BERKELEY - Cal’s first night under Tosh Lupoi started with real energy, then unraveled in a hurry.
In front of a sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium, the Bears were tied with UCLA late in the fourth quarter and had a chance to seize control. Instead, two straight plays flipped everything.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele’s deflected throw was intercepted by Ta’Shawn James, and on the next snap Wayne Knight ripped off a 31-yard touchdown run. Just like that, the Bruins had broken a 24-24 tie and were on their way to a 45-24 win in Lupoi’s coaching debut.
The loss came nine months to the day after Lupoi was hired to replace Justin Wilcox, and the Bears showed enough to suggest some upside. They also showed plenty of the rough edges that come with a first game under a new coach. Cal led early, trailed 24-17 at halftime, then clawed back to even things in the third quarter before the game slipped away.
Sagapolutele finished with 271 passing yards and two touchdowns, and he had gone a program-record 211 consecutive passes without an interception before James picked him off. His top targets were transfer receivers Ian Strong, who caught five passes for 94 yards, and Chase Hendricks, who had six catches for 66 yards.
Cal’s best stretch came after halftime. The Bears opened the third quarter with an 85-yard march in 14 plays, leaning on Adam Mohammed nine times on the drive. The Washington transfer piled up 54 yards on the possession, including a 20-yard burst to the UCLA 3, before punching in a 1-yard touchdown with 3:50 left in the period to tie the game at 24.
Mohammed was one of the bright spots all night. He finished with 120 rushing yards and added seven catches for 46 yards.
Cal had grabbed the first punch, too. After winning the toss and choosing to receive, the Bears went 75 yards in 10 plays and took a 7-0 lead when Sagapolutele found Hendricks for a 9-yard touchdown. Hendricks stayed on the left sideline, tight-roped the boundary and dove for the pylon with 10:28 left in the opening quarter.
UCLA answered right away with a 71-yard drive, capped by Nico Iamaleava’s 9-yard keeper. Cal went back ahead on a 28-yard field goal by Towns McGough with 12:46 left in the second quarter, but the Bruins seized control from there.
Bob Chesney’s UCLA team scored on back-to-back drives of 75 and 76 yards, chewing up 151 yards on just 14 plays. The Bruins pounded Cal on the ground, with Anthony Woods scoring on a 31-yard go-ahead run before Knight slipped through for an 8-yard touchdown and a 21-10 lead with 3:23 left before halftime.
Cal got a break when Sagapolutele fumbled on a sack and Amier Washington recovered for UCLA at the Cal 37. But the Bruins couldn’t cash in, as Oregon transfer Kingston Lopa intercepted Iamaleava at the 2-yard line.
That turnover opened the door for one of Cal’s most electric moments of the night. With just 51 seconds left in the half, Sagapolutele escaped pressure and hit Strong for 49 yards, then connected with Hendricks for 30 more along the right sideline to get the Bears to the UCLA 8 with 19 seconds remaining. He then rolled right and found Mason Mini all alone in the end zone, trimming the deficit to 21-17 with 13 seconds left.
UCLA still had one more answer before the break. Iamaleava hit former Cal receiver Mikey Matthews for 43 yards to move the Bruins to the Bears’ 20 with 6 seconds left, and Mateen Bhaghani, another former Golden Bear, drilled a 38-yard field goal to make it 24-17 at halftime.
The Bruins, playing their first game under Chesney, managed only 16 yards on 11 plays over their first three possessions of the second half. Cal couldn’t fully capitalize, and the interception on Sagapolutele’s throw to Strong became the turning point.
James picked Sagapolutele off again with 7:01 left, setting up Knight’s 4-yard touchdown run with 2:58 remaining to finish a 46-yard drive. Anthony Woods then broke free for a 53-yard run with 1:17 left, delivering UCLA’s third straight touchdown and putting the game out of reach.
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