The idea of a "get right game" is something no coach will ever talk about publicly, but it is a real concept and every team needs one ever now and then. Cal entered Saturday's nonconference matchup with Oregon State in dire need of a victory.

The Bears had lost four consecutive matchups to begin their first season in the ACC and had not logged a victory in over a month. That changed Saturday as Cal put together one of its most complete performances of the season in a 44-7 rout of the Beavers at California Memorial Stadium.

Cal (4-4) did not take long to make its presence felt in the matchup as quarterback Fernando Mendoza guided the Bears offense to a touchdown on the opening drive thanks to one of the wackiest plays of the year.

One third-and-8 from the 9-yard line, Mendoza tossed a short pass to running back Jaivian Thomas who pitched it back to a trailing Mendoza while being tackled. The play resulted in an improbable score for the Bears who then scored 44 unanswered points before the Beavers were finally able to get on the board late in the fourth quarter.

In the end, the Bears amassed 478 yards of offense and limited OSU to just 200 yards as both the offense and defense helped Cal get back in the win column for the first time since Sept. 14.

Mendoza has been efficient in recent games but it has not turned into touchdown opportunities enough for the Bears to earn victories. Saturday that was not the case.

The Cal quarterback was impressive and passed for a career-high 364 yards and two touchdowns on 27-for-36 passing in three quarters of action. Mendoza hit nine different receivers in the game led by a big performance for receiver Trond Grizzell, who finished with 95 yards receiving on five catches for the Bears.

In all, Cal had five players with at least four catches in the game as the offense had one of its most productive performances of the year.

Chandler Rogers finished out the game at quarterback for Cal.

Defensively, the Bears completely had the Beavers in a chokehold. Cal limited Oregon State (4-4) to just 82 yards in the first half, and it was much the same to close out the game even with Peter Sirmon's group missing starting inside linebacker Cade Uluave.

Hunter Barth and Liam Johnson filled in nicely for the injured Uluave with a combined 10 tackles for the Bears on Saturday.

After allowing NC State to thrive on third and fourth down last week, the Bears bottled up the Oregon State offense on those critical downs and eventually held the Beavers to just 1 for 11 in such instances on Saturday before the late scoring drive. Oregon State ended the game going 1 for 12 on third downs and 3 for 5 on fourth down Saturday.

Cal did not take long to open up a two-score lead Saturday as it reached the end zone on its first two drives of the game. Following the touchdown from Mendoza in the first quarter, the Bears' quarterback found receiver on a 20-yard play to put Cal up 14-0 with 8:59 on the clock in the first.

The short three-play drive was set up by a sack from Xavier Carlton and Serigne Tounkara on third down that nearly brought down Oregon State quarterback Gevani McCoy in the end zone.

A 27-yard pass play from Mendoza to running back Jaydn Ott set up the second score. The Bears' star made his first appearance since the Oct. 5 matchup against Miami as he continues to battle through injury this season.

Ott did most of his damage in the passing game on Saturday with four catches for 58 yards receiving to go along with 11 yards rushing on 10 carries.

Thomas led the Bears on the ground with 33 yards on seven carries with a touchdown.

The second-year back's 2-yard score with 5:09 to play in the first half was sandwiched between four field goals for Cal freshman kicker Derek Morris, who tied a school record with five field goals made Saturday.

It was a nice bounce-back performance for Morris who missed a would-be game-winning field goal last week against NC State.

The final touchdown of the day for the Bears came with 36 seconds to play in the third quarter when freshman Jamaal Wiley reached the end zone for the first time in his career on a 1-yard rush that put Cal up 41-0.

The Bears will now get a chance to regroup before continuing ACC play with a bye coming up next week before they head out to Wake Forest for a Week 11 matchup on Nov. 8.

• Uluave did not suit up for Saturday's game while dealing with an injury suffered last week.

• Starting right guard Bastian Swinney left the game in the first half and was replaced by Sioape Vatikani who continues to work his way back from an injury. He split time with Matthew Wykoff in Saturday's game.

• In addition to Ott, Saturday's game also brought the return of starting nickelback Matthew Littlejohn for the first time in several weeks. He finished the game with two tackles and a pass breakup.