Tallahassee, FL—Week 4 presented the first ACC challenge to Cal football, as they took on Florida State in Tallahassee. 10 penalties and two missed field goals leads to California Bears first loss of the season, and first conference loss against the Florida State Seminoles.
Slow Starts and Miscues
Cal started off slow, punting on both of their first two starting drives. It wasn’t until a Miles Williams interception that allowed Cal to get their first points of the night, making it 7-3. Offensive woes would continue while the defense continued to stall the Florida State offense.
Defensively, the team would continue to put pressure on Florida State, with several key stops and holding them to only seven points throughout the first half. However, a two minute drill would have Cal down 7-6 going into halftime.
The second half started out with a drive that was stalled by penalties, a common occurrence throughout the evening. Drives stalling out in the redzone or failing to convert on third down (5/15 on the night) was the first of many issues for Cal in their first ACC football game.
Cal would continue to drive, however, and take a lead going into the fourth quarter, 14-9. Yet unfortunately, they would lose starting tackle Sioape Vatikani to injury. As of this writing, Vatikani is currently being looked at at a local hospital and has usage of his extremity’s, according to Cal staff.
Yet a couple of deep third down conversions would soon be their demise on a touchdown drive.
Florida State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei would find Ja’Khi Douglas for the eventual game-winning touchdown to go up 14-9. The ball was in Cals court to drive down the field; and they got into the redzone, but committed several more start penalties, before the eventual fourth down sack that would cost the Golden Bears the game.
Special Team Misses
Ryan Coe, kicker, missed two field goals, both from under 40 yards. When asked if Coe, who is currently 5-11 on the year on field goals is on the hot seat, head coach Justin Wilcox said that all position groups are going to be evaluated going into the bye week.
“Nine points isn’t enough”, Wilcox said postgame.
Coe’s two missed field goals were the difference in winning and losing in a low-scoring affair. However, they weren’t the only issue plaguing Cal football.
Self Inflicted Wounds
Cal had a total of 10 penalties; several false starts that set the team back instead of forward. These self inflicted wounds led the team to settling for field goals instead of touchdowns and the eventual loss.
“We had self inflicted wounds”, quarterback Fernando Mendoza said, citing himself as the main person accountable.
The noise played a significant part in the lack of communication between Mendoza and the offensive line. The team eventually went to a silent count and a clap to be able to counteract the loud Florida State environment.
When asked about how the loss was going to affect the team going forward, Mendoza made it abundantly clear that the team was going to turn over a new page and attack the bye week as they prepare for another true test at home against Miami.
While the team is ready to flip the page, linebacker Cade Uluave was adamant that he believed their team should’ve won tonight. Just a few small plays and self inflicted wounds held them back.
Going forward, Cal enters a much needed bye week. According to Mendoza, the team is prepared to attack the bye week and be tested and ready for their next home game against Miami.
Other notes
Even though the team is on bye next week, head coach Wilcox says they will be right back to practicing. Wilcox says the team is treating it like a normal week, especially since they have a plethora of little things to work on, from pre-snap penalties to special teams.
One play that Mendoza says he wishes he had back was an uncatchable throw. Mendoza made a mental note that for the team to succeed, he needs to be able to get the ball into the playmakers hands, and the offense will run smoothly after that.
One major area of concern was on third down, the money down. Defensively, the team was unable to stop FSU on third down. While on offense, they were unable to progress forward on third down. The Golden Bears said this will be one of the major areas of focus for them going into the bye week.
Cal is still very much focused on winning an ACC football championship and believe that this game can be used as a learning point and to emerge from this game stronger and better going forward.
“It’s just one game”, Mendoza said.
Starting off 0-1 on conference play is not the start any team wants. However, it’s not a start that a team is unable to come back from. The team will reforge in the bye week, and look to come back against an impressive Miami team.
Randy Vuxta
Randy Vuxta (@RandallVuxta) is a beat writer covering sports picks and dynasty/redraft content for The League Winners with a little over a decade playing fantasy football. Before joining the staff, he studied Journalism and Sports Business management and created The Randy Report, a YouTube channel dedicated to covering all things sports. When he’s not watching game film or the latest Marvel release, he can be found on Twitch streaming everything from Spider-Man to NBA2K. Randy looks to not only win every league he joins, but help others achieve that goal as well.