Cal gets its ACC life started Saturday in a place it hasn’t had much joy in, and Syracuse looks ready to test the Bears right away.
The Bears head to the JMA Wireless Dome for a 12:30 p.m. PT kickoff in their conference opener, trying to bounce back after a 45-24 loss to UCLA in Tosh Lupoi’s first game as Cal’s coach. That one was tight at 24-24 before two fourth-quarter turnovers opened the door for the Bruins, who finished with a 21-point run.
Cal’s quarterback situation is front and center again. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw for 271 yards and two touchdowns against UCLA, but he also coughed up a fumble and tossed two interceptions.
The Bears may also be short-handed in the backfield: No. 2 running back Carter Vargas is listed as doubtful after getting hurt against UCLA. On the brighter side for Cal, center Bastian Swinney and tight end Dorian Thomas are not listed on the availability chart, which points to both being available.
Syracuse comes in with a very different vibe after a 66-3 blowout of FCS New Hampshire. The Orange were 3-9 a year ago, but their opener showed plenty of firepower.
Quarterback Steve Angeli, the Notre Dame transfer, passed for 263 yards and three scores in his first action since tearing his Achilles in Week 4 last season. Before that injury, Syracuse was leading the nation in passing yards; after it, the Orange dropped their final eight games and finished 3-9.
One of the biggest storylines on Syracuse’s side was the return of sixth-year receiver Umari Hatcher. After missing most of last season with an injury, he erupted for eight catches, 147 yards and two touchdowns in the opener. Defensively, linebacker Keyshawn Johnson made his presence felt too, piling up 2.5 of Syracuse’s five sacks after arriving from UT-Martin as an FCS All-American.
There are also a couple of numbers that jump off the page. Cal running back Adam Mohammed, a junior transfer from Washington, ran for a career-high 120 yards against UCLA, the most by any Cal player in his first game with the program in at least 50 years. Syracuse freshman Shavane Anderson Jr. answered with 102 rushing yards in his college debut while projected starter Ju’Juan Johnson was out with an injury, giving him the most by an ACC freshman in his first college game in at least 20 years.
The series history leans Syracuse’s way, 2-1. The Orange’s latest win came in Berkeley last season, a 33-25 result. And for Cal, the trip east comes with one more stubborn bit of history: the Bears haven’t won in New York since beating Army at West Point in 1973.
In Other News...
Cal Fans Get A Reminder Of What This Program Still Represents
Week 1 brought some early movement in Chris Vanninis updated FBS rankings, and Cal was nudged down to No. 50 after opening the season, while UCLA made a dramatic leap into the Top 25. Syracuse also checked in at 74 after a strong showing against New Hampshire, but the bigger takeaway for Cal readers was not the shifting numbers. The piece also paused to honor one of the most meaningful names connected to the program, reminding fans that this schools identity has never been limited to what happens on fall Saturdays.
That tribute centered on Mark Bingham, the Cal graduate and United Airlines Flight 93 passenger who died 25 years ago during the 9/11 attacks after helping lead the struggle against the hijackers. It was the kind of reminder that cuts through any early-season noise, putting the programs place in college football in a larger, more human frame. Results and rankings will keep changing, but the story attached to Cal still reaches far beyond the standings. [Read more 🡒]
Cal's Offense Is Putting Early Pressure On The Bears Again
Cal opened with two straight punts and spent the first quarter trying to settle in on offense, a familiar sort of early-game stress that has lingered around the Bears in other recent matchups as well. Syracuse was the sharper team out of the gate, and the first points of the day came after the Orange put together a quick scoring march to take control before Cal had found any rhythm.
The pressure only grew in the second quarter, when Syracuse had already moved ahead 12-0 and forced the Bears to play from behind. For a Cal offense that needed a cleaner start, the challenge now is less about one possession than about whether it can finally answer the kind of early deficit that has made these games feel uphill from the opening minutes. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Defense Is Facing One Big Problem Fans Can't Ignore
Cals defense opened the season with a very clear message about how it wants to operate: keep bodies moving, keep competition alive and sort out the best fits by package. The approach showed up right away in the opener against UCLA, when the Bears rolled through a long list of defenders in search of fresh legs and the right matchups, even as the group gave up 45 points and 461 yards.
Michael Hutchings and Tosh Lupoi both sounded committed to that formula moving forward, which makes the rotation more than a one-off response to the first game. One of the most interesting signs came from the linebacker group, where freshman JD McKinley Redshirt emerged as a surprise starter and logged a heavy workload, a reminder that Cal is willing to trust younger players if the depth chart keeps tilting that way. [Read more 🡒]