Cal reached college football bowl eligibility for the second year in a row with a victory over Stanford in the 127th edition of ‘The Big Game’ on Saturday. Fans stormed onto the field at California Memorial Stadium to celebrate the rivalry win, which led to a remarkable scene in Berkeley.
However, one of the students tried to leave with an unauthorized souvenir and got absolutely clobbered by an equipment staffer.
The Golden Bears came from behind with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to defeat the Cardinal for the fourth-straight year. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza led his offense 98 yards on 11 plays to seal the win.
YOU KNOW IT
— The Liberal Calgorithm (@wokemobfootball) November 24, 2024
YOU TELL THE STORY
YOU TELL THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD THIS IS BEAR TERRITORY!!!#Calgorithm #GoBears #ALLIN #H1m pic.twitter.com/sCjouUQ7Jn
The party was on as soon as the clock hit zero!
Mendoza was unable to control his emotions during his legendary postgame interview with the ACC Network and it was one of those moments where you can’t help but be romantic about college football. Everybody said that the 12-team playoff was going to dilute the product. People thought the games would have less meaning. That is not the case!
“THAT WAS AN AMAZING COMEBACK … I LOVE MY BOYS … GO BEARS FOREVER!”
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) November 24, 2024
Fernando Mendoza overcome with emotion after his game-winning drive vs. Stanford 🥹@CalFootball | @qb_fernando pic.twitter.com/yYZvGQDhPY
Amidst all of the chaos, one of the fans on the field decided to go rogue. It appeared to be a student.
He veeerrrryyyyyy slowly walked over to the Cal bench as if he was supposed to be there, grabbed the nearest helmet and took off running back into the sea of people. Although he was actually pretty sneaky with his thievery, he was not sneaky enough. A pair Golden Bears staffers saw him steal the helmet and immediately chased after him. The second staffer, who was wearing team-affiliated gear, laid a BIG hit on the fan after the first staffer prevented him from getting away. It was a slobberknocker.
Cal EQ guy demolished fan who tried to steal a players helmet 🔥 pic.twitter.com/gIsQatYJlr
— Brad (@Graham_SFN) November 25, 2024
Cal will finish its 2024 college football regular season at No. 9 SMU on Saturday. Should head coach Justin Wilcox need an extra linebacker, he does not have to look very far. His staff is ready to step up in the clutch!