BERKELEY — Asked if there was anything besides a couple long runs by his backs that were positives in Cal’s 33-25 loss to Syracuse on Saturday, coach Justin Wilcox stared quietly at the stat sheet for perhaps 10 seconds.
“I’m trying to be non-emotional here, which is impossible,” he said. “I don’t see anything here that we did very well.”
The final score doesn’t reflect the convincing nature of the Syracuse victory. The Orange scored on its first six possessions, the Bears trailed 27-7 at halftime and they never got closer than 13 points until the final 61 seconds in front of 33,493 fans at Memorial Stadium on a clear, cool afternoon.
With a chance to clinch bowl eligibility for a second year in a row, the Bears (5-5, 1-5 ACC) laid an egg.
“We certainly were outplayed today — there’s no doubt about that,” Wilcox said. “Very disappointing.”
What’s next for the Bears is the 127th Big Game against Stanford at Berkeley on Saturday. The Cardinal (3-7, 2-5) scored a stunning 38-35 upset of Louisville in its lead-up to the Big Game.
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza promised the Bears will quickly turn their attention to Stanford.
“The biggest thing our coaches emphasized is we can’t let Syracuse beat us twice,” he said. “Now all my focus is on next week. No moping around. Getting to work in order to win the Big Game and, more important, get bowl eligible.”
The Bears didn’t well in any phase against the Orange, but Mendoza, who suffered first-half interceptions on consecutive pass attempts to set up 10 points by the Orange, tried to shoulder much of the blame.
“My personal game, miserable. I lost us the game,” he said. “You can’t turn the ball over like that.”
The defense had problems of its own. The Bears entered the game leading the nation with 17 interceptions and 29 sacks, including seven a week ago. For the first time this season, Cal didn’t generate a turnover and it posted just one sack of quarterback Kyle McCord.
The nation’s leader in passing yards at 350 yards per game, McCord was 29 for 46 for 323 yards and one touchdown. His two favorite targets, wide receiver Trebor Pena and tight end Oronde Gadsden II combined to make 19 catches for 206 yards.
Running back LeQuint Allen rushed for 109 yards and two TDs giving Syracuse a balanced attack that was 4 for 4 on fourth-down conversions and didn’t punt until the fourth quarter.
“Getting off on third and fourth down was the biggest thing. If we do that, it’s a different ballgame,” said senior linebacker Teddye Buchanan, who had 14 tackles, including the Bears’ lone sack.
“I don’t think we created any turnovers. Helping the offense out that way would have made it a lot easier for those guys.”
Cal made the final score closer than the game when Mendoza threw a 5-yard TD pass to Jonathan Brady, then converted a 2-point conversion pass to Jack Endries with 1:01 to play.
Having cut a 16-point deficit in half, the Bears tried an onside kick, which Syracuse gobbled up.
Mendoza, coming off a 385-yard passing performance in the Bears’ 46-36 win over Wake Forest, wound up 22 for 34 for 225 yards. He had just 97 yards at halftime and didn’t show the sharpness he displayed while completing nearly 73 percent of his attempts the previous four games.
“It’s unlike him to throw those two interceptions. It wasn’t as smooth as we would expect,” Wilcox said. “We got sacked four times. We had some drops. You add all that up and we didn’t play well. I know he’s going to be eager to learn from it.”
Sophomore Jaivian Thomas had a 75-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, but Syracuse responded with one of its four first-half scoring drives of at least 69 yards to push its lead back to 20-7.
Jaydn Ott, who rushed for 1,300 yards a year ago but has been hindered by a nagging ankle injury, had his best game with 78 rushing yards, including a 53-yard burst. But he was caught from behind by defensive back Devin Grant, something that would have been hard to imagine a year ago.
NOTE: Cal played without inside linebacker Cade Uluave, the 2023 Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year, sidelined by a leg injury.
Originally Published:
Source: www.mercurynews.com