California Golden Bears Athletics
Clemson Pulls Away Late To Defeat Bears
9/25/2026 11:14 PM | Football
Cal Drops ACC Home Opener To Tigers
BERKELEY - The California football team allowed two second-half touchdowns and Clemson earned a 24-10 win over the Bears in front of 41,778 fans at Databricks Field at California Memorial Stadium on Friday.
Bryant Wesco Jr.'s 65-yard punt return for a touchdown with 3:57 left in the third quarter put the Tigers (3-1, 2-0 ACC) in front to stay.
Clemson finished off the scoring on Gideon Davidson's 75-yard rushing TD with 2:58 remaining in the fourth quarter.
"We're going to work our tails off to find the answers where we lacked execution," Travers Family Head Football Coach Tosh Lupoi said.
The Bears (2-2, 1-1) got on the board first, courtesy of their defense. Clemson had a 1st-and-10 at its 39. Pressure flushed freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds out of the pocket. As Reynolds scrambled to his right, defensive back Aiden Manutai upended him and the ball came loose just before Reynolds hit the turf. Kamar Mothudi picked up the fumble and motored 35 yards to the end zone. With 5:15 left in the first quarter, California led 7-0.
On the ensuing possession, the Tigers had a 2nd-and-goal at the Cal 3. The Bears benefited from a false start penalty on Clemson before excellent tackles by Kingston Lopa (for no gain) and Jericho Johnson (for a 4-yard loss) on Reynolds forced the Tigers to settle for a 30-yard field by Nolan Hauser on the first play of the second quarter.
Cal's lead was trimmed to 7-3.
Clemson had a 17-play, 66-yard drive in the second quarter capped by Davidson's 1-yard run to take a 10-7 edge. That was the score at halftime.
The Bears began the second half with an 11-play, 71-yard drive highlighted by a 26-yard pass from tight end Mason Mini to wide receiver Ian Strong to the Cal 46. Mini was 2-for-2 passing for 58 yards and a touchdown last season. The drive would stall at the Clemson 12 and Chase Meyer converted a 30-yard field-goal try to make it a 10-10 game.
Lopa and fellow defensive back Isaiah Crosby each had a career-high 11 tackles.
"I believe in this team. I believe in this staff," Lupoi said. "Anything from a staff standpoint that we've got to do a better job, that's the first thing we're going to address – and then call out exactly what we need to fix from the standard of play."
The Bears play their final nonconference game of the season next Saturday when they face UNLV in Las Vegas. The game begins at 12:30 p.m. PT and airs on CBS Sports Network.
