BERKELEY - Cal’s offense may be getting its quarterback back just in time for a tricky trip to Dallas, but the rest of the puzzle still looks scrambled.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele appears set to return against No. 23 SMU on Saturday morning, with kickoff scheduled for 9 a.m.
Pacific. He sat out one game after a concussion and was held out until the third quarter last week against Wake Forest, but coach Tosh Lupoi stopped short of confirming anything this week.
That uncertainty doesn’t extend everywhere. The Bears’ depth chart is still full of absences and question marks around him.
The team’s top two running backs entering the season, Adam Mohammed and Carter Vargas, are both sidelined by injuries. Ashten Emory has handled the lead role since Mohammed went down a month ago, though he was slowed enough to limp off in the third quarter of Cal’s 41-7 loss to Wake Forest. Still, he was not listed on the ACC’s weekly injury report.
The receiving group is also banged up. Four wideouts are on the availability list as questionable, including Ian Strong, who is the team’s No. 2 pass catcher and was a late scratch last week. Jordan King, Cooper Perry and Mark Hamper are also in question.
There are issues on the offensive line, too. Center Bastian Swinney left the Wake Forest game in the first quarter and is questionable, while guard Sioape Vatikani and reserve tackle Jimothy Lewis Jr. carry the same designation.
Sagapolutele himself isn’t on the availability chart after coming on in relief of Jackson Brousseau in the third quarter against Wake Forest. His status may be the least mysterious part of the week, even if Lupoi wouldn’t name a starter.
“I’m going to put the individual I think is going to be best for us to go win the game coming up this Saturday,” he said.
SMU coach Rhett Lashlee, meanwhile, sounded pretty clear on what he expects.
“They’re getting their quarterback back, who I think is one of the better quarterbacks in our league and the country,” he said this week.
Lashlee also had a fresh memory of what Sagapolutele can do. Last year, JKS threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns in Cal’s 38-35 upset over SMU. “We saw the talent last year, so that part we do remember.”
Who Sagapolutele will be handing off to, throwing to, and leaning on for protection is still up in the air.
While Cal was dealing with Wake Forest, another Rolovich family storyline played out 2,000 miles away. Nick Rolovich’s 19-year-old son Daniel made his first college start for San Jose State and delivered a strong debut, throwing for 193 yards and a touchdown in a 24-11 win at UTEP.
Rolovich, who played quarterback at Hawaii and beyond college, had a simple first question when they spoke later that night.
“I asked him if he was sore.”
The Cal quarterbacks coach spent his son’s sophomore and junior seasons coaching him at San Marin High School in Novato before joining the Bears in 2025, and he said those years still mean a lot to him.
“Some of the greatest years of my life being able to drive home with him before he got his license, just spending that time with him,” Rolovich said. “As a parent, those times are pretty precious.”
He said coaching his son could be tricky, but the experience outweighed the complications.
“But as long as you put him as your son first and his journey’s his journey, I think it’s an incredible experience I wish every father could experience.”
Cal’s long road to bowl eligibility also sits in the background. The Bears have been to 27 bowls, but they’ve only reached the postseason twice after beginning a year at 3-4 or worse.
In 2024, they got there after a 3-4 start by winning three of four, clinching eligibility with a 24-21 Big Game win over Stanford when Fernando Mendoza threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes.
The other example came in 2003, when Cal was 3-5 before winning five of its next six and beating Virginia Tech 52-49 in the Insight Bowl behind Aaron Rodgers’ 394 passing yards and two touchdowns.
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