Quarterback Fernando Mendoza turned a late lateral from running back Jaivian Thomas into a first-possession touchdown, leading a scoring frenzy that propelled California to a 44-7 shellacking of Oregon State in a nonconference game Saturday afternoon in Berkeley, Calif.
In a matchup of former Pacific-12 Conference rivals, Mendoza also threw a traditional TD pass, Thomas scored on a short run and Derek Morris booted five field goals, allowing the Golden Bears (4-4) to snap a four-game losing skid and remain unbeaten in nonconference play.
Mendoza was credited with both a TD pass and TD reception when, from the Oregon State 9, he flipped a third-down pass to Thomas in the flat. The Cal back was immediately trapped, but alertly lateraled the ball back to an onlooking Mendoza, who raced to the end zone for the game-opening score.
Mendoza connected with Nyziah Hunter from 20 yards out later in the period for a 14-0 lead from which Cal never looked back.
The Golden Bears ran up a 31-0 margin by halftime, with a 2-yard run by Thomas and two-point conversion pass from Mendoza to Mikey Matthews complementing Morris field goals from 33, 46 and 19 yards.
Morris added a fourth field goal from 25 yards in the third period and 38 yards in the fourth, the latter completing Cal’s scoring after Jamaal Wiley had added a 1-yard TD run late in the third quarter.
Oregon State (4-4) finally got on the scoreboard with 5:00 remaining on a 2-yard pass from backup quarterback Ben Gulbranson to Trent Walker.
Mendoza finished 27-for-36 for a career-high 364 yards without an interception. Hunter hauled in four of the passes for 85 yards, and Trond Grizzell had five catches for a game-high 95 yards.
Cal star running back Jaydn Ott returned from an ankle injury to contribute four catches for 58 yards as well as 11 rushing yards on 10 carries. Thomas was the Golden Bears’ leading rusher with 33 yards on seven attempts.
Gulbranson completed 11 of his 20 passes for 131 yards, also without an interception. Walker had five catches for 58 yards, while Anthony Hankerson was Oregon State’s top ballcarrier with 49 yards on 16 carries.
While Cal played error-free ball, the Beavers suffered two turnovers — a fumble and an interception thrown by starting quarterback Gevani McCoy, who went 2-for-5 for 3 yards before being replaced by Gulbranson.
