After penalties, Cal coach grabs referee’s mic to plead with fans to stop throwing cards on the field

Cal coach Justin Wilcox was very desperate for Cal students to stop throwing cards on the field.

Fans at Saturday night’s game were given cards for stunts during breaks in the game. And some Cal fans decided to chuck their cards onto the field during the game.

The multiple card-throwing incidents drew two 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Cal. And after the second one, Wilcox was so frustrated that he borrowed the referee’s microphone to deliver a message.

“Cal fans, we love you. Stop throwing the cards on the field,” Wilcox pleaded. “That’s two 15-yard penalties. Please stop throwing the cards on the field.”

Wilcox sent his message to Cal fans with 9:13 to go in the third quarter and the Golden Bears up 14-3. Cal went on to win the game 31-10 for the school’s first 3-0 start since 2019.

After the game, Wilcox said his team needed to clean up a few things. Cal failed on all three of its fourth-down conversion attempts, had 12 penalties and kicker Ryan Coe was just 1-of-3 on field goal attempts.

“Shoot, we had unfortunate penalties on our fans who we love, but we’ve all got to learn how to win,” Wilcox said in his postgame news conference. “The team has to learn how to win, the program’s got to learn how to win. And doing all those little things matters and it’s just got to be the standard for how you operate.”

Cal has its first-ever ACC road game in Week 4 as the Bears travel to Florida State. The Seminoles are reeling after losing to Memphis on Saturday and dropping to 0-3.