Cal's late TD denies No. 21 SMU spot in ACC title game

Field Level Media|published: Sun 30th November, 24:12 2025

NCAA Football: Southern Methodist at California

Nov 29, 2025; Berkeley, California, USA; California Golden Bears wide receiver Jacob De Jesus (center right) celebrates with wide receiver Jayden Dixon-Veal (center left) after scoring a touchdown against the Southern Methodist Mustangs during the second quarter at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Kendrick Raphael scored on a 2-yard run with 43 seconds remaining as Cal, in interim coach Nick Rolovich's debut, stunned No. 21 SMU 38-35 on Saturday night in Berkeley, Calif., denying the Mustangs a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

A 1-yard plunge by T.J. Harden with 2:22 remaining capped SMU's run of touchdowns on four consecutive second-half possessions for a 35-31 lead, putting the Mustangs (8-4, 6-2 ACC) in the driver's seat for a shot at Virginia for the ACC title next Saturday.

But freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who threw four touchdowns, completed five consecutive passes to quickly move the Golden Bears in scoring position. Raphael then capped a 111-yard rushing night with his scamper that barely broke the plane of the goal line, sending Duke into the ACC title game.

SMU had a chance to force overtime, but Sam Keltner missed wide right from 52 yards on a potential game-tying field goal with three seconds left.

One game after being held to 10 points in a blowout loss to rival Stanford that resulted in coach Justin Wilcox's firing, Cal (7-5, 4-4) ran up 452 yards against the Mustangs.

Sagapolutele accounted for 330 of those yards, completing 31 of 40 passes. He threw four TD passes to four different receivers - Jaiven Plummer and Jacob De Jesus in the second quarter, Cole Boscia in the third quarter and QuaRon Adams on the first play of the fourth quarter, the latter giving the hosts a 31-14 lead.

However, SMU rallied behind Kevin Jennings, who ran 3 yards for a score and had a 20-yard TD connection with Jordan Hudson to get the Mustangs within 31-28 with 7:59 to go.

Jennings finished 24-for-36 passing for 250 yards with two TDs and one interception. Chris Johnson Jr. rushed for a game-high 128 yards and a first-quarter score for SMU, while Matthew Hibner caught five passes for 87 yards and a third-quarter TD.

Raphael's 111 rushing yards came on 33 carries for the Golden Bears, who are bowl-eligible thanks to their seven-win regular season. De Jesus led all receivers in the game with 12 catches for 97 yards and his one score.

--Field Level Media

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