Tag: California Bears

Sep 28, 2024; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Dave Clawson leads his team onto the field against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns during the first half at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Wake Forest, Cal race for win No. 5

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Cal and Wake Forest are four-win teams in vastly different situations as they prepare for their first November game of the season.

Only one of them will have a winning record after Friday night’s game at Winston-Salem, N.C. in an Atlantic Coast Conference game marking the first meeting between the teams.

Wake Forest (4-4, 2-2 ACC) has won its past two games. Cal (4-4, 0-4) also is coming off a victory.

“This feels like a 4-4 team that is ascending,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said of his team.

Preparation time was plentiful with neither team playing a game since Oct. 26, when Wake Forest won 27-24 at Stanford, while nearby at Cal the Bears defeated former Pac-12 rival Oregon State 44-7.

The Bears have lost their four ACC games by a combined nine points, including a pair of one-point setbacks.

“There are people out there that would have crumbled and not been able to bounce back,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. “I’m really, really proud and pleased with our guys for battling back.”

Cal and Wake Forest look evenly matched in many areas, Clawson said.

“Whatever team executes best is going to win,” he said. “This should be a very competitive game.”

Clawson said he views the Bears as a stronger team than their record indicates. He also said the Demon Deacons have had a split of good fortune and bad luck.

“You always look at the extremes of it,” Clawson said. “We could be sitting here 6-2 or we could be sitting here 1-7.”

The Demon Deacons expect to be challenged by Cal’s defense.

“I would put these guys defensively right up there with the Ole Miss-es and Clemsons of the teams we’ve faced,” Clawson said.

Cal received a career-high 364 passing yards from redshirt sophomore quarterback Fernando Mendoza in the Oregon State game. Also in that game, kicker Derek Morris tied a single-game program record with five field goals.

Wilcox said Tuesday that linebacker Cade Uluave is expected to be back from injury to play vs. Wake Forest.

Transfer quarterback Hank Bachmeier, a Californian, has continued to give the Demon Deacons boosts.

“Some of the plays he has given us with his feet have really helped,” Clawson said.

Cal’s big edge this season has come in the third quarters, when the Bears have a combined 61-8 scoring advantage. Wake Forest has a third-quarter scoring edge of 55-45.

–Field Level Media

Jul 27, 2021; Hollywood, CA, USA; California Bears head coach Justin Wilcox speaks with the media during the Pac-12 football Media Day at the W Hollywood. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Max Duggan (4 TDs) rallies TCU past Cal, 34-32

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Max Duggan threw three touchdown passes Saturday afternoon and ran for a fourth, and the Texas Christian defense stopped California on a potential game-tying, 2-point conversion as the host Horned Frogs pulled out a 34-32 nonconference win.

Seeking to bounce back from a season-opening home loss to Nevada, Cal (0-2) scored the game’s first 12 points and led 19-7 late in the second quarter before Duggan and the TCU offense got rolling.

The Horned Frogs (2-0) got back within five on a 51-yard run by Zach Evans with 11 seconds remaining in the half and took their first lead on a Duggan 18-yard pass to Quentin Johnston in the third quarter.

Damien Moore gave Cal its last lead on a 12-yard touchdown run with 11:37 remaining in the game. But Duggan connected with Johnston again, this time from 45 yards out, to put the Horned Frogs back in front, and then ran 9 yards for the touchdown that extended the TCU lead to 34-26 lead with 5:47 to go.

Chase Garbers, who threw for 309 yards and two scores, then drove Cal quickly down the field, leading to a 1-yard TD run by Moore to get the Golden Bears within two with still 4:09 to play.

Cal went for the tie, but Moore was stopped just short of the goal line. Even though his fumble into the end zone was recovered by a teammate, by rule the ball was returned to where Moore had been tackled, and that was short of the goal line.

TCU was then able to run out the game’s final 4:09, with Duggan hitting Taye Barber for a key first down and later converting a second on a 6-yard run, denying Cal a final possession.

Duggan, who threw an interception that Cal’s Daniel Scott returned for a second-quarter touchdown, finished 17-for-31 for 234 yards.

Evans was the game’s leading rusher with 183 yards on 22 carries, while Johnston led TCU receivers with five catches for 95 yards.

Moore had a team-high 71 rushing yards for Cal, while wideout Trevon Clark turned two catches into a game-high 122 yards and a score, which opened the game’s scoring from 54 yards out in the first quarter.

Facing Cal for the first time since a 10-7 overtime win in the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl, TCU outgained the visitors 498-442.

–Field Level Media