Cal’s Sophomore QB Fernando Mendoza had the following to say after their great 21-14 road win against Auburn this past Saturday: “Last night, the team leaders came together and just said it was Cal versus the world — 80,000-plus fans, a white out (crowd), all that. But we knew if we could just execute play-by-play, we could have a great result.” And as far as execution goes it’s hard to think that he could have done any better, especially in the first half when he was 19-of-21 and 2 TD’s, both going to Freshman WR Nyziah Hunter—finishing up going 25-of-36 on the day for 233 yards with no picks. They didn’t exactly set the world on fire on the ground but it was only 22 yards less than their opponent, 99 yards against 121, in addition to matching them on the scoreboard with one rushing TD by Sophomore RB Jaivian Thomas.
For Auburn’s Senior QB, Peyton Thorne, he threw for half the yardage he did in Week-1 and 4 times the interceptions—connecting barely over 50% for 165 yards, 1 TD, and 4 picks. Cal’s defense was in his face all game long and recorded three sacks and five tackles for loss. Both teams came out and made it look as though we were going to have a high scoring back-and-forth game while scoring a TD each on their first possessions. But after that the score stayed at seven a piece until Cal was able to take advantage of an interception thrown early in the 2nd Qtr on Auburn’s 1st play from scrimmage after a missed field goal by the Golden Bears. Starting 1st and 10 at the Auburn 19 yard line it only took Cal three plays to get into the end zone and take a 14-7 lead where it stayed through the half with neither team able to get close to scoring on their next two possessions.
The inability to move the ball continued through the 3rd Qtr as neither team put any additional points on the board while punting five times collectively. And it might not have been any different in the 4th had the Tigers not offered up some help to their visiting ACC opponent—first with an interception that led to a failed field goal and when that didn’t work a fumble, on their own side of the field, which led to a Cal TD that put them up 21-7 early in the 4th Qtr. The Tigers closed to within seven on another TD with a little more than six minutes left in the game to make it 21-14 with plenty of time left. But in spite of their defense forcing Cal into back-to-back punts, two more interceptions by the Auburn QB sealed their fate.
Cal’s head coach Justin Wilcox had this to say afterwards: “This win creates confidence and validates the work you put in [during] the offseason. There will be lessons to be learned, but we came out with a big win against a really talented team in a hostile environment.” Regarding the turnovers Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said this: “This is disappointing. I had hoped we were further along. … You can’t turn the ball over five times and expect to beat anybody.” The AP in their Recap for ESPN noted that there has been a “Turnover Turnaround” with regards to Cal and wrote: “Last season, Cal committed 28 turnovers, which was the fourth-most among FBS teams. Through two games this season, the Golden Bears haven’t committed a single turnover and have forced eight.” Justin Wilcox’s take; “There’s no sacred coach or player in our program. The only sacred thing is the football.” Cal hosts Mountain West Opponent San Diego State this next week before beginning conference play on the road at Florida State the next week.