BERKELEY - After a day where everything seemed to be going right for the Cal, the Bears once again found an agonizing way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory after surrendering a 25-point late third-quarter lead, falling to the #8 Miami Hurricanes in prime time on ESPN tonight at Memorial Stadium.
The day started off in magical style with Cal fans flooding Memorial Glade and the steps of Doe Library to take in Cal’s first-ever ESPN College GameDay in Berkeley with over 10,000 wildly-cheering fans and the energy carried over to Memorial for tonight’s showdown with Miami.
It was a game that seemed there for the taking as everything seemed to be going right for the Bears, even though the Hurricanes outgained them 575-370 and held the ball for 37:25 to just 22:25 and Miami QB Cameron Ward throwing for more than 150 yards more than Bears’ starting QB Fernando Mendoza, yet the Bears had things under control until late with some big plays of their own.
“They were an extremely talented team,” head coach Justin Wilcox said after the game. “We knew that coming in. You’ve got to play a complete game and we were one play away.
“In the second half, we made a great play with the pick-6. After that, I don’t know if we got a third or fourth down stop and we tried everything - man, zone. We were no longer getting after the quarterback in a 4-man rush. Then when we were pressuring, he was getting the ball out and we weren’t getting our wins on the perimeter. Offensively, we were 1-of-10 on third down in the second half.
“What’s the mood? It’s as bad as you can imagine. Football’s a humbling game. We had every opportunity to win that game. Obviously, we didn’t get it down so every individual has to own it and I think this is a pivotal moment for the team and I hope that all coaches, players, administrators, everybody will be proud of how they responded in a month or two months or six months or a year in this moment right now.”
The game got off on the wrong foot with the Bears going backward with a pair of negative plays, going 3-and-out in their first possession followed by the Canes cutting through the Bears’ defense with a 28-yard Mark Fletcher run and an 18-yard Ward completion to WR Xavier Receppo on the next drive to quickly move to the Cal 17. Three plays later, Fletcher strolled in with a 3-yard TD to give Miami a 7-0 lead with 6:19 left on the clock after the Andres Borregales PAT.
The Bears took over the half from there, immediately answering back. After a 14-yard Mendoza completion to WR Mikey Matthews and a 15-yard strike to TE Corey Dyches on the next play moved the ball to the Cal 43, Mendoza hit a streaking TE Jack Endries in stride, with the big tight end leaving the Miami defense in his wake with a 57-yard TD that electrified the crowd, tying the game at 7 after the Ryan Coe PAT. The 5-play, 89-yard drive immediately gave a jolt of confidence to both the team and the crowd as the game moved into the second quarter tied at 7.
The Bears’ defense stepped up the next possession. After Miami drove to the Cal 45, the Canes went for it on 4th-and-2. Rather than a run up the gut - something they’d had great success with to that point, Ward tossed it out into the flat on a play-action pass but safety Miles Williams was waiting for receiver Elijah Arroyo, dropping him in his tracks for no gain and a turnover on downs. The Canes had converted most of their fourth down opportunities all season, making the stop an even bigger play for the Cal defense.
The Bears quickly capitalized, as Mendoza hit receiver Trond Grizzell in stride on the first play from scrimmage for a 54-yard gain to the Miami 5. Two plays later, running back Jaydn Ott - finally back in full health - bounced it outside and high-stepped into the end zone, putting the Bears up 14-7 after the PAT with 13:48 left in the half.
Miami narrowed the lead on the next series, converting a 46-yard Borregales field goal to make the score 14-10 with 9:07 remaining in the half.
Again, the Bears struck quickly and emphatically. Facing a 4th-and-1 at their 34, the offense aggressively went for it, with Mendoza hitting Ott for 5 yards on the sideline and the speedy back outraced the defense for a 66-yard TD to extend the lead to 21-10 - a lead they’d take into the locker room at half.
After Miami forced a quick 3-and-out to start the half, the Bears’ defense struck in a big way. After a 60-yard Lachlan Wilson punt pushed Miami back to their 25, Ward rolled right with DT Nate Burrell hot in pursuit. Ward pivoted and attempted a crossfield pass he floated, right into the arms of cornerback Nohl Williams, who secured the easy INT and outraced the pursuit for a 40-yard pick-6 - his fifth interception of the season, tops in the nation. The TD gave the Bears a 28-10 lead less than two minutes into the quarter.
The Bears weren’t done with their third-quarter scoring. After forcing a 3-and-out, Cal took over on their 20. After an incompletion and a 5-yard TFL on running back Jaivian Thomas, the Bears faced 3rd-and-15 from the 15. After hitting Thomas in the backfield, the speedy running back raced 56 yards to the Miami 29 before being pulled down. A 20-yard Mendoza completion to Endries moved the Bears to the 9. The next play, the Bears surprised the Hurricanes' defense, subbing in backup QB Chandler Rogers, who sprinted up the middle on the next play for the 9-yard TD, pushing the Bears’ lead to 35-10 after the PAT.
Miami was finally able to answer on the next drive, hitting paydirt on a 75-yard, 9-play TD punctuated with a 1-yard Damian Martinez run up the gut for the touchdown. A 2-point conversion on a Ward pass in the corner of the end zone to Restrepo narrowed the Bears’ lead to 35-18 heading into the fourth quarter. The 2-point conversion allowed would eventually come back to haunt them.
The Bears began the final stanza driving for another score. After Rogers put the ball in receiver Trond Grizzell’s hand on a tough throw to the corner of the end zone in tight coverage, the redshirt soph was unable to hold onto the ball and the Bears settled for a 37-yard Coe field goal that split the uprights and gave the Bears a 20-point lead at 38-18 with 14:13 remaining in the game.
Not ready to fold, Miami put together an 11-play, 75-yard drive, punctuated with a 17-yard TD pass to receiver Isaiah Horton, splitting the Bears’ defense to pull to within 13, 38-25 with 10:28 left in the game.
Only able to generate one first down on a Miami facemask penalty, the Bears weren’t able to run much time off the clock, with Miami taking over on their 30 after a 37-yard Wilson punt. The Canes were able to continue to drive on the tiring Cal defense, converting on a critical 4th-and-10 play before Ward split the Bears’ defense with a 24-yard touchdown run untouched with 4:04 remaining as Cal fans started to feel the familiar sickening feeling in pit of their stomachs as the big Cal lead dwindled.
The Bears badly needed to run down the clock while trying to extend their lead. They started off well, with Thomas bursting off tackle for 19 yards to the Cal 44. After two plays garnered just three yards, the Bears went into the 2-minute warning with 3rd-and-7, needing a conversion. Tight end Corey Dyches then committed a critical false start coming out of the break, putting the Bears in a 3rd-and-12 hole. On the following play, Mendoza scrambled for for 4 yards before going down with an obvious targeting penalty on a helmet-to-helmet shot that was reviewed and bafflingly ruled a clean tackle, forcing the punt. A properly-called play would’ve given the Bears a first down with less than two minutes remaining, allowing them to bleed precious time and Miami timeouts - a horrible non-call that would come back to haunt the Bears.
Wilson came up with a big one, pinning Miami back on their 8 but it wasn’t enough to stop the Canes. Setting up on the first play from scrimmage, Ward hit a surprising wide-open Restrepo for a back-breaking 77-yard catch and run to the Cal 15 with 1:28 left. Trying to burn clock, Miami ran it down to 51 seconds but the Canes were whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that pushed them back to their 25.
Facing 3rd-and-20 on the Cal 25, Ward came up with a huge play, hitting Martinez in the flat for a 22-yard catch and run to the 3. After a Craig Woodson 2-yard TFL, Ward hit Arroyo with a 5-yard TD on a well-executed misdirection TD pass. The Borregales PAT gave Miami their first lead since the first quarter, 39-38 with just 26 seconds remaining and no timeouts.
Three straight incompletions put the Bears in a 4th-and-10 situation with :11 left. In a desperation heave under pressure, Mendoza tossed an interception secured by linebacker Francisco Mauigoa to effectively end the game and send the Bears to 3-2 and 0-2 in ACC play.
“What Coach Wilcox said (after the game) is that there’s a fork in the road and I truly believe that,” Mendoza said following the loss. “We are 3-2 right now, which is a lot better than a lot of people thought we were going to be in the beginning of the season but that doesn't matter. However, this is a big fork in the road and every team ahead of us is beatable and we believe that Miami was the best team we’ll face all year. It sucks and it really, really hurts but it’s all about our response.”
“Obviously, we didn’t get the outcome that we wanted,” MLB Cade Uluave, who led both teams in tackles with 15, including two QB pressures, said. “At the end of the day, it’s just a few little plays. That’s all it takes. But it’s a learning experience. We’re going to move on and keep playing ball. It’s all about how you respond. It sucks but if you dwell on the past and keep thinking about this, it’s not going to be positive so you need to move on, learn from it and be better.”
Ward, a leading Heisman contender was the hero in Miami’s big comeback win, going 35-for-53 for 437 yards and 2 TDs to push the Hurricanes to 5-0 on the season. Mendoza went just 11-for-22 but threw for 285 yards and 2 TDs before the final interception. He was under pressure much of the game by an elite Miami defensive line the Bears’ OL struggled to contain much of the night.
Endries and Ott led the Bears’ receivers with 78 and 75 yards on 3 catches a piece and the Bears managed just 73 yards on the ground and a meager 2.9 yards per carry.
The Bears will next be in action on the road at Pitt next weekend, 12:30 PST as they try and regroup and get in the win column in conference play.
