Big Game: Cal fumbles away its good vibes in ugly loss to Stanford

STANFORD It all came crashing down on Cal in the 128th Big Game on Saturday evening at Stanford. Riddled by turnovers and penalties, the Bears played their worst game of the season when they needed to show up against their struggling ancient rival. Cal lost 31-10 in front of 50, 039 at Stanford Stadium and it was every bit that bad. The Cardinal scored two touchdowns on fumble returns and their first offensive TD of the night came at the end of a 20-yard drive on the first play of the fourth quarter after a third lost fumble by the Bears. Cal had lost just two fumbles in 10 previous games this season. Throw in a season-high 13 penalties for 128 yards and the Bears basically gave themselves no chance. Their four-year win streak in the Big Game ended and their opportunity to clinch their first winning season since 2019 was put on ice. Cal (6-5, 3-4 ACC) closes the regular season against SMU (8-3, 6-1) next Saturday in Berkeley. At stake in that one could be ninth-year coach Justin Wilcox’s job. Two weeks after an impressive 29-26 overtime road victory over then-No. 15 Louisville, the Bears faltered on all fronts in a game that might have elevated the arc of their season. Freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele completed 33 of 49 passes for 269 yards, but Cal played the final 5: 49 of the second quarter and the entire third period without a first down. The run game netted 122 yards. And it was Sagapolutele’s lost fumble that set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Micah Ford with 14: 56 left that pushed Stanford (4-7, 3-5) into a 24-10 lead. The Cardinal stretched the lead to 31-10 when Elijah Brown threw a 35-yard TD pass to CJ Williams with 10: 01 left Without a run game, the Bears relied almost entirely on Sagapolutele’s connection with Jacob De Jesus, who caught 14 passes for 96 yards. Stanford figured out the one-dimensional nature of the Cal attack and sacked Sagapolutele five times. The Bears’ defense limited Stanford to 71 yards and five first downs in the first half, but two disastrous turnovers and nine penalties for 88 yards left them trailing 14-10 at the half. Sagapolutele was 17 for 22 for 132 yards, despite two drops by his receivers. But the Bears could not run the ball and the Cardinal scored on a pair of fumble returns to account for all of its first-half scoring. Cal went up 3-0 on a 40-yard field goal by Abram Murray with 6: 10 left in the opening quarter and the Bears forced Stanford to punt on on its first three possessions. The Cardinal managed just 6 total yards and no first downs in the opening quarter. But Stanford suddenly found itself ahead 7-3 when Omar Staples popped the ball loose from De Jesus and safety Jay Green ran it in from 49 yards with 12: 57 left in the half. Cal somehow overcame penalties for unnecessary roughness and too many players on the field to complete a 15-play, 75-yard drive on a 7-yard quarterback draw by Sagapolutele with 4: 38 left in the half. The Bears then prevented Stanford from tying the score when Dru Polidore Jr. blocked a 23-yard field goal try by Emmet Kenney with 1: 11 to play. But on third-and-15 from their own 6-yard line the Bears imploded 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 17 yards with 48 seconds before halftime. Cal outgained the Cardinal 196 yards to 71, had 10 first downs to 5 and had possession for 21: 33 of the first 30 minutes . and still trailed.
https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/11/22/big-game-cal-fumbles-away-its-good-vibes-in-ugly-loss-to-stanford/

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