Sagapolutele leads Cal to a 38-35 upset win over No. 21 SMU in final minute

BERKELEY Freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele delivered his first four-touchdown performance and Cal held off a furious comeback effort by No SMU to claim a - accomplishment in the Bears first contest since coach Justin Wilcox s firing Kendrick Raphael scored the game-winning touchdown on -yard run with seconds left a play in which he was tackled by Alexander Kilgore but rolled over the linebacker and into the end zone SMU had scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns after the Bears took a - lead T J Harden put the Mustangs in front - with left on a -yard run to cap a five-play -yard drive California Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele throws a pass against Southern Methodist Mustangs in the first half of their event at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley Calif on Saturday Nov Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group But Sagapolutele and the Bears weren t done They drove yards in seven plays with Sagapolutele hitting Cole Boscia with a -yard completion to the Two plays later Raphael scored on his rd carry of the night completing a -yard battle SMU redshirt freshman Sam Keltner missed wide right on a -yard field goal with seconds left and Sagapolutele took a knee to end the championship The Bears improved to - overall and - in conference play in their regular-season finale and avoided a losing conference record for the first time since They will learn their bowl assignment next Sunday In the process they also derailed the Mustangs hopes of reaching the ACC championship battle for the second year in a row SMU - - lost just its second regular-season conference contest since joining the ACC in Sagapolutele finished for for yards and four touchdowns without a turnover Jacob De Jesus caught passes for yards one of four receivers who hauled in touchdowns for the Bears The Bears led - at halftime and were up - after Sagapolutele fired a -yard TD pass to QuaRon Adams on the first play of the fourth quarter But the Mustangs never panicked They scored on consecutive possessions first when quarterback Kevin Jennings went in on a -yard keeper with left in the fourth California Golden Bears general manager Ron Rivera walks the sidelines in the first half of their match at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley Calif on Saturday Nov Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group After forcing Cal to punt for just the second time SMU marched yards in plays with Jennings throwing a -yard TD to wide receiver Jordan Hudson with left pulling the Mustangs within - Cal dominated all but one play in the first half to lead - Sagapolutele threw touchdowns of yards to wide receiver Jaiven Plummer just the second career catch by the sophomore and yards to De Jesus the latter following a pass interception and -yard return to the by freshman safety Aiden Manutai Sagpolutele s second TD put the Bears up by with left in the half Cal had a chance to add to its lead but Abram Murray was wide right on a -yard field goal try with left before intermission SMU s only first-half touchdown came on a -yard run by Chris Johnson Jr putting the Mustangs in front - with to play in the first quarter Otherwise Cal had its way in the half The Bears racked up yards on snaps while SMU was limited to yards other than the TD run on plays