Five Big Mistakes Doom Cal in 24-23 Loss to Stanford

BERKELEY, CA - Special teams issues defined Cal's loss to Oregon State a week ago. They defined the 123rd Big Game as well.

A blocked extra point following Cal's 90 yard touchdown drive made the final difference, but a blocked field goal and a muffed punt, plus a defensive hold and a Marcel Dancy fumble, made the biggest difference as the Bears lost the Axe back to Stanford in a 24-23 decision.

"There's a lot of pain and frustration that we didn't play well," Justin Wilcox said, "we had plenty of chances and we didn't do it."

That final blocked extra point came after a first half extra point was tipped, coming through the right guard on the field goal unit, and it kept the Bears retaining the Axe for the second consecutive year. It underscored special teams mistakes that have now cost the Bears another game.

Damien Moore finished with 121 yards on 10 carries, his first 100 yard game, and the most rushing yards the Bears have produced as a team since the Oregon State game in 2018 (241 yards on 35 carries), with Christopher Brown Jr providing what could have been the game tying touchdown. It was a much needed running performance for the Cal offense, one that would end in vain for the Bears.

The afternoon started strongly enough, with Cal marching down the field on 8 plays for their first score, a seven-yard touchdown pass from Chase Garbers to Kekoa Crawford. It marked the third consecutive game where Cal scored on the opening drive. Cal would trade punts with Stanford before the Cardinal hit a field goal to make it 7-3. Cal would respond with a short field goal of their own to make it 10-3, but the first mistake of the game came not long after.

After trading punts with Stanford again, Cal's Nikko Remigio muffed a punt, giving Stanford the ball at the Cal 16. Three plays later, and the game was tied on a fade route to Michael Wilson from Davis Mills.

Cal would get a drive going to end the first half, with Makai Polk, Marcel Dancy, and a pass interference call drawn by Kekoa Crawford, but they had a 32 yard field goal blocked, their second straight Big Game with a kick blocked.

Cal forced a three and out to start the second half, but Marcel Dancy would fumble, the first time a running back had fumbled since 2018, giving Stanford a short field, which they'd score in two plays off of, with Austin Jones punching it in for Stanford. That made it a 17-10 game.

Cal would answer back thanks to Moore, who had his best game so far, finding an open gap on a toss play for 54 yards, leading to a Nikko Remigio touchdown reception on 4th and 1.

The teams again traded 3 and outs, leading to the fourth big mistake of the afternoon. On an interception by Daniel Scott, Elijah Hicks was called for defensive holding, extending the Stanford drive and leading to another Austin Jones touchdown.

Cal wouldn't have a drive that produced until their final drive with four minutes left, after Cam Goode sacked Davis Mills to force a punt. Moore, Chris Brown, Chase Garbers, Trevon Clark and Kekoa Crawford each had first downs on the drive, with Brown providing the final 3 yards for the score. But then came the point after, and Thomas Booker got a hand on the ball, leading to the final count.

Cal now has eight days to figure things out prior to taking on Oregon, as they've fallen to 0-3 for the first time in Justin Wilcox's time in Berkeley.

- Cal was again without five starters, including three offensive linemen in Jake Curhan, Valentino Daltoso, and Will Craig. Cal allowed four sacks, but had their best rushing output in two years.

- Cal started Muelu Iosefa, with Evan Tattersall not taking snaps on defense. Wilcox noted that he has 'some things to clean up' going forward.

- Cal used a bigger package with Kuony Deng at outside linebacker, something the senior noted came from the absence of Braxten Croteau. Blake Antzoulatos came in at inside linebacker for his first extended playing time on defense. Deng finished with 14 tackles and a tackle for loss

- Cal lost the turnover battle for the first time in 2020, and are now -2 in turnover margin on the year. It was also the second consecutive game where Cal recorded more yardage than their opponent, and lost

- JH Tevis recorded his first two career sacks of his career, as the Bears' defensive linemen in Tevis, Zeandae Johnson, and Brett Johnson, played the entire game for the Bears

- Moore's 121 yards are the most a Cal back has had since Brown Jr. had 195 to open the 2019 season against UC Davis.