Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza has been named the Manning Award QB of the Week as voted on by fans after his Week 9 performance that led the Bears to their first win since Week 3 of the season. The redshirt sophomore from Miami passed for a career-high 364 yards to go along with a pair of touchdowns in the dominant win for the Bears over Oregon State on Saturday.
Mendoza now has over 2,000 yards on the season thanks to his performance and is one of just four quarterbacks in the ACC to have reached that number this year. That showing against the Beavers also earned him the ACC Quarterback of the Week award earlier this week.
The fan voting in favor of Mendoza helped him beat out several other candidates for the award. That list included: Joey Aguilar (App State), Max Brosmer (Minnesota), Taylen Green (Arkansas), Josh Hoover (TCU), Colton Joseph (Old Dominion), Cooper Legas (Tulsa), and Shedeur Sanders (Colorado).
Mendoza has continued to make progress this season and his last three performances have been efficient with a completion percentage of at least 70% in each of the last three games for the Bears. He's reached that number four times this season. The Miami native now sits with 11 total touchdowns this year (10 passing, 1 rushing) against just 3 interceptions.
The Cal starting quarterback was not named to the preseason or mid-season watch lists for the Manning Award, which is decided by a panel that includes Peyton and Eli Manning, but the list can go through changes with a finalist group expected to be announced in December.
The Bears have a bye this week but return to action next Friday against Wake Forest. Cal is still seeking out its first ACC victory but snapped a four-game losing streak with the win over OSU on Saturday.
