NCAAF

Syracuse Orange at California Golden Bears

· NCAA - Football
7-3, 3-2 Away
Final
33 - 25

Passing leader McCord keeps Syracuse on the ground as Orange grinds out a 33-25 win over Cal

LeQuint Allen finds the end zone for Syracuse

Kyle McCord, who leads the nation in completions, was 29 for 46 for 323 yards. LeQuint Allen ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns while Jackson Kennedy converted all four attempted field goals to remain perfect on the season.

“To start fast and get them early, that was big, and I think both sides of the ball did that," McCord said. “The defense created some takeaways, and then the offense putting up 27 first-half points was big.”

Syracuse led by as many as three scores after Mendoza threw two early interceptions.

"The sideline said ‘Ball’, and I looked — and I high-pointed it,” said Davien Kerr, who had the second Syracuse pick.

Spearheaded by McCord, the Orange boast one of the best passing offenses in the country but stayed on the ground to disarm Cal’s defensive line, running for 103 yards and two touchdowns in the first half after amassing just 39 total rushing yards against Boston College a week ago.

“We haven’t done anything good on defense,” Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said as his team entered the locker room at half.

Despite a 75-yard run to the end zone by Jaivian Thomas in the second quarter and Mendoza touchdown to Jonathan Brady with a minute left, Cal was flimsy on offense. The Bears managed only two red zone attempts against the Orange and have struggled from inside the 20 all season, completing 21 of 40 red zone pass attempts.

“Mendoza, he’s very crafty,” said Syracuse head coach Fran Brown. “He’s got a strong arm and a quick trigger finger, so we knew we had to switch the picture up a lot for him.”

McCord and the Orange did not surrender a turnover despite Cal leading the country in interceptions with 54.

THE TAKEAWAY California: Mendoza, the steady pulse of Cal's offense, looked uncharacteristically frantic under center. After throwing for a season-high 385 yards to earn the Bears their sole ACC win last weekend, Mendoza threw two picks and only mustered 8 total minutes of offense for California in the first half, which doesn't bode well for a Bears team that has key offensive components like Jaydn Ott limited with injuries.

Syracuse: The Orange rallied for arguably their most complete performance all season, with the oft-injured offensive line finally contributing an impressive showing. McCord helped keep the offense at a healthy tempo, aided by a career-best 11 receptions from receiver Trebor Pena.

UP NEXT

Syracuse: The Orange will take on UConn on Saturday in a non-conference matchup at home.

California: The Bears will host Stanford on Saturday in their first Big Game matchup as ACC foes.

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How To Watch

How can I watch Syracuse Orange vs. California Golden Bears?
  • TV Channel: Orange at Golden Bears 2021 College Football, week 12, is broadcasted on The CW Network.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Golden Bears: 77.8%
Orange: 22.2%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

SYR FG 1st Period 8:54 Jackson Kennedy 24 Yd Field Goal
SYR FG 1st Period 4:19 Jackson Kennedy 42 Yd Field Goal
SYR TD 2nd Period 13:37 LeQuint Allen 30 Yd Run (Jackson Kennedy Kick)
CAL TD 2nd Period 13:19 Jaivian Thomas 75 Yd Run (Derek Morris Kick)
SYR TD 2nd Period 9:52 LeQuint Allen 1 Yd Run (Jackson Kennedy Kick)
SYR TD 2nd Period 4:06 Jackson Meeks 6 Yd pass from Kyle McCord (Jackson Kennedy Kick)
CAL TD 3rd Period 8:54 Jaydn Ott 15 Yd Run (Derek Morris Kick)
SYR FG 3rd Period 4:53 Jackson Kennedy 43 Yd Field Goal
CAL FG 4th Period 12:43 Ryan Coe 44 Yd Field Goal
SYR FG 4th Period 3:12 Jackson Kennedy 32 Yd Field Goal
CAL TD 4th Period 1:01 Jonathan Brady 5 Yd pass from Fernando Mendoza (Jack Endries Pass to Fernando Mendoza for Two-Point Conversion)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/183.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originSYR https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/25.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCAL
26 1st Downs 19
7-17 3rd down efficiency 8-13
4-4 4th down efficiency 0-0
471 Total Yards 391
323 Passing 225
29/46 Comp/Att 22/34
7.0 Yards per pass 6.6
148 Rushing 166
38 Rushing Attempts 23
3.9 Yards per rush 7.2
6-50 Penalties 5-36
0 Turnovers 2
0 Fumbles lost 0
0 Interceptions thrown 2
38:41 Possession 21:19

Game Information

California Memorial Stadium

Location: Berkeley, CA
Attendance: 33,493 · Capacity:
Full Standings

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