AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn started quickly and rallied late but five turnovers proved costly in a 21-14 toss to California Saturday at sold-out Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“I knew this would be a good test for us. They're a senior-laden football team, they play extremely hard and they're well-coached.” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. "You cannot turn the ball over five times and expect to beat anybody. We never got in any sync offensively and that’s very disappointing and frustrating to me. It rests with me and I’ve got to figure that out for us.”
Trailing 21-7 in the fourth quarter, Payton Thorne scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 6:06 remaining to cap a 75-yard drive.
Auburn’s defense forced a punt to give the Tigers a chance at an 80-yard game-tying drive with 2:40 to play, but an interception ended the possession after two plays.
“Their quarterback played lights out in the first half," Freeze said. "Our defense really improved as the game went on in the second half and gave us chances.”
The Tigers forced another punt and regained possession with 28 seconds left, but the Tigers’ fourth interception ended the opportunity.
For the second straight week, the Tigers scored on their opening possession, gaining 72 yards on three Thorne completions, a 16-yarder to Rivaldo Fairweather, a 44-yard completion to Cam Coleman and a 15-yard touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith on third-and-10.
Cal answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive on which quarterback Fernando Mendoza was 6-for-6, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to Nyziah Hunter on third-and-2, tying the score at 7-7 midway through the first quarter.
After the visitors missed a field goal, Cal intercepted Auburn’s next play and capitalized on the turnover three plays later to take a 14-7 lead with a 13-yard touchdown pass on third-and-2 from Mendoza to Hunter. Cal was 7-for-10 on third down in the first half, controlling possession for 20 minutes, 32 seconds.
Keldric Faulk made back-to-back sacks late in the half to force a punt that gave Auburn possession in the final minute, but the half ended on a missed 60-yard field goal attempt.
Faulk’s consecutive sacks were Auburn’s first since Reggie Torbor sacked Ole Miss QB Eli Manning on back-to-back plays in 2003. Faulk led Auburn with eight tackles, including three tackles for loss.
"I felt my pops looking down on me," Faulk said. "He's my motivation, as well as my mom and my brother. They're my motivation to do what I do on Saturday. I felt his presence and in my head he was like, 'Go get him son.'"
After Auburn’s first two drives of the second half began on the Tigers’ 2-yard line, the Tigers had better field position at their 34 after Auburn’s defense forced a three-and-out, but a first-down interception quickly ended the possession at the end of the third quarter.
Trailing 14-7 in the fourth quarter after a missed Cal field goal, Auburn advanced to its 44-yard line, but the Bears forced and recovered a fumble, then scored two plays later on Jaivian Thomas’ 32-yard touchdown run with 11:27 remaining.
Auburn (1-1) welcomes New Mexico next Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT for Homecoming.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer