SMU Scores 42 Unanswered After the Break to Rout Cal
California led at halftime. That is the part of this story that gets harder to believe the further you read. A Towns McGough field goal as the second quarter expired put Cal up 20-17, and the Bears did not score again. SMU won 59-20.
It was a real game for 30 minutes. Cal scored first on a 10-yard pass from Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele to Chase Hendricks, and SMU answered with a field goal and a 22-yard touchdown from Kevin Jennings to Kendrick Raphael. Cal went back in front on a Mason Mini one-yard run and a McGough field goal, Raphael tied it at 17 with a one-yard run, and McGough's 37-yarder at the gun made it 20-17. The lead changed hands twice in that stretch.
Then SMU scored on six straight touchdowns. Christian Rhodes ran in from five yards and three yards, Derrick McFall caught a 21-yard touchdown, Raphael added another one-yard run, and Jalen Hale (17 yards) and EJ Kelly (10 yards) finished it. That is 42 points to Cal's none, in a game where SMU ran 44 times for 256 yards and had 492 total yards to Cal's 305. Cal, which threw for 265 yards and ran for 40, never turned the ball over and could not do a thing about it.
Cal led after 30 minutes and lost by 39. Those are not supposed to go together.
SMU is 6-1 and Cal falls to 3-5. Fantasy managers with Raphael, Jennings or Rhodes got what they paid for, and even Hendricks had his best week of the season in a loss.