BERKELEY - Cal wasted no time turning Saturday afternoon into a runaway.
The Bears ripped open a 29-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and were up 39-7 at halftime before rolling past Wagner 49-7 at Memorial Stadium in front of a crowd announced as 35,586.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was at the center of it all. The Cal quarterback delivered a career-high 413 passing yards and three touchdowns, and he was already in full command early, going 13 for 14 for 236 yards and two scores in the opening quarter alone. Cal piled up 305 yards in the first 15 minutes, while Wagner did not earn its first first down until the final play of the period.
By halftime, the Bears had 448 yards - more than they managed in either of their first two games combined. They finished with 626 total yards.
The scoring started fast and never really slowed. Cal punched in touchdowns on its first four possessions, covering 75, 80, 80 and 70 yards in the first quarter. The Bears averaged 13.3 yards per snap in that period, a pace Wagner never had a chance to match.
Junior running back Adam Mohammed also had a huge day in a short amount of work. The Washington transfer matched his career high with three touchdowns, all in the first half.
He finished with 91 rushing yards and two rushing scores, plus two catches, including a 65-yard touchdown before the break. He did not play in the second half.
The one blemish on Cal’s opening-half dominance was a string of four holding penalties. Later, a facemask call against offensive tackle Jimothy Lewis erased a 1-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Jackson Brousseau to running back Anthony League midway through the third quarter.
Brousseau, who transferred from Colorado State, entered in the third quarter and completed 8 of 10 passes for 79 yards.
On defense, safety Kingston Lopa kept his interception streak alive with a pick for the third straight game. Lopa had three interceptions, including the go-ahead pick-6 with 4:51 left in last week’s 21-18 win at Syracuse.
The result moved Cal to 2-1 and extended its run against FCS opponents to 18-0 since 2005. Wagner, now 1-3, came in after an 87-3 loss to James Madison a week earlier and was only marginally more competitive this time.
Cal now turns to a much bigger test next Friday, when Clemson visits Berkeley for a nationally televised game on ESPN. The Tigers rallied from a 17-6 halftime deficit to beat Bill Belichick and North Carolina 28-20 in their ACC opener on Saturday.
In Other News...
Cal Showed Off A Dangerous New Edge In Blowout Win
For a Cal team looking to establish a firmer identity early in the season, the blowout over Wagner offered a clear glimpse of what this offense can look like when it is rolling. Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele guided the attack efficiently, Adam Mohammed punched in multiple scores, and the Bears repeatedly turned drives into points while leaning into a physical edge that Wagner had trouble matching.
The most eye-catching sequence came when Cal started stretching the field and forcing the Seahawks to chase, turning a comfortable lead into something much more lopsided. Wagner managed to find the end zone once, but it spent most of the afternoon struggling to sustain anything against Cals pressure, and the Bears left with the kind of performance that can make opponents pay attention to what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Cals Offense Exploded But Clemson Looms Over What Bears Still Must Fix
Cals 49-7 rout of Wagner offered the kind of offensive burst the Bears had been searching for, with both Adam Mohammed and Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele driving the performance in a game that never felt in doubt. Mohammed gave Cal a physical spark in the run game, while Sagapolutele kept the passing attack moving, and the Bears left the afternoon with signs that the unit is trending in the right direction.
Still, the bigger test is ahead, and the box score did not hide everything Cal needs to clean up before Clemson arrives. Special teams slips, penalties and a lack of consistent pressure up front are the kinds of issues that can get magnified against a deeper opponent, which is why this win looked more like a checkpoint than a finish line. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Just Gave Cal Fans A Brutal 2026 Warning
North Carolina States collapse against Vanderbilt was the kind of finish that sticks with a program and, for Cal fans, serves as a reminder of how thin the margin can be in college football. Around the sport this week, several teams made headlines for very different reasons, from UCLA and Syracuse to Clemson, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and SMU, but NC States late-game miscue stood out because it turned a seemingly safe spot into a devastating loss in a matter of seconds.
For Cal, the timing matters because the Bears are still sorting out what they have at quarterback, and Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele offered a promising glimpse with a career-high 413 passing yards against an FCS opponent. Nights like that can build optimism, but they also underline how quickly everything can change once the schedule tightens and the pressure rises. [Read more 🡒]