Cal faces questions after mistake-riddled loss to Stanford
STANFORD As if the th Big Match weren t bad enough Cal coach Justin Wilcox now faces fan reaction that is sure to be piercing The Bears didn t merely lose - to Stanford on Saturday night they self-destructed in a fashion that leaves them open to criticism Three lost fumbles led to three Cardinal touchdowns two of them on scoop and number plays Cal also committed penalties for yards a glut of mistakes that suggest undisciplined play further hindered everything the Bears hoped to accomplish Wilcox doesn t blame Old Blues who are disappointed There should be high expectatIons disclosed Wilcox the ninth-year coach whose job status will be evaluated by Cal general manager Ron Rivera We work really hard at this It s not an excuse to go out and play like that I understand their pain I understand the frustration The Bears - - ACC were hoping to win their fifth consecutive Big Meeting matching their longest stretch ever in a series that began in the th century They could have clinched their first winning season since And on the heels of their best match of the season two weeks ago in a - overtime win at then-No Louisville they could have sent themselves into next Saturday s regular-season finale against SMU - - with a chance to reach eight victories themselves The Bears never gave themselves a chance to achieve any of those goals It s heartbreaking senior defensive lineman Aidan Keanaaina explained It s very vital to our organization to our coaches and to our alumni It s a legacy challenge It really hurts for all of us Cal s defense held Stanford without a first down in the first quarter and just total yards in the first half But the Cardinal - - coming off three straight defeats led - at halftime after two defensive touchdowns The Bears were up - before Stanford defensive tackle Omar Staples popped the ball loose from wide receiver Jacob De Jesus and safety Jay Green ran it in from yards with left in the half After the Bears lone touchdown of the night a -yard quarterback draw by Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele for a - lead with left in the half lightning struck again Running back Kendrick Raphael fumbled when hit by Jahsiah Galvan and safety Darrius Davis picked up the loose football and ran it in from yards with seconds before halftime California wide receiver Quaron Adams cannot haul in a catch in front of Stanford cornerback Brandon Nicholson during the third quarter of the th Big Encounter Saturday Nov in Stanford Calif D Ross Cameron for the Bay Area News Group Cal outgained the Cardinal yards to in the half had first downs to five for Stanford and had possession for of the first minutes and still trailed I would not have seen that coming Wilcox noted of the fumbles after the Bears lost just two in their first games But there was more Sagapolutele s lost fumble set up a -yard scoring drive which Micah Ford capped with a -yard TD run on the first play of the fourth quarter They were ready to play in terms of their ability and their excitement Wilcox noted of his players Unfortunately want-to doesn t equal good football Related Articles Saturday Night Five Utah s escape Big clarity Oregon s steamroller same old USC and Cal s epic face plant Big Tournament Cal fumbles away its good vibes in ugly loss to Stanford Cal GM Ron Rivera explains his affection and expectations for Big Competition Cal determined to keep freshman Sagapolutele after losing last year s star QB Mailbag Grading Pac- media deals Big Ten expansion UCLA and SoFi And while mistakes were the theme of the first half Stanford outplayed the Bears over the final two quarters Cal couldn t run the ball net rushing yards and Sagapolutele was sacked five times while forced to attempt passes The line of scrimmage especially in the second half went to them That became obvious Wilcox acknowledged Keanaaina revealed how he and his teammates respond is critical As painful as it s going to be we re going to sit there and watch every play critique every little detail and see where we went wrong he announced We re going to take those and move on to this next week against a good opponent and put our best foot forward NOTES De Jesus caught passes for yards and has receptions on the season third-most by a Cal member since He has of those catches over the past five games Teammate Trond Grizzell had a career-high nine catches for yards Sagapolutele finished with passing yards pushing his season total to With more yards he will pass Aaron Rodgers for th on Cal s single-season list The Bears infractions for penalty yards were their majority since totaling for yards in a double-overtime win over Oregon in
