J’Mari Taylor rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns and No. 15 Virginia defeated Cal 31-21 for its seventh straight win on Saturday in Berkeley, Calif.
The Cavalies (8-1, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their first-ever meeting with the Golden Bears (5-4, 2-3) and stayed on track for a spot in the ACC title game. It’s their best nine-game start since 1990.
Virginia outgained Cal 456-263 as Chandler Morris completed 24 of 36 passes for 262 yards and Taylor tallied his 10th and 11th rushing TDs of the season.
Cal dropped its second straight game and still needs one win to become bowl eligible for the third straight season.
True freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw for 213 yards with two interceptions for the Golden Bears, including a late pick-six. Kendrick Raphael had two touchdown runs and a touchdown catch.
Cal trailed 24-21 early in the fourth after Raphael’s 1-yard TD run, giving him back-to-back games with three scores.
The Golden Bears got the ball back at their own 14 with 45 seconds left but Sagapolutele’s pass was intercepted and returned 35 yards for a touchdown by Kam Robinson.
Cal has lost 14 consecutive games against ranked opponents since the 2020 season.
Virginia, in its 122nd season of college football, notched its first-ever win in the Pacific Time Zone.
Taylor’s 25-yard TD run capped Virginia’s first possession of the game and Will Bettridge’s 26-yard field goal extended the first-quarter lead to 10-0.
The teams traded 14-play scoring drives in the second quarter. Cal cut it to 10-7 when Raphael took a direct snap and scored on a 2-yard run. Taylor’s second TD rush from 5 yards out put the Cavaliers up 17-7.
They traded TDs again in the third quarter. Cal scored on a gadget play as tight end Mason Mini threw a 42-yard TD pass to Raphael to pull within 17-14, but Virginia answered with a 3-yard run by Eli Wood to make it 24-14.
