Cal Sports Report

Report: Georgia Among the Colleges Contending for Fernando Mendoza

Indiana, UCLA and Wisconsin also reportedly are interested in acquiring the Cal quarterback who entered the transfer portal this week
Jake Curtis|
Fernando Mendoza
Fernando Mendoza | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

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California Golden Bears

The Cal football program is still reeling from the decision by Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza to enter the transfer portal this week, but based on the caliber of the programs pursuing him it's a little easier to see why he did it.

According to a report by On3, two of the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff are contenders for Mendoza's services. One is Indiana, which ,is 11-1 and is No. 8 in the final College Football Playoff rankings, and the other is Georgia, which has won two of the past three national championships and is No. 2 in the CFP rankings. UCLA and Wisconsin, both 5-7 this year, are the other schools reportedly in contention for Mendoza.

Indiana has zoomed into the top 10 this season after going 3-9 a year ago. The addition of quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who transferred from Ohio after the 2023 season, is a major reason for the Hoosiers' rise. However, this is Rourke's final season of college eligibility.

Georgia will also be looking for a new starting quarterback next season with Carson Beck in his final college season. Sophomore Gunner Stockton performed well in relief of the injured Beck in the SEC title game but it's unclear whether he is seen as the starter for the 2025 season. Georgia tried to land highly toued high school quarterback Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele, but he opted to sign with Oregon.

Senior Ethan Garbers was UCLA's No. 1 quarterback this year, and Wisconsin's top two quarterbacks have entered he transfer portal.

Mendoza completed 68.7% of his passes this season for 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions. He sat out Cal's final regular-season game with flu-like syptoms and the Bears lost that game to SMU 38-6.

Cal (6-6) faces UNLV (10-3) in the LA Bowl next Wednesday, and it's unclear who will be Cal's starting quarterback for that game. If Chandler Rogers is sufficiently recovered from an injury he suffered against SMU, he will be the starter. But if Rogers is still sidelined, CJ Harris is likely to be the Bears' starting quarterback.

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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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