The Auburn Tigers were feeling really good about themselves after a 73-3 win over Alabama A&M in week one. The Tigers showcased their brand-new receivers in the blowout win. The hope was they would continue that momentum against Cal and move to 2-0 on the season. The Bears had other ideas as Cal upset Auburn 21-14. The Cal Bears controlled most of the game by staying on the field on first down and took advantage of five Auburn turnovers. Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza finished 25 of 36 for 233 yards and two touchdowns. The Cal defense was led by Teddye Buchanan with 11 tackles and two sacks. Defensive back Nohl Williams had two interceptions in the game. Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne struggled most of the game going 14 of 27 for 165 yards and one touchdown. He threw four interceptions that cost his team mightily.
Cal upsets Auburn 21-14
Airing it out
The Auburn aerial attack picked up where it left last week in their 73-3 win over Alabama A&M. Thorne went three out of five on the opening drive for 72 yards and found KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a 15-yard touchdown. Thorne hit a big pass a few plays earlier to Cam Coleman down the sideline for 41 yards.
The Cal Bears answered back on their opening drive using the passing game. Mendoza was perfect, going six for six. Mendoza connected with Nyziah Hunter for a 19-yard touchdown with 7:17 in the first quarter to tie the game at seven. He also found Jonathan Brady for a 25-yard play down the sideline to get into Auburn territory.
Cal takes control
On the next Tigers possession, they faced a fourth and two at the Cal 48. Auburn turned it over on downs due to an incomplete pass by Thorne. The Bears would then go on a 13-play drive that would take up 7:17 in-game time. When the second quarter began, they had made it to the Tigers 23. Due to penalties, Cal would go in reverse and would have to settle for a field goal attempt. Ryan Coe missed a 25-yard field goal that would hit one of the uprights.
On the very next play Throne found Coleman open over the middle but he was not able to make the catch. The ball tipped in the air to the waiting hands of Cal’s Nohl Williams to set the Bears up at the Auburn 21. Three plays later, Mendoza found Hunter once again for a score to give Cal a 14-7 lead with 10:39 in the quarter. This scoring play was for 13 yards.
The score remained 14-7 late in the first half with the Cal Bears looking to add more points. With 1:25 until the break, the Bears reached the Auburn 42. Then Keldric Faulk introduced himself to Mendoza. The sophomore pass rusher collected sacks for back-to-back plays. The first was a loss of four yards and the other was for six. That would force a Cal punt with 1:03 left.
Auburn looked to be in a spot to add points before halftime, but a mistake by Thorne on a spike attempt all but stopped any of that. After a run of 19 yards to the Cal 42, Thorne fumbled the snap and attempted to spike after recovering. That by rule is intentional grounding. The penalty also caused a ten-second runoff to leave the Tigers with just five seconds left. Towns McGough would miss a 61-yard field goal attempt as the half ended.
Defensive third quarter
The Auburn defense came out in the third quarter looking to slow down Mendoza. The Cal quarterback completed 19 of 21 in the first half and allowed seven of ten on third down. The Tigers held Cal to 42 total yards in the third quarter. The two teams exchanged punts for most of the quarter with five consecutive possessions that resulted in a kick. The Tigers were hurt most of the way with poor field position. The first two drives of the second half for Auburn both started at the two-yard line. They did get the ball at their own 34 with six seconds left in the quarter, but Thorne threw an interception to Cal’s Ja’ir Smith.
Thorne throws it away
After the turnover, the Auburn defense stood up once more holding the Bears to one first down. The possession ended with a 55-yard field goal that was missed. Auburn was gifted with their best field position of the second half, but they were hit with another turnover. After a seven-yard run by Jarquez Hunter, he fumbled on the next play which was recovered by Cal’s Craig Woodson. Two plays later, Jaivian Thomas scored on a 32-yard run to put the Bears up 21-7 with 11:27 remaining in the game.
The Tigers finally put their first points on the board since the first drive of the game. They went on a 12-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a two-yard touchdown run by Thorne to make the game 21-14. The downside to that possession is that it took over 11 minutes off the clock. After forcing another Cal punt, the Tigers had a chance to tie it with 2:37 left in the game. The possession began with a 12-yard pass to Coleman. Thorne on the following play tried to hit Coleman deep down the sideline, but the ball was intercepted by Nohl Williams.
Auburn did get another chance with 26 seconds left, but Thorne threw the last of his four interceptions when he was picked off by Lu-Magia Hearns III. The Bears would run out the clock as Cal upsets Auburn 21-14.
