After a long and grueling season, this Cal squad has finally started to look like the team it expected to be in Year 7 under Justin Wilcox. With a third win in a row, Cal beat UCLA 33-7 Saturday night to become bowl eligible with a 6-6 season record. The game was a sendoff to the Pac-12 regular season — and all Pac-12 regular seasons in the wake of conference realignment — but there was plenty to celebrate for the Bears Saturday.

Even with one of the most prolific defenses in the country, UCLA was unable to stand its ground against the Cal offense, one that looked like it was clicking under first-year offensive coordinator Jake Spavital and freshman quarterback Fernando Mendoza. With two field goals to start the game off for Cal, the offense kept moving the ball — all while holding the Bruins to just one touchdown.

That lone UCLA touchdown came towards the end of the second quarter, a five-yard reception by receiver Logan Loya thrown by the Bruins’ backup quarterback Dante Moore. UCLA’s starting quarterback Ethan Garbers, brother of former Bears’ signal caller Chase Garbers, came out of the game with an injury in the first drive of the game and did not return.

“The margins between playing really well and not well, it’s very, very small at this level, so continuing to improve and again, never giving up on it and staying consistent in your approach to the games, that to me is what led them down the road and allowed us to play to that level tonight,” Wilcox said in the postgame press conference.

Moore had a pretty impressive showing for a backup quarterback, going 23 for 38 and throwing for 266 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. But Cal quarterback Mendoza shone Saturday, throwing for fewer yards with 178, but putting up two touchdowns, albeit with two interceptions, and a slightly higher completion rate with 63% compared to Moore’s 61%.

One of the concerns going into Saturday’s game was UCLA’s impressive run defense, and how that was going to match up against Cal’s emphasis on the run game. It seemed like that was no issue for the Bears at the Rose Bowl Saturday, as Cal put up 124 yards on the ground against the Bruins, the third-most rushing yards this Bruins team has allowed all season.

Despite having one of the most talented defenders in the country in Laiatu Latu, UCLA did not have an answer to Cal’s Jaydn Ott and Justin Williams-Thomas. With 80 yards on 21 carries, Ott solidified himself as best rusher of the Pac-12, with now well over 1,000 yards on the season. Williams-Thomas, who was out for most of the year with injury, also had a stellar showing with 47 yards on the ground on 10 carries.

While there were no rushing touchdowns for the Bears Saturday, the Cal backfield was instrumental in moving the offense down the field and setting the team up for scoring opportunities.

The Bears’ running backs were unable to get into the end zone Saturday, but Cal recorded two touchdown passes, both to standout receiver Jeremiah Hunter. A 14-yard touchdown pass to Hunter late in the second quarter, followed by another 13-yard throw early in the fourth essentially sealed the win for Cal.

“Like a lot of people say, when the stage gets big and when the lights shine bright, the stars shine brighter. You saw that with Jeremiah. Future NFL player right here, so it’s an honor being a redshirt freshman quarterback, having a veteran to throw the ball to like Jeremiah, with sure hands. He makes the 50-50 balls 90-10, percentage wise,” Mendoza said in the postgame press conference.

While Hunter contributed tremendously to the Cal offense with 101 yards on eight receptions and two touchdowns, nearly half of the Bears’ points actually came from special teams, with the Bruins holding Cal to four field goals. Cal kicker Mateen Bhaghani accounted for 15 of Cal’s 33 points against UCLA, and was perfect on field goals and extra points. Bhaghani remains perfect on extra points on the season with 23, alongside just one missed field goal out of nine attempts.

But, of course, a Pac-12 After Dark game could not come and go without some chaos, and the Bears got a spark from Ott’s 100-yard kick return touchdown late in the second quarter. This was the first kickoff return touchdown for the Bears since Nikko Remigio’s 99-yard return against Sacramento State in 2021. It is also tied for third-longest in Cal record history, and became the first 100-yard return touchdown since 2014. It was Ott’s first career kickoff return.

Everyone on this Cal team was making plays, as defensive lineman Brett Johnson recorded his second career fumble recovery late in the second quarter, while kicker Michael Luckhurst, who lost the starting job earlier this season but remains on kickoffs for the Bears, recorded a career-first fumble recovery.

Cal’s defense also stepped up against UCLA after some rough showings earlier in the season, with the lone touchdown by UCLA marking the lowest number of points the Bears’ defense has allowed all season. Defensive young star linebacker Cade Uluave had a stellar performance, leading the team with 12 tackles while also recording a sack, two tackles for loss and one interception.

“I’m blessed to be in the position that I am. Like I’ve said in the past, when your name is called, you gotta go ball, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do,” Uluave said in the postgame press conference. “I was day to day, this week was kind of uncertain. But with this week being a holiday, pretty much had the whole week off so instead of being in school, it was a film.”

Wilcox was on the receiving end of a Gatorade shower following the win, as team spirits were high with many of these players reaching bowl eligibility for the first time in their careers.

“I think I take the most joy (from) watching the players and people, and the look on their eyes and how they're feeling, their emotions — that brings energy to me. That’s where I get the energy from, seeing those other folks. So, there’s a lot of that right now,” Wilcox said.

The Bears are bowl eligible for the first time since 2019.