.
Mendoza threw two of his three touchdowns within the fourth quarter, each of them to Brady, a junior switch from New Mexico State. Mendoza completed 25-of-36 for 299 yards with out an interception, a pleasant bounce-back after his worst sport of the season per week earlier within the Bears’ 33-25 loss to Syracuse.
Cal closes its common season subsequent Saturday in Dallas towards No. 13 SMU, however the Bears are virtually assured now of enjoying within the postseason.
With the win, Justin Wilcox joins Andy Smith, Stub Allison and Jeff Tedford as the one Cal coaches to win 4 consecutive Huge Video games.
Cal acquired inside putting distance on its first possession of the fourth quarter, assembling an 11-play, 71-yard drive throughout which Mendoza accomplished 5 of seven passes for 70 yards.
He acquired the final 30 yards on a scramble play the place he discovered Brady alone close to the left sideline and whistled a TD go to him with 10:09 left.
The Bears tried a 2-point conversion however Mendoza’s go to Trond Grizzell was incomplete, leaving them down 21-16.
Stanford added to its 14-7 halftime lead on its first possession of the third quarter, utilizing some trickery to get into the top zone.
On the finish of an 11-play, 52-yard drive, short-yardage quarterback Justin Lamson took the snap and lateraled the ball to extensive receiver Micah Ford, who delivered a 2-yard landing go to freshman Emmett Mosley V with 6:33 left within the third quarter.
The Bears crept inside 21-10 on a 46-yard subject objective by Ryan Coe with 47 seconds left within the third interval. That 54-yard drive was highlighted by a 30-yard go from Mendoza to Grizzell.
The climate turned good and the gang crammed within the stadium as the sport acquired underneath approach however the Bears didn’t seem able to play.
Stanford scored on its first two possessions, effortlessly going 75 yards in 12 performs, then 54 yards in eight performs. Cardinal quarterback Ashton Daniels was 9-for-9 passing for 87 yards on the 2 drives earlier than Lamson, a short-yardage QB, got here in to attain on runs of 1 and a couple of yards, the latter with 1:27 left within the opening interval.
The Bears went nowhere on their first two possibilities with the ball however after forcing a punt on Stanford’s third possession Cal lastly got here to life.
Mendoza triggered a four-play, 82-yard scoring drive with a 50-yard scramble to the Stanford 32 and a penalty towards the Cardinal superior the ball to the 22. His run was the longest by a Cal quarterback in no less than 25 years, in keeping with Cal athletics.
Three performs later, Mendoza discovered Grizzell within the left nook of the top zone with a 16-yard landing go that lower the margin to 14-7 with 11:04 left within the second interval.
Daniels was simply 1-for-5 for 3 yards within the second quarter after his sizzling begin.
Every crew missed an extended subject objective attempt in an in any other case quiet second quarter, Stanford’s Emmet Kenney from 53 yards, Cal’s Coe from 51.
