SMU Mustangs at California Golden Bears

No. 25 SMU squanders chance at clinching berth in ACC title game as Cal scores 38-35 win

The Mustangs (8-4, 6-2 ACC) had clawed their way back into the game and took the lead when T.J. Harden scored from a yard out with 2:22 remaining.

Cal (7-5, 4-4) responded immediately, though, as quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele marched the Bears 75 yards in seven plays, capped by Raphael’s 12th rushing touchdown of the season.

SMU had a chance to tie the game with eight seconds left, but Sam Keltner’s 52-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide right.

“We really wanted to go back and compete for a championship again, but we’re not going to,” coach Rhett Lashlee said. “We expected to win today, and we didn’t.”

The Bears were playing their first game under interim coach Nick Rolovich, who was appointed after Justin Wilcox was fired last Sunday.

Sagapolutele completed 31 of his 40 pass attempts for 330 yards and threw four touchdowns, finishing with a 179.9 passer rating.

Raphael rushed 33 times for 111 yards, while Jacob De Jesus had 12 catches for 97 yards for the Bears.

“It’s a tremendous credit to these kids for staying together and doing it for the right reasons,” Rolovich said. “The staff, I mean, that’s hard on the staff, too, when you go through this.

“And for them to stay together and understand, we can go out and play this game for the seniors, and to win it like that in the fourth quarter, that’s something that none of us will forget. We’re very appreciative of the opportunity. Just an awesome, awesome deal for Cal football.”

The Golden Bears made it quite clear after falling behind 7-3 through one quarter that they weren’t going to cooperate with SMU’s plans to clinch a spot in the conference championship, as they scored 21 unanswered points to take a commanding 24-7 lead.

“Disappointed for our players, disappointed for our fans ... but I’m not discouraged,” Lashlee said. “I’m proud of our guys. What they did this year, all the different times they responded, was a lot like they did in the second half. I was proud of how we finished. I was not proud of how we started. That’s football. You can’t go on the road in conference play and dig a hole like we did. We were kind of fortunate to only be down 17-7 at the half.”

SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings was 24 of 36 for 250 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception.

Chris Johnson Jr. led the Mustangs’ rushing attack with 128 yards on 10 attempts, with one touchdown.

SMU came into the game allowing 19 points and 385 yards per game. Cal’s 38 points were the second-most the Mustangs allowed this season, while the Bears’ 452 yards were third most by an SMU opponent.

Instead, it was Cal’s defense getting a pair of timely plays from freshman safety Aiden Manutai, who had his first interception after the Bears’ first touchdown. Five plays later, quarterback Sagapolutele and De Jesus connected on a 7-yard scoring strike to extend Cal’s lead. Then, during SMU’s final drive, it was Manutai's pass breakup that prevented the Mustangs from improving their field position for Keltner’s final attempt.

The takeaway Cal: Playing in his 26th-career game, Jaiven Plummer’s second-quarter touchdown catch was just the second reception of his career.

SMU: The Mustangs arrived in Berkeley with a 2-0 all-time record against Cal.

Up next Both Cal and SMU await invitations to postseason bowl games.