Through four games, the Cal Golden Bears arrive at Chestnut Hill for their ACC opener boasting a 3-1 record. Cal started off hot, winning their first three games against Oregon State, Texas Southern, and Minnesota, all by double digits. This past weekend though, a trip down to San Diego State resulted in a 34-0 loss. They were two touchdown favorites, but were undone by turnovers and constant pressure. Sound familiar?
Now they leave the Pacific time zone for the first time this season in the ACC’s longest conference road trip. Ninth year head coach Justin Wilcox is looking to guide the program to its first winning season since 2019. A promising start to last season was marred by injuries and culminated in a mass exodus of star players, but they’re looking to capitalize on the College-GameDay-level momentum.
Their campaign so far has been up and down despite the start, defined by youth at quarterback, a cobbled together skill position group, and a defense still looking to find their groove.
Offense: Big Plays and a Few Growing Pains
Cal true freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has been impressive through the Bears’ first few games. Before the SDSU game, he was completing 66% of his passes and had just one interception. Through four games now, he has nearly 1,000 passing yards, showing flashes of big-time potential mixed with the expected freshmen mistakes. He had the highest PFF passing grade by a true freshman ever in the win over Oregon State.
The 18-year old lefty can certainly sling it, but might not yet be ready to to shoulder too much at this point. The first of his two interceptions against the Aztecs went back 97 yards to the house, and his second occurred on the very next drive. Those interceptions came as he tried to do just a bit too much in the second half where his team was getting shutout.
Still, he has been named ACC newcomer of the week twice already for those other standout performances.
The offense leans boom-or-bust with a tendency for a stagnant series or two offset by explosive passing plays. Wideout Trond Grizzell is the primary returning weapon leading the team with 266 yards. Most of Cal’s offensive weapons are new faces or transfers. UNLV transfer receiver Jacob De Jesus and Idaho transfer tight end Mason Mini have been Sagapolutele’s main targets with 20 and 19 receptions, respectively. Offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin has pushed the Bears into pass-heavy scripts, particularly early in games, to show off his young QB’s arm, build confidence, and maximize chunk gains.
Their leading rusher, Kendrick Raphael has tallied 228 rushing yards, but the run game overall has been inconsistent due to an overhauled O-line. Raphael’s fumble last weekend was scooped up for a score. Cal is the second worst rushing team in the conference (105.2 ypg) ahead of, you guessed it, Boston College (73.3). Sagapolutele was sacked three times last week and pressured all night.
Defense: Solid Front, Secondary in Flux
Defensively, Cal is anchored by linebacker Cade Uluave, who leads the squad with 34 tackles, five for loss, providing some stability in a largely new front six. Thanks to key transfer portal additions up front, Cal’s run defense has stiffened and the pass rush shows improvement. Returning defensive lineman Aiden Keanaaina is another anchor up front, while linebacker TJ Bush leads with two sacks. Cal ranks third in the conference in rushing defense allowing just 94.8 ypg, despite getting gashed over the course of their most recent game.
The secondary has experienced high turnover, with new starters across the board—leading to some vulnerability against big plays.
But this Cal defense has a history of generating turnovers. Hezekiah Masses, one of the new faces, already has three interceptions, seven pass break-ups, and 10 passes defensed — the latter two best in the nation and second best in the int-department. He’s proving to be a playmaker in an otherwise inexperienced defensive backfield. Last season, now-KC Chief Nohl Williams led Cal and the country with seven picks. Lonergan has been mostly good in this department and will want to bounce back from the Stanford outing.
Cal kicker Abram Murray was 3-3 on the season but unavailable last week. The backup Chase Meyer was 3-3 before missing a 44-yarder. The special teams unit had a huge fumble recovery on a punt to seal the game against Minnesota.
BC is almost a touchdown favorite in this one, coming off a bye and with Cal having to make the long trek. Fortunately for them, this game is a more reasonable 3:30pm game. Let’s get back on track.
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