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Published Oct 2, 2023
Top takeaways: Looking back at Cal's 24-21 win over ASU
AJ Alany
Golden Bear Report Staff Writer

Cal was able to hold off Arizona State on Saturday to earn a 24-21 victory over the visiting Sun Devils at California Memorial Stadium. It was the first Pac-12 win of the season for the Bears, who now will turn their attention toward No. 15 Oregon State.

The game against ASU was not perfect for Cal, far from it actually, so there were plenty of aspects of the contest to examine afterward.

Here are five of our takeaways as we look back on the victory for the Bears.

Cal's quarterback play remains a question mark

As some programs do, the Bears continue to shuffle starting quarterbacks. As head coach Justin Wilcox stated post-game, they believe that they have three capable players at the position in Ben Finley, Sam Jackson V, and Fernando Mendoza. Finley, who started three games, was unavailable against Arizona State. Meanwhile, Jackson V received his second start on Saturday, moving to 2-0 in that role. Mendoza is also likely to get snaps sooner or later, as Wilcox stated that he was part of the game plan against Arizona State, and only did not go in since the game flow didn’t allow for it.

Jackson V, who played the entirety of the game against Arizona State, went 12 for 28 for 130 yards passing and a touchdown. The Arizona State defense did well in containing him on the ground, as Jackson rushed for -8 yards on nine carries. Jackson certainly had his moments. In the third quarter, he had back-to-back big-time throws, converting a third-and-20 to tight end Jack Endries that he followed with a 21-yard touchdown to Jeremiah Hunter on a fade route.

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