Cal’s defense looked a lot different against Syracuse, and the change showed up everywhere that mattered.
After being more restrained in the opener against UCLA, defensive coordinator Michael Hutchings turned up the pressure in Cal’s 21-18 win over Syracuse. The Bears came after quarterback Steve Angeli again and again, and the approach produced the kind of disruption Cal had been missing a week earlier.
According to Pro Football Focus, Cal blitzed on 26 of Angeli’s 54 dropbacks, a rate of 56.1%. That’s the kind of heat Brian Flores has made a calling card with the Minnesota Vikings since taking over as defensive coordinator in 2023, and Hutchings spent the past three seasons as a Vikings defensive backs coach.
The numbers tell the story. Against UCLA, Cal’s defense generated just seven quarterback pressures - two sacks, one quarterback hit and four quarterback hurries, per PFF - while forcing one turnover and giving up 45 points in a 45-24 loss.
Against Syracuse, the Bears piled up 26 pressures, including two sacks, eight quarterback hits and 16 quarterback hurries. They also forced three turnovers and held the Orange to 18 points.
That kind of pressure only works if the coverage behind it holds up, and Cal got exactly that from its secondary. Kingston Lopa, Isaiah Crosby and Daniel Harris were among the defenders who helped make the strategy work, with Lopa grabbing all three interceptions. Quimari Shemwell also had a pick that was wiped out by a penalty.
Angeli entered the game with a strong track record of protecting the football. He had played five games for Syracuse and 19 for Notre Dame before meeting Cal, and had thrown only three interceptions across those 24 games. He matched that total in one night against the Bears.
The shift stands out even more when compared with Cal’s approach last season under Justin Wilcox. The Bears had a blitz rate of just 19% in 2025, which ranked 113th nationally according to Sharp Football Analysis, though they still managed 21 sacks, good for 13th in the ACC.
Wilcox’s defenses were generally solid, but Cal appears to be leaning in a different direction under Tosh Lupoi, whose aggressive style was well known during his time as a defensive coordinator at Oregon and Alabama.
Whether the Syracuse plan becomes the norm remains to be seen. Hutchings wasn’t giving away much when asked about it this week.
“Week by week, just game-plan things that we come up with as a staff,” Hutchings said. “Always want to have the attacking style and make sure we can dictate the terms of the game. Our players feed off it.
“We’re not going to call any game timid or with any fear, but going to let it rip and trust what we did during the week. We did the work during the week, go ahead and let it rip on Saturday, and call it without any hesitation, and our guys really feed off it.
“We saw it in Week One in just a little bit of the game, and we came in with that same mindset in Week Two, and our guys, they definitely stepped up to that challenge. And I just think that’s kind of our personality as a defense.”
For now, the expectation is that Cal will keep leaning into pressure, adjusting by opponent but making life difficult for quarterbacks whenever it can.
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