Nine of Cal’s 2026 football opponents were on the field over the weekend, and the Bears got a pretty clean read on the neighborhood: seven of those teams walked away with wins.
The most relevant result for Cal’s immediate present came from UCLA, which used a 21-0 fourth quarter to beat Cal and hand Bob Chesney a win in his first game as the Bruins’ head coach. Cal will be back in action Saturday against Syracuse, and the Orange opened their season by taking care of FCS foe New Hampshire.
Syracuse, projected to finish 14th in the ACC preseason media poll, leaned on quarterback Steve Angeli and freshman Shavane Anderson in a game that did not tell us much beyond the final score. Angeli, back after suffering a torn Achilles tendon in the Orange’s fourth game last season, threw three touchdown passes.
Anderson added three rushing scores. Syracuse finished with 32 first downs and 514 yards.
The Orange are favored by 3.5 points against Cal on Saturday, according to FanDuel.
Elsewhere, Wagner bounced back from a 28-7 loss to Robert Morris last week by beating Division II Southern Connecticut State, 31-7. Redshirt freshman quarterback Benjamin Newman threw three touchdown passes as the Seahawks controlled the game.
Clemson had a far rougher Saturday. LSU rolled the Tigers in what Dabo Swinney called an “Incredibly disappointing performance,” and the numbers were ugly across the board.
LSU piled up 644 yards of offense, ran for 309 of them, and finished with 38 first downs to Clemson’s eight. Six of Clemson’s first downs came after halftime, by which point LSU already led 31-3.
UNLV also turned in a statement defensive showing in Honolulu, where the Rebels beat Hawaii in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,014. UNLV had five sacks, seven tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one interception and seven pass breakups, and held Hawaii without a touchdown for the first time since October 28, 2023. Ja’Den “Jet” Thomas led the way on offense with 143 yards on 20 carries, a 7.2-yard average.
Virginia Tech, in its first game under new coach James Franklin, put up 619 yards and 30 first downs in a lopsided win over FCS opponent Virginia Military Academy. The Hokies scored 73 points, their most in a game in 31 years, since a 77-27 win over Akron in 1995.
Wake Forest got a big day from transfer quarterback Gio Lopez, who threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns against Akron, picked to finish 10th in the Mid-America Conference. Akron was forced to start freshman quarterback Cibastian Broughton because of eligibility problems with North Texas transfer Reese Poffenbarger. Wake receiver Carlos Hernandez caught five passes for 165 yards and a touchdown.
Pitt’s Mason Heintschel had the kind of opener that lands in school record books. The sophomore quarterback tied a Panthers mark with seven touchdown passes, finishing with 453 yards and no interceptions while connecting with seven different receivers. The record had belonged to Pete Gonzalez, who threw seven TDs against Rutgers in 1997.
Stanford, fresh off a 37-27 win over Hawaii in Tavita Pritchard’s debut as coach, ran into Miami’s firepower this week. Hurricanes quarterback Darian Mensah, a Duke transfer, was almost flawless, going 27-for-30 for 401 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.
Malachi Toney was just as devastating, catching 12 passes for 234 yards and three scores. Stanford quarterback Davis Warren went 21-for-41 for 214 yards.
Cal does not play Miami this season.
North Carolina State and Virginia both had byes after opposite results last week: NC State lost to Virginia 34-8, while Virginia beat NC State.
SMU’s season opener came Monday night, when the 19th-ranked Mustangs began ACC play against Florida State.
In Other News...
Cals Best Grades After UCLA Loss Came From An Unexpected Place
Pro Football Focus review of Cals performance after the loss to UCLA surfaced an interesting mix of familiar and unexpected names near the top of the grade sheet. Running back Adam Mohammed was heavily involved offensively, piling up 120 rushing yards and adding seven catches, but his overall mark came in at 68.3 because of a low pass protection grade. Even so, he was part of a group of five Cal players who finished above 70 in PFFs evaluation, a list that also included safety Kingston Lopa and offensive tackles Frederick Williams III and Jimothy Lewis.
The grading split hints at how uneven Cals night was, with some of the better individual showings coming from spots that dont always draw the most attention. Lopa was among the defenders who stood out in the postgame charting, while the offensive line had at least a couple of players earning solid reviews despite the loss. For a team still sorting through what carried over and what fell apart against UCLA, the film grades offered one more reminder that the most encouraging performances did not always come from the places fans might have expected. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Already Faces Early Pressure To Fix One Troubling Problem
Cals season opener left plenty for Tosh Lupoi and his staff to sort through, and the conversation after the 45-24 loss to UCLA centered less on the final score than on the Bears execution and consistency. Lupoi took responsibility for the performance and made clear the fix has to come from both coaches and players as Cal turns the page toward an ACC matchup with Syracuse.
The concern is bigger than just an opening-night setback, because the Bears now have to show they can clean up the details quickly against a different kind of opponent. California already knows the margin for error is thin, and with Syracuse next on the schedule, the pressure is on to turn the coaching staffs evaluation into something more tangible on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Faces An Early ACC Test After That UCLA Letdown
Californias first ACC road trip brings a trip to the JMA Wireless Dome and an opening conference test against Syracuse, a matchup that arrives with plenty of intrigue for a program still sorting out the aftermath of its UCLA letdown. It is only the fourth all-time meeting between the schools, and the Bears have not played on Syracuses home field in a very long time, which adds a little extra texture to a game that already matters as the league schedule begins.
Cal will also be leaning on some of the early-season production that has given its offense a steadier feel. Running back Adam Mohammed has flashed career-best form, while quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has already been stringing together big passing afternoons at a remarkable rate. The challenge now is whether that momentum travels cleanly into a first conference test that could say plenty about how quickly the Bears can settle in after an uneven start. [Read more 🡒]