Cal v. Boston College Football 2025 Game Stats & Analysis: Winning Ugly
Cal's win over BC may not have been pretty, but it was something more
When the Texas Rangers manager Doug Rader dismissed the 1983 White Sox’s scrappy, unpolished style of play as “winning ugly,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa reportedly responded, “We’re winning. There’s nothing ugly about that.”
And win they did. After an uneven and at points downright rough start, the ‘83 White Sox went on a 83-39 tear to close out the regular season and dominate the AL West. What made the team so compelling is that they didn’t rely on a few stars—many players showed up at key moments. They had grit. They had determination. And they just found ways to win.
In his post-game remarks after Cal’s late win over Boston College, Justin Wilcox harkened back to the ‘83 White Sox: “Sometimes, you’ve just gotta win ugly and find a way.” No reflection could have been so fitting.
On Saturday the Bears found a way to win. Many players showed up. Mini, Grizzell, De Jesus, and King all came up with clutch receptions. Hezekiah Masses flipped the momentum with a timely pick. Kendrick Raphael rushed for 100+ yards. And Luke Ferrelli sealed the game with a goal-line interception. It was a true team effort that was not perfect but persistent. The Bears simply refused to quit and walked away with a win that seemed improbable through most of the game.
Cal’s win probability remained below 50% for most of the game before a late-game surge.
From Losing Ugly to Finding a Way
The contrast couldn’t be sharper. In 2024, Cal lost ugly. Against NC State, Syracuse, Florida State, and SMU, the Bears underperformed expectations, including losing 2 games where Cal entered as 10+ point favorites. Yes, there was the Big Game win, but taken together the stats painted a pretty bleak picture: a team that too often came up short.
This fall, the story feels different and it feels like Cal has a shot to shed its single-digit losses. In 2025, Cal has already pulled off two wins as betting underdogs (Boston College and Minnesota) and beat expectations again versus Oregon State. The numbers show a team outperforming the spread instead of collapsing under it—a team that, even when the play isn’t pretty, is finding a way to win.
What’s Next
The lesson of the ‘83 White Sox holds true for Berkeley today: it doesn’t matter how it looks, only that you keep finding ways to win. For a program that has too often been defined by near-misses, heartbreak, and what-ifs, winning ugly may be exactly what Cal needs to build momentum.
And lest we forget—the Bear will not quit, the Bear will not die.
Go Bears!
My main contribution to this game was handing JKS that blue and gold lei he is wearing in the locker room after the game. He had another one that had too much red and green and other undesirable colors in it so we got that fixed. My other contribution was yelling a lot. Almost lost my voice there. Just win baby.
Catching up on all those coin flip losses - a reversion back to the mean.
It’s about damn time.