Fernando Mendoza (Freshman) and Barrett Miller (Offensive Line) have earned Week 12 Pac-12 Player of the Week honors.

FB11/20/2023 1:00 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Mendoza Named Freshman Of The Week; Miller Earns Offensive Line Recognition

BERKELEY – The California football team added two Pac-12 Player of the Week honors Monday when the conference announced its Week 12 performance awards, presented by Nextiva, with the selections of Freshman of the Week Fernando Mendoza and Offensive Lineman of the Week Barrett Miller. Both earned Pac-12 weekly recognition for the first time in their career.

Cal has had five Pac-12 Player of the Week selections in the last two weeks, including two in a row on the offensive line after Cade Uluave (Defensive, Freshman) and Brian Driscoll (Offensive Line) combined for three honors after a Week 11 win over Washington State. Cal has totaled seven Pac-12 Player of the Week selections in 2023, including an all-time best three on the offensive line with the others being Lachlan Wilson as the Week 5 Special Teams Player of the Week after a win over Arizona State and the first of two Offensive Lineman of the Week picks in 2023 for Driscoll after a Week 1 win at North Texas.

Cal (5-6, 3-5 Pac-12) closes its regular season at UCLA (7-4, 4-4) in the final scheduled Pac-12 football game for both teams with the Golden Bears joining the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Bruins moving on to the Big Ten in 2024. The teams have played each other at least once every season since 1933.

Visit CalBears.com for tickets and check out the Cal Athletic Fund online to support the Cal football program via the Championship CALiber initiative.

Below are notes on Mendoza and Miller with extended bios available by clicking on their names.

 

Fernando Mendoza, QB, 6-5, 220, R-Fr., 2nd Season At Cal (Miami, FL/Columbus HS)

– Posted career highs with 294 yards passing and three touchdown throws in a 27-15 win in the 126th Big Game at Stanford in Week 12, completing 24-of-36 passes and posting a 158.1 passer rating against the Cardinal

– Won his second straight game as Cal’s starting quarterback

– Has started each of Cal’s last six contests at quarterback

– Has completed 112-of-180 passes (62.2%) for 1,269 yards with 11 touchdown passes and five interceptions for a 130.8 passer efficiency rating on the season

 

Barrett Miller, OL, 6-5, 310, Sr., 5th Collegiate Season/1st Season At Cal (Aurora, CO/Stanford/Mountain Ridge HS)

– Became just the second known player to start five times in the Big Game in a 27-15 Week 12 win over the Cardinal in the game’s 126th edition

– Started in the Big Game four times for Stanford (2019-22) before making his fifth Big Game start for the Golden Bears

– Played in all 84 offensive snaps (as well as all four on FG/PAT team) of the Big Game and contributed six knockdown/pancake blocks while grading out at 88%

– Blocked in the 126th Big Game for Jaydn Ott, who rushed a career-high 36 times for 166 yards and one touchdown, and pass protected for Fernando Mendoza, who had career highs of 294 yards passing and three touchdown throws while completing 24-of-36 passing and posting a 157.2 quarterback rating

– The only known scholarship football player to transfer from Stanford to Cal, while Brennan Scarlett is the only known scholarship football player to transfer from Cal to Stanford

– One of Cal’s four offensive players and eight overall to start each of the first 11 games with all of his starts at left tackle

– Has paved the way for Ott, an All-American candidate who ranks fourth nationally and leads the Pac-12 in rushing yards per game (118.0 ypg) while leading a rushing offense that is fourth in the Pac-12 and 25th nationally with an average of 186.3 rushing yards per game that is its highest since 2005