Mendoza’s stingy streak makes Cal history, but sophomore QB has loftier goals in mind for Golden Bears
BERKELEY — Fernando Mendoza certainly has not earned a spot on the list of great quarterbacks who played for Cal. The Bears, after all, have spawned five signal callers who went on to play in the Super Bowl.
But as the Bears (4-4, 0-4 ACC) prepare to play at Wake Forest (4-4, 2-2) on Friday night in search of their first victory in their new conference, their sophomore quarterback has assembled a series of performances that none of his famous predecessors can match.
For at least the past 40 years, no Cal quarterback has completed 70 percent of his passes without an interception over a stretch of three games. Jared Goff never did it. Neither did Aaron Rodgers.
Mendoza’s ledger the past three outings: 84 for 115 (73.0 percent) for 918 yards with three touchdowns and no picks.
As good as they are, the numbers don’t have Mendoza puffing out his chest.
“Although that’s a very affirming statistic of 73 percent, I know that I can be better than that,” he said. “Last three games we’re also 1-2.”
The bottom line is of greater importance to everyone with the Bears. Still in need of two victories in their final four regular season games to gain bowl eligibility after losing four times by a total of nine points, Cal is determined to build on its 44-7 rout of Oregon State before last weekend’s bye.
“I have a lot of faith in our team and how they responded to a tough October,” coach Justin Wilcox said “It’s important for us to play our best football now. It’s one thing to say it — we’ve got to go out and do it.”
While a nagging ankle injury kept star running back Jaydn Ott out of three of the first seven games, Mendoza’s growth has allowed the Bears to compensate with a more potent pass game.
His 2,095 passing yards are fourth-most in the ACC. His three interceptions are tied for the second fewest in the conference. And his 68.5 completion percentage is second-best nationally among sophomores and on pace to be the best by a Cal QB since Rich Campbell connected on 70.7 percent in 1980.
Accuracy and ball security were offseason priorities and Mendoza has made big strides in both categories. His accuracy is up from 63 percent a year ago but his ability to keep the football safe is where he’s made the biggest leap.
Cal ranked among the nation’s worst with 28 turnovers last season. Mendoza, who didn’t became the starter until early October, accounted for half of those giveaways with 10 interceptions and four lost fumbles in eight games.
The Bears have just five turnovers this season and Mendoza has not fumbled while taking all but a handful of the team’s 551 offensive snaps.
Wilcox credits first-year quarterbacks coach Sterlin Gilbert with honing Mendoza’s fundamentals, including footwork and keeping two hands on the ball in the pocket.
“The brutal truth is I was not keeping the ball in safe spaces and that led to turnovers,” Mendoza said. “I think I’ve done a lot better job this year in keeping the ball safe and understanding what a vital role that plays.”
Mendoza attended the Manning Passing Academy last summer and got valuable advice from Peyton Manning, whose Hall of Fame career began with him throwing 28 interceptions as a rookie. He’s now trying to emulate Manning’s offseason ritual of reviewing all of his touchdowns, missed TD passes, interceptions and dropped interceptions.
The coaching staff wants to see Mendoza improve in one-minute drives and in the red zone, where too often the Bears have had to settle for field goals. They’d like to see him get rid of the ball before taking a sack and to avoid big hits by sliding when he scrambles.
Mostly, they see growth from his freshman season.
“He wants to be good and he has certainly made strides from where he was a year ago,” Wilcox said. “And he’s still a pretty young player. He’s going to continue to get better.”