Cal’s upset win over No. 8 Miami caps chaotic day in college football

Cal football put the cherry on top of a long and memorable day for the football program.

What started with fans gathering in the wee hours of the morning for ESPN’s “College GameDay” visiting the campus for the first time ended with a late-night upset victory over No. 8 Miami.

College football is alive and well in Berkeley, California.

A Cal team that’s already impressed with some early season wins came our firing from the jump on Saturday night, scoring three touchdowns on its first four possessions to put the Hurricanes in a hole.

Once things got rolling, Miami never recovered, and the Bears (4-1, 1-1 ACC) earned their first ACC victory in emphatic fashion.

After Miami struck first with a first-quarter touchdown to take a 7-0 lead, it was pretty much all Cal from there, beginning with a 57-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Fernando Mendoza to Jack Endries.

The Bears never trailed after that, as Mendoza continued to produce big plays through the air. A defining play came in the second quarter, when Bears head coach Justin Wilcox opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 34-yard line. Forget about a run up the middle, these Bears were going to be bold for their energized, sold-out crowd.

Mendoza rolled out an flicked a quick pass to running back Jaydn Ott in the flat. Ott took off for the end zone and got their untouched. Suddenly, it was a 21-10 Cal lead.