Cal walked out of Syracuse with a messy, much-needed 21-18 win, and Kingston Lopa was the reason the Bears survived the circus.
After a rough loss to UCLA last week, Cal needed a response, and it found one in the strangest way possible inside JMA Wireless Dome. Lopa, a safety with a career day, picked off Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli three times as the Bears erased a 12-point deficit and outlasted the Orange in a penalty-filled grinder.
“This was the expectation of what was going to get done,” head coach Tosh Lupoi told ESPN’s Kendra Douglas after the game. “Incredible job of the resiliency, and it shows everything - what this group’s about and where this program is headed … (It’s) awesome to be 1-0 in ACC (competition).”
Syracuse had Cal on its heels early. The Bears managed only 30 total yards in the first quarter and went 1-for-6 on third downs in the first half. Tripp Woody hit a pair of first-quarter field goals, and Angeli found Daunte Bacheyie for a touchdown to push the Orange ahead 12-0 midway through the second quarter.
The Orange also sprung a fake punt, with freshman punter Jimmy Gregg completing a 12-yard jump throw over his blockers to catch Cal’s special teams off guard.
Cal’s offense finally stirred after that. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele hit Ian Strong for a 43-yard gain, then found Chase Hendricks for a 14-yard touchdown to get the Bears on the board.
Before that drive, Sagapolutele was 8-for-12 for just 23 yards, dragged down by blown-up screen passes and short throws. The Bears and Orange went to halftime with Syracuse up 12-7.
Then came the chaos.
Cal opened the second half with a turnover on downs, but Lopa quickly flipped the field with his first interception, returning it 53 yards to the Syracuse 29. Sagapolutele used the short field to put Cal ahead 14-12 with a rollout touchdown pass to Jordan King.
Syracuse answered with a 75-yard march, finishing it with a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Ju’Juan Johnson. The Orange missed their second two-point try of the day, keeping the Bears within striking distance.
From there, the game turned into a penalty maze. Syracuse appeared to score on a punt return by Demetres Samuel Jr., but an illegal block in the back wiped it out.
On the next sequence, Quimari Shemwell intercepted Angeli, only for a roughing-the-passer penalty to erase the turnover. A face-mask call then moved Syracuse 15 yards.
Later, Isaiah Crosby forced a fumble on fourth-and-1, but Cal had 12 men on the field, so that play was wiped away too. Shemwell then dropped another interception, forcing the Orange to settle for a field goal attempt that Woody pushed off the left foul pole.
Cal’s offense stalled again, but Lopa bailed the Bears out once more. He grabbed his second interception and took it 24 yards for a pick-6, giving Cal a 21-18 lead. Sagapolutele called Lopa “one of our most underrated players” after the game and said, “I’m grateful to have him on my side, and he came up big for us.”
Lopa wasn’t done. He intercepted Angeli again with 54 seconds left to seal it, becoming the first Cal player since Jaylinn Hawkins in the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl to record three interceptions in a game.
Before Saturday, Angeli had thrown only three interceptions in 26 college games. Lopa matched that number by himself.
“There was no doubt that (Angeli) was mentally and physically assaulted today,” Lupoi said in the postgame press conference. “That’s a goal of the defense … we’re not going to have a cautious approach when things get tense. We’re going to do what we do and go on the attack.”
Sagapolutele had a quieter night than usual, finishing under 200 passing yards for the first time in his career and ending his 14-game streak in that category. Still, he avoided turnovers after throwing two interceptions against UCLA.
The kicking game was shaky on both sides despite the dome setting. Cal redshirt sophomore Towns McGough missed a 46-yard attempt and still has not made a field goal longer than 32 yards in his career. Woody also missed two crucial kicks, including one that would have tied the game late in the fourth quarter.
Lupoi said the Bears will focus on “grading all three phases” on the flight home and getting back to work before hosting Wagner next week.
“Our goal is to keep stacking and keep improving,” Lupoi said. “How these guys responded (to the Week 1 loss) in the preparation (for this game), I was extremely proud of.”
Kickoff against the Seahawks is set for Saturday, Sept. 19 at 12:30 p.m.
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