BERKELEY - Cal’s night started with a defensive jolt and ended with the same old frustration. The Golden Bears never found the end zone, special teams gave Clemson a huge swing play, and the Tigers walked out of Memorial Stadium with a 24-10 win on Friday night.
Kamar Mothudi’s first-quarter scoop-and-score gave Cal an early spark, but it didn’t lead to anything bigger. From there, the Bears’ offense stalled, the special-teams issues kept piling up, and Clemson did enough to take control late.
Cal now sits at 2-2 and turns its attention to UNLV in Las Vegas next week.
The Bears’ defense had stretches where it hung in, but it was asked to do too much for too long. Clemson finished with 363 total yards and 23 first downs, while Cal managed only 231 total yards and 13 first downs. By the end of the night, the Tigers had worn down a unit that was fighting an uphill battle all game.
Safeties Kingston Lopa and Isaiah Crosby led the defensive effort with 11 tackles apiece, and defensive tackle Jericho Johnson added five tackles with one for loss. But the pressure on the defense kept mounting because Cal’s offense couldn’t sustain drives. The Bears went 3-for-12 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down.
Sophomore quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele finished 16 of 29 for 119 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked twice. Cal’s longest play of the night came on a 26-yard pass from tight end Mason Mini to wide receiver Ian Strong, a small bright spot on an otherwise muted offensive performance.
Running back Adam Mohammed was one of the few Bears who consistently moved the ball. He had 16 carries for 81 yards before leaving with a left leg injury.
Cal wideout Chase Hendricks, who caught four passes for 37 yards, said the offense has to carry what it does in practice into games. “We have high execution in practice.
Now, it's just about translating to the game. ... It takes everybody."
The game turned for good in the third quarter when Clemson punt returner Bryant Wesco Jr. fielded a low punt from Angus Davies and raced 65 yards for a touchdown with 3:57 left in the period. That return put Clemson ahead and shifted the night firmly in the Tigers’ favor.
Later, on third-and-8 from its own 25-yard line, Clemson broke Cal open with a 75-yard touchdown run by Gideon Davidson, his second score of the game. That was the dagger.
Cal coach Justin Wilcox’s message afterward was about belief, but also about accountability and correction. “I told them that I believe in this team, believe in the staff,” Lupoi shared of his message to the locker room. “Anything from a staff standpoint that we gotta do a better job, that's the first thing we're gonna address.
“And then call out exactly what we need to fix from the standard of play.”
Lupoi also said the staff would go back and sort through what went wrong. “Full faith that he's gonna be right there with me as far as dissecting every play that occurred, once again, that we didn't win,” Lupoi said of Somerville. “We’ve got the players to do it, and we've got a great staff … Really searching, you know, where we can put our players in the best possible position for success.”
Special teams drew particular frustration, especially after the punt return touchdown. “Angus has done an incredible job,” Lupoi prefaced. “That makes it very difficult when we punt a linedrive right there and put a future NFL player in that position; can’t let that happen, right?”
Clemson’s offense was not explosive throughout the night, either. True freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds completed 13 of 21 passes for 108 yards with no touchdowns and was sacked twice. Still, the Tigers controlled the ball for nearly 10 minutes longer than Cal, and that time of possession gap proved costly for the Bears.
Lupoi said the team will keep digging for answers. For now, the result leaves Cal searching again after another primetime game in front of an announced crowd of 41,778 in Berkeley.
In Other News...
Cals Offense Looks Broken And One Bears Decision Feels Inevitable
Cals 24-10 home loss to Clemson left the Bears with more than just another setback on the schedule. The offense again looked stuck, the line still has not taken the kind of step forward the staff needed, and sophomore quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is being asked to navigate a mess around him while the special teams issues only add to the drag on the whole operation.
That kind of stagnation usually forces a staff to start reconsidering who is steering the unit, and Cal is getting close to that point. Jordan Somervilles role has come under scrutiny, not because the Bears lack time to be patient, but because the offense keeps showing the same problems with little sign of a breakthrough, which is why the conversation around a possible change in how the plays are being called is starting to feel harder to avoid. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Gets A Fascinating Homecoming Test Against Unbeaten Virginia Tech
Cals Homecoming weekend will bring an early spotlight to Berkeley, with the ACC setting the Bears Oct. 10 meeting with Virginia Tech for a midday start and national television coverage still to be finalized between ESPN2 and the ACC Network. The timing matters for a Cal team that has looked sharper in day games than under the lights, and it adds a little extra edge to a matchup that already carries plenty of novelty on campus.
Virginia Tech arrives unbeaten under new coach James Franklin, giving the Bears another measuring-stick opportunity in a season that has already had its share of swings. The Hokies also will be making their first trip ever to Berkeley, which gives the game a fresh feel beyond the standings and the calendar, and makes Cals Homecoming stage look even more intriguing. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Faces A Familiar Crossroads After Another Uneven Start
After another uneven opening month, the Bears find themselves at a familiar sort of crossroads, with plenty of season still ahead and not much margin for error. Cal has eight games left, and the path from here turns quickly from one last non-conference test into a long run of ACC play, which means the room to settle in, stack wins and change the narrative is still there if the team can find it.
The history, though, is not especially encouraging for Cal teams that have stumbled early, even if there are a few standout exceptions tied to some of the programs best quarterback eras. This groups ability to make something of the season may rest in part on sophomore Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele continuing to grow into the job, but the larger issue is broader than one player. Cal needs to improve across the board, and soon, if this year is going to end anywhere near where the Bears want it to. [Read more 🡒]