Cal’s opening loss to UCLA left plenty to clean up, but Tosh Lupoi isn’t interested in letting it linger.
Three days after the Bears dropped their season opener 45-24, the first-year head coach said the message inside the program has stayed simple: move on and get to work. Cal was back in full pads Tuesday, and Lupoi said the focus has been on execution, consistency and response rather than any kind of emotional hangover.
“So what, now what? That’s been the approach,” Lupoi said during his Tuesday news conference.
“Today was a very physical day. Full pads, attacking the process.
Monday as well - good energy. Thankful for this crew.
Love these guys, the way they respond.”
That attitude will be tested immediately. Cal heads to Syracuse on Saturday to open ACC play, and the Orange - picked 14th in the preseason ACC media poll - blasted FCS-level New Hampshire 66-3.
“Got an awesome challenge ahead of us in a hostile environment. Just got to keep pressing toward the best version of us,” Lupoi said.
The Bruins game offered both promise and frustration. Cal spent stretches looking capable of hanging with UCLA and was tied 24-24 midway through the fourth quarter before back-to-back turnovers and a failed defensive stand helped the Bruins pull away.
Lupoi approached the breakdowns the same way he did after the game: measured, direct and willing to shoulder his share of the blame while making clear the fixes have to come from everywhere.
“I think it all starts with me setting the tone of how we’re going to be,” he said. “Nobody moping around here or having their eyes down.
Recognizing just exactly what we need to improve and attacking it. The guys have been awesome.
“There’s some tough, hard coaching there that needs to be done. And recognition of where we could have been better as a staff, where we could be better as players and then moving on and really attacking those.”
The message appears to have landed. Offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville said there has been no carryover from the loss through the Bears’ first two practices since.
“No issues there,” he said. “Today was a great day getting back in pads and those guys taking the field with some purpose and urgency to get things right again.”
Defensive coordinator Michael Hutchings pointed to the start of the second half, when Cal forced punts on three straight possessions, as a sign of what the unit can be when things click.
“Right there in that little stretch, you kind of saw some things come together. The sideline was alive.
Guys were feeding off each other. The communication was high, the execution was high,” he said.
“We got a little glimpse of what we can be.
“How do we replicate that? How do we keep consistent? But that was a promising piece.”
Still, neither side was close to satisfied with the overall performance. Cal’s offense committed three turnovers, had a couple of missed catches and struggled to hold up in pass protection and run blocking.
The defense gave up 277 rushing yards, including 130 on UCLA’s final three scoring drives, when the Bruins didn’t even throw a pass. Tackling was inconsistent, too.
For Lupoi, the fix starts with keeping the group together and avoiding finger-pointing.
“It’s about making it clear we’re all in this together. It ain’t about blaming anybody,” Lupoi said. “It all starts with me.”
When asked whether the Bears needed to be looser and more energetic after seeing UCLA’s players dancing on the sideline as the fourth quarter began, Lupoi smiled and brushed the idea aside.
“I think the guys plays fast and with great effort. It’s about the execution.
I don’t think dancing is going to help us," he said. "Don’t plan on us dancing, but do plan on us executing at a higher level.”
In Other News...
Cals Best Grades After UCLA Loss Came From An Unexpected Place
Pro Football Focus review of Cals performance after the loss to UCLA surfaced an interesting mix of familiar and unexpected names near the top of the grade sheet. Running back Adam Mohammed was heavily involved offensively, piling up 120 rushing yards and adding seven catches, but his overall mark came in at 68.3 because of a low pass protection grade. Even so, he was part of a group of five Cal players who finished above 70 in PFFs evaluation, a list that also included safety Kingston Lopa and offensive tackles Frederick Williams III and Jimothy Lewis.
The grading split hints at how uneven Cals night was, with some of the better individual showings coming from spots that dont always draw the most attention. Lopa was among the defenders who stood out in the postgame charting, while the offensive line had at least a couple of players earning solid reviews despite the loss. For a team still sorting through what carried over and what fell apart against UCLA, the film grades offered one more reminder that the most encouraging performances did not always come from the places fans might have expected. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Faces An Early ACC Test After That UCLA Letdown
Californias first ACC road trip brings a trip to the JMA Wireless Dome and an opening conference test against Syracuse, a matchup that arrives with plenty of intrigue for a program still sorting out the aftermath of its UCLA letdown. It is only the fourth all-time meeting between the schools, and the Bears have not played on Syracuses home field in a very long time, which adds a little extra texture to a game that already matters as the league schedule begins.
Cal will also be leaning on some of the early-season production that has given its offense a steadier feel. Running back Adam Mohammed has flashed career-best form, while quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has already been stringing together big passing afternoons at a remarkable rate. The challenge now is whether that momentum travels cleanly into a first conference test that could say plenty about how quickly the Bears can settle in after an uneven start. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Enters ACC Opener With Rare Outside Respect
Syracuses ACC opener against Cal comes with a little more national intrigue than usual, and not just because it is the first league meeting between the programs. On Monday, Orange coach Fran Brown spent part of his press conference highlighting what Cal brings to the matchup, specifically singling out quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele as a talented young player and noting the Bears competitiveness under first-year coach Tosh Lupoi.
Browns comments landed as a reminder that Cal is arriving in the conference with at least one opponent already viewing it through a cautious lens. He pointed to Lupois long coaching background, including his time under Nick Saban at Alabama, and credited the Bears staff for shaping a team Syracuse will need to be ready for right away, especially with a quarterback whose upside has already caught the attention of a league opponent. [Read more 🡒]