Cal Football Stands Tall in Riveting Upset Against Top-15 Louisville

The Bears outlast the Cards in playing the closing Bluegrass note

Credit: Cal Athletics

Much like Virginia Tech, if you watched or attended Cal at Louisville, you were a part of history. In what amounted to a chaotic 29-26 overtime win for the Bears, wide receiver Jacob de Jesus hauled in his 16th reception to put Cal on top for good, tying Geoff McArthur’s 2003 Big Game for the most catches in a single game in program history.

In a game where both teams had numerous chances to win in regulation, a Cal team that has had equal parts encouraging and maddening close games picked itself off the mat when it absolutely had to. Three touchdown underdogs per Las Vegas, Cal didn’t flinch in an environment where Louisville could have but ultimately never did seize control.

Down six of the 11 opening day starters on defense, the Bears stood tall as the offense took them into the stretch and eventually home in the vein of neighboring Churchill Downs.

Containing Louisville and Miller Moss

To take you back to the 2024 season, Cal faced an offense that in addition to the Bear’s effort, couldn’t get out of its own way. Much like when Payton Thorne dropped back to pass every time at Auburn, the more Miller Moss sat back in the pocket for Louisville, the better things went for Cal.

Moss was shaken throughout the evening, displaying some wretched decision-making and pocket presence, including ignoring his star receiver Chris Bell to the tune of 50 yards. Keyjuan Brown tallied 14 carries for 136 yards and…..Jeff Brohm just stopped running the ball. Cal was happy to oblige as several defensive linemen stepped up.

Derek Wilkins, TJ Bush and others had consistent rushes all night and didn’t allow Moss to roll to his right, reaching further into the well to generate stop after stop.

So while Cal was fortunate that the game script fell their way, they deserve as much credit for making the plays in front of them. Hezekiah Masses generated a much-needed interception, Luke Ferrelli, along with Aaron Hampton both had good vision of Moss on the run and the Bears held the Cardinals to 6/16 on 3rd down.

A group that had a lot of reasons to find excuses, they found a way to keep fighting when times got tough.

Jacob de Jesus’ purpose

On one of the latest episodes of Inside Cal Football on NBC Sports Bay Area, Jacob de Jesus mentioned he was considering moving on from football before coming to Cal while being a parent for his young daughter.

His dad told him that he needs to pursue his dream. Jacob rewarded that confidence and then some.

As mentioned above, JDJ tied that aforementioned single-game receptions record, and he didn’t necessarily have to be too flashy in doing so. He simply kept finding space in the intermediate routes and just kept taking what the defense gave him as the Cards never adjusted.

Both De Jesus and Justin Wilcox mentioned postgame that there’s not a need to walk into these games with the mentality of force feeding, rather that the game output just needs to come naturally. On a night where he absolutely could have taken the credit, De Jesus dished it right back to his freshman QB Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele, who had a stellar game himself.

Sagapolutle declared postgame that “NFL teams have a sleeper right here” in De Jesus.

A labor of love and conclusions

If you’re on twitter and follow the current Cal support staff, there was a constant theme surrounding the joyous locker room.

Credit: Al Sermeno, Cal Athletics

These players and staff are all in on Justin Wilcox the leader. Through hell or high water, every win or loss, the unity has not been broken. Yes, those close losses have been tough. However, the support never wavered. There have not and are not locker room fractures inside this Cal Football program. They all want to win badly, not only for themselves but also for him.

Just take a look for yourself:

• Exhibit A

• Exhibit B

• Exhibit C

• Exhibit D

I’m not telling you about how you should feel about Justin Wilcox the head coach. What can’t be denied is the camaraderie this locker room has, even through the trying times. In a day and age where college athletics has become more transactional by the year, the Bears didn’t seek shelter in the storm but powered through en route to their best win of the year. Kendrick Raphael ran hard, the reworked offensive line gave a great effort and numerous other Bears had their imprint felt as Cal reached into the tank time and time again.

This upcoming bye week comes at a good time for the team. They’re beat up, just came off an emotional win and now have to recollect themselves for…..Stanford.

The task is far from finished in 2025 and Cal will need to continue its journey towards its best football when it takes the field for the 128th Big Game in Palo Alto.

If the new players and coaches think Louisville was something special, just wait until that environment. The Bears will need another resilient performance like that to retain the Axe for a fifth straight season.