KINGSTON Lopa kept Cal afloat in Syracuse, then put the game away.
The sophomore safety intercepted three passes Saturday, including a 24-yard return for the go-ahead touchdown and a final pick with 54 seconds left, as the Bears escaped with a 21-18 win in the ACC opener and gave Tosh Lupoi his first career victory as a head coach.
Lupoi didn’t hide what Lopa meant to the result.
“That’s my guy. Love him. He’s like a son to me,” said Lupoi, who brought Lopa with him from Oregon.
The finish was tense even after Syracuse’s Tripp Woody missed wide right on a 46-yard field goal attempt with 1:35 remaining. Cal then faced a fourth-and-1 and tried to bait the Orange into jumping offside, but Syracuse - which finished with 134 yards in penalties - stayed put.
The Bears punted, and the ball rolled to the Syracuse 24, leaving the Orange 63 seconds and no timeouts to chase a tying kick. They got to their own 47 before Steve Angeli’s last throw was snatched by Lopa.
Lopa had already swung the game once before. In the third quarter, after Cal had fallen behind again, he intercepted Angeli and returned it 53 yards to the Syracuse 29. That set up Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele’s scoring sequence: completions of 15 yards to Chase Hendricks and 12 yards to Ian Strong, then a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jordan King for a 14-12 Cal lead with 7:15 left in the quarter.
Syracuse answered quickly and regained control for a moment. Angeli guided an up-tempo 13-play, 75-yard drive, completing six of seven passes for 51 yards before Ju’Juan Johnson powered in from the 2 with 1:38 left in the third. The Orange failed on the two-point try, just as they had earlier.
Before that, Syracuse had also come up empty on a chance to extend the margin. Woody hit the right upright on a 31-yard field goal try with 9:30 left, ending a drive that included a Cal interception by Quimari Shemwell wiped out by a rough-the-passer penalty and a JD McKinley fumble return erased because the Bears had 12 men on the field.
Cal never found much rhythm on offense, but it did enough. Sagapolutele threw two touchdown passes and avoided turnovers, though he was limited to 182 passing yards, the first time in his college career he was held under 200.
The Bears totaled just 249 yards and converted only three of 12 third-down attempts. Still, the defense - with strong work from Daniel Harris, Nate Burrell and AJ Tuitele - looked much sharper than it did in the opener.
The Bears were trailing 12-7 at halftime after spending long stretches on the back foot, but they managed to stay within reach thanks in part to Syracuse’s mistakes. The Orange drew nine penalties for 88 yards in the half, including an illegal block that wiped out what would have been a 71-yard punt return to the Cal 26 by Davien Kerr with 1 second left. Instead, Syracuse took a knee at its own 20 and headed to the break with a 12-7 lead.
Cal’s lone first-half touchdown came after it had been shut out through most of the opening two quarters. Down 12-0, the Bears drove 75 yards in four plays, with Sagapolutele hitting Chase Hendricks on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 7:15 left in the half. A 43-yard completion to Strong had helped spring the series a few snaps earlier.
Syracuse struck first after Tylik Hill ripped off a 55-yard run to the Cal 8, but the Bears tightened up and forced a 25-yard Woody field goal with 12:37 left in the first quarter. The Orange later kept another drive alive with a fake punt and a 12-yard completion by Jimmy Gregg, and a Cal pass interference penalty moved Syracuse to the 16. Cal again held firm, though, and Woody made it 6-0 from 33 yards three plays into the second quarter.
Cal was still scoreless after Towns McGough missed wide left on a 46-yard field goal attempt with 11:16 left in the half. Syracuse then put together its first touchdown drive, going 72 yards in five plays as Angeli found tight end Daunte Bacheyie for a 23-yard score with 8:50 to go before halftime.
Angeli and Bacheyie had connected for 38 yards on the previous snap. The Orange went for two, but Angeli was sacked, leaving the score 12-0.
From there, Cal leaned on Lopa and the defense. That was enough to send Lupoi home with win No. 1.
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