California Postgame Notes vs. Stanford (11-23-2024)
Andrew Madsen/KLC Fotos
Fernando Mendoza passed the 3,000-yard mark for the season and also had a 50-yard run in Saturday's win over Stanford in the 127th Big Game.

FB11/23/2024 7:13 PM | By: Cal Athletics

California Postgame Notes vs. Stanford (11-23-2024)

Fernando Mendoza has become the seventh Cal player to throw for 3,000 yards in a season.

  • Cal's victory today makes the Golden Bears bowl-eligible in back-to-back years for the first time since 2018 and 2019.
  • Cal has now won the Big Game four straight times and in five of the last six seasons.
  • Cal has now rallied from 11-point deficits in the fourth quarter to win the Big Game each of the last two times it has been played in Berkeley. In addition to trailing, 21-10, in the fourth quarter of today's victory, the Golden Bears trailed, 17-6, in the fourth quarter of the 2022 contest before coming back for a 27-20 win. In the fourth quarter of those two games, Cal outscored Stanford by a combined total of 35-3.
  • Today's 127th Big Game was the first played with Cal and Stanford as members of the ACC. Stanford holds a 65-51-1 advantage in the series that Is the sixth-longest active running series between two Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams and the second-longest in the West. 
  • Cal started its touchdown drive that put the Bears ahead to stay on its own two-yard line and drove a season-long 98 yards on 11 plays in 5:05 to go ahead, 24-21.
  • WR Jonathan Brady had both of his touchdown receptions in the fourth quarter of Cal's comeback victory. Brady finished with five receptions for a Cal career-high 64 yards and the two touchdown receptions that tied a collegiate career high (third time) and were his first multi-touchdown reception game at Cal.
  • QB Fernando Mendoza completed 25-of-36 passes for 299 yards and tied a career-high with three touchdown passes. Mendoza became the seventh Cal player to throw for 3,000 yards in a season and put up the ninth campaign of 3,000 or more passing yards by a Cal player. His current total of 3,004 yards passing in 2024 ranks ninth.
  • Mendoza also had a career-long 50-yard run that was also the longest by a Cal quarterback since at least 1999 with single-game digital records available beginning in 2000 and no other Golden Bears' signal-caller having a run as long as Mendoza's today from 2000-24. 
  • ILB Teddye Buchanan passed the 100 tackle mark for the season and now has a team-high 103 in 2024.
  • DB Nohl Williams had a Cal career-high eight tackles.
  • ILB Hunter Barth tied a Cal career-high with seven tackles for the third consecutive contest.
  • OLB David Reese had season highs of six tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss with his tackles also equaling a career best. He had 1.5 sacks.
  • DL T.J. Bollers made his first collegiate start, while TE Corey Dyches made his start at Cal.
  • Cal had a season-high eight quarterback hurries.
  • Cal honored 31 seniors in a pregame ceremony before what was potentially their final game at California Memorial Stadium with the list including WR Mavin Anderson, LS Jake Arguello, ILB Hunter Barth, ILB Teddye Buchanan, RB Kadarius Calloway, OLB Xavier Carlton, PK Ryan Coe, DL Ricky Correia, DB Collin Gamble, WR Trond Grizzell, DB Marcus Harris, DB Lu-Magia Hearns III, OL Dylan Jemtegaard, ILB Liam Johnson, TE Jeffrey Johnson, DB Matthew Littlejohn, OL Will McDonald, OL Trent Ramsey, OLB David Reese, OL Rush Reimer, QB Chandler Rogers, TE Nate Rutchena, OL T.J. Session, OL Victor Stoffel, OL Josh Stovall, DL Derek Wilkins, DB Miles Williams, OLB Myles Williams, DB Nohl Williams, P Lachlan Wilson and DB Craig Woodson.
  • Woodson and Miles Williams are the team's lone sixth-year seniors that have spent their entire collegiate careers at Cal with their teams winning the Big Game for the fifth time in their Cal careers today.
  • Cal's 2004 team led by head coach Jeff Tedford held its 20-year reunion and was honored between the first and second quarters of today's game. The 2004 squad was one of the best in school history, finishing with a 10-2 record to equal a school record in victories and ranking ninth in the final national polls.
  • Cal Offensive Starters: X Nyziah Hunter, LT Nick Morrow, LG Rush Reimer, C Will McDonald, RG Bastian Swinney, RT T.J. Session, TE Corey Dyches, TE Jack Endries, QB Fernando Mendoza, RB Jaydn Ott, Z Jonathan Brady
  • Cal Defensive Starters: DT T.J. Bollers, DT Aidan Keanaaina, OLB Xavier Carlton, ILB Hunter Barth, ILB Teddye Buchanan, OLB David Reese, CB Marcus Harris, S Miles Williams, S Craig Woodson, CB 3 Nohl Williams, NB Matthew Littlejohn
  • Captains: TE Jack Endries QB Fernando Mendoza, DB Nohl Williams, DB Craig Woodson
  • The game was Cal's second sellout of the 2024 season, as well as its second straight Big Game sellout in Berkeley with a crowd of 52,428 in attendance.
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