Sometimes college football games are likened to rock fights, and you almost never want to see your favorite team engaged in one since it typically means things have not gone according to plan.

It has happened quite often for Cal under Justin Wilcox, and the Bears had another familiar scene play out Saturday night as they opened up ACC play for the first time against winless Florida State.

Throughout the week, Wilcox had cautioned about looking down on the Seminoles, who are coming off a 13-win season yet have looked like anything but one of the top teams in the country this year.

What ensued for most of the evening at Doak Campbell Stadium was a battle between two teams looking for anything to help them build momentum. That quest continued all the way into the fourth quarter Saturday.

In the end, the Seminoles did enough to pull out a 14-9 victory on a difficult night for the Cal offense.

Despite the return of running back Jaydn Ott and starting offensive linemen Sioape Vatikani and Will McDonald, Cal was never able to muster enough firepower to get in the end zone and instead had to settle for three field goals.

In a game that was reminiscent of the Bears' 14-10 loss to Auburn last year, the offense struggled to find big plays in the red zone while the defenses duked it out.

The back-breaking play for Cal came in the fourth quarter when FSU quarterback DJ Uiagalelei had one of his best passes of the game on a 36-yard strike to receiver Ja'Khi Douglas to cap a 79-yard drive with 11:08 to play.

"We also gave up a third-and-20 on that drive," Wilcox said. "We had to win the game on defense, and that was the drive. Unfortunately, we weren't able to able to capitalize. ... Battled a lot of the day, got the offense the ball back. We gotta score points. Gotta make field goals. We got so many chances."

The Bears (3-1, 0-1 ACC) had an opportunity to close the gap on the ensuing drive but the offense again sputtered as it moved into FSU territory resulting in a missed 38-yard field goal try from Ryan Coe, who was again inconsistent for Cal.

Coe did account for all the Bears' scoring in the game as he connected on three field goals, including a 51-yarder, but missed from 36 and 38 yards out by the end of the night. His other makes came from 25 and 29 yards.

Cal put together a strong drive late in the fourth quarter that put the Bears into the red zone, but the Seminoles (1-3, 1-0 ACC) dialed up pressure and sacked quarterback Fernando Mendoza on a fourth-and-16 play from the FSU 23-yard line to effectively end the game.

Left guard Rush Reimer was called for a false start with the Bears on the 12-yard line earlier the drive pushing them back before Mendoza was sacked twice. It was one of 10 penalties assessed against Cal in the game.

"With the pre-snap issues, obviously, we practice it," Wilcox said. "We use crowd noise. The neighbors hate it. We use crowd noise, and obviously the message is not getting across. We're not coaching it well enough, and we're not executing it well enough.

"... Bad. It's bad. It's unacceptable. Ultimately, it's my responsibility. That is bad football. We can't do that. So, that'll be addressed again until we get it right, because we're gonna play in other hostile environments."

Mendoza finished the contest with 303 yards passing and an interception on a 22-for-36 night in Tallahassee. And, he had the offense in position to win the game in the fourth quarter when he missed on a third-down throw to Trond Grizzell in the end zone.

"The ball, I believe, was uncatchable, and that's just something that can't happen," the Cal quarterback said. "I need to put it in our great player's vicinity. Trond has an amazing catch radius. You saw today that he was flying all over the field, so that's one play that stings.

"... It stings, it stings. You always want to give our guys a chance especially like there in the last drive. Just giving our guys a better chance as far as getting the ball in the vicinity, getting the ball out a little quicker and having the communication in the red zone. So, those are some things I'm gonna work on."

Ott played for the first time since Cal's trip to Auburn and carried the ball 16 times for 73 yards. Still the ground game was mostly quiet for the Bears as they continue to search for an explosive offensive performance with the team averaging just 23 points through the first four games.

The Bears closed out the loss with 410 yards of offense while the defense held FSU to 284 yards on the night.

Cal was 2 for 5 on attempts in the red zone, with both scores coming off the leg of Coe, and was 5 for 15 on third down in the game.

Coe is now 5 for 11 on field goals this season, and Wilcox left open the possibility of a change at the position as his team heads into a bye week with plenty to assess.

"We'll discuss every position, and who's doing what," he said. "He's got a lot of talent, and he sure has been impressive, but we gotta do it in the games. He's been impressive in practice. He hit the 52-yarder like it was nothing then missed the two 38s, unfortunately.

"We have to find ways to score points. Nine is not enough. Nine's not enough points, I don't care who you're playing. Especially Florida State, you gotta score more than nine."

The Bears will return home with some extra time before facing Miami on Oct. 5 with their bye week coming up in Week 5 of the college football season.

• On the field for the first time this season after dealing with a leg injury that kept him out for most of training camp and the first three games, Vatikani did not make it through his entire 2024 debut after suffering a scary injury late in the third quarter on Saturday. The Bears' starting right guard appeared to injure his neck and was placed on a backboard by the medical staff before being carted off the field.

He was taken to a local hospital for further examination according to Wilcox.

"He's got movement in his extremities, which is good news, but that's all I know right now," Wilcox said.