Bears Fall To Syracuse, 33-25

Saturday, November 16

Berkeley, CA

12:00 PM PT

California

5-5 , 1-5

Syracuse

7-3 , 4-3

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Syracuse	6	21	3	3	33
California	0	7	7	11	25

Jaivian Thomas scored on a 75-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Photo by: Al Sermeno/KLC fotos

11/16/2024 4:21 PM | Football

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Late Comeback Falls Short

By: Cal Athletics

BERKELEY – The California football team made it a one-score game after falling behind by 20 points Saturday, but the Golden Bears ultimately fell to Syracuse 33-25 at California Memorial Stadium.

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza connected with wide receiver Jonathan Brady on a 5-yard touchdown pass with just over one minute to play to trim the deficit to eight points, but the Golden Bears (5-5, 1-5 ACC) couldn't recover the ensuing onside kick, and the Orange were able to run out the clock.

"We definitely got outplayed today – there's no doubt about it," Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox said. "We had to play well in order to win, and we did not play well and they did. It's very disappointing on our part."

Cal got rushing touchdowns from Jaivian Thomas and Jaydn Ott, and Ryan Coe connected on a 44-yard field goal as the Bears remained one win shy of qualifying for a bowl game for the second consecutive season.

Thomas broke off a 75-yard scoring run early in the second quarter to cut the Orange's lead to 13-7. It was the Golden Bears' longest rush since a 76-yard touchdown run by Marcel Dancy in the 2021 Big Game against Stanford.

Ott added a 15-yard scoring scamper midway through the third period. Ott finished with a season-high 78 yards rushing, and the Bears' team total of 166 yards rushing was their second-highest of the season.

Brady had a career-high six catches for 54 yards while linebacker Teddye Buchanan led Cal's defense with 14 tackles. The Bears played the game without starting linebacker Cade Uluave due to injury.

"We need to coach the players better and make sure they are prepared to go out and compete and play at their best," Wilcox said. "Give them a lot of credit – they were really tough for us to stop today. It wasn't our best football, which was really disappointing."

The Bears return to action next Saturday in the 127^th edition of the Big Game against Stanford. The tilt kicks off at 12:30 p.m. PT and will air on the ACC Network.

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