BERKELEY — Cal is 3-0 for the first time in five years, and coach Justin Wilcox isn’t taking any of it for granted. There were a lot of things he liked after the Bears’ 31-10 victory over San Diego State that closed out their pre-conference schedule.
But Wilcox, whose program has not posted a winning record since 2019, also knows what’s coming. The Bears open their inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference on Saturday at Florida State, and the Seminoles’ surprising 0-3 record won’t cause Cal’s coach to exhale.
“We did just enough to win,” he said Saturday night after the Bears pulled away from a shaky 7-3 halftime lead against an SDSU team playing without its starting quarterback. “Is just enough, good enough? I would hope not.”
At the heart of things, Wilcox said, is a simple but significant truth.
“We all got to learn how to win. The team has to learn how to win, the program’s got to learn how to win,” he said. “And doing all those little things matters. It’s just got to be the standard for how you operate.
“You just can’t play that uneven and expect to sustain success because it will come back and bite you.”
The good stuff Saturday included a career-high 169 rushing yards from Jaivian Thomas, the sophomore from Oakland’s McClymonds High School.
“The Jet,” who had runs of 37 and 57 yards to set up touchdowns, got his first start because star junior Jaydn Ott’s sore ankle didn’t allow him to play. Wilcox said it was a game-time decision made by Cal’s medical staff.
Kadarius Calloway, a transfer from Old Dominion, added 87 rushing yards and a touchdown and broke off a 60-yard run.
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw his first interception of the season, but also was 21 for 29 for 198 yards with TD passes of 20 yards to tight end Corey Dyches and 15 yards to wide receiver Nyziah Hunter, who has four scores in three games. Mendoza also ran for a TD.
The defense played well except for one series and with two more interceptions continues to lead the country with nine. Cornerback Nohl Williams has four to lead FBS.
The problems included 12 penalties for 113 yards, including a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct infractions against the crowd after objects were thrown onto the field.
“We love our students,” Wilcox said. “But we’ve got to make sure we don’t get penalties.”
Mendoza was sacked six times while operating behind an offensive line still without two injured starters — guard Sioape Vatikani and center Will McDonald.
Cal had a season-high 473 yards of offense, but failed three times to convert fourth-and-1 plays.
Mendoza recalls attending Miami-FSU games as a kid growing up in Miami. He can’t wait for the matchup against the Seminoles, who are 0-3 for just the second time since 1976 after a 20-12 loss to Memphis, but were 13-0 in the regular season a year ago.
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“We respect our opponent a ton . . . FSU, the reigning ACC champs,” he said. “However, we want to make it known that we’re able to compete with good football teams and great football teams such as FSU.”
Despite the first three weeks of the season, the Seminoles opened as 3.5-point favorites over Cal on FanDuel.
Florida State was the preseason favorite to win the ACC while Cal was picked just 10th in the 17-team league.
Linebacker Cade Uluave, who had 11 tackles against the Aztecs, said the team is “super-stoked” to dive into the ACC.
“Florida State’s going to be a cool atmosphere. I don’t think their record shows what kind of team they are,” he said. “We’re excited to go down there and show what California can do in Florida. I think we’re ready.”
