Cal didn’t put together a masterpiece in Syracuse, but it did something that matters just as much this early in the season: it found a way.
The Golden Bears’ 21-18 road win on Saturday gave Tosh Lupoi his first victory as head coach, and the bigger takeaway is that the result looked sturdier than the box score might suggest. There were rough patches, sure. But there was also enough toughness, enough correction and enough upside to make this feel like more than a lucky break.
The biggest reason was the defense.
After getting gashed for six rushing touchdowns in Week 1 against the Bruins, Cal tightened up fast. Syracuse’s 55-yard burst on the second play of the game was the outlier, not the trend. After that, the Orange managed just 63 rushing yards, and Cal forced them into a passing game that never really took off.
Steve Angeli had a miserable afternoon. Kingston Lopa picked him off three times, including the go-ahead pick-six, and Cal’s defense got to him for three sacks as well. The pressure was constant, the looks were messy, and the hits kept coming.
Timely blitzes. Confusing alignments.
Violent hits. Good tackling.
Yeah, Hutchings was in his bag.
Even with Syracuse working behind what was described as the heaviest offensive line in the FBS, Angeli never looked comfortable. Nate Burrell, Solomon Williams and the rest of the front did their part, while Lopa anchored the secondary and AJ Tuitele helped set the tone in the middle. Isaiah Crosby, Daniel Harris and Quimari Shemwell made plays in key moments, and freshman linebacker JD McKinley looked more settled and disciplined than he did against UCLA.
Michael Hutchings said he wanted his group to build off that strong third quarter against UCLA. This time, Cal carried that edge for a full 60 minutes on the road.
The offense, meanwhile, is still a work in progress - but not one that should be written off.
Jordan Somerville’s unit is clearly not finished. The first downs were still a grind, and the Bears leaned sideways more than they probably wanted to.
But the play-calling looked sharper against Syracuse than it did in Week 1. Somerville mixed in screens that might have worked if a block or two had landed, and the route concepts were there even if the execution wasn’t always clean.
Drops hurt. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele wasn’t at his sharpest, either, possibly because of the banged-up ankle he was dealing with. He was still better than Angeli, but he looked sped up at times, and Cal’s receivers didn’t always help him out.
Adam Mohammed remained a major piece of the offense, too, with 24 touches after his career-high 35 against UCLA. With Carter Vargas out and the line still sorting itself out, Somerville and Ashten Emory deserve credit for taking some of the burden off Mohammed and still getting the win.
The Bears have now scored 21 points over their last six quarters, so there’s still plenty to clean up. But that also means nobody really knows what this offense looks like at full speed yet.
That’s where the upcoming home game against Wagner could matter. It’s the kind of tune-up Cal didn’t have to open the season, and it could give the offense a cleaner look at what success in Somerville’s system is supposed to feel like. Even against a defense that just gave up 87 points to James Madison, that kind of rep could help the Bears keep building.
Lupoi sounded the part of a coach who understands that.
“Love these dudes, love this staff, just so thankful to be a part of this with them,” Lupoi said about his first win. “Can’t wait to just keep growing together.”
That growth theme fits what Cal showed in Syracuse. The special teams still have issues, including the fake punt the Bears failed to stop and the coverage problems they had against the Orange. But those look like problems that can be coached up, not fatal flaws.
That’s the point. Cal doesn’t look capped. It looks unfinished.
The defense needed two games to settle in, and having an NFL prospect like Lopa certainly helps. The offense needs more time.
The special teams need more time. But this is a team that looks like it can get better as the season goes on.
That’s a different kind of Cal team than the one fans have been used to in recent years. Back then, early wins often felt mandatory because conference success wasn’t a given. This group feels more resilient than fragile.
Saturday proved Cal can win when it isn’t at its best. That’s the trait of a good team.
The Bears still have a lot of untapped potential, and they still found a way to win an ACC game six hours from home across multiple time zones after taking a tough Week 1 loss. That’s not nothing.
It’s easier to fix mistakes after a win. And now the real question is what Cal looks like when it starts putting those fixes together - against Clemson and beyond.
In Other News...
Cal Fans Just Got A Reminder About San Jose State's Toughness
San Jose State offered a quick reminder of why Cal cannot afford to sleepwalk through this matchup, turning back Cal Poly 30-20 with a performance that blended patience, punch and enough defensive disruption to keep the Mustangs from finishing the job. The Spartans had to dig out of an early hole, then leaned on a productive night that featured 493 total yards, a career-best 163 rushing yards from Jabari Bates and a steady passing game from Luke Weaver, who found Carson Clark and Cooper Hoch as reliable targets.
The result also underscored how much resistance San Jose State can bring even when the game starts to tilt against it. Weavers three touchdown passes gave the offense answers, and the defense added two interceptions to help close things down, a sign this is not a group that needs much time to settle in before making things uncomfortable for an opponent. For Cal, it is the kind of early-season tape that should reinforce the need for sharp starts and clean possessions. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Fans Should Notice What UCLA And A Former Bear Just Did
A few familiar names from Cals orbit popped up in the latest college football roundup, and the common thread is that theyre starting to leave real fingerprints at their new stops. UCLA opened with a home win at the Rose Bowl, and former Bear Wayne Knight was central to it, doing his damage in the second half as the Bruins kept building early momentum under a new staff. Elsewhere, there were eye-catching results across the sport, from James Madisons explosive day to strong showings by teams such as Clemson, UNLV and Virginia Tech.
For Cal fans, the more relevant development came on Syracuses side, where safety Kingston Lopa turned in a disruptive performance in the Oranges win under new coach Tosh Lupoi. Lopa, now away from Berkeley, was a factor in the back end with a string of interceptions that helped tilt the game, another reminder of how much former Bears can matter once they land in the right role. It also adds a little extra intrigue for anyone tracking Lupois defensive makeover and watching which ex-Cal players are starting to pop on the national scene. [Read more 🡒]