December 1st 2024.
The excitement and elation of Cal's thrilling victory over their rival Stanford in the 127th Big Game last week quickly faded away on Saturday afternoon in the suburbs of Dallas. The Bears were faced with a tough challenge as their quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, was unable to play due to an overnight illness. This left them with a lackluster offense and they were unable to keep up with No. 9 SMU, trailing 21-0 at halftime and ultimately losing 38-6 in their final game of the regular season.
In addition to Mendoza, the Bears were also missing key players such as left tackle Nick Morrow and leading rusher Jaivian Thomas, both out with injuries. This added to their already depleted roster, with guard Sioape Vatikani and inside linebacker Cade Uluave also sidelined. To make matters worse, during the game they also lost another offensive lineman, Bastian Swinney, to an injury.
Head coach Justin Wilcox expressed his disappointment, saying, "That was a tough game. We just didn't give ourselves a chance to win." The team had only found out about Mendoza's illness on Saturday morning, leaving little time for adjustments. Unfortunately, the result was not in their favor against the undefeated SMU team, who will now be playing in the ACC championship game against Clemson. This win also boosted their chances of securing a spot in the college football playoff.
On the other hand, Cal's first season in the ACC did not go as well, with four conference losses by a total of nine points. However, they were able to turn things around in the past month, winning three out of their last four games. Despite the tough loss to SMU, the Bears had already secured a spot in a bowl game for the second consecutive year and will find out their opponent and location within the next week.
Without their star quarterback Mendoza, who had been named ACC Quarterback of the Week three times, Cal struggled to generate any offense against SMU. Wilcox acknowledged that the issues went beyond just the quarterback position, saying, "On offense today, we just weren't good enough at any position to put points on the board."
Their transfer quarterback Chandler Rogers, who had previously amassed over 7,000 passing yards at Louisiana Monroe and North Texas, appeared to be out of sync and unprepared after likely not getting many first-team reps in practice. By the time he settled in, SMU had already taken control of the game. Unfortunately, Rogers also had to leave the game due to a leg injury in the third quarter, finishing the day with 84 passing yards.
Tight end Jack Endries, one of Mendoza's favorite targets, admitted that the team missed their leader. "Obviously, Fernando's a gamer, a game-changer. He's completely different from Chandler in the way they play," Endries said. "I think Chandler did the best he could with what he had today. We just need to be better...every position needs to step up."
After Rogers' injury, third-string quarterback CJ Harris, who had not thrown a pass all season, took over for the Bears. He helped move the team into field goal position, with Ryan Coe successfully making kicks of 40 and 53 yards. However, the team was unable to reach the end zone.
Coach Wilcox was impressed with both Rogers and Harris, saying, "They didn't back down." Despite the efforts of the defense, which struggled in the beginning but eventually found their footing, the Bears were unable to catch up to SMU's high-scoring offense. The defense only allowed 66 yards and four first downs in the second and third quarters, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit created in the first quarter.
In the end, the Bears were unable to recover from their early struggles and were ultimately defeated by a strong SMU defense that recorded five sacks and 16 tackles for loss. It was a tough end to the regular season for Cal, but they will now shift their focus to their bowl game and continue to build on their success in the ACC.
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