BERKELEY — Cal took on San Diego State without five offensive starters and, for most of the first half, played without four regulars on defense.
It showed early Saturday night before 35,197 fans at Memorial Stadium. But the Bears got it together to complete an unbeaten pre-conference schedule with a 31-10 victory, and will take a 3-0 record into their debut game in the Atlantic Coast Conference next Saturday at Florida State.
As uneven as Cal’s game was at times, Florida State would gladly swap places at this point. The Seminoles, who won their first 13 games a year ago and captured the ACC title, lost 20-12 to Memphis and fell to 0-3 for just the second time since the late coach Bobby Bowden’s first season in 1976.
Sophomore running back Jaivian Thomas was the Bears’ headliner, rushing for a career-high 169 yards, including dashes of 37 and 57 yards that set up touchdowns by others. The Oakland native and McClymonds High alum got his chance because star junior Jaydn Ott, hobbled by a sprained ankle, was held out of the game.
Fernando Mendoza overcame seven sacks to complete 21 of 29 passes for 198 yards with a pair of touchdowns and his first interception of the season. The Bears’ defense, which entered the weekend leading FBS with seven interceptions, added two to its total.
Cal led just 7-3 after a penalty-plagued first half before assembling drives of 85 and 90 yards to stretch its lead to 21-3 through three quarters. Ryan Coe’s 48-yard field goal with 13:33 left to play made it 24-3.
The Bears knew that, going in, they would be without four injured offensive starters: guard Sioape Vatikani, center Will McDonald, and wide receivers Tobias Merriweather and Kyion Grayes.
Ott warmed up with the team but had his shoulder pads off before the game began and watched from the sideline.
On defense, Cal was without outside linebacker David Reese, nickelback Matthew Littlejohn, and cornerback Marcus Harris, who was required to sit out the first half after a targeting penalty last week at Auburn. Safety Craig Woodson was flagged for the same thing with 7:04 left in the first quarter, drawing an ejection.
Harris returned to action in the second half and had an interception.
Cal wound up with a season-best 473 total yards after managing 163 in the first half. The Bears also had 12 penalties for 113 yards, including two unsportsmanlike conduct flags against fans for throwing objects onto the field.
The Aztecs (1-2), who will join the Pac-12 in 2026, played without freshman starting quarterback Danny O’Neil, nursing a knee injury.
Cal’s second-half touchdowns came on a 7-yard run by Kadarius Calloway, a 20-yard pass from Mendoza to tight end Corey Dyches, and a 15-yard pass to wide receiver Nyziah Hunter, the redshirt freshman’s fourth TD catch of the season. A 60-yard run by Calloway set up that score.
An ESPN audience was subjected to a ghastly first half, in which the teams combined for 19 penalties and just 10 points.
The Bears led 7-3 on Mendoza’s 8-yard keeper with 2:25 left in the first quarter, capping a seven-play, 69-yard drive.
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The Aztecs scored first when Nick Lopez, a one-time backup kicker for Cal, converted a 29-yard field goal with 5:42 left in the opening period.
Otherwise, the first half was a series of mishaps, drawing yellow flag after yellow flag. SDSU, which entered the game having committed 24 penalties for 224 yards, had 13 for 100 yards in the first half.
The Aztecs became just the third FBS team in the past 10 seasons to draw 13 penalties in a half, according to the Associated Press. By game’s end, SDSU had drawn 15 penalties for 120 yards.
