BERKELEY, Calif. – Fernando Mendoza threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns and ran for one more to lead California (3-0, 2-0 ACC) to a 31-10 victory Saturday night over San Diego State University (1-2, 0-1 Mountain West) before 35,197 at California Memorial Stadium.
Cal amassed 473 yards, with Jaivian Thomas running for 169 yards and Kadarius Calloway running for 87 yards and a touchdown. The Golden Bears open the season with three for the first time since 2019.
Cal moved to 3-0 on the year, while San Diego State fell to 1-2 overall. Cal overcame six sacks, 12 penalties, a missed field goal and three failed fourth downs to come away with the victory.
At halftime, Cal led 7-3.
The Aztecs got on the scoreboard first after Nick Lopez kicked a 29-yard field goal in the first quarter.
Cal would respond, with Mendoza scoring an 8-yard touchdown run.
The Golden Bears broke the game open in the third quarter and scored 17 unanswered points in the second half. Calloway punched in a 7-yard touchdown after Thomas peeled off a 57-yard run to set him up for the score. Mendoza threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Corey Dyches to cap off a 90-yard drive.
Ryan Coe’s 48-yard field goal pushed Cal’s lead to 24-3 in the fourth quarter.
The Bears prevented the Aztecs from scoring a touchdown until the fourth quarter. After surrendering 32.8 points last season, Cal has held all three opponents to 14 or fewer points.
San Diego State receiver Jordan Napier caught a 40-yard pass from Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson to give the Aztecs their lone touchdown, bringing the score to 24-10.
Mendoza added a 15-yard touchdown pass to Nyziah Hunter, giving the Freshman four touchdown receptions in three games this season.
Tupou’ata-Johnson went 13 for 29 for 156 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
San Diego State travels to Central Michigan on September 28th.
California travels to Florida State on Saturday in its first conference game since joining the ACC.
