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Cal rallied from a 21-7 third-quarter deficit to beat Stanford 24-21 before a crowd of 52,428 in Berkeley Saturday afternoon in the 127th Big Game.

This is Cal’s fourth consecutive victory in the Big Game, and the victory makes Cal bowl eligible.

The summary:

CAL 24, STANFORD 21

FILES: CAL (6-5, 2-5 ACC), STANFORD (3-8, 2-6 ACC)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Cal wide receiver Jonathan Brady. Brady had five catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns. He made an outstanding 22-yard touchdown catch that gave Cal the lead in the final minutes.

GAME STATUS: Fernando Mendoza was sacked six times, but still led the Bears in rushing with 35 yards. He also threw three touchdown passes.

GAME STATUS II: Cal had 371 total offensive yards, including 232 in the second half. Stanford had 259 total offensive yards, but only 81 in the second half.

TURNING POINT I: With Cal leading 14-0 early in the second quarter, Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza raced 50 yards. A penalty on Stanford on this play added 10 yards, making it a 60-yard play to the Stanford 22-yard line. Mendoza finished the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Trond Grizzell to cut the deficit to 14-7 and put Cal back in the game.

TURNING POINT II. Fernando Mendoza completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Brady. That and a two-point conversion gave Cal its first lead of the game at 24-21 with 2:40 left.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Bears linebacker Cade Uluave did not play Saturday due to a lower body injury.

KEY GAME 1: On a third-and-3 play from the Stanford 32-yard line, Ashton Daniels completed a 29-yard pass to Emmett Mosley V for a first down at the Cal 39-yard line. That led to Justin Lamson’s 1-yard touchdown run, giving Stanford a 7-0 lead with 7:49 left in the first quarter. Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels completed all six of his passes on the 75-yard run.

KEY GAME 2: Stanford’s Tiger Bachmeier returned a punt 35 yards from the 11-yard line to the Stanford 46-yard line. That led to the Cardinal’s 54-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Justin Lamson that gave Stanford a 14-0 lead with 1:27 left in the first quarter.

KEY GAME 3: Cal’s Fernando Mendoza rushed for a 50-yard run from the Cal 18-yard line to the Stanford 32-yard line. A defensive holding penalty on the play advanced the ball to the Stanford 22-yard line, making it a 60-yard play. Three players later, Mendoza threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Trond Grizzell to cut Stanford’s lead to 14-7 with 11:04 left in the second quarter.

KEY GAMES 4: Stanford kicker Emmet Kenney missed a 53-yard field goal attempt with 1:40 left in the second quarter, and Cal kicker Ryan Coe missed a 50-yard field goal attempt with 22 seconds left. end of the first half.

KEY GAME 5: On a fourth-and-goal play from the Cal 2-yard line, quarterback Justin Lamson handed the ball off to running back Micah Ford, who threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Emmett Mosley V. This gave Stanford a 21-7 lead with 6:33 remaining in the third quarter.

KEY GAME 6: While returning a kickoff, Cal’s Nohl Williams was hit hard by Stanford’s Sam Mattingly, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Stanford’s Jayson Raines at the Cal 20-yard line with 6:26 remaining in the third quarter.

KEY GAME 7: Stanford holder Connor Weselman mishandled a snap on what would have been a 36-yard field goal attempt by Emmet Kenney. Weselman then attempted a desperation throw that was incomplete, giving Cal the ball at the 18-yard line with 5:30 left in the third quarter.

KEY GAME 8: Cal’s Fernando Mendoza completed a 30-yard pass to Trond Grizzell, placing the ball on the Stanford 24-yard line. This allowed Ryan Coe to kick a 46-yard field goal, cutting Stanford’s lead to 21-10 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter.

KEY GAME 9: Cal’s Fernando Mendoza threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Brady. Mendoza’s pass for a two-point conversion attempt was incomplete. The touchdown cut Stanford’s lead to 21-16 with 10:09 left in the fourth quarter.

KEY GAME 10: Fernando Mendoza completed a 6-yard pass to Jack Endries on a fourth-and-2 play from the Cal 38-yard line.

KEY GAME 11: On that same drive, Mendoza completed a 36-yard pass to Nyziah Hunter to the Stanford 21-yard line.

KEY GAME 12: On the same drive, Mendoza completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Brady and . Mendoza completed a pass to Jaydn Ott for a two-point conversion to give Cal a 24-21 lead with 2:40 left in the fourth quarter.

QUARTERBACK STATS: Cal’s Fernando Mendoza was 26 of 37 for 299 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran 35 yards. Stanford’s Ashton Daniels finished 14 of 26 for 139 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. He also ran for a team-high 63 yards.

WHAT THIS MEANS: With its second conference win, Cal is assured of not finishing in last place in its first season in the ACC. Florida State, whose only conference win was against Cal, finished ACC play at 1-7 and is now assured of finishing alone in last place. Cal could finish with an overall winning record for the first time since 2019 if it wins next week’s game against SMU or a bowl game.

CAL BOWL BAROMETER: Cal has a 99% chance of making a bowl game for the second straight season. Most experts predicted last week that the Bears would play in the LA Bowl against a Mountain West team on December 18. This is not certain and things could change depending on next week’s results. It is conceivable that there are more teams eligible to bowl than there are spots available, which would leave 6-6 teams without a bowl spot. Even if that’s the case, Cal would likely earn a bowl berth at 6-6.

NEXT GAME: Cal (6-5, 2-5 ACC) faces SMU (10-1, 7-0 ACC) in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, November 30. Kick-off time: 12:30 p.m. TV: ESPN2. SMU result Saturday: No. 13 SMU beat Virginia 33-7 on Virginia’s home court to clinch a spot in the ACC title game.

Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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