Cal Football: In His Home Finale, Brian Driscoll Lives a Lineman's Dream

Brian Driscoll called it “a lineman’s dream,” and his teammates loved it.

Cal’s fifth-year center from San Diego, in his final game at Memorial Stadium, scored a touchdown when he pounced on a fumble by running back Jaydn Ott to give the Bears a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter.

It was the first touchdown by a Cal offensive lineman since at least 1996 — five years before Driscoll was born — according to Stats Inc.

Called to the post-game interview room for the first time, Driscoll made sure it was a memorable visit. He borrowed some garish jewelry from teammates and milked the moment.

Ott carried from the 5-yard line and was a step from the goal when he was hit and the ball came out. Driscoll saw left tackle Barrett Miller reaching for the ball and then he lunged.

“A lineman’s dream flashed,” he called the moment. “I haven’t scored a touchdown since Pop Warner. I was a Pop Warner tight end. Used to score back in the day, but I think it’s been like 10 years.”

Driscoll said he thought he dove about 3 yards to take the ball into the end zone.

“I just re-watched it and it was like a half-yard lunge,” he said, chuckling. “Not as athletic as I thought it was . . . probably a memory I’ll have until the day I die.”

Driscoll is the grandson of Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Lance Alworth, who made his name in the old American Football League.

Asked what grandpa would think about his touchdown, Driscoll acknowledged, “I think he has a few more than I do, but I’ll do my best to catch up.

“He’ll probably give me some technique about running. He was (nicknamed) Bambi so his touchdowns were a little bit longer than mine was.”

No one was happier for Driscoll than redshirt freshman quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who claimed his first victory as a starter. Mendoza went to Cal’s equipment guys after the game and asked if he could wear Driscoll’s walk-through jersey to the news conference.

“I was very pumped to show my appreciation for Brian and the other offensive linemen,” Mendoza said.

He calls Driscoll his mentor.

“Seeing him score a touchdown today, that was electric,” Mendoza said. “We were just all going crazy in the locker room, saying that Brian scored a touchdown on Senior Night.”

This was not only Cal’s final home game of the season, it was the Bears’ last Pac-12 home game before the century-old conference dissolves after this season and the team relocates to the ACC.

“I was pretty emotional . . . I love Cal,” Driscoll said. “Man, I’m really thankful for every second of it and I’m really happy I got a win.”

The win improved the Bears to 4-6 overall, 2-5 in the Pac-12, and keeps alive their hopes of becoming bowl eligible. They need two more wins, beginning Saturday at Stanford.

“It’s a big game — the Big Game, right,” Driscoll said. “We’re going to recognize the history and appreciate that, but we’re trying to win out and get to a bowl game and our mindset is just win every week.”

“We’ve got The Axe right now, we’ve got to make sure we keep it. There definitely is a rival factor but also just making sure we’re focused in one being 1-0.”

Cover photo of Cal center Brian Driscoll

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo