[Applause] and we welcome those of you joining us after a thrilling finish pit Cincinnati we're here on the plains at Jordan haris Stadium where it is packed everybody's wearing white today Cal has come a long way from home and a real true road test for the Golden Bears against an improved much more explosive Auburn team first play from scrimmage just a yard game for jarquez Hunter the all SEC running back and they'll fake it to Hunter and then shovel it ahead the ball up in the air deflected and picked off by Cal into the end zone Kade uluave with a defensive touchdown in the first minute wow if you're an Auburn fan what a nightmare start you see the look on Hugh freeze just completely stunned with what just happened Payton Thorne rolling out C did a fantastic job of coverage down the field nowhere to go with the football just trying to flip it to his running back kind of a goofy play to credit the Cal Golden Bears for a great start I just heard from the referee I the ruling on the field is a touchdown the ball was batted up in the air and the question is did it hit the turf I think the Auburn fans watching a replay feel like the ball we's see if we get a good look at [Applause] it I couldn't tell if it hit the turf or a foot really tough to tell with the camera angle but I for me in my first vantage point I really think that goes off of Hunter's foot oh falls on the ground yeah it it off the bounce it bounced off the shin after ULU a tipped it but that definitely hit the grass what a huge break for Auburn so this one's going to be overturned not only will it not be a touchdown that's not going to be an interception that'll just be an incomplete pass if you're Auburn definitely not the start you wanted you're going to get this call to go your way but now you're looking at a third and long you got behind the sticks on first and second down definitely a place you don't want to live versus this defense [Applause] after all right so it'll be third and nine instead of a pick six for Cal which obviously is a huge swing take those points off the board Auburn keeps the ball third down and long coming up you know what though that football bounces C's way a lot often uh a team that was tied for first place in FBS last year in turnovers created well pton Thorne second year as a starting quarterback here lot of success in Michigan State his 2021 season was outstanding [Applause] there but there is a lot of pressure on pton Thorne to orchestrate a much more productive offense for the Tigers third down and long plenty of time in the pocket and a nice delivery a completion and a first down great throw and catch Payton Thorne recognizing Zone coverage by the cow Bears finding his big tight end Rivaldo Fairweather for a great first down pickup for the Tigers he was Auburn's leading receiver last year all right hand off on first down and that's Hunter for a short game and Not only was he the leading receiver set a School record for receptions for a tight end with 38 back to the previous play just a great job of finding the soft space in the zone that's a big tight end working on a linebacker and that's a matchup that I expect Auburn to take advantage of all day long I mean they have so many weapons now that they didn't have last year I think really that is the task for Thorne you're going to have guys open just get them the ball make the simple plays in the pocket throws over the top deep left sideline and a perfect pass dropped right in there to the super freshman cam Coleman for a big game that was a fantastic pass but the thing I loved most about it by the fourthe starter in Payton Thorne is the timing of the throw he lets that football go well before before cam Coleman comes open working on nol Williams who's really usually a great defensive back for the cow Bears getting beat there going deep that's 41 yards and cam Coleman man are they excited about this young man he just turned 18 a true freshman who was one of the top players in the country in high school last year and AUB thinks he's their next Superstar on offense empty backfield for Thorne on first down now going to SC ramble being pursued and just throws it away incomplete good job by the cow defense there nothing open downfield for pton Thorne you can he got the pass rush on going back to the explosive play with Cam Coleman at the bottom of your screen just working a little stop and go double move does a fantastic job of selling the Stop Route a lot of times young wide receivers get impatient on double moves not for cam Coleman he's the total package did a great job with his route and an even better throw by pton Thorne just physically so gifted but already a nuanced understanding of how to play the position a little pitch play on second down and well defended that was Jeremiah Cobb and all he did was get back to the line of scrimmage miles Williams the fifth year senior at safety coming up to make the tackle on the perimeter that's a great open field tackle against a great athlete this Cal defense they're coached extremely well by defensive coordinator Peter Surman and in last year's game it was really a defensive battle I mean these two teams played last year in Berkeley and Cal shut Auburn's offense down Auburn threw for fewer than a 100 yards in that game already off to a better start but facing third and 10 from the shotgun Thorne little shoulder fake Thorne is going to throw caught touchdown DeAndre Lambert Smith got the toes down and the signal on the field is touchdown now the Hat came off yeah he so that's the key to the play he he reestablished himself if a Defender forces You Out of Bounds at the receiver position you are allowed to come back into the field to play and catch the football and it looks clear as day that he did have time to establish himself what a heads up play by the Penn State transfer wow tremendous effort from Keandre Lambert Smith so they took a look and they confirmed that the call was made correctly so Auburn gets a touchdown on its first drive the extra point is up and good if you're Auburn that's the start you were looking for you know everyone wondered after last week's 73 to3 win great start to the football [Music] game ESPN college football is presented by sling choose and customize your channel lineup sling let's do that Auburn scores a touchdown on their first drive of the game so Cal getting ready to get the ball for the first time themselves beis brought some fans some cheerleaders no Williams deep to receive this kick he returned one for a touchdown in week one C had its own issues in week one against UC Davis there's their head coach in his eighth year in Berkeley Justin Wilcox who by the way was not thrilled with the call that allowed the touchdown to count we're going to look at that after this kickoff one more time it was a close call and that'll be a Touchback so the Bears offense comes back on the field but you can understand why coach Willcox had an issue absolutely it's a really tough call and it's because it's a judgment call this is a gray area ruling there's no set definition saying hey a receiver needs to be in the field of play for 1 second or two seconds to reestablish himself it's really a judgment call by the official I understand why Justin Willcox doesn't like it because he feels like the receiver was not back into the field of play long enough to be reestablished it's a good explanation of the gray area in that rule and he got to give Lambert Smith a lot of credit that was a heck of an effort so now Cal's off defense on the field for the first time and Fernando Mendoza will throw on first down and the Bears get an immediate first down on the catch by Maven Anderson that's a great start by the Cal offense and that's really how they want to play they want to play in an RPO system where they have the choice to hand the football off or throw it based upon the Box count and then play with some healthy Tempo yeah C's beat up already it's week two and on offense the Bears are missing some key pieces especially up front a little slant throw to the tight end into a little small window and that pass caught the standout player on offense for the Bears is their tail back Jade not for his status and a little more info on that let's welcome in stormy baton yeah Dave there are a lot of questions about whether or not he would be available after going down with the right ankle injury in the third quarter of their opener last week head coach Justin Willcox told me he is medically cleared you see him on the field giving it a go when I asked if there would be any potential restrictions or pitch count will Cox said no like anybody else he's going to go and until or unless he can't all right good stuff stormy it's very important for Cal to have a he gets stuffed on his first carry a couple yards short of the first down Rocky's one of the best running backs in the country no question and Cal is a different football team when he's in the lineup versus when he is not we've we've been fortunate enough to cover C now going back last year a couple times and when a was on the field I tell you what this offense just ran at a different level of efficiency so if you're a cow fan you're great to see number one out there today here's the Bears for first third down of the [Music] afternoon having a deal with all the noise Mendoza pocket collapsing but he dumps it down and that's Anderson again for another catch and just enough for the first down yeah working on Kay and Lee cornerback number four great job by Maven just working a little man-to-man mesh concept on the third and short vers man coverage great job by Mendoza seeing number 11 come across the middle of the field wide open I think in Yury Brock Cal would like to play some uptempo but if you're coming in here already a little beat up feeling like you may need to shorten the game I'm not sure how much of that we'll see high snap play fake Mendoza takes a hit but delivers a perfect back shoulder throw to Jonathan Brady for a big game well Eugene Sante came off the edge and laid the wood in the back field on the running back hitting Mendoza as he threw the foot Ball but what a great throw under duress and an even better catch on the back shoulder and they're beat up in the wide receiver room Callas so Jonathan Brady who had one catch in week one for 25 yds into Auburn territory Mendoza back to throw again now on the Move Fernando Mendoza is going to keep it and get a few maybe just a couple positive yards running would probably not be the strength of his game no it's certainly not he's got some decent straight line speed he's an athlete 6'5 225 lbs put on 10 lbs of muscle in the offseason he took some really vicious hits last season he's a tough guy he's willing to hang in there late to make the throw as we just saw a couple plays ago he's got a great frame but I want to go back to what you mentioned a second ago you were talking about playing with Tempo the thing I like about that in an environment like this it neutralizes a crowd and against a bigger defensive front gets them running gets them tired so that'll definitely be something to watch today how much of that Cal uses their left guard jumped and maybe the left tackle big 52 Nick Morrow Morrow making his first career start on the road imagine making that first career start in this environment he's got a tough task today former High School tight end and defensive end now playing left tackle at the Collegiate ranks I mean we love Flagstaff Arizona it's a great little mountain town but that's where he played his high school ball he didn't face this in flagst it's a little different down here on the planes second and 15 Mendoza has time across a middle and a nice catch right at the 20 Jonathan Brady again his second catch already on this drive gain of 10 great route by Jonathan Brady just a little kind of Bender to the inside in the slot does a tremendous job working on Keon Scott one of the better cover corners for the Auburn Tigers third third down I'd expect Auburn to bring some pressure here to force Mendoza into making a quick decision with the football Javen Thomas in a young very fast tail back alongside Mendoza on third down and they're going to fake it to him and go over the top it is caught touchdown Isaiah Hunter The Freshman wide receiver and what an answer from Cal they go right down the field and score a touchdown of Their Own what an impressive answer by the cow offense in a hostile environment taking the opening possession for your offense right down the field matching TouchDown for touchdown and what a great play by nah Hunter just matched up one-on-one on the outside Auburn decided to bring an allout pressure which presented the man-to-man matchup Hunter doing a tremendous job going up there and scoring the touchdown great drive for the Young quarterback Mendoza eight plays 75 yds kick is up and kick is good and Cal on the road has tied this game and for Auburn no offense to Alabama A&M but it's a different week here in week two C's got some Playmakers and that was a great throw and catch for the Bears to tie the game you're watching the SEC on ESPN and truly one of the great places for college football in the country here here in Auburn Alabama Hugh freze his second year as a head coach here and big expectations to do what he's done at every stop Hugh frees has a track record at Old Miss he got that program turned around fourth year 10 wins beat Alabama a couple times Liberty did it even faster and the question is can they make the year one to year two jump here on the planes the Auburn fans that we've been around these last couple days definitely think they're going to no question listen Hugh frees has the formula for quick turnarounds and he's doing a fantastic job with putting together quality recruiting classes the building blocks are there for it yeah sort of a combo of using some transfers Big Time recruiting getting his system set and then counting on that guy the quarterback to understand what he wants to do on offense yeah and what a start for pton Thorne today coming out three for five 72 yards already a touchdown great opening Series for Auburn and then on the flip side Fernando Mendoza coming into this environment 88,000 strong 6 for six absolutely perfect a couple big big third down conversions and then sealed the drive with a touchdown pass great start for the quarterbacks today so the Auburn offense on the field for the second time starting from their own 25 and they hand off straight ahead a helmet came flying off and a penalty flag was thrown a nice gain we'll see what the penalty is Xavier Carlton's helmet came off it might have been ripped off personal foul hands to the face offense number 52 15 yd penalty first down and number 44 can remain in theame the foul theet to come that was a good explanation we saw Carlton leave the field but if C wants him to he can come back in for this play yeah that's left guard Dylan Wade with the foul played left tackle last season for Auburn started every game out there on the left side moved inside more of a natural fit you're going to see just gets his hands a little bit High late in the play [Applause] so a 15yd penalty backs aurn up inside their own 15 and officially 12 yds of penalty from where that foul was committed Thorne throws on the Run nice running catch and a big chunk of that Auburn gets back on first down that's Brandon Frasier one of the tight ends boy this tight end room for the Auburn Tigers it's impressive Brandon Frasier 6'7 262 PBS he's one of those guys that you know that last play he's wide open but if even if he is has great coverage on him he's wide open because of his frame great player for the Auburn Tigers that's already four pass plays for AUB in this game of 15 yards or more Thorne play fake and delivers a strike little slant coming in toward the middle and that's Lambert Smith with the catch in the first down well listen Hugh freze hasn't shied away from it he said last year we didn't have the talent we needed to be explosive he went out got that Talent this year Payton Thorne thrown another great strike right over the middle to his Penn State transfer Keandre Lambert Smith I wonder if in the history of college football one position group has gotten more of an influx in Talent from one year to another than this wide receiver group at Auburn from last year to this year it's certainly in the argument Thor pressured Thorne escapes and now throws it away so Cal brought some pressure and forc the incompletion I mean it's a good combo of both exactly what you're talking about Brock it's the newcomers the freeze four the four true freshman from instate all highly recruited and then those transfers yeah very highly touted true freshman class but then you also have the veterans in Lambert Smith and Jackson who played Cal at quarterback uh played quarterback at Cal last season and came in he he's transferred into the slot position kind of a natural fit but once again just so much talent at the wide receiver position pton Thorn's going to have a lot of fun with these guys this year and the guy cam Coleman who had the big catch on the first drive wide left Thorne looking right here though and dumps it short what a hit the catch and the completion but Craig Woodson the safety was right there it'll be third down let's go down to stormmy well Hugh freeze had a ton of compliments when it came to this wide receiver class he went as far as to say it reminded him of another batch of very talented white outs he recruited in 20156 at Old Miss AJ Brown DK meta van Jefferson may have heard of them he also said he had the ability to red shirt them they could be patient these guys you can't be flag thrown pass incomplete intended for Coleman Auburn wanted a flag on the back end of that play it never came but I think Cal was off sides I think you're right fim off defense 8 that's TJ bowling jumping offside the Wisconsin transfer but great job by the quarterback Payton Thorne using his hard count on third down to pick up a free five yards yeah you saw the hard count he got the jump and he knew he had a free play oh now it's third and three it is pretty High Praise from H free if you're talking about AJ Brown and DK metf and that's what these freshman wide receivers could be and Van Jefferson I mean you're talking about three big time players at the NFL level it's going to be exciting to watch these freshmen develop third and two Thorne rolling left throws middle and it's knocked away it hit the hands of Fairweather he didn't catch it cleanly at first he had a drop in last week's game and now it's fourth down and I and I put that incompletion on pton Thorn that's a throw that the fourthe starter needs to make Fairweather is open to pick up a fresh set of downs but the football's behind him which is what allows quarterback Marcus Harris to come come in with the pass break up so despite that alurn is going to go for it on fourth down from just across Midfield tight end Frasier came in motion we'll see if Thorne tries to draw Cal off sides again play clock winding down down to two down to one and they will not run a play they'll take a timeout I I I like trying to get Cal to jump offside but let's not burn a timeout to do that nevertheless 77 here at Jordan hair all right let's take a look at this week's college football rankings brought to you by verbo George Ohio say what a performance by Texas today at the big house I was going to say that was super impressive by the Longhorns going on the road playing in a hostile environment and really winning convincingly Penn State got tested at home by Bowling Green came out ahead in that one so an interesting day of college football well you burn the timeout if you're still going to go for it and it looks like that's what U freeze wants to do unless pton Thorne could punt the ball they snap it and they are going for it Thorn over the top trying to find Coleman incomplete really good coverage from Marcus Harris so after all that Auburn goes for it and doesn't get it that was fantastic coverage by the fifth year scener Marcus Harris coming over from Idaho really playing a good game early on and you know I like the confidence that Hugh freeze is trying to instill into his offense hey I believe in you guys let's go pick up this first down at Midfield but early in a football game especially against a quality opponent I'm a big fan of playing the field position game and play the long game that's a big stop for Cal cuz they get the ball just short of Midfield now Marcus Harris is a good player we're going to be talking more about him Idaho all of a sudden has a program of they're sending Talent all around the country bad snap they wheel it around back left and a nice move to get to the sideline Mikey Matthews did a lot to get some positive yardage there on first down all right a little Crea creativity from new offensive coordinator Mike BL Mendoza rolling to the right doing the old throwback screen you see the offensive line set up on the sideline and Mikey Matthews did a tremendous job of getting some positive yards he did that's a good play on first down second down and maybe four into AUB territory a got absolutely swarmed man as soon as he had the ball there were two or three Auburn Defenders on him well from the second level linebacker Eugene Assante just fires like a missile as soon as he sees that it's a run play comes downhill blows up the play and cow their offensive line you know they're thin right now they're missing their starting center starting Right Guard you got a red Shir freshman making his first road start at left tackle they're thin and they're going to have a big challenge against that Auburn front no success running the ball so [Applause] far Mendoza takes a snap from the pocket Mendoza is going to run Mendoza got away from the first wouldbe tackler and he got enough to get the first down talk about a athlete Fernando Mendoza making it happen on third down for his football team I love the patience in the pocket nothing open downfield Credit Auburn with the coverage but Mendoza makes him pay with his legs picks up a fresh set of downs that was KRON Crawford one of their better pass rushers that he got away from so tell the play-by-play guy I can run that was a big conversion so now play clock winding down and everybody's pointing at each other they're going to talk it over I think Cal saying Auburn either barked out something or tried to draw Cal off sides you see more of an emphasis from this from officials around college football no question they're looking for disconcern stting signals every game whether it's a clap a noise by the defensive front anything that [Applause] triggers that's the tight end Cory daes yeah Justin Willcox is want an explanation got to wonder if Auburn said something to make Cory dyes jump off sides the way he did just a very abnormal start to a play so first and 15 the penalty was against Cal a gets the hand off and again there're just nowhere to run it's pretty clear isn't it what Auburn's game plan is on defense oh it is no question and and and this is what Auburn wanted to be able to do they wanted to be able to stop the run game with just their front four you know they want to be able to cover out with their linebackers and stop the RPO game and right now that Auburn front four they're doing a fantastic job big number 15 keldrick Faulk there on that last play in the backfield I tell you what he's someone to reckon with at 6'6 288 lbs I mean they don't have those two offensive linemen they also have bra Miller one of their top backups at left guard missing a couple top wide receivers Mendoza steps up and throws and whistled one in there for a nice gain just short of the 30 and just short of a first down Mendoza doing a great job in the pocket when the pocket breaks down he does what all great quarterbacks do they climb vertically up the pocket they keep their eyes down the field and he was able to find his wide receiver in the open voided Zone 7 for seven to start this game on the road for Fernando Mendoza we asked the coaching staff we said is Fernando ready to play in this environment and they said to us they go if there's any quarterback it's Fernando and by the way there's something that's going on it's not just on our folks with the graphics the official stats are all messed up it's not first and 10 it's third down and a yard or two they're entering these plays in incorrectly a handoff and Cal on the ground will get the first down with JV and Thomas now it's first and 10 that's a huge pickup for Ken and don't forget they started this drive with a short field because Hugh frees elected to go for it on fourth down the cow Bears had a great job on the Stop and now F Fernando Mendoza is putting together a very Quality Drive and I think exactly cow wants to do today you love the option of quick Tempo yep but they on the road already a little beat up they would like to shorten this game they're working the clock Thomas gets another carry and got to the left side and Javen Thomas the sophomore from mimen high school in Oakland a local kid with a nice game yeah he's a really talented player he's he's got electric speed tough guy he's willing to protect in the pass game somebody when Jaden o goes off the field he's able to step in and and really not lose anything at that running back position for the cow Bears Cal could let the quarter end here we'll see if they do that OTS on the sideline he has not been productive yet it's Ben Thomas they do snap the ball Play Fake It Mendoza trying to get away heaves it toward the end zone and threw it away and that will be the final play of the first quarter which you have to give Cal crit they're hanging in there absolutely great Presence by the cow Bears early on 77 we got go coach Willcox you know that this crowd is going to be pumping here on third down what do you need to see from your quarterback oh I think quarterback's doing a good job we got to do better offensively in the Run game get us in some more manageable second third downs and then defensively we got to be better in one-on-one coverage thanks Justin Willcox has to be happy overall with how his team is playing here in a very tough environment first play of the second quarter is a third and a long three Mendoza takes a snap Mendoza still looking downfield and he delivers it another catch for Jonathan Brady and another Cal first down a gain of 14 what a great play by Fernando Mendoza third down Big Time pickup pocket breaks down C's just trying to run a little mesh kind of man-to-man beater Mendoza has to get outside the Pocket shows off his athleticism once again and Brady making the big time catch for the fresh set of downs for the Golden Bears Cal may have found a new playmaker transfer from New Mexico State Jonathan Brady he's got four catches already the snap Mendoza was not expecting it he handed it off and Thomas wasn't expecting it and that play went backwards C's lucky they didn't turn it over yeah a little bit of miscommunication between Center swinny and Fernando Mendoza swinny not normally playing Center once again we have a backup in there for Will McDonald great job by Fernando though handling the snap and not making a bad play worse really in a lot of ways it's their third string Center cuz Matthew woff can play center and he's limited today second down and it is second and goal to go from a long way out Mendoza toward that sideline and a gang tackle positive game but not much maybe three or four yards it's going to be third and goal from outside the 10 it's the Maryland transfer Cory daes listed at a tight end but really kind of this hybrid tight end wide receiver extremely athletic he poses a big time mismatch for linebackers and safety somebody that I expect to have a big game today for Cal how about the Bears five for five so far today on third down it's superb in this environment I mean you hear how loud this place is at home 88,000 strong very impressive by the young signal caller and the rest of his offense four receivers and Justin Wilcox runs out on the field and calls a timeout so he did not like the look of that one at the start So Cal will use its first timeout of this first half with the big play coming up third and goal from just outside the 10 you heard Justin Brock say he's very pleased with the way for Fernando Mendoza is playing so far absolutely and he said he'd be ready to go and he wasn't lying 10 for 10 111 yards and already a touchdown but the thing that really jumps out to me is how clutch and impressive he's been on third down when he needs a fresh set of down for his team he's able to find the open Target he's been picking apart the Auburn Zone Auburn's going to have to find a way to get him uncomfortable whether it's bringing pressure whether it's simulating pressure maybe changing the pitcher after the snap pre- to post Snap cuz right now Mendoza is in complete control he is an amazing story it was only a couple years ago he was committed to play football at Yale and Cal had a decommitment very late in the process they watched him throw they said you can come to Cal and now he's the starter basically unrecruited by any sort of power program out of high school Auburn showing pressure off the edge they just rushed three though and cow I think [Applause] moved number 11 Maven Anderson the wide receiver the guy who left early this is a really tough spot if your cow it's third and goal to go but you're outside the 15 yd line not a lot of plays in your playbook for this situation if you're Fernando Mendoza you need to be very smart with the football because you know you have three points in your back pocket right now yeah this will be interesting how aggressive do they get third and goal they'll throw a quick hitter Anderson catches and he lunged but he was out of Bounds at about the seven I don't fault him at all for using that second effort thinking he might have stayed in bounds but he was not close that was a great effort by Maven Anderson and I love the decision by Fernando Mendoza take a quick completion see if you can get some positive yards and allow your field goal team to go out there and get some points that was a good call that foot stepped out so now Ryan Co the place kicker ball be spotted right around the 15 so a 25 Yer here good snap and hold and the kick hits one of those uprights and Ricochet is away from 25 yds out after all that Cal comes away without a point well if you're Hugh Freez and Auburn you feel fantastic after your second offensive series ended on Downs you went for it on fourth down you didn't pick it up at Midfield to come away and not give up any points you feel great for the Rob Tigers welcome back to ESPN college football presented by sling after Cal took more than 7 minutes off the clock they miss a 25 yd field goal Auburn gets the ball back and the first play tipped up in the air no Williams with the interception So Cal comes up with a turnover on the very first play cam Coleman The Freshman re receiver he got at least a hand on it knocked up in the air and there was Williams what a great heads up play by nol Williams there for the turnover but cam Coleman the highly touted true freshman some say the best wide receiver in last year's class he's he's known to have sure hands he obviously has huge expectations coming into this season but that's a grab he to make Payton Thor R the defense perfect put the football out in stride but n Williams there for the sudden change well talk about the roller coaster for Cal you have this drive you take all this clock off you get into short field goal position you clang one off the upright and you're thinking how do we come away with no points on that and the very next play you get the ball right back it's a little reminiscent at last year's game you felt like that game both teams had so many missed opportunities and here already you see a misfield goal and a turnover backed up it's so true last year Auburn turned it over four times at C and Cal missed three field goals in their four-point loss nobody on either side wanted to repeat that history Straight Ahead run on first down for Jay KN and he gets a couple the Run game has not been there early for the cow Bears give a lot of credit to that front three for Auburn but this is something that Justin Willcox and Mike bless they're going to want to stick with you're going to need this run game especially in this environment as the game goes along [Applause] so second and eight for Cal receiver came in motion not a great snap again a this time a little more room and you can see some of the skill set even if he's not 100% that makes him such a good back he got five I love the patience that Jaden op plays the running back position with you saw in the last play he played a little bit of peekaboo with the linebackers got him to go to the right cut out the hole on the left just as patient is so special after the Miss field goal we saw Ryan Longwell had a long great NFL career C Alum who's part of the Cal coaching staff talking with Ryan Co the place kicker who might be called upon any minute now to try another one I'm sure he was telling them hey we're going to need you as this game goes along have a short memory and turn the page the two of them are there standing next to one another third down at two Mendoza throws and it's caught touchdown Hunter his second of the game already and somehow he came wide open at the goal line scramble drill it's one of those deals you'll always hear a defensive coordinator say hey you got a plaster when the quarterback gets outside the pocket plaster and cover the wide receivers but Isaiah Hunter did a tremendous job of keeping the Play Alive as this quarterback got outside the pocket Caleb wooden in coverage no match for Hunter nice isah Hunter the red shirt freshman from selenis who they told us that this guy's got a chance to be a really good player he's got two touchdowns in the first half at Auburn the extra point from Ryan Co is up and good what a strange sequence and Cal ends up in the end zone great job with a sudden change in complimentary football for the cow Bears get the turnover and punch in a touchdown [Music] well coming up later tonight another sec ACC matchup I know it's kind of weird with Cals involved but yeah they're in the ACC it's number 14 Tennessee number 24 NC State 7:30 Eastern 4:30 Pacific on ABC the SEC fans are a little B stunned here at Jordan hair not too worried yet it doesn't look like but their team is down 14-7 their offense Brock has run one play One play in the last nine minutes of game action and that one play was an interception and the Cal quarterback for Mando MOS is having an amazing first half just an absolutely fantastic first half here in a very hostile environment on the road the Touchback Auburn's offense they they need not only do they need something positive they just need to have the ball for more than a few seconds you're exactly right they just need to stay ahead of the sticks they need positive plays on first and second down being third and manageable and you got to keep that offensive unit out there to string together a drive right now Auburn's defense they can't get off the field on third down and credit C's offense for that but you're right it's been this keep away game with the football Auburn needs to stay out there on the field with their offense for a while One play in the last 9 Minutes of game time from scrimmage for the Auburn offense so first and 10 for the 25 and a handoff hunter right side got dropped for a loss well neither team's really running the ball effectively jarz Hunter preseason First Team all SEC running back but Nate barell just swallowed him up there's just no air in the front right now that that front five for Auburn they're not creating any space for their running backs give a lot of credit to that big defensive front for cal cal does have some Talent on the defensive line Second and 11 play fake Thorne going deep Thorne incomplete trying to hit Robert Lewis omber fans thought there was contact but coverage once again Marcus Harris yeah that's Jer Smith in coverage might have got away with a late little tug don't think the officials saw it great play by the red shirt junor out of Charlotte so Harris and Smith were both there but you're right that was Smith who was in the coverage and yeah he just got his hand right on Robert Lewis's arm and slowed him down just a step I think that was a great throw by pton Thorn possibly a Miss call by the officials this becomes a big play in this game third and 11 pressure came Thorne is going to try to run for it and that's not going to work he gets tackled at the 31 Craig Woodson I think he read that beautifully from his safety spot and it's fourth down yeah that was great Hustle by safety Craig Woodson and defensive tackle Nate Burell to finish the play see defensive coordinator Peter Surman all fired up for his defense getting off the field once again and that's exactly what could not happen for Auburn's offense Craig Woodson coming out of the middle of the field forcing pton Thorne to cut back and the big number 98 there to clean up the play good point by you Woodson had a long way to go to get there and make that play So Auburn's going to punt Oscar Chapman angles that one way deep the fair catch inside the 15 so it was a good punt but the Cal defense comes up with another stop and they'll have the ball when we come back for now for this moment this is where your feet are and this is where you should be all in at you get to represent one of the Great fan bases in all of America and it should be done with tremendous passion today well that was pregame in the Auburn locker room with their head coach hu frees those 88,000 fans are feeling a little more nervous right now Cal's going to throw the ball on first down and a little dump down to the tight end Jack Andre who is a good player for a positive gain on first down yeah fantastic player for the cow Bears someone who played a lot as a red shirt freshman a season ago very seasoned good big physical guy you see how C's going to use him today he's a dynamic weapon when you can get outside the pocket on bootlegs and roll outs and C now is just dominating the time of possession in this first half it'll be second and two there three drives touchdown then the long drive that took a lot of clock where they missed the field goal and then a touchdown hand off that's a for a first down right Side Run well and to your point if you're cow you couldn't have drawn up a better start to this football game you know this is a dream start traveling across the country playing in a hostile environment against a very quality opponent it's really been all things Cal except for Auburn had a successful first drive and it really is the time of possession Auburn's defense cannot get off the field but credit Cal for converting on third down finding a way to move the ball without a whole lot from their Superstar running back Jaden not although that was a nice run first and 10 Mendoza throws and that one completed right near the 35 yd line there was a penalty flag the receiver in motion it was very strange that was a running back cadarius Callaway I don't think he did that legally it distracted me as the play was starting cuz I'm watching Callaway turn up field [Music] yeah that he just the timing was messed up on that one started shaving some ground going up the field you'll look at the top of your screen number two going in motion Callaway can't get going vertically until that football snapped yeah so that meates the first down [Music] catch it'll be first and 15 with that clock moving under 8 minutes to go first half play fake Mendoza throws and a nice catch wow what an effort from Mason Starling what a great throw and catch just on the RPO Mendoza had the option to hand the football off if he felt like that was a better fit but he's taken advantage of the one-on-one matchup outside great throw and catch by the cow Bears the only incompletion for Mendoza was a throwaway otherwise he's been perfect another false start from Cal I mean the the one thing Cal can't do is get the ball snapped properly number 78 5 yal first that was on the center that's the fifth pre- snap penalty of the first half yeah and some of that's to be expected in this environment but swinny normally a backup guard thrust into the starting position where for really basically call is looking at playing their third string Center essentially Fernando Mendoza swiy they have to find a way to get on the same page with the Cadence so another first and [Applause] 15 throw to the outside and a broken tackle that is at number nine Mason Starling again and he got 15 yds and a cal first down what a great play by Starling making a move out in space picking up positive yards for Cal tell you what Auburn is going to have to find a way to get Mendoza off of his spot get him uncomfortable cuz right now the red shirt sophomore quarterback is a cool customer in that pocket and he's making great decisions with the football 14-7 Bears lead missing some of their top offensive players they are moving the ball and on the outside the Cal receivers are just beating Auburn's def Beast hand off and that was Callaway with no room to run got dropped for a loss of a yard that's what Auburn expects out of that defensive front McLoud Faulk Rees bleedy got some big bodies and some very talented guys up front they expect to force some negative runs haven't really done that today was a great play there though on first down JV and Thomas comes back in in the game at tailback alongside Mendoza second and 11 just across Midfield and that clock continues to roll play fake Mendoza flushed and Mendoza will throw for a completion along the sideline how many times has he done that in this first half tell you what he's seeing the field really really well you can tell he's comfortable out there the moment is not too big for him and Starling with his third reception on this series alone you got Brady you got Starling you got Hunter some of the young inexperienced white outs for C are playing really well yeah and they're definitely in sync when it comes to the scramble drill Mendoza doing a great job of finding open targets outside the pocket today so now it's third and three Andre the tight end in motion and Doza throws acoss the middle knocked away incomplete and a good play on the ball Jared Thompson the safety knocked it down tremendous play by jiren Thompson Auburn was playing man-to-man coverage Thompson doing a great job of driving down on the slant for the pass breakup and this is interesting cuz Cal hinted to us that they might play a lot of field position today but they're going for it yeah I understand why up to this point in the game you really feel like you've controlled controled the momentum of the football game but I will say this you do have a lot of things going for you Auburn has not moved the football if I'm the head coach for Cal I'm punching the football deep and pinning Auburn back play clock is about to wind down and C's going to take a time [Applause] out let's check in in studio for an [Music] update wow thank you Kevin well that would be a shocker I mean for SEC fans this would be a huge shocker here cow's played well and it looks to me Brock like they've changed their minds after that timeout yeah and I think this is a really good decision by Justin Wilcox so many things have gone right for your football team in the first half don't forget you start the second half with receiving the opening kickoff so you're going to get the ball right back pin Auburn Deep and make them Drive the length of the field to go get points before half they do not want to return here Keon Scott one of the better punt return returners in the country so Lan Wilson the punter his job is to not let him return one and over end and the ball's going to bounce inside the 10 into the end zone not a bad punt but Cal couldn't get down there and down it so Auburn will have it at the 20 SEC football lineup rolls on over on the SEC network at 4:15 Eastern number six Old Miss they are underway hosting Middle Tennessee and number 15 Oklahoma hosting Houston exclusively on ESPN plus and SEC network plus tonight you got Missouri who's in the top 10 now Missouri is against Buffalo Florida sford number 18 LSU hosting Nicholls every game also available on the ESPN app you can watch anywhere Hugh Free's offense comes back on the field yeah you want to get into Rhythm right here last week you hang 73 points on Alabama A&M everything basically went right but you're kind of getting your first taste of adversity it's time for Auburn to find a way to string together a drive this is not Alabama A&M today C's come to play Thorne was going to hand it off decided to keep it because Cal defended it so well and he gets across the 25 out to the 26 I think that's a great decision by Payton Thorne Ryan Mulla number 43 for Cal was in the backfield to make the play on the running back great recognition by Thorne to pull it and pick up some positive yards that might count as Auburn's best running play of the game so far second and four Thorne across the middle incomplete he had his man Lambert Smith was there it'll be third down yeah that's a throw you're going to want to see Payton Thorne make especially in his fourth season of being a starting quarterback Keandre Lambert Smith is wide open on the glance route which is just basically a deeper slant that's a throw if you get it to Lambert Smith in stride he has a chance to take it the distance Payton Thorne is 6 for 14 Fernando Mendoza on the other side is 16 for7 17 so it's third and four for Auburn Thorne going to roll right and try to keep it and Thorne I think he did just get enough we'll see I don't know actually they spotted it short of the 30 we know he had to get to the 30 and Hugh frees was not happy with that spot that is not a first down it's Fourth and a half a yard yeah and Thorn shocked he's got two Palms up what do you mean I'm short he thought he was at the line to gain he was spotted a half a yard short and omer's going to send the punt team out there I couldn't tell from that replay it's really close I mean where was the ball when he he kind of had the ball back instead of forward yeah where's the football when he first steps out of bounds really tough to see with those angles Hugh free is not pleased and a penalty flag thrown cuz Auburn wasn't ready to punt they commit a delay of game that'll move him five yards backwards I mean I I know why Hugh is unhappy with that spot it was questionable yeah and I don't think he blames his quarterback pton Thorn's the ultimate competitor tough guy if he would have thought it was going to be that close you know he would have stuck his foot in the ground lowered his shoulder and picked up a fresh set instead C with 329 on the clock is going to get the ball back you mentioned how they get the ball at the start of the second half a shorter punt this time much shorter fair catch made across the 35 decent field position for the Cal offense before Cal gets the ball NFL back tomorrow kick off your week 1 NFL Sunday with the countdown crew at 10:00 a.m. eastern on ESPN and the app and then on Monday night the 55th season of Monday Night Football gets underway and what a matchup it is the Jets going on the road to take on the 49ers a Eastern on ESPN ABC ESPN Deportes ESPN plus you got Payton and Eli on ESPN 2 SVP in the Monday night countdown crew we'll get it started at 6 Eastern and Aaron roders healthy and ready to go one of the all-time greats at Cal though the numbers really don't do it justice how unbelievably great of a college quarterback he was just a fantastic player you think New York Jets fans are uh excited to get this season started the way last season started but yeah Aaron Rogers at Cal just an unbelievable career lit up the skies on the west coast and a ton of fun to watch Martian Lynch's teammate the game he played at the Coliseum at USC against one of the great SC teams was just an all-time performance a little check down to the tight end Andre who gets wrestled out of bounds the clock will keep moving on first down for C so big picture here Brock ideally for the Bears they end the half with the ball and get the ball to start the second half this is an extremely critical drive for both teams you just you just hit the nail on the head if C's able to find a way to drive down go get some points and then to get that the ball to start the third quarter that's huge Auburn realizes that they need to get a stop here Fernando Mendo is acting like Aon Rogers in that game at the Coliseum today with how on point he's been callow hand off to a on second down and short but he did not get there Jen not's had a hard time getting anything going on the ground there there there's just nowhere to go there's just no holes there's no open lanes credit Auburn doing a great job with those big big three bodies right in the middle of the defensive line and then you're getting some Edge presence as well linebackers are doing a great job of filling in just nowhere to go in the Run game so it's third and two Auburn not using a timeout they have two left so C's going to let the clock wind down as far as possible and I think they're going to use a timeout themselves they're going to let it go to the two-minute warning that's true they don't have to the two-minute timeout in college football Cal has it a big third down when we come back Kevin cters in studio coming up on the principal halftime report much more on a statement win today by Texas in the big house Quinn yers was spectacular plus a thriller in Still Water between Arkansas and Oklahoma State game that needed double overtime and Notre Dame playing come from behind football right now all coming up when you join Trevor mic and me on the principal halftime report fim all right thanks Kevin we'll look forward to that out of the two-minute timeout C's going to get to the line quickly Play Fake it throw it to the tight end and convert with the first down you can't do it any better than that love the play called by Mike BL the old leg pass you see a lot of NFL teams run this in third and short moments you're just getting your quarterback you're selling run downhill you get the linebackers to just settle and hesitate for a half a second which is what allows the tight end injuries to outflank the backers Ken Lee one of the top defensive backs for Auburn is down and hurting after that play I mean that's a huge conversion Now cal Auburn's got the two timeouts but C you can't guarantee you're going to end this half with the ball but you can come pretty close that was huge and and you silence this crowd I mean you heard how loud this crowd was on third down they're trying to get behind their team and credit the Cal Bears they just keep picking up first down after first down they've been fantastic in third down scenari seven for n on the day seven for nine on third down on the road that is amazing so K Lee will get up and leave the field yeah don't forget coming into this game cow is kind of in a quarterback battle I think they found their guy I do too let's go down to storming yeah and with that offensive coordinator Mike blush told us between Fernando Mendoza and Chandler Rogers he was waiting for somebody to step up and make a statement through one half of football I think a statement has certainly been made and Mendoza coming off the sideline I feel like every time after an offensive drive he showed composure Poise leadership all of the things that you're looking for your 2V1 well his teammates think he's going to be president of the United States someday so nickname the mayor for a reason may or might be aiming a little low got to start somewhere first and 10 Mendoza will check it down to his running back out in the open and what a hit delivered by Javen Thomas who's only 190 lbs you wouldn't know it from the finish of that catch and run well the coaching staff said this kid is physical and tough and he put that on display lowering his shoulder and picking up some positive yards so now cow's willing to go a little quicker Tempo a minute and a half to go and they're on Auburn side of the field Mendoza is going to be hit from behind and go down calri faul Auburn finally gets to the quarterback yeah that's a coverage sack there Auburn did a great job in coverage I didn't love the formation by Cal they put three wide receivers to the boundary the spacing wasn't great Mendoza had nowhere to go with the football the credit big number 15 for working the edge and that's one of those deals where Mendoza has to have that internal clock and realize hey I got to get rid of this football cuz the big guys are coming after me timeout taken and I believe it's Auburn who took that timeout they're second of the first half well it's third and seven coming up a minute and 9 seconds on the clock third Down's really been the difference in the game when you look at Cal 7 for n at this point the question is can Auburn get off the field right now and give their offense a chance to go get some points before half so a big play coming up for the Auburn defense and look this is an Auburn program that's got so much proud tradition but the last time they won the SEC was back in 2013 we remember the National Championship in 2010 they haven't won a bowl game since 2018 they haven't had a winning season since that abbreviated Co year which around here is just that's unacceptable yeah the the success has not been there for the auon Tigers and this is a fan base that expects to compete for national titles so third and seven Mendoza pressure comes and he takes another big hit ful gets to him again and Mendoza is slow to get up man he got popped and did well just to hang on to the ball that is a monster hit by keldrick Fulk 6'6 288 lb just a sophomore great defensive strategy here by Auburn just overloading the right side of the offensive line by cal cal not able to slide out and which that's what allows cedrick Faulk to come Scot free and lay a huge hit on Mendoza and you said it FM credit Mendoza for holding on to that football because well it's a monster hit in the back field so now cow's going to have to punt the ball with a minute and 6 seconds to go in the half so the Auber defense that was their best two-play sequence of the half by far it's exactly what they needed and there's plenty of time to go get points if you're Auburn and and for pton Thorne It's Time right there's been some open receivers today for Auburn that he's missed he had a phenomenal game last week he he's coming into this ball game with high expectations I know this fan base has it his coaching staff has it for him it's time for him to put together drive and go get some points before half so Scott The Return Man llan Wilson the punter for [Applause] Cal that one might be returnable we'll see scottt catches and then drops it and has to fall on the ball wow that would have been a total disaster but Scott avoids the turnover so the ball's at the 12 well pyton Thorne 2021 it was such a brilliant year for him 22 at Michigan State not quite as good still good last season he did not have a lot of help on this Auburn offense and that's really the key to last season when you talked to the coaching staff this week they they knew that they needed to improve at the skill position they went out whether it was via high school or the portal they re retooled the wide receiver room and pton Thorne has plenty of weapons at his disposal this season so let's see what Auburn can do with a minute to go in the half the throw out to the right sideline catch and out of bounds that'll stop the clock not a big game the tight end Fairweather who had the game winning catch in Berkeley in the final moments of last year's matchup good start to the drive for Auburn you always want to find a positive play on first down pton Thorne doing a great job of taking what the defense presented in their soft Zone coverage on second down and three Thorne now going backwards and a penalty flag thrown Thorne will dump it out of bounds that's going to be a hold against Auburn couldn't find anywhere to go with the ball yeah nowhere to go with the football great coverage by Cal trying to escape the pocket makes it really hard on your offensive line and running back who are pass protecting they don't know where the quarterback is is and when you scramble outside that pocket sometimes so now if you're Hugh freeze your strategy might change you got 44 seconds and you're inside the 10 Cal does have a timeout just in case Justin Wilcox gets another negative play yeah if I'm Auburn here I think you got to lick your wounds and go into halftime put this football on the ground hand it off to your running back get that clock rolling and get to halftime and make some adjustments we might hear some cranky Auburn fans if that happens that way we'll see second down and long and they do hand the ball off straight ahead and a nice game really nice game well somehow Cal didn't expect what I think you and I expected hunter gets outside the 35 and now after that 27 yd pickup Auburn's going to go quick do a fantastic job by the right side of the off defensive line between Chambers and right opening up a huge hole for Hunter so now they'll throw the ball on first down Thorne gets away Thorne is trying to get to the sidelines he does that stops the clock with 25 seconds to go they have a field goal kicker with a monster leg a true freshman kicker made a 63 y in the spring game so they they have a chance maybe to get the ball across Midfield and try a long field goal there's towns Meo 25 seconds no timeouts you got to find a way to push the ball down the field and if you pick up a first down the clock will stop got to run up there and Spike the football all the experience of Thorne you would figure this would be one of his strengths is managing situations like this he'll get flushed again Thorne out into the open Thorn into cow territory goes into a slide he started that slide at about the 42 so let's see if they can get it spiked with 18 seconds on the clock they do no they haven't yet now the clock rolls they fumbled I Thorne I thought he dropped the ball I thought he did too penalty flag thrown two penalty Flags thrown man that was not handled very well no the Auburn players are upset because the official moved the football back right when they were getting ready to snap the football the Tigers lost a couple seconds they lost time and then that that that snap was not real clean the quarterback picked up the ball the ground and spiked it that's intentional grounding byter [Music] [Applause] W that was a fantastic explanation by the official Thorn bobbles the snap you're not able to pick up the football off the ground and then spike it down that's an issue fumbled snap there but if you're an Auburn Tigers fan you still have time to spike the football and either throw a Hail Mary or try a long field goal you just got to be ready to snap the ball in the whistle looks like they're going to try to throw one down the field Now cal calls timeout after the clock was rolling there huh so Cal calls timeout Hugh freeze is unhappy with the officials I don't know what he could be unhappy with that's that's intentional grounding as a quarterback Center you have to have a clean Exchange in order to be able to spike that football then you see what C did by taking that time out they want to get organized on their end they want to talk to their secondary so they don't give up any cheap points before the half yeah so that will they'll put the time back on the clock and H freeze is given an earful to Riley Johnson the referee and now towns Meo is coming out to attempt what would be a what 61 yd field goal he's got the leg the kid from Auburn High School just down the street from 61 yd s in a stadium where long field goals that come up short have been memorable in the past C's got a deep man back there this one's not even close and Auburn's thinking no come on not here Cal bringing it back and it'll just be a return out to the 35 that's how the first half will come to an end and Justin Wilcox has to be thrilled with the way the cow played absolutely it's a dream for first half for the cow Bears traveling across the country Kevin Conor Trevor matage ready for our halftime show you're watching the SEC on ESPN and welcome back to ESPN college football presented by sling where things are a little nervous around tumor's corner here in Auburn this big crowd has to be a little stunned with the way Cal played in the first half the Golden Bears have a seven-point lead as we start the second half and their quarterback the red shirt sophomore Fernando Mendoza almost unrecruited out of high school had the half of his life man did he play well for the Golden Bears two touchdown passes to a freshman wide out and Fernando Mendoza wasn't quite perfect but almost was the Golden Bears are going to have the ball after a Touchback to start this second half so Dave fluming Brock Osweiler back here in Auburn Brock how well did Fernando Mendoza play well put it this way I don't remember a first half performance like like what we saw a Fernando in a very very long time I mean he was nearly Flawless 19 of 21 205 yards and two touchdowns to go along with it and don't forget the environment that he's playing in today at Jordan ha Stadium I mean this place has been rocking and and he's been the coolest customer in the entire Place nothing has got to fando Mendoza in the first half of football Auburn finally found a way to get a little pass rush at the end of the half we'll see if that can continue here c will run the ball on the first play of the second half and op just gets tossed down for no gain I mean the numbers are are so good 19 of 21 over 200 yds two touchdowns best completion percentage and a half by a cal quarterback in at least two decades I think that says everything because you're you're talking about a couple first round quarterbacks Jared gof Aaron Rogers I mean they've had some guys come out of Cal and for Fernando Doza to play the way he did in that first half can't wait to see if he keeps it up in the second you feel like for Auburn's defense it's a big sequence here Mendoza is going to roll right and throw and that one in traffic was completed man he had to fit that one in and Isaiah Hunter who has the two touchdown catches that time just short of a first down it'll be third and one yeah the red shirt freshman Isaiah Hunters having a fantastic ball game somebody the coaching staff really spoke highly about coming into this football game and he showed why they did a quick snap on one of these plays break the Huddle quickly and then get to the line and snap it they're not going to do that here on Third and one Mendo is in the shotgun handoff straight ahead and that's just enough jadeen not for Cal first down let's go down to stormy hold off there is a penalty flag nope I I don't think so go ahead stormy head coach just Cox had the break and he was just as complimentary as you guys were about Fernando mandoza he was talking about the Poise that he showed especially on some of those pre- snap issues botch snaps that they had said he handled it exactly like you would like just hoping to get him a little bit of run support this half meanwhile Auburn head coach H fre said what frustrated him most was wide open receivers getting missed in their base offense he said there were a couple of Slants should be a Pitch and catch one's picked one's just a bad throw got to clean it up pressure on Mendoza there and a throw away so a rare incompletion it'll be second and 10 and we just file that comment from Hugh freeze away for when Auburn gets the ball I mean I expect we'll see pton Thorne still back there but that leash might be getting shorter and shorter no question and rightfully so it's because of all the skill position weapons that pton Thorne has at his disposal Hugh freze expects his quarterback to be very efficient this season so second and 10 for C first drive of the second half Golden Bears leading by a touchdown pressure comes Mendoza over the top and that one is hauled in but out of bounds Tron Griselle made the catch but out of bounds yeah good call by the officials clearly his right foot was out of bounds Auburn kind of living by a double-edged sword bringing pressure up the middle from the linebacker position jiren Thompson does a great job in coverage but when you bring that pressure and you play manto man outside Mendoza's had a lot of success pushing the football down the field today Auburn's defense has already forced more incompletions or as many incompletions as they did the entire first [Applause] half third and 10 pressure got rid of it the completion the cut up field but tackled short of a first down Mikey Matthews and a good play by jiren Thompson it'll be fourth down for Cal jiren Thompson making back-to- back plays for the Auburn Tigers defense allowing them to get off the field he's the captain and one of the leaders of the defense he's one of those guys that you know I guarantee you he's in at halftime and he knows hey I got to make a play to start this second half and get the ball back to to my offense and he did a fantastic job well that's about as good of a sequence as Auburn's defense has had that's a good sign for the second half for the Tigers fourth down llan Wilson the punter he'll try to angle that one he didn't really he angled it the opposite way and it's going to stop inside the five and it will be downed inside the five wow great special teams execution by Cal not good field position for the Cal Auburn offense when we come back [Music] [Applause] well Cal leads by a touchdown a few minutes into the third quarter the Taco Bell Liv student section all season long student sections across the country competing to be the Taco Bell Liv Moss student section of the Year download the Taco Bell app to learn more it can get a little weird here at Auburn Tigers starting their first drive of the second half at the two so pton Thorne and the offense back on the field and they will hand the ball off straight ahead and a nice gain on first down jarquez Hunter who had one big run late in the half otherwise was really quiet yeah and that was a great job by his Right Guard big number 77 Jeremiah right opening up a huge hole for Hunter to be able to run through and and really get Auburn's backs off of the goal line little breathing room at least gain of six on first down Auburn scored on their first possession of the game they had the ball five more times in the first half got zero points Hunter again and a big hit but he kept going forward and he got close I think maybe about a half yard short of the first down you know and I think the biggest reason for the sputters with the Auburn offense in the first half they just couldn't get into Rhythm they weren't able to find first downs and a lot of that came from a lack of the Run game so to see some success for Auburn early on the ground is huge and they did they they talked about it momentarily and decided that was enough for a first down so first and 10 Auburn still deep in their own [Applause] territory Thorne kind of a designed quarterback run and he took a pretty big hit maybe got two on first down Teddy Buchanan the transfer from UC Davis made the tackle yeah great job of scraping Over the Top by Buchanan coming in Lane in the wood on quarterback pton Thorne Thorne did a great job I thought at the end of the first half using his legs to get positive yards a lot of times listen the the game's not going to go as planned it's not always going to be pretty Payton Thorne taking command late in that game using his legs would like to see more of that in the second half so they gave him three seven of 15 for 113 yds he's run for [Applause] 39 he will hand it off Hunter kind of slipped but kept his balance and momentum going and got out to the 20 maybe a yard and a half short of another first down you know a quarterback's best friend is a good healthy Run game and so for Auburn right now to lean on you know Hunter and that offensive line to help get pton Thorn In R rhythm is going to be really critical in this second half third and two Auburn making an adjustment to the call maybe handoff Hunter left side first down and more darquez Hunter outside the 35 gets down to the 38 he got 18 yeah I thought the left guard 52 Dylan Wade did a phenomenal job of opening up a huge hole you see 75 Conor Lou helping him out from the center position Jeremiah Hunter doing the rest excuse me jar Hunter yeah and it's obvious that Auburn has decided they need to run the ball more so first down I mean hunter he's one of the best backs in the SEC and he did not give any chances in that first half pressure comes Thor is going down Buchanan with another play from his linebacker spot a loss of eight yeah great play by Teddy Buchanan coming from the second level to force the sack Auburn trying to kick Buchanan out with a block watch the tight end roll across the screen just completely whiffs which is what allows Buchanan to force the negative play so the Run game success they try to throw the ball on First and 10 and lose eight with the sack one step forward two steps back just really hard to find a rhythm for Auburn right now second and 18 play fake Thorns steps up dumps it to who takes a hit stays on his feet man that's a tough effort from jarquez Hunter cuz Kate uluave the middle linebacker he's one of the really good linebackers in the country yes yes he is but hunter at 5' 10 210 lbs low center of gravity he's tough to bring down you have to wrap up that running back otherwise he's going to make you miss having some big extra yardage it's still third and long and now they're stopping the clock the previous play is under further review for suspect targeting so they're going to review for targeting on that last play and I'm I'm I'm guessing that it's ULU a the the linebacker who was the guy who was involved in the play and this is obviously huge cuz he's he might be C's best defensive player absolutely yeah I think that's going to be called targeting anytime you lower your helmet and you hit with the crown of the helmet which is really the 5 in radius directly at the very top of the helmet it's going to be an automatic targeting call yeah this has been an emphasis in college football the last couple years officials want to see defensive players coming in with their eyes up when they're making tackles this is the exact opposite I I to me that you got that indicator you have the crown of the helmet I think that's going to be targeting well the thing too with the crown if if you make contact with the crown no indicators needed it's just an automatic targeting call you see Buchanan and ULU a making their case right now with the officials but Justin Wilcox told us about Kade uluave he's got a chance to be a high NFL draft pick he's that explosive that that physical that talented [Applause] foul and I the only thing I can see is jarquez Hunter lowering his own head at the last minute cuz [Applause] otherwise I'm Palms up FM I'm Palms up to me that that's a hit with the crown of the helmet I understand and Hunter lowers his head but he's trying to find his balance you know it's not like he did it intentionally that's one where you wish he had the rules official to call in right now and get an explanation no kidding and so that means now it's third and 10 instead of a first down and uluave gets to stay in the game Thorne back to pass Thorne pressured Thorne will go down Teddy Buchanan another play he and ULU a are having great games from that linebacker spot and Auburn's going to have to punt boy you see the fire and passion coming from the linebacker position for the cow Bears ULU a and Teddy Buchanan wrecking havoc in the backfield you see big 44 Xavier Carlton really forcing pton Thorne to get off his spot initially tell you what this defense is playing some inspired football this afternoon well that's a good point your D line sets it up your linebacker makes the play they go clean it up that's right High punt fair Catch signal and made just outside the 20 so C's defense gets the hold and the Golden Bears get the ball back 635 to go third quarter C leads by a touchdown this season all state will celebrate every field goal and extra point made by participating universities by making a donation to The Universities General scholarship fund thank you all state just a perfect Saturday for college football here on the Plains and for Justin Wilcox and the Cal Golden Bears long travel long trip something they're going to do a whole lot this year better get used to it if you're the Bears in a very hostile environment maybe the most hostile they'll face all year and they've got a touchdown lead with 635 to go in the third quarter two touchdown underdogs coming into this game and Cal has controlled the game Mendoza on first down will throw and it's incomplete Anderson trying for that back shoulder throw again really good coverage by kite on the outside Mendoza who's been really accurate today ball gets a little bit away from him the crit Antonio kite in the coverage they're finding ways finally to get some more pressure on Mendoza second and 10 for Cal third incompletion of the half he only had two remember in the entire first half Thomas the young tail back to Mendoza's left and they will fake it to him throw Anderson went down to get it and did catch it before it hit the turf that was a phenomenal catch by Maven Anderson Mendoza had a very small window to fit that football through with the pass rush by Auburn Anderson doing a great job going down to the turf to make that catch to make it third and manageable H freeze thought it was an incompletion cow going to run a play so the catch stands throw and that one hits the receiver and pops up in the air two flags thrown and I think Auburn committed a personal foul in the back field I think they roughed the [Applause] quarterback the true freshman Malik blockton gets called for the personal foul oh gosh and that just kills the momentum for Auburn I don't totally agree with that one that see that seems a little Ticky tack oh I don't know I don't I don't like that call that's not roughing the passer in my book but nevertheless the officials called it and that just hurts Auburn they they just have not been able to get off the field on third down today the officials didn't help him there yeah that that easily could have been a no call instead it's a first down for Cal and 15 yds Out close to the [Applause] 45 mza throws and that one incomplete more good coverage yeah I don't think Maven and Anderson was ready for that football there was a little bit of hand fighting going on down the sideline with Antonio kite but Maven Anderson just didn't really seem like he recognized the football was coming his way so Anderson will leave the field on second and 10 now Albert's defense has definitely made some adjustments hand off left side and Thomas found a hole got some positive yards not a whole lot to set up third down Eugene Asante who's had he's had some big plays in this game in Berkeley last year he had one of the dominant defensive performer performances by any individual I think of the season in college football no question I thought he was the player of the game in last year's last year's game out in Berkeley but this is exactly where Auburn needs Assante to step up he needs to make a game-changing play for the Au Tigers here on third down he was coming off the field one of his coaches yelled at him no you're not coming out Mendoza throws and it's incomplete he took a hit and he actually found a way to find Thomas who maybe wasn't expecting it couldn't Corral it and it's fourth down no running back Javin Thomas he was in pass protection he just happened to get up and credit Fernando Mendoza trying to make a play he was under extreme duress but credit the Auburn Tigers defense tremendous pass rush to force Mendoza off his spot give the football back to their offense it almost turned into an incredible improv play from Mendoza was like a little hook pass yeah and if Thomas was able to come up with that football there was nobody 40 yards near him so llin Wilson had a brilliant punt last time this time angling it toward the sideline and it's going to be another great punt by Wilson wow that's two of them in this half that he's pinned Auburn at the two pretty amazing Auburn ball when we come back you're watching the SEC on ESPN from Auburn Alabama which is you probably already knew this a long way from Berkeley California Cal's got to get used to it 20,000 almost 21,000 total travel miles coming up this year Cal now playing in the ACC Auburn just for a contrast Auburn has their first five games of the year at home this is number two of five in a row at home to start the year big contrast Auburn's going to travel like 2,000 total miles All Season Thorne from The End Zone designed quarterback run and a nice job to get Auburn Out of The Shadow of the goal line so C's defense another advantageous starting point the punter llan Wilson's been awesome well special teams are starting to be special for Cal and that's something that Justin Willcox said to us this week when we met with him he said listen our special teams if we're going to go into Auburn and get a win they're going to need to be great for us and play a big role they missed a short field goal very short field goal in the first half otherwise the punt game in particular has been excellent a second down and two for Auburn hunter gets the carry Hunter starting to and that's not Hunter that's deari Alon with a nice burst over the right side for an Auburn first down Alon a very experienced running back for Auburn you really get the sense that this Auburn offensive line they're starting to take over the game here in the second half they've had a lot of success running the football under four minutes to go third quarter they have moved the ball on the ground much better since halftime but they still have just the seven points from their first drive of the [Music] game a first down Auburn hand off again and this time aluson gets wrestled to the ground right at the 20 did get three yards on first down and you see AUB trying to find their footing they're slowing down the tempo in this football game and and I don't really think that's how they want to play they want to play uptempo but when they're not converting on third down and getting a fresh set of downs and keeping the offense on the field you keep putting your defense in really tough situations so Hugh frees electing to slow down the game right now and you do have plenty of time still three minutes plus a whole quarter but you are down so I think you're right this is not how Hugh fre wants it to go go on offense but I think it's the head coach playing some complimentary football play fake pressure comes and Thorne is going to get sacked inside the 10 he got away from Buchanan at first but then the support and the sack for a huge loss Teddy Buchanan the inside linebacker for Cal number 10 nobody getting a hand on him blitzing from the second level it was a field Blitz they brought teddy as well as the nickel off the out edge of your screen Cal just doing a tremendous job here in the second half anytime Auburn has elected to throw the football C's gone into the back field Jer Smith is going to get credit for the sack and Auburn from deep in their own territory on Third and long will just hand it off so they're going to have to putt the ball back hunter gets it out to the 15 and it'll be fourth down for the Tigers that sack a huge huge play it's huge you know and that's really happened backto back drives for Auburn's offense they're running the football with great success picking up positive yards then they elect to throw the football Cal brings pressure credit Peter Surman defensive coordinator great timing on bringing those blitzes and then they're forcing Auburn into negative plays and what a game for Teddy Buchanan who was playing at the FCS level last year and he is showing he belongs at this level here today high punt fairly short Punt and no fair catch signal wow Mikey Matthews got got a fair catch that one and somehow held on to the ball that was a huge hit by Antonio kite wow so Cal gets the ball back catch the US Open men's championship match tomorrow two Eastern on ABC and ESPN plus coverage begins with a men's preview show at 1 Eastern chance for an American to win the US open hasn't happened in a long time now the Auburn band the Auburn fans that's the hit you were talking about Antonio kite cornerback for Auburn playing a great game on defense and making a huge play on special teams a minute and a half to go in the third quarter C's going to hand the ball off and the carry for cadarius Callaway over the right side short gain of to C's offense hasn't done much in the second half no but but they've done what they've needed to do they're they're playing within rhythm of what the football game's presenting but I think the most impressive thing that Cal's done is is they've won the time of possession today and the reason why they're winning that time of possession is cuz they're picking up third downs and Fernando Mendoza he's protected the football AUB has dialed up much more pressure here in the second half they made it harder on the Young Cal quarterback who's under pressure here dumps it short and a great open field tackle Matthews gets wrestled To The Ground by Champ Anthony it'll be third down that was a great job by Champ Anthony plays the nickel position for AUB the slot corner just tracking Mikey Matthews who's trying to slice across the formation great open field Tackle by the Auburn Tigers [Applause] third and nine pressure immediately and it's incomplete almost unblocked Kon Crawford got in there and forc the incompletion it's fourth down that was a tremendous pass rush move by Keon Crawford left tackle number 78 Victor stle just got beat at the point of attack didn't even get a hand on Crawford Crawford making a huge play for his defense when they needed it and I don't know if that's cuz Nick Maro is banged up and he's out why he isn't playing but that was a whiff on a block now Wilson with another punt this one though not quite as perfect and Scott will return it to the 20 but another cow player had a helmet ripped off and there's another penalty flag now this might be going against Auburn when you see that cow helmet on the turf you kind of assume an Auburn player ripped it off personal foul against the kicking team number n lost his H and continues to participate 15 the okay so he just lost his helmet it wasn't AAL and when that happens in college football in the NFL you can keep playing in college you're not supposed to keep playing and that's a 15 yard penalty yeah he just kept running down the field after the helmet came off and obviously that's a rule for players safety they just want players to go down or get out of bounds when that helmet comes off I mean I always sympathize with players there it's just so hard to tell yourself even without a helmet like I'm supposed to just stand here absolutely no it it it feels so foreign but how about this field position for the Auburn Tigers this is what they haven't had a single possession in the second half they've started their their previous two possessions inside their own 5 yd line and maybe Hugh frees now can open up the offense a little bit more could be the final play of the third quarter play fake Thorne is going to throw oh and it wobbles and is intercepted intercepted Jer Smith comes up with another take away that was Ryan mola with the pressure off the edge for C nowhere to go with the football downfield trying to Hugh free is trying to take a shot he has two posts running deep down the field but great coverage by the cow Bears forces Payton Thorne to hold on to the football Cal Bear's football when we come back welcome back to ESPN college football presented by slang we start the fourth quarter I don't think many saw this one come at CS got a chance for a huge win on the road up seven with the ball after the turnover and they hand it off right side run getting to the corner that's Callaway who does step out of bounds just a moment ago the head coach of Auburn Hugh freeze with stormy coach I know that's not the way you wanted to end the quarter what's it going to take to take control here in the last our defense playing really well third quarter they had us backed up every possession except for that one and we're not protecting the quarterback at all they're just they're they're they're beating us with their Rush In 101s And so a right tackle is really banged up so we got to go with somebody else but got to figure out a way we got Guys open but we didn't have any opportunities uh backed up defense keeps playing this way we'll find a way to get one in y all right thanks stormmy thanks to coach freeze callway gets another carry gets stopped though on second and three I don't know if he got any positive yardage so it'll be third down for Cal after the turnover trying to turn that into some points their offense has been sty no they really have and and and you want to talk about a critical third down in this game Auburn down seven points here in the fourth quarter this is going to be a pivotal third down to the side this football game low snap Mendoza wasn't expecting it and he still found a way to get the ball to his wide receiver Hunter for a first down I mean the snap operation has not been very good for Cal and somehow Mendo is overcoming it I tell you what Fernando Mendoza just putting on an absolute clinic on great quarterback play today he has not had the best pocket at times he hasn't had open receivers he's making plays outside the pocket and then you see what he did there changed his arm angle got the football Hunter for the first down that was a huge pickup I mean am I wrong in thinking that most quarterbacks that happens and the play gets blown up Mendoza will throw incomplete he was trying to throw it short with pressure in his face sailed it past Callaway and there was a moment there where it was hanging in the air Hugh frees maybe was thinking maybe we can get an interception of our own yeah Hugh thought there was a play to be made there by his defense but credit Austin keys from the linebacker position getting the initial pressure on Mendoza and then Mendo did a great job of getting that football thrown away to save the field position so second and 10 it would be a long field goal from here but Justin Willcox wants some more yardage from his offense three points would obviously be huge in the fourth quarter up by a touchdown Mendoza it almost was intercepted now there was some sort of miscommunication cuz the receiver did not come back for the ball Ken Lee did and he dropped it wow Kan Lee had that that was a game-changing play that went right through his hands he was there to make it and that was going to be a Surefire pick six and a touchdown for Auburn see Mendoza he knows he got away with one there Mendoza just five of 13 in the second half after an almost perfect first half another offline snap another short throw and this one was dropped Cardwell it was a little bit behind him incomplete and I think that means C is going to punt [Music] no another snap that's off Target Mendoza does a great job adjusting to it and going to get it gives an accurate football to Cardwell on the halfback screen Cardwell needs to bring in that ball for the Bears how about this they're going to try a 55 yd field goal Ryan Co play clock winding down they get it snapped kick is up and that kick is no good had a lot of leg he missed it to the right and the Auburn defense comes up with another hold now the question is can Auburn get the offense going there're still down a touchdown and the SEC openers over on ABC fim all right Kevin Lots going on around the country right now Auburn gets the ball back and jarquez Hunter their star tailback who's had a much better second half Auburn starting with its best field position of the game here in the fourth quarter down seven with under 133 to go yeah as as an offense you want to run to win in the fourth quarter so I expect Auburn to leave lean very heavily on this big offensive line in jarques Hunter here in the fourth quarter and you heard Hugh frees mention our right tackle banged up Ronin Chambers the backup is in now hunter gets swallowed up and the ball comes out they didn't blow the play dead Cal kept playing and they riip the ball free and Craig Woodson comes away with it Teddy Buchanan making another another play from the linebacker position the UC Davis transfer stripping that football away from Hunter I mean hunter almost got penalized because he's so tough to bring down he kept the Play Alive what a game for Buchanon Woodson's come up with the ball a couple times he did he just ripped it straight out just like your coach to do let the first guy get there wrap him up second guy come in rip it that football that's textbook defensive football by Peter Surman in his defensive unit wow Teddy Buchanan playing his first FBS game against an FBS opponent in his career he's got eight tackles two sacks and now a force fumble and some other pressure plays have yourself a day Teddy the lights are not too bright it's been a lot of fun to watch that linebacker play and now C I mean the Bears are being handed a golden opportunity here on first down after the turnover the handoff Straight Ahead Thomas with a good positive game pushing forward I mean at this rate if Cal gets any points out of this drive in the fourth quarter the way Auburn's offense is going C's in a great position that's exactly right if you're Auburn you feel like you 100% need to cause disruption in the back field you need to get cow behind the sticks they're already 0 for two on field goals today so you want to try to force C to another long field goal to see if they can convert second down and [Applause] six Mendoza another hand off and a big hole Thomas there he goes touchdown Cal JV and Thomas cut it back and there was nothing but open space in front of him wow how about that complimentary football get the turnover run to win in the fourth quarter pop an explosive run for a touchdown that was Clinic play by that offensive line for the Cal Bears and Hugh frees knows his team is in big trouble now they' had 41 total yards of offense CAD in the second half they got 32 on that play alone the fumble and just a couple plays later the young Javen Thomas makes a 217 Cal Javen Thomas doing a tremendous job making Auburn pay for the lack of Gap Integrity but it all got started with the turnover Teddy Buchan enforcing it for the cow bearss and then Javen Thomas punching it in for six 217 [Music] cow ESPN college football is presented by sling choose and customize your channel lineup sling let's do that wow what a sequence for Cal forc the turnover and then the sophomore tail back jav and Thomas who's got some real burst and man did he burst through the line to make it 217 cow on the road at Auburn 11 and 1 half to go and the tigers are up against it C's going to kick it deep through the end zone so that'll be a Touchback and the Auburn offense back on the field let's get a quick check with Kevin in studio again okay so that's a competitive good game this one is a shocker to most people I think in SEC country 217 Cal Cal's defense has been [Applause] dominant pyton Thorne is going to try to scramble he'll go out of bounds just not feeling like he's got anywhere to throw the ball let's go down to the calid line where stormy is well Dave you can imagine The Vibes are very high over here in that last break a bunch of players came over to this far left corner where the Cal contingent of fans is hyped them up like crazy there was even one player who said SEC this is Cali ball baby not so loud now so they are feeling themselves a little bit over here easy I'm just saying I'm just reporting the news I'm I'm yeah I'm not putting that on you the throw and what a leaping catch but out of bounds cam Coleman I mean he shows off his physical gifts there but it was thrown out of bounds yeah trying to use all six' three of that Big Frame Big Catch radius but not big enough for that ball so now it's third and seven hurn I mean we got under 11 minutes to go I I guess it's not four down territory from this part of the field yeah not yet three timeouts plenty of time left in this game got picked up Thorne throws and it's caught What A Catch leaping Robert Lewis for a much needed Auburn first down that was a huge pickup for Auburn and give a lot of credit to the running back deari Allon coming up in pass protection blitzing linebacker coming right down the middle and that's what allows pton Thorne to get the throw off he's going to take another hit here and the pass Falls incomplete [Music] Hugh free said it to stormy when we started the fourth quarter we're not giving our quarterback a chance to make any plays I'm not sure that's entirely the story but he has been under duress yeah I think everybody has their hand in this one I think on that previous play Payton actually drifted into that contact a little bit I'd like to see him stay in the middle of the pocket but then you're exactly right the offensive line has had their issues in pass protection today but also give a lot of credit to Cal they've done a great job of covering this very skilled wide receiver room and not a lot of places go with the football I mean Teddy Buchanan is just playing an all-time game at linebacker for C Bears bring more pressure Thorne on the Move he's going to scramble now and sort of stumbles forward across the 45 out to the 47 it was a very impressive play pton Thorne made something out of nothing he wanted to try to throw the football to the right side of the field to Lambert Smith Lambert Smith didn't even run a route so pton Thorne had nowhere to go with the ball found some positive yards third down he'll throw it quick left and a blocker up ahead that'll be an Auburn first down Malcolm Simmons first time we've set his name all game very talented freshman wide receiver his first catch yeah he's one of the free four four big time wide receiver prospects all from the state of Alabama great pickup by Auburn so Auburn on the move into Cal territory here Thorne is going to throw it short left and ULU a with the open field tackle of Altin just a gain of a couple yards yeah there was some great protection by the offensive line on that last play allowing Payton Thorne to clearly work all the way through his progression getting all the way to his check down which is his fourth read Auburn substituted so C's going to substitute basically a whole new defensive line coming on the field clock continues to roll we're under 9 minutes to go Thorne throws short right and a big hit after Lewis made the catch wow Marcus Harris a big time hit by the cornerback transfer from University of Idaho coming in laying the wood on Lewis great job by Lewis holding on to that [Applause] football well they might review this one I don't think that's Target though they are going to review it and I don't blame him for stopping and taking a look but that to me looked like fleem I'm with you I I think it's a good football play the the issue if you're a cow fan though is there is contact to the head or neck area there's the indicator you see the shoulder coming in I mean this is going to definitely be a judgment call by the officials I mean and I think technically he is still he's defenseless he's yet to make a full football move that being Robert Lewis at the wide receiver position so the question is does that count as contact to the head or neck area well it is the head and neck so you know I wouldn't be surprised if this is called targeting you know a few years ago this would have just been a good football play but definitely want to protect the football players and and targeting is a a huge emphasis in college football right now didn't lead with the crown of the helmet I think attempted to make the strike point below the head but with the defenseless receiver did that shoulder get up in the face mask or was the contact more in the Torso and sort of the Reverb was up higher this one's going to be close and it's just so hard for Defenders you know you can't go high you you can't go too low the the the Target that you're trying to hit is just so small and Robert Lewis at 510 188 lbs it's not like he has a huge huge frame so this will be interesting to see which way it goes but a crystal [Applause] foul I will say this I I do agree with the call there there is certainly contact to the head or neck area there is the indicator with leading with the shoulder it's just a it's a bummer deal for Marcus Harris he's played a tremendous football game today thought he was making a clean tackle but by definition that is targeting so instead of third and three it's first down inside the 20 Marcus Harris will have to miss the rest of this game and the first half next week he's one of C's very best defensive players the clock will start to wind again Auburn's got to get this one into the end zone running out of time down by two touchdowns at home Thorne the keeper Thorne trying to direct a blocker he gets a block but couldn't stay in bounds go out of bounds inside the 10 I think just about a yard short of a first down great job of pton Thorne using his lead Blocker in tight end revaldo Fairweather starting to sense this momentum shifting Auburn's way down 14 here Midway through the fourth yeah I mean for the Tigers if you do get it in the end zone you got plenty of time now keep an eye at the top of your screen you have Hearns who's a backup defensive back that just came in for Marcus Harris matched up against Lambert Smith see if Thorn is looking in that direction he's looking left instead and it's incomplete penalty flag thrown Coleman the intended receiver n Williams is going to get penalized I don't love that call I think that was pretty good pass def [Applause] [Music] listen don't get me wrong Williams does have his hands out there on cam Coleman but I think they're both battling pretty good if anything I think the call is because Williams didn't get his head around to track the football which a lot of times is just an automatic foul when the officials see that all right hunter in at tailback first and goal from the two and extra tight ends in for Auburn they're going to direct snap it to Hunter it looks like and now what did Auburn [Applause] move this a big call coming the disconcerting signals by the [Applause] defense [Applause] start that's the center Conor Lou so instead of first and goal from the two it goes back to the seven [Applause] and for Auburn even if it just means an extra play or two and you still get it in the end zone that could be costly yeah that's such a costly penalty for Auburn just something you can't do got to stay disciplined in these critical moments well it's definitely four plays to get in the end zone Auburn's not going to be kicking a field goal there's that guy you were talking about Lambert Smith out yeah I'm going to test the backup quarterback Hearns if I'm playing quarterback right now hunter gets the carry and hunter gets stopped Teddy Buchanan [Applause] again having himself a day what an impressive performance for the senior linebacker defense of coordinator Peter Surman told us that guy number 10 he did couldn't join the team until the fall so what do he say 50 60 hours of Zoom meetings over the summer to get him up to speed yeah it was impressive you can tell he's just a film junkie and and all about football second and goal for Auburn under 7even minutes to go little swing pass Hunter is going to try to get to the corner and Buchanan with some help miles Williams the safety was the first guy there shoved Hunter out of bounds it's third and goal very critical two-play sequence coming up here third and fourth down you mentioned it Flyn this is certainly four down territory for Auburn I've said it a couple times but if I'm the offensive coordinator for Auburn I want I want to test Hearns you know he's the backup quarterback he's going to be at the bottom of your screen I want to test him with him just coming onto the field matched up against Lewis in this particular formation play clock down to five pressure comes Thorne gets hit and it's intercepted a penalty flag thrown though no Williams inter accepted it he was trying to get it to Lambert Smith and a flag was thrown and I think that's going [Music] to another huge call goes against Cal wow what a break for Payton Thorn and the Auburn Tigers I I I didn't see pass interference initially still looking for a good shot that that's not pass interference in my book that's that's two skill guys on the outside playing late in the ball game fourth quarter Cal Broughton all out pressure Blitz zero Payton Thorne didn't recognize it till late I I completely disagree with that call I think that's a defensive back playing good football in a critical situation so now here we go again first and goal from the two Thorne keeps it touchdown Auburn well it definitely wasn't easy and they got maybe some help but Auburn does what they had to do punch it into the end zone and an extra point away for making this a seven-point game well and that's the game of football sometimes you just need the luck to bounce your way you need the calls to go your way and that's what happened for Auburn on that drive Fred Payton Thorn on that last play making a great read in the zone read scheme defensive end crashes hard he makes the correct read p pulls it finds himself in the end zone They had not scored since their first drive less than 5 minutes into the game extra point up and good that's big so it's 2114 he got 606 to go Armor's got all three of their timeouts their defense has been playing well they had to have this one though and after the penalty Thorne walks it in we got a seven-point [Music] game he you're watching the SEC on ESPN from Jordan Harris stadium in Auburn Alabama three Heisman Trophy winner statues outside this great college football venue and Auburn fans now feeling like okay we got a chance after a drive got extended a turnover got negated with a pass interference call the touchdown makes it a seven-point game and Auburn's going to kick it deep through the end zone the Cal offense will come back on the field later tonight catch more College Football on ESPN plus you got number nine Missouri against Buffalo Florida and Sanford then LSU hosting Nicholls State to get ESPN plus go to ESPN plus.com or download the ESPN app well here we go Cal Justin Willcox this was during the timeout I and I understand why he was unhappy I completely agree I mean that that was maybe the most critical sequence of the entire game you you have a targeting call you have two questionable uh passinger interference calls one was going to be an interception for your team which probably would have sealed the football game I understand where Justin wiox is at so now the cow offense back out there another low snap and a goes down a loss of two or three on the play Faulk has had a big game for the Auburn defense it's second and long oh faulk's been a game wrecker he's really kept his team in this ball game making play after play from that defensive end position TJ session at right tackle 72 just beat right at the snap you're about to hear this place Get [Applause] Loud Thomas in for C's looking to throw Mendoza short to Thomas who cuts it up field man he's a little guy but he has some toughness to him well short of the first down that was a fantastic job by Thomas navigating all that junk and traffic inside between the offense and defensive line and getting out on the halfback screen heads up playing great job by Mendoza being patient [Applause] [Applause] third and six Mendoza steps up Mendoza's going to try to run he'll get the first down and go out of bounds Fernando Mendoza went down on the sideline and he might be hurt I don't know if he tripped on somebody or what but he went down and is hurt well you hate to see it he's played such a good football game for the cow Bears today oh no one of the Auburn trainers immediately came over to help [Applause] him he has been tremendous and nothing bigger than that last third down play Auburn playing man defense Mendoza recognizes it there's no one accounting for the quarterback so Chandler Rogers is going to start to warm up the backup and Mendoza does get up he says I don't need any help wow oh it's so good to [Applause] see oh yeah it's like such an awkward step like jammed his you could almost see that knee buckle that right knee buckle he's fired up going to the sidelines cheering on his teammates he's really put his team on his back today and just had a fantastic performance maybe it was the left knee he was trying trying to get off the field on his own power well it's a huge first down and doza's got the helmet off and he's I think going to go into the 10th so welcome to the game Chandler Rogers what a moment to step into hand off and you have to figure Auburn knew that was coming Callaway gets the carry tell you what these these cow running backs there hasn't been a lot of space in that offensive front today to run through but they've they've ran really hard they keep their legs going it's really been a running back room by committee today yeah hoping for the best Fernando Mendoza going into that tent Auburn's got all three timeouts OT on the sideline he's had no room to operate and probably not close to 100% healthy the quarterback will keep it oh for the left side first down and smart enough to stay in bounds Chandler Rogers although the clock was going to wind no matter what still keep that clock moving what a heads up play by Chandler Rogers just his second play of the game coming in cold Off the Bench does a fantastic job on the Zone read picking up a fresh set of downs Brock I wonder if this is a spot where that new technology where the coach can talk to the quarterback you got a guy you can talk through situations SOI so key you you have your coach in your ear right now hey remind everybody stay in bounds here's what we're thinking on this play that's a great Point FM so first and 10 Rogers will hand it off straight ahead Callaway again they're into Auburn territory and Auburn's going to have to use their timeouts now so they call the timeout there you got the two-minute timeout as well new to college football this year C's backup quarterback trying to finish off a massive win for the Golden Bears and listen I I know we're only in week two but in this next 2 minutes and 59 seconds we're going to find out so much about these teams Auburn is supposed to be big physical right now C's running the football right and if Cal travels to the east coast and gets this big win in SEC territory what does that say about them going forward so we're going to find a lot out about these ball clubs in the last 3 minutes I mean the ACC is so wide open this year that I mean Cal's got a chance to be a factor in the ACC race you come here and win this game the way this conference is looking no question you got to remember they're missing two starting wide receivers two starting offensive line this offensive line is just patched together right now with duct tape and superglue so if they can pull off this win and get their team healthy you're exactly right they're going to make some noise in ACC but first things first they got to win this game they're up seven under three minutes to go Mendoza you saw him there with his helmet but it's still Chandler Rogers On Second and [Applause] eight with Callaway in the back field Rogers handed it off Callaway protecting the ball and another Auburn timeout just 5 Seconds rolled off the clock on that play Payton Thorne hoping to have one more chance here today now come up later tonight it's big game speaking of the ACC NC State always dangerous at home always dangerous as an underdog Tennessee's good the duk's Mayo classic presented by Capital One tonight 7:30 Eastern on ABC that's going to be a lot of fun to watch Tennessee has one of the best quarterbacks in the entire country NC State by coach Dorne they're always coached extremely well physical defense it's going to be a fun matchup all right so now now 254 to go Mendoza trying to fire up his guys and you have a huge decision of your offensive coordinator Mike bles right now it's third down do we put the football in the air to try to ice the game do we keep it on the ground it's going to be very interesting to see what he calls here this is no knock on Chandler Rogers who had a really good year last year at Southern Miss but with him in the game I don't know if I'm throwing it if it's me empty backfield on Third and five a motions into the back field Rogers is going to keep it Rogers gets hit and goes down and he's short well short Auburn uses its final timeout Cal's kind of in no man's land here we saw Ryan Longwell there kicking coach talking to the head coach listen you you've already missed two field goals I'm Justin Willcox we're going to do the pooch punt we're going to try to pin Auburn inside their own 5 yd line listen the punter Lan Wilson he's played a phenomenal game the special teams for the cow Bears have been special I'm allowing my punter to pin Auburn Deep and then let's see if pton Thorne can drive his team down the field to tie the ball game and that definitely looks like what CS decided that's the place kicker Ryan Co he takes his helmet off Lan Wilson who's had two brilliant punts in this second half is going to try to do it again I mean they were gamechanging punts Auburn you know it wasn't until their third possession of the second half that they actually had some breathing room and decent field position to work with and we'll see if Auburn tries to dial up some pressure on this punt blocked a punt last week there a big play in this game right here C's up seven under 3 minutes to go and I thought the Bears moved they did ball starts off [Applause] [Music] so now Wilson standing back at Cal Zone 40 no pressure on Wilson but a pooch type Punt and the Cal special team player found the ball and down it I think before it crossed that plane no it's a Touchback he did not well we're definitely going to show that again that was almost perfect but first let's get another update in studio with Kevin what a win for the Huskies oh my goodness huge upset Auburn trying to avoid an upset they've got the ball under three minutes to go cam Coleman with the catch and the tigers are on the move they need to get to the end zone and Coleman's hurting after that last catch [Music] C's defense needs a stop Thorne over the top left side and it's intercepted no Williams there's not going to be a penalty on this one the interception Coleman was hurt and they threw it to Coleman who I don't think had his normal ability to go up and try to get the ball and Cal comes away with a turnover no timeouts for Auburn 23 to go unbelievable I I just I can't believe it it's it's pton Thorne's thirdd interception of the day somebody who had so many high expectations and people in SEC country really thought he was going to really take off this year second season with Hugh freze just under throws that football and no Williams goes up there and makes him pay I mean you got to give Williams credit for a great interception but the turnover is just devastating now this is what I was pointing out cam Coleman when he caught that first play he was trying to get out of the game need the Zeman's hurting after that last catch they couldn't get him off the field they were trying to get needs a stop Thor Camden Brown it to him yeah you you can see he just doesn't have the juice that he's used to have in C hands the ball off Mendoza and Cal does not mind that n Williams played a phenomenal game last week backing up with another great one this week goes up which could ultimately end up being the game ceiling interception for the cow Bears what a performance by this defense today I mean he could have had three he had the one negated by the penalty Cal two minutes away from a huge win well they're headed for the exits the Auburn Tigers four turnovers three interceptions they hadn't done that since last year in Berkeley they found a way to win that game it's going to be very hard for them to do that here today Cal leads by seven no Auburn timeouts so the best case scenario you stop Cal force a punt you get it back with maybe like 25 30 seconds left Mendoza back in the game hands it off and Thomas almost took it all the way he got tackled short of Midfield so now it's third down was a great Tackle by Champ Anthony Nickelback for the Auburn Tigers if he doesn't make that tackle the game's done Cal can run out the clock disastrous day for the Auburn offense and you got to give that guy and his whole staff and team credit for the defensive game that callus played it's the defensive performance creating the turnovers four on the day for Auburn but then also controlling the the time of possession on the road with your offense under 300 total yards for Auburn on third down Thomas gets another carry and he won't get there so stop short so now the clock is rolling and cow will probably take it all the way down and then call timeout and you can see the difference there play clock game clock after a punt maybe you get it back with around 30 seconds to go well I tell you what if I'm cow though you know this is this is just it's an interesting situation you're going to try to get Auburn to jump even with that punt unit Auburn's going to stay disciplined and give Payton Thorne one more chance so Willcox just waiting over on the sideline with one of the officials next to him and now timeout 33 seconds on the clock well the Auburn offense just not clean the tip ball and the interception by Williams the the field goal try that came up way short that's the interception for Smith the ball ripped out by Teddy Buchanan who had a monster game here today and then that last one listen Auburn's a football team that a week ago played nearly a perfect football game winning 73 to3 and today they just couldn't get in Rhythm on offense on defense they couldn't get off the field on third down you saw the Special Teams the Miss field goal they just couldn't get into syn pton Thorne getting ready for one last chance over on the Auburn sideline Wilson almost a high snap they came after it there's nobody back to receive and the ball is going to bounce into the end zone which is good for Auburn it helps the field position and it's saved a couple seconds there certainly and that was a great job by Wilson catching that snap and getting the football off against an allout block situation that was the priority that was pretty big so 28 seconds no timeouts it's not impossible but Auburn one last gasp need to go 80 yards and Coleman will not be in the game pyton Thorne throws and that one is intercepted why not to end the game another pick this time from Lum Maia Hearns who came in for Marcus Harris who got ejected from the game because of targeting the fourth interception of the game the fifth Auburn turnover seals the deal you know it just seems like pton Thorn threw that football up I I'm not exactly sure where he was trying to go with that and and Hearns made him pay fourth interception on the day for Payton Thorne fifth overall turnover by the Auburn Tigers his his receivers running a go route on the outside but the football is nowhere close to where it needs to be and and like I said hearn's there to make the play fourth interception on the day there going be some huge questions to be answered for this Auburn team on the offensive side of the ball after this one Cal now in Victory formation and fitting that Fernando Mendoza is the guy to take the snap and take the knee yeah he deserved it he played one of the best college football games I've seen out of a Young quarterback in a long time and a ton of credit needs to go to Justin Willcox his entire staff for coming in here today hostile environment and really controlling the football game from the get-go when's the last time Cal had a win that big it's been a while first win against an SEC team since 2019 on the road in this environment for all of us Brock Osweiler stormy Bon and Tony Dave Fleming saying so long let's get you back to Studio with Kevin and Trevor