Bears Lose Heartbreaker in Tallahassee, 14-9

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA - The Bears had their opportunities to start their ACC era off with a bang but sputtered in the end in a tough 14-9 loss to winless Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium Saturday night in Tallahassee.

The box score didn’t tell the tale of the game. The Bears outgained Florida State to the tune of 410 to 284. QB Fernando Mendoza outgained FSU quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, going 22-for-36 (61%) but threw an interception and was unable to generate any TDs. Uigalelei went just 16-for-27 for 177 yards and an interception but a late TD pass was the game-decider.

Ott led the Bears on the ground with 73 yards in 16 carries. Receiver Mason Starling had a breakout game with 5 receptions for 68 yard and MLB Cade Uluave led the D with 11 tackles and a half sack in the loss.

When asked after the game what he had to say to the team after the loss, Wilcox said. “We have to identify why we lost. Count the opportunities to turn that game and find a way to win and we didn’t do it. So you tip you’re hat to them. They’re a very talented team, there’s no doubt about it but offensively, we’ve got to start the play without getting penalized. That’s bad football. That’s on coaches, players, everybody. We’ve got to find ways to put the ball in the end zone.”

As they have all season, the Bears struggled to move the ball and keep the opponent out of the end zone early in the game.

After trading possessions, the Seminoles struck first, with beleaguered QB DJ Uiagalelei taking over on the FSU 40 and driving FSU 60 yards for the TD on the strength of a Ja’khi Douglass 15-yard run, a pair of Uiagalelei passes to WR  Jalen Brown for 16 and TE Kyle Morlock for 12, with running back Lawrence Toafili punching it in for a 2-yard TD to give Florida State the first lead at 7-0 after the Alex Mastromanno PAT with 7:47 left in the first quarter.

The Bears' offense was sluggish out of the gate as they were only able to manage two first downs in their two first-quarter possessions, one coming on an impressive 28-yard Mendoza completion to tight end Corey Dyches but the Bears were unable to continue to move the ball.

The second quarter finally saw the Bears put some points on the board.

With the Seminoles driving towards a second score, Uiagalelei tossed an interception corraled by Cal safety Miles Williams at the Cal 11 and returned 14 yards to the 25. Mendoza got the Bears on the move, hitting receiver Mikey Matthews for 48 yards and receiver Mason Starling for 14 yards to the FSU 15 but the drive stalled as the Bears had to settle for a 25-yard Ryan Coe field goal to pull to 7-3 with 10:10 left in the half.

The Bears’ D stepped up after the score, holding FSU off the scoreboard for the rest of the half, including keeping the Noles out of the end zone after an Edwin Joseph interception of a poorly thrown Mendoza pass at midfield with 1:19 left in the half.

The Bears not only stopped FSU cold but also managed to get the ball back after forcing a turnover on downs at the Cal 38 but were also able to drive 51 yards to the FSU 11 before settling for a 29-yard field goal as time expired in the half with the Seminoles clinging to a 7-6 lead.

Running back Jaydn Ott was finally able to shake off the rust after missing last week’s win over SDSU on the drive, bouncing it outside for a 23-yard gain to put Coe in more comfortable range on the drive.

Despite the big play, the Bears were only able to manage 48 yards on the ground in the first half minus an 11-yard sack on Mendoza and finished with 107 yards on the ground overall.

FSU had a commanding 19:34 to 10:26 time of possession advantage but the Bears’ defense still only allowed one score, despite the nearly 2-to-1 time of possession advantage.

The Bears received the kickoff after deferring to the second half. After a Mason Starling catch and run to the Cal 49, the Bears put themselves in a 2nd-and-25 hole after a pair of penalties but a 25-yard Trond Grizzell reception put the Bears back in business. An impressive 15-yard Dyches catch and run and a 7-yard Mendoza scramble got the Bears to within easy field goal range but after the drive stalled, Coe missed wide left from 36 as the Seminoles maintained their narrow lead.

After forcing a 3-and-out, the Bears drove to the FSU 34 with a 15-yard completion to Starling, a 12-yard Ott run and a 10-yard completion to tight end Jack Endries but offensive guard Sioape Vatikani, who was seeing his first action of the season after missing the first three games with a foot injury sustained what looked like a scary concussion or neck injury and was carted off the field as the Bears faced 4th-and-4.

Coe came on for his fourth field goal attempt of the night and this time nailed a 52-yarder with plenty of distance to spare to give the Bears their first lead at 9-7 with 1:30 left in the third quarter after the long injury delay.

The lead didn’t last long as the Seminoles immediately went on the move. After converting on a 3rd-and-18 with a 27-yard Uiagalelei completion to Douglas to move to the FSU 40, Gradually moving the ball to the Cal 36, Uiagalelei was able to hit Douglas in the corner of the end zone over nickel back Ja’ir Smith to give FSU the 14-9 lead with 11:08 left in the game.

The Bears attempted to retake the lead, driving to the Florida State 12 on a 10-yard Jaivian Thomas rush but the drive imploded from there.

Guard Rush Reimer was called for a false start, pushing the Bears back to the 17. Mendoza was sacked for a yard on the next play followed by a TJ Session false start and a Josiah Martin offside penalty effectively derailed the drive. Coe came on for a 38-yard attempt and had the ball tipped, missing the kick with 6:07 left on the clock.

The Bears had one last chance to win the game, taking over at their 36 after returner Mikey Matthews called for a fair catch.

The drive started promising, with the Bears picking up 26 yards on a 3rd-and-14 scramble to the FSU 42. Then on a 4th-and-13 play, Mendoza hit tight end Jack Endries with a clutch 13-yard reception, moving the Bears to the Seminole’s 32. Ott picked up 15 yards on three straight carries, moving the Bears to the FSU 12 but the Noles turned up the pressure from there, sacking Mendoza after yet another offsides whistle by Reimer. Mendoza narrowly missed hitting receiver Trond Grizzell for the potential game-winner but was again sacked on fourth down to effectively end the game as FSU took over on downs and ran out the clock. 

The Bears fell to 3-1/0-1 on the season and will have a bye next week before playing 4-0 Miami at Memorial Stadium.