The euphoria of Cal’s come-from-behind win over rival Stanford in the 127th Big Game last week dissipated in a hurry on Saturday afternoon in suburban Dallas.
With quarterback Fernando Mendoza sidelined by an overnight illness, the Bears had no growl on offense at No. 9 SMU, trailing 21-0 at halftime on the way to a 38-6 defeat in their regular-season finale.
The Bears also played without left tackle Nick Morrow — their only offensive lineman who had started every game — and leading rusher Jaivian Thomas. Already they entered the game sans guard Sioape Vatikani and inside linebacker Cade Uluave, both on the shelf with injuries.
By the time it was over, Cal was playing with its third-string quarterback and another offensive lineman, Bastian Swinney, left the game with an injury.
“That was a difficult game,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. “We just didn’t give ourselves a chance to win.”
Wilcox said the Bears didn’t find out Mendoza was sick until Saturday morning, leaving virtually no time to adjust.
The result wasn’t pretty against the Mustangs (11-1, 8-0), who completed a perfect inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference and will play Clemson in next Saturday’s ACC championship game. SMU also enhanced its prospects of landing a spot in the 12-team college football playoff.
Cal (6-6, 2-6) did not fare as well in its first ACC campaign, losing four conference games by a total of nine points before getting its act together over the past month. The Bears had won three of four before arriving at SMU, where they were nearly two-touchdown underdogs.
The Bears already had achieved bowl eligibility for the second straight season and will find out where and who they are playing within a week.
Without Mendoza, a three-time ACC Quarterback of the Week, Cal had no offense and no chance against SMU.
Wilcox suggested the offensive shortcomings far exceeded play at quarterback. “On offense today, we just weren’t at any position good enough to put points on the board.”
Transfer Chandler Rogers, who passed for more than 7,000 yards at Louisiana Monroe and North Texas, appeared rusty and out of rhythm early after likely getting few first-team practice reps all week.
By the time he settled in, SMU had control of the game.
And Rogers didn’t make it to the finish line, either. He injured his left leg on a scramble for a first down with 9:13 left in the third quarter, finishing his day 8 for 15 for 84 yards.
Tight end Jack Endries, one of Mendoza’s favorite targets, said the Bears missed their leader.
“Obviously, Fernando’s a gamer, a game-changer. He’s totally different than Chandler, just the way they play,” Endries said. “I think Chandler did well for what he had today. We’ve just got to be better . . . every position has got to be better.”
After going down, Rogers was replaced by third-stringer CJ Harris, a transfer from Ohio U who hadn’t thrown a pass all season for the Bears. He helped guide the Bears into position for field goals of 40 and 53 yards by Ryan Coe, but the Bears never got into the end zone.
Harris finished 6 for 11 for 75 yards and ran for 26 yards.
“They didn’t flinch,” Wilcox said of Rogers and Harris.
Cal’s defense, which seemed a step behind early, found its footing and held its own in the second and third quarters against an SMU offense that was averaging 39.3 points — fourth best in the country.
“Unblocked defenders were missing tackles,” Wilcox said of the early problems. “The defense settled down, played much better after that until late in the game.”
After allowing 202 yards and nine first downs in the first quarter, the Bears gave up just 66 yards and four first downs in the second and third periods.
But the Bears never really got themselves back in the game, thanks to an SMU defense that had five sacks among 16 tackles for loss totaling 57 yards.
