Overwhelmed Cal routed No. 9 SMU 38-6 after losing QB Mendoza before the game

The euphoria of Cal’s rousing victory over rival Stanford in the 127th Big Game last week suddenly evaporated Saturday afternoon in suburban Dallas.

With quarterback Fernando Mendoza out overnight with an illness, the Bears had no trouble offensively at No. 9 SMU, trailing 21-0 at halftime while suffering a 38-6 loss in the regular-season finale.

The Bears also played without left tackle Nick Morrow — their only offensive lineman who had started every game — and leading rusher Jaivian Thomas. They already entered the game without guard Sioape Vatikani and inside linebacker Cade Uluave, both of whom are sidelined with injuries.

When it was over, Cal was playing with its third-string quarterback and another offensive lineman was sent to the sidelines with an injury.

The result wasn’t pretty against the Mustangs (11-1, 8-0), who had a perfect inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference and will face Clemson in the ACC championship game next Saturday. SMU also improved its chances of earning a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Cal (6-6, 2-6) didn’t fare well in its first ACC season, losing four conference games by a total of nine points before gathering strength last month. The Bears had won three of four games before arriving at SMU, where they were nearly two touchdown underdogs.

The Bears have already achieved bowl eligibility for the second straight season and will find out where and who they will play within a week.

Without Mendoza, a three-time ACC quarterback of the week, Cal had no offense and no chance against SMU.

Transfer player Chandler Rogers, who ran for more than 7,000 yards at Louisiana Monroe and North Texas and has thrived in spot duty this season, looked rusty and out of rhythm early after likely getting few first-team practice reps all week.

Once he settled in, SMU was in control of the game.

And Rogers didn’t make it to the finish either. He injured his left leg while struggling on first down with 9:13 left in the third quarter and finished his day 8 for 15 for 84 yards.

He was replaced by third-stringer CJ Harris, who hadn’t thrown a pass for the Bears all season.

Harris, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Ohio U, had two runs of 7 yards each and a 14-yard completion to Mikey Mathews to put the Bears in position to score with 5:30 left in the third quarter Ryan Coe’s 40-yard field goal.

Harris delivered a 60-yard completion to Nyziah Hunter on the Bears’ next possession and set up a 53-yard field goal from Coe, cutting the lead to 21-6 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Cal’s defense, which was a step behind early on, found its footing and held its own in the second and third quarters against an SMU offense that averaged 39.3 points – fourth-best in the country.

After allowing 202 yards and nine first downs in the first quarter, the Bears only allowed 66 yards and four first downs in the second and third periods.

But the Bears never really got back into the game, thanks to an SMU defense that had five sacks on 15 tackles and lost 54 total yards.

The Mustangs made it a three-point game again when Collin Rogers hit a 48-yard field goal with 9:25 left for a 24-6 lead.

Then, on the Bears’ next play, Harris was intercepted by defensive back Jonathan McGill, a Stanford graduate. That set up Kevin Jennings’ 23-yard TD pass to running back Rashard Smith that put the contest out of reach, 31-6, with 8:28 to play.