LOUISVILLE, KY – Jacob De Jesus' final reception of the night on Saturday did much more than tie a school record.
 
De Jesus caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele on fourth down during the first possession of overtime to give Cal a 29-26 victory over No. 14 Louisville 29-26 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.
 
The winning reception gave De Jesus 16 catches for the evening, tying Geoff McArthur's standard that he set against Stanford in 2003.
 
"I go into every game not knowing if it's going to be a big game for me. I just let the game come to me," said De Jesus, whose 16 catches and 158 yards receiving were both career-highs. "It just so happened that it happened that way (tonight). It was a great feeling to be able to have that this week."
 
After the Cardinals scored on a 49-yard field goal on their first drive in overtime, the Golden Bears (6-4, 3-3 ACC) converted one first down to set up 1st-and-goal from the Louisville 8. Faced with a 4th-and-3, Cal decided to go for the win and ended it on the final pass play.
 
"I felt good about it. The coaches felt good about it. The players felt good about it," Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox said. "We were going for it."
 
The victory made Cal bowl-eligible for the third year in a row.
 
Sagapolutele went 30-for-47 for 323 yards – all career-highs – and added a pair of touchdown passes. Tight end Landon Morris caught a 20-yard touchdown pass and running back Kendrick Raphael had a 2-yard scoring run. Chase Meyer made three field goals.
 
It was the Bears' first victory over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 21 Oregon 21-17 on Dec. 5, 2020 and their first win over a top-15 foe since a 20-19 triumph at No. 14 Washington on Sept. 7, 2019.
 
"This win was really needed for us as a team," De Jesus said. "We had a good week of practice, but coming off two losses in games we had a chance to win, we were feeling a little down. But to be able to beat a ranked team really shows how good of a team we are and how much potential we have."
 
The Bears have a bye next week before returning to play for the 128th Big Game at Stanford on Nov. 22.