Drake Lindsey completed 19-of-32 passes for 205 yards and one TD with one interception for the Gophers. Le’Meke Brockington had eight catches for 106 yards.
Fame Ijeboi led the Gophers with 85 yards on 16 carries. Cam Davis had a 1-yard TD run, while tight end Jameson Geers caught a 3-yard TD pass.
For Cal, Sagapolutele completed 24-of-38 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. The true freshman spread the ball around to nine receivers, led by Jacob DeJesus’ seven catches for 54 yards and a TD.
Playing without injured running back Darius Taylor wasn’t going to be easy for the Gophers, and Cal kept Minnesota’s running game in check in the first half, allowing only 62 yards on the ground. Through the first quarter, the Gophers had only one first down to the Bears’ seven, which meant Minnesota’s defense faced heavy doses of Sagapolutele. Two long TD drives kept the Gophers in the game, but they couldn’t reach the end zone again.
The loss dropped the Gophers to 2-1, and they enter their first bye week of the season with a need to get healthy in the backfield. They open Big Ten play on Sept. 17 against Rutgers and play six consecutive weeks before their second bye. A victory over a team from a Power Four conference would have been a notch in their belt, but now they’ll have to earn bowl eligibility in the nine Big Ten games.
That came with 8:02 left in the fourth quarter when the Gophers, down 17-14, forced Cal to punt. Perich muffed it, and the Bears cashed in for a 10-point lead.
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