Cal Fights off SMU Comeback in Spirited Senior Night Victory

A tough week eventually bears fruit for Cal

Credit: Cal Athletics

There are weeks where a decade worth of history happens. For Cal Football, the six days leading up to Saturday night’s game against SMU were a whirlwind. For the first time since 2016, the Bears would head out on the field without Justin Wilcox on the sideline.

Interim Head Coach Nick Rolovich was tasked with calibrating both the players and staff alike as they took on a ranked SMU team that simply had to win in order to make the ACC title game. In a noteworthy effort, the Bears gave the home crowd one last roller coaster ride en route to a stunning 38-35 upset of the Mustangs.

The offense cooks with some new ingredients

Entering the SMU game, Cal had a problem at the tight end position. Mason Mini and Landon Morris were both out with injuries, leaving Jeffrey Johnson as the lone TE standing heading into the night. Johnson ended up on emergency duty, leaving converted LB John Tofi Jr and OL Frederick Williams III to take the bulk of the snaps.

Both players acquitted themselves nicely while contributing to key blocks in the run and pass game.

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele notched his first career game with four passing TD’s while Kendrick Raphael, who somehow managed to inhale a whopping 33 carries, put together his third 100+ rushing yard output of 2025.

In an affair where Cal had all the reasons in the world to phone it in, they displayed a type of grit that’s commendable, to the tune of 450+ yards of total offense and a time of possession advantage that reached towards 2:1.

Depth shines when its needed most

It wasn’t always sunshine and roses on Cal’s road to victory. Despite a 17 point advantage, SMU raced back to take the lead in a fourth quarter that felt eerily similar to last year’s Miami game. Aidan Keanaaina mentioned that he rewatched that game in the lead up to last night to get his mind in the right place for critical downs and situations.

Defensively, the Bears held down a good offense for roughly three quarters. While the fourth won’t go down in the record books, multiple guys stepped up to keep the Mustangs on the precipice of more. Aiden Manutai secured an interception in the first half and then had a clutch pass break up on the last drive of the game. Chris Victor had disciplined rushes throughout the night, racking up two sacks and three TFL’s.

Offensively, it was more of the same. With several receivers down for the Bears, special teams ace Cole Boscia and QuaRon Adams made their imprint on the game. The two upstart pass catchers combined for 9 receptions, 114 yards and 2 TD’s.

Cal needed each and every contribution from Boscia and Adams to win this game, and now they get to have a moment that they’ll remember forever.

A win the program and seniors needed

The Golden Bears needed some semblance of good energy to come their way after everything that occurred after the 128th Big Game. Heading into a matchup where SMU had everything to play for certainly wouldn’t guarantee much of anything on paper.

However, for 60 minutes against the Mustangs, Cal fans got what they yearned for over the bulk of the season. Smart football, the requisite fight to impose its will and execute in the red zone when looking to put more points on the board.

As a result, the Bears got a win they thoroughly earned after a series of days where emotional fog dominated the immediate vicinity.

Cal heads into the postseason with seven wins, the seventh highest of any old Pac 12 team that is bowl eligible. With Oregon’s impending admission to the CFP, that leaves the Bears sixth in line for the remaining bowls.

In all likelihood, Cal will be selected as an “at large” team for a new bowl. There’s a logjam of teams provisionally slotting in for the Alamo, Holiday, Las Vegas and Sun Bowls.

How much stock you put into that game is your prerogative but the fact of the matter is that this team will get one more chance to fight for each other and for the seniors.

After a hellacious week that could’ve spat out any version of Cal Football against SMU, its clear they are still playing for one another as they look to close the 2025 book with one last feel good chapter.