Bears Win Crazy Affair in 46-36 Victory at Wake Forest

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - It was long-awaited and never easy but the Bears’ long wait for their first ACC victory finally came tonight in predictably unpredictable fashion as built and early lead and hung on for dear life to come away with a 46-36 win over Wake Forest 4-5 (2-3) Wake Forest to once again move above .500 for the season.

The game was a relief from so many disappointing close losses and disappointing lost opportunities that slipped away late in games - an exorcism of sorts against the Demon Deacons.

“There were some stretches of really good football and then the obvious inconsistency we’re seeing so that’s what we’re trying to remedy but I’m really proud of them for finding a way to win and coming across the country against a really well-coached team with good players,” head coach Justin Wilcox said after the game.

The Bears got on the board first after taking the opening kickoff. Driving to the Wake Forest 1, where tight end Jack Endries was stopped just short of the goal line after a quick Fernando Mendoza pass, the starting tight end left the field after a big hit. Going for it on 4th-and-goal, the Bears appeared to take a 7-0 lead on a pass to Ott in the flat that he took into the end zone but holding was called on tight end Jeffrey Johnson so the Bears settled for a 29-yard Derek Morris field goal to take an early 3-0 lead five minutes into the game. Endries returned to the game later in the first quarter.

The long-awaited arrival of preseason expected starting receiver Tobias Merriweather finally came to fruition on the first drive, with the Notre Dame portal transfer hauling in a 10-yard reception to get the Bears in the red zone. Fellow portal transfer receiver and expected starter Keiyon Grayes also made his debut with back-to-back first quarter catches for 6 and 16 yards. Merriweather finished with 6 catches for 52 yards on the night.

It didn't take long to make up for the missed opportunity as MLB Hunter Barth forced a fumble on the kickoff that was scooped up by Miles Williams and returned for the score, putting the Bears up 10-0 before the Demon Deacons had their first play from scrimmage. Barth made a strong case for both defensive and special teams player of the week, coming on for an injured Cade Uluave and adding 7 tackles and 2 sacks not to mention a forced fumble on a punt return. Safety Miles Williams led the team in tackles overall with 8.

The special teams also put the special in special teams, with a forced fumble and ensuing scoop and score, a blocked punt and return that set up a score and 4-for-4 on field goals.

After stopping Wake in their first possession, the Bears were poised to take early control of the game but after driving to midfield, Mendoza threw an ill-advised pass that was easily picked by safety Nick Anderson and returned to the Cal 30. Five plays later, running back Demond Claiborne punched it into the end zone to narrow the deficit to 3 after Matthew Dennis PAT.

After both teams traded possessions, the Bears got things going again, taking over at the Cal 41 after the punt. A Jaydn Ott run for 19 and a Merriweather reception for 16 more moved the ball to the Wake 24. Receiver Mikey Matthews took over from there, hauling in the next three passes, including an 11-yard TD grab to give the Bears a 17-7 lead with 13:26 left in the half.

Forcing a 3-and-out on the next possession, the Bears added to their lead with a 37-yard Morris field goal to go up 20-7.

The Demon Deacons narrowed the lead on a fourth down trick play with a flea flicker TD pass from QB Hank Bachmeier - a former Cal recruit - for a 44-yard TD pass to Claiborne, who got behind a confused Cal defense for the easy score, narrowing the Cal lead to 20-14 with 3:50 left in the half.

The scoring was far from over in the half.

Mendoza marched the Bears down the field on the next possession, completing six passes in six plays, including a 14-yard strike to receiver Nyziah Hunter, three straight completions to receiver Jonathan Brady and a 2-yard back shoulder TD completion to Merriweather for his first touchdown in a Cal uniform to give the Bears a 26-14 lead after the 2-point conversion attempt failed - a common them this season.

After stopping Wake on their next possession and getting the ball back with less than a minute left, the Bears drove 40 yards to the Wake Forest 36. Long-range situational kicker Ryan Coe came on and snuck a ball between the upright and crossbar to extend the Bears’ lead to 29-14 heading into the locker room.

Mendoza packed a game’s worth of stats into the first half, going 30-for-40 for 289 yards and 2 TDs at the break. He’d go 40-for-56 (71%) for 385 yards and 2 TDs through the air with 1 INT for the game in the win along with 51 net yards on the ground and another TD.

The teams traded scores in the third quarter with Wake Forest striking first, with the big blow coming in a 45-yard Bachmeier strike to receiver Donavan Green, who shook free from cornerback Nohl Williams after the catch, racing 26-yards for the TD to pull to within 29-21 after the PAT with 7:43 remaining in the quarter.

The Bears struck back after a crazy series of plays. After their next drive went nowhere, safety Hunter Barth recovered a fumbled punt return but the play was whistled off on a facemask penalty away from the ball on the return. Then after forcing a punt by Wake, defensive lineman TJ Bollers blocked the punt and returned by Nohl Williams to the Wake 33. 6 plays later, Mendoza strolled in for a 5-yard TD to boost the lead to 36-21 with :15 left in the quarter.

The Demon Deacons were not ready to lie down, putting together a 9-play, 73-yard TD drive with Bachmeier taking it in for a 4-yard TD run to culminate the drive. Wake then failed to do what Cal did earlier, converting a successful 2-point conversion to pull to within 7 at 36-29 with 11:40 left in the game.

The Bears’ next drive started well, moving the ball to the Wake Forest 32 before the offensive line became a turnstile, with Ott stopped for a 6-yard loss in the backfield and Mendoza taking a 9-yard sack but an 11-yard completion to Matthews put the Bears back into field goal range - barely - with Coe coming on to hit his second big kick of the night from 54 to extend the Bears’ lead to 10 with 6:39 left.

With Wake facing 4th-and-10 from their own 25, the Bears had a chance to put the game away but gave up their their fourth 4th-down conversion of the night on an 18-yard Bachmeier completion to move the chains. The Demon Deacons went on to score from there, completing a 13-yard TD drive on a 2-yard Tate Carney run with 3:57 remaining to pull to within 3.

The Bears were unable to pad their lead in the next possession and Wake Forest took over at their 17 with the chance to tie or win but linebacker Liam Johnson - only recently back from a foot injury that held him out much of the season came down with a big interception on the second play of the drive, giving the Bears the ball at the Wake 38.

The Bears capitalized, with Mendoza taking off for a run that looked to be a sure touchdown but the soph QB slid after a 24-yard gain to allow the team to run more time off the clock with 1:17. The decision could’ve cost the team but three plays later, running back Jaivian Thomas pulled off an 11-yard TD run to bring the lead back to 10 at 46-36 with 1:10 left in the game. But in case the home team had any plans of a dramatic comeback, safety Craig Woodson iced the game with an interception to ice the game.

“Feels great,” Mendoza said after the game. “I grew up an ACC fan. Always used to watch. I’ve said this multiple times but watched UM (Miami) against Wake Forest, against Virginia Tech. I watched the ACC Network from a little kid...but we got a win on the road. It’s great. I think the win over Oregon State really broke the dam and we were able to put over 40 points up today and put up almost 40 points today along with a special teams touchdown, which was amazing.”

The Bears moved to 5-4 (1-4) after the win and will face Syracuse at Memorial Stadium next weekend at noon.