BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) 鈥� Kendrick Raphael ran in from 2 yards out with 43 seconds left and California beat No. 25 SMU, 38-35, on Saturday night to spoil its hopes of making the Atlantic Coast Conference championship for a second straight year.
The Mustangs (8-4, 6-2 ACC) had clawed their way back into the game and took the lead when T.J. Harden scored from a yard out with 2:22 remaining.
Cal (7-5, 4-4) responded immediately, though, as quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele marched the Bears 75 yards in seven plays, capped by Raphael鈥檚 12th rushing touchdown of the season.
SMU had a chance to tie the game with eight seconds left, but Sam Keltner鈥檚 52-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide right.
鈥淲e really wanted to go back and compete for a championship again, but we鈥檙e not going to,鈥� coach Rhett Lashlee said. 鈥淲e expected to win today, and we didn鈥檛.鈥�
The Bears were playing their first game under interim coach Nick Rolovich, who was appointed after Justin Wilcox was fired last Sunday.
Sagapolutele completed 31 of his 40 pass attempts for 330 yards and threw four touchdowns, finishing with a 179.9 passer rating.
Raphael rushed 33 times for 111 yards, while Jacob De Jesus had 12 catches for 97 yards for the Bears.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tremendous credit to these kids for staying together and doing it for the right reasons,鈥� Rolovich said. 鈥淭he staff, I mean, that鈥檚 hard on the staff, too, when you go through this.
鈥淎nd for them to stay together and understand, we can go out and play this game for the seniors, and to win it like that in the fourth quarter, that鈥檚 something that none of us will forget. We鈥檙e very appreciative of the opportunity. Just an awesome, awesome deal for Cal football.鈥�
The Golden Bears made it quite clear after falling behind 7-3 through one quarter that they weren鈥檛 going to cooperate with SMU鈥檚 plans to clinch a spot in the conference championship, as they scored 21 unanswered points to take a commanding 24-7 lead.
鈥淒isappointed for our players, disappointed for our fans … but I鈥檓 not discouraged,鈥� Lashlee said. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud of our guys. What they did this year, all the different times they responded, was a lot like they did in the second half. I was proud of how we finished. I was not proud of how we started. That鈥檚 football. You can鈥檛 go on the road in conference play and dig a hole like we did. We were kind of fortunate to only be down 17-7 at the half.鈥�
SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings was 24 of 36 for 250 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception.
Chris Johnson Jr. led the Mustangs鈥� rushing attack with 128 yards on 10 attempts, with one touchdown.
SMU came into the game allowing 19 points and 385 yards per game. Cal鈥檚 38 points were the second-most the Mustangs allowed this season, while the Bears鈥� 452 yards were third most by an SMU opponent.
Instead, it was Cal鈥檚 defense getting a pair of timely plays from freshman safety Aiden Manutai, who had his first interception after the Bears鈥� first touchdown. Five plays later, quarterback Sagapolutele and De Jesus connected on a 7-yard scoring strike to extend Cal鈥檚 lead. Then, during SMU鈥檚 final drive, it was Manutai’s pass breakup that prevented the Mustangs from improving their field position for Keltner鈥檚 final attempt.
The takeaway
Cal: Playing in his 26th-career game, Jaiven Plummer鈥檚 second-quarter touchdown catch was just the second reception of his career.
SMU: The Mustangs arrived in Berkeley with a 2-0 all-time record against Cal.
Up next
Both Cal and SMU await invitations to postseason bowl games.
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