Cal Sports Report

Cal Football Game Summary of Bears' Tense Win Over North Carolina

Cal's Paco Austin forces a North Carolina fumble that preserves the Bears' victory
Jake Curtis|
Cal receiver Jacob De Jesus scores a first-quarter touchdown
Cal receiver Jacob De Jesus scores a first-quarter touchdown | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

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California Golden Bears

Cal defeated North Carolina 21-18 on Friday night before a crowd of 33,401 at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. It sent North Carolina coach Bill Belichick and his team to a third straight loss.

The hero for Cal was cornerback Brent "Paco" Austin, who forced a fumble when North Carolina was about to score the go-ahead touchdown late in the game.

 The summary:

CAL 21, NORTH CAROLINA 18.

RECORDS: CAL (5-2, 2-1 ACC), NORTH CAROLINA (2-4, 0-2 ACC)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Cal cornerback Brent "Paco" Austin. Austin had only three tackles, one pass breakup and half of a tackle for loss, but he made the play of the game when he forced a North Carolina fumble at the half-yard line with Cal clinging to a 21-18 lead late in the fourth quarter. 

TURNING POINT: With Cal leading 21-18 in the fourth quarter, Cal's Paco Austin knocked the ball out of the hands of North Carolina receiver Nathan Leacock at the half-yard line, forcing a fumble just before Leacock crossed the goal-line. The ball rolled into the end zone and was recovered by Austin in the end zone for a touchback, preserving Cal's 21-18 lead with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY: The Bears were without running back Brandon High Jr., the team’s second-leading rusher in yards per game.

NORTH CAROLINA AVAILABILTY: The Tar Heels were without starting cornerback Thaddeus Dixon, who was a starter in each of the Tar Heels’ first five games. Quarterback Gio Lopez was available after missing North Carolina’s previous game with a leg injury.

KEY PLAY 1: On the first offensive play of the game, Cal defensive back Cam Sidney caused a fumble by North Carolina receiver Shanard Clower, and Sidney recovered the fumble at the North Carolina 25-yard line with 14:38 left in the first quarter. It led to Cal’s first score as noted in Kay Play 2.

KEY PLAY 2: Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele scored on a 3-yard run to give Cal a 7-0 led with 12:48 remaining in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 3: On a trick play in which the North Carolina offensive line lined up along the right sideline, Tar Heels quarterback Gio Lopez completed  37-yard pass to Kobe Paysour, putting the ball at the Cal 28-Yard line. It led to North Carolina’s first score as noted in Key Play 4.

KEY PLAY 4: North Carolina’s Benjamin Hall scored a touchdown on an 18-yard run, tying the score 7-7 with 4:48 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 5: Sagapolutele completed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jacob De Jesus to give Cal a 14-7 lead with 42 seconds to go in the first quarter. Earlier in that possession, Sagapolutele completed a 23-yard pass to De Jesus on a third-and-10 play from the Cal 42-yard line.

KEY PLAY 6: North Carolina’s Rece Verhoff kicked a 41-yard field goal to cut the Cal lead to 14-10 with 6:14 remaining in the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 7: One play after a pass interference call on North Carolina's Marcus Allen in the end zone gave Cal a first down at the Tar Heels 2-yard line, Cal's Kendrick Raphael ran 2 yards for a touchdown that gave Cal a 21-10 lead with 9:22 left in the third quarter. Earlier in that possession, Sagapolutele completed a 15-yard pass to Jacob De Jesus on a fourth-and-1 play from the Cal 41-yard line.

KEY PLAY 8: With 12:14 left in the fourth quarter North Carolina's Davion Gause ran 4 yards for a touchdown that reduced Cal's lead to 21-18 after Gio Lopez completed a pass to Benjamin Hall for a two-point conversion. North Carolina's scoring drive was aided by two Cal penalties -- a 15-yard unsportsmanlike behavior on Chris Victor and a 10-yard holding penalty on Hezekiah Masses.

KEY PLAY 9: Cal's Paco Austin knocked the ball out of the hands of North Carolina receiver Nathan Leacock at the half-yard line, forcing a fumble. The ball rolled into the end zone and was recovered by Austin in the end zone, preserving Cal's 21-18 lead with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter.

STAT OF THE GAME: North Carolina turned the ball over three times; Cal had no turnovers.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME:  Cal receiver Jacob De Jesus caught 13 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME II: Cal linebacker Cade Uluave had 10 tackles, three pass breakups, one tackle for loss and one quarterback hurry.

QUARTERBACK STATISTICS: Cal’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was 21-for-39 for 209 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions; North Carolina’s Gio Lopez was 19-for-35 for 167 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.

WHAT IT MEANS: Cal’s 5-2 mark is its best record after seven games since 2015 when the Bears also began the season 5-2. The Bears need just two wins (including a potential bowl-game victory) to achieve their first winning season since 2019. With a 2-1 ACC record, the Bears need to win two of their remaining five regular-season games to finish with a conference record of .500 or better for the first time since 2009. Cal was expected to beat a faltering North Carolina squad, so a loss would have had a much bigger impact than the Cal victory. But Cal showed it could bounce back from its 24-point loss at home to Duke two weeks ago. Justin Wilcox is 3-0 against North Carolina as Cal’s head coach, having defeated the Tar Heels in 2017 and 2018 as well.

CAL'S BOWL BAROMETER: Cal has about an 95% chance of landing a bowl berth for the third straight year. The Bears need to win just one of their five remaining games to become bowl-eligible, and there are a number of possible wins remaining on the Bears’ schedule, although none is a gimme. Heading into this weekend, the ESPN College Football Power Index gave Cal a 73.2% chance of winning the six games needed to gain bowl-eligibility. That percentage is likely to increase this week.

CAL’S ACC TITLE BAROMETER: With a 2-1 conference record, Cal’s chance of winning the ACC title stand at about 10%, and its chance of reaching the conference title game is about 15%. Cal’s remaining ACC schedule is favorable. The only currently ranked team left on the Bears’ schedule is No. 18 Virginia, although Louisville is likely to be ranked after beating Miami on Friday. Cal does not play Georgia Tech, Florida State, Miami, Pitt or Clemson this season. Heading into Saturday’s action, the ESPN College Football Power Index gave Cal a 0% chance of winning the ACC championship, and Cal might need to win all five of its remaining games and win some tiebreakers to make it to the ACC title game.

JUSTIN WILCOX’S HOT SEAT READING: Wilcox’s seat is cool at this point, with little to indicate that his job is in jeopardy. There were whispers after that 34-0 loss to San Diego State when the Bears were 14-point favorites, but winning two of three ACC games since then have silenced most of those whispers. Had Cal lost to the Tar Heels, the heat would have been turned up quite a bit on Wilcox because Cal was a 7.5-point favorite for Friday’s game. Five games remain for Cal, and a lot can happen in those five games. Wilcox’s contract runs through the 2027 season.

NEXT GAME: Cal 5-2, 2-1 ACC.) vs. Virginia Tech (2-5, 0-2 ACC) at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Friday, October 24. Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. Pacific time. TV: ESPN. Virginia Tech, which is playing under interim head coach Philip Montgomery, has a bye this weekend. The Hokies lost their last two games to Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, and they are 1-3 at home this season.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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