If you are a fan of many college football teams, Saturday's game at California Memorial Stadium might have sent you over the edge. For Cal fans, it has simply become the norm.

The Bears allowed a 13-point lead with just over 15 minutes to play in their matchup with NC State evaporate, and eventually it came down to the leg of a freshman kicker on his first day with an opportunity to attempt field goals.

Derek Morris had been rock solid throughout his debut as the new Cal starting placekicker, in place of the struggling Ryan Coe, as he connected on each of his first three attempts. However, a 28-yard field goal that would have given the Bears their lead back with 1:34 to play sailed wide right ultimately putting the nail in the coffin of a 24-23 loss.

"I know he wants to make it, he's trying to do everything right," Wilcox said. "It didn't go through. So, there's a lot of plays in the game that we could've done better. We really would not like to be kicking so many field goals.

"... I was sure he was gonna make that kick, and we were trying to get him another shot at it."

The defeat is Cal's fourth straight and each of those games has been within one score. The four Bears' losses have come by a combined 9 points this year.

"Well, we gotta find ways to win obviously," Wilcox said. "I think everybody knows that. So, I gotta do a better job coaching the team, so we can get another point or two points. That's how we talk to the team, how we practice, what schemes we're running, which players are being played, meetings, walk-throughs.

"All of it. So, gotta do a better job."

To put the loss on the leg of Morris wouldn't be fair. Yes, Cal could have taken the lead on that field goal, but the blame could certainly be placed on many parts of the team in the collapse that even made the kick necessary in the first place.

Cal was not perfect offensively during Saturday's contest, but it did enough to create a two-score lead entering the fourth quarter, However, it again struggled to sustain drives and reach the end zone for a lot of the day despite outgaining the opponent. The Bears finished with 399 total yards compared to 363 for the Wolfpack.

Pre-snap penalties also came back to haunt the Bears once again. In all, Cal finished with four false start penalties in the loss.

On the other side of the ball, third down continued to be a thorn in defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon. The Bears allowed NC State to convert on 8-of-17 third down attempts in the game Saturday including 3 of its 5 tries in the fourth quarter. When adding fourth downs into the mix, Cal allowed the Wolfpack to convert on 10 of their opportunities on those two downs including 4 of 6 in the fourth quarter.

The collapse had a similar feel to the last time the Bears played in front of their home fans just a couple weeks ago in a 1-point loss to Miami in which Cal was outscored 21-3 in the final quarter.

"We've tried everything, we're gonna continue to try," Wilcox said about the miscues for his team Saturday. "We have to be able to start the play without going backwards. We had a lot of missed opportunities. It sounds like a broken record, everybody's tired of hearing it. I'm tired of saying it."

The Bears jumped out to their big double-digit lead in large part due to the effectiveness of Jaivian Thomas on the ground. The second-year running back earned the start in place of Jaydn Ott, who missed his second consecutive game with an injury, and immediately made his presence felt with a 49-yard rushing score to get Cal the early lead.

Thomas later extended the lead to 13 points with a 7-yard touchdown run with 24 seconds to play in the third quarter following a muffed punt for NC State that breathed new life into the drive for the Bears after linebacker Liam Johnson recovered the mishandled punt.

It remains unclear when Ott will be able to return to the field, but Thomas was able to spark the offense Saturday and finished with 78 yards on just nine carries.

"He had the long run, 50-yarder," Wilcox said. "That's a great job. Two touchdowns. So, really, really nicely done there. Then, we just gotta hold onto the ball. Put one on the ground. Can't do that."

Thomas' second-quarter fumble near midfield led to NC State's first touchdown drive in the second quarter.

Like it has so many times this season, Cal's offense had issues getting the ball in the end zone. The Bears moved the ball down the field well but had to settle for three field goals from Morris on a few of its drives. The inability to convert on third downs hindered the Bears often throughout the afternoon.

Cal was 2 for 14 on third down in the game and converted just one of its four attempts in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza was efficient as he completed 30 of his 42 pass attempts for 282 yards but failed to get the ball into the end zone through the air Saturday.

"A loss is a loss, and it's gonna take a lot of self-evaluation," Mendoza said. "I can speak for myself, there was a go ball that Jonathan Brady beat the guy and I overthrew him. That's something that I know I'm a player that can make that throw in that moment in the game. So, that's honestly eating at me a little bit right now.

"It sucks. No one's happy right now. It takes a little being real with yourself. ... Then regroup and be ready for Monday."

Mendoza did do a good job of finding his tight end, Jack Endries, quite often during Saturday's game and the third-year sophomore finished with his second consecutive 100-yard receiving performance. Endries caught a game-high 9 passes for 101 yards.

Defensively, Cal's inside linebacker tandem of Teddye Buchanan and Cade Uluave led the way with a combined 24 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss in the game against the Wolfpack. Buchanan's 13 tackles mark a career-high for the senior transfer from UC Davis.

The Bears will now turn their attention to Oregon State as the two teams meet up outside conference play after spending many years as part of the Pac-12.

"I gotta do a better job coaching the team," Wilcox said. "We don't have a lot of avenues. There's not a lot of options. You have to come back and own your part of it. Everybody does, but it starts with me. It's my job, so I gotta help the team perform better.

"Then we'll have high expectations and standards for the way they operate around here. We need them to show grit and toughness, and continue to fight."

• Wilcox did not have an immediate update on starting right tackle T.J. Session who had to be carted off the field following an injury late in the game. Session, who has started every game this season for the Bears, was able to reach the cart under his own power after laying on the field for several minutes.

• In addition to Ott's absence for a second consecutive game, the Bears were also without starting right guard Sioape Vatikani once again as well as starting outside linebacker Ryan McCulloch. Tight end Corey Dyches also missed his second consecutive game. Wilcox said he will get an injury update on those players from the medical staff Sunday.