Two weeks into the season, Cal’s roster is already telling a clear story: some groups are holding up, a few are still trying to meet the billing, and the whole operation has been shaped by injuries, mistakes and a handful of standout plays.
Start at quarterback, where sophomore Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has carried the heaviest load. Outside of the six snaps Jackson Brousseau played against UCLA, the grade here belongs almost entirely to Sagapolutele.
He’s had a solid two-game start compared with the standard he set as a freshman, throwing for 271 yards against UCLA while also tossing two interceptions, though one came on a dropped pass. He also saw his 14-game streak of 200-plus passing yards end against Syracuse, but he kept the ball clean in that wild game.
Even with Cal’s offense sputtering, Sagapolutele still posted a team-best 91.1 PFF grade against Syracuse, which says plenty about how much of the issue goes beyond one player.
The wide receiver room, on the other hand, hasn’t matched its preseason hype. Transfers Ian Strong and Chase Hendricks were supposed to lift this group significantly, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Strong has put up 158 yards on eight catches, yet he’s also been part of multiple costly drops, including one that turned into a Sagapolutele interception against UCLA. His PFF grade against the Bruins was 58, and Hendricks hasn’t done enough to offset the inconsistency.
The ceiling is still there, but through two weeks, this group has work to do.
At running back, Adam Mohammed has given Cal something real. He’s shown contact balance and toughness, and his 120-yard rushing day against UCLA stood out.
Still, his rough 18.3 grade in pass protection against the Bruins drags the room down. The bigger problem is the injury Carter Vargas suffered against UCLA, because his absence exposes a thin backfield that now leans heavily on Mohammed until Vargas returns.
Tight end sits in a similar place: some promise, not enough depth. Mason Mini has been the main bright spot, with 96 receiving yards, which ranks third among Cal receivers in 2026.
But New Mexico transfer Dorian Thomas’ injury has taken a real bite out of the room, and Taimane Purcell hasn’t filled the gap. Once Thomas is back, this group has a chance to look much more like what was expected in the preseason.
Up front, the offensive line has been better than the last two years’ results but still isn’t above scrutiny. Cal came into the season with four returners and just one new starter at right tackle, Jimothy Lewis Jr., so the expectation was simple: improve.
Against UCLA, Sagapolutele had to scramble constantly, but Frederick Williams III and Lewis were two of only four Bears to earn PFF grades above 70 in that game. Injuries have also forced adjustments in the middle of games, yet the unit has handled the chaos reasonably well.
Given the low bar set before the season, that’s enough for a B+.
The defensive line’s grade comes from a split-screen start. The run defense was rough against UCLA, with PFF giving Cal a 33.7 overall in that area and Nico Iamaleava having too much time to operate while the Bruins’ backs found room.
But the group bounced back against Syracuse, where it generated steady pressure on Steve Angeli, including Solomon Williams’ push that helped create the game-sealing interception. Cal’s defensive front also finished with two sacks, two quarterback hurries and a stronger run effort against the Orange.
No unit on the roster has looked better than the defensive backs. Kingston Lopa has been the headline with four interceptions, three of them against Syracuse.
Isaiah Crosby has been everywhere again, and Daniel Harris has stood out in coverage and as a pass rusher, leading Cal with two sacks while also owning the top PFF grade among ACC cornerbacks at 76.6. Even with injuries to Ricky Fletcher and Marquis Groves-Killebrew, this group has kept playing at a high level.
Linebacker has been a tougher watch. AJ Tuitele has flashed speed and instinct, but the rest of the room hasn’t made much noise.
The run defense issues against UCLA hurt badly, and Tuitele’s targeting penalty exit only made an already messy situation harder to manage. Outside of tackles, no Cal linebacker has put up a stat beyond Tuitele, which shows how little splash this unit has created.
Losing Cade Uluave and Luke Ferrelli matters, but that doesn’t erase the lack of force shown so far.
Special teams have been quiet overall, which is at least better than chaotic. Kicker Towns McGough has only had two attempts to work with, making a field goal inside the 30 against UCLA and missing from 46 against Syracuse. That small sample makes the grade tough to pin down, though the fact that Cal has only needed one kicker so far suggests some stability.
Punter Angus Davies has looked capable of changing field position. The Tulsa transfer averaged 42.6 yards per punt through two games, with a long of 52.
That fits with the résumé he brought in, including a 2025 season in which 44% of his punts landed inside the 20 and an 80-yard long. The issue has been the return defense around him.
Cal has allowed an ACC-high 62 punt return yards, and that number would be worse if Syracuse hadn’t had two returns wiped out by penalties, including a 75-yard runback and an 81-yard touchdown return.
After two weeks, the grades show a team with a strong back end, some useful pieces up front and several rooms still trying to match their preseason expectations.
In Other News...
Cal Has A Chance To Fix One Concern Before Clemson Looms
After opening ACC play with a win at Syracuse, Cal comes home this week to face Wagner with a chance to tighten a few things up before Clemson appears on the schedule. The Bears have been boosted by sophomore safety Kingston Lopa, whose ball production has stood out early, and by running back Adam Mohammed, who has emerged as one of the leagues more productive rushers.
Wagner, an FCS program from Staten Island, arrives after a heavy loss to James Madison and has not beaten a Power 4 opponent. Redshirt freshman quarterback Benjamin Newman leads the Seahawks offense, but for Cal the bigger question is whether this game can serve as a clean tune-up while the Bears continue sorting out the pieces around their next stretch of conference play. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Showed Off A Dangerous New Edge In Blowout Win
Cal left little doubt in its blowout win over Wagner, leaning on a physical edge and an offense that kept finding answers all game. Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele helped direct the attack, Adam Mohammed found the end zone multiple times, and the Bears kept stacking scoring drives while Wagner had trouble sustaining anything of its own.
The big-play element also showed up in a hurry, with Cal stretching the field and turning one explosive moment into a wider avalanche. Wagner did manage to score once, but most of the afternoon belonged to a Bears team that looked faster, stronger, and much harder to handle than the opposition, a promising sign for a group trying to prove it can bring more than just efficiency on offense. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Pulled Off A Syracuse Win That Makes No Sense
Cals win at Syracuse was the kind of result that leaves the box score looking upside down. Syracuse outplayed the Bears in most of the familiar categories, but Cal kept finding a way to stay alive because the defense kept swinging the game back in its direction. Kingston Lopa was at the center of it, turning in one of the best defensive showings Cal has had in recent memory and changing the feel of the afternoon with every takeaway.
The odd part is how little the broader performance seemed to matter once the turnovers started piling up. By the usual in-game metrics, this was a victory that barely made sense, one of those results the models would not have liked for Cal without the hidden value created on defense. Lopas impact was so large that it moved the Bears from being outplayed to being the team with the better path to the finish, which is why the game will be remembered less for how it looked and more for how it ended. [Read more 🡒]