Kingston Lopa’s start at Cal just keeps getting louder.
After a game-turning performance in the Bears’ 21-18 road win over Syracuse on Saturday, the Cal safety was named ACC defensive back of the week on Monday. Lopa intercepted three Steve Angeli passes, and every one of them mattered.
The first came in the third quarter with Syracuse up 12-7. Lopa ended the Orange drive, then turned the play into even more damage with a 53-yard return that helped set up a Cal touchdown and flip the Bears in front 14-12.
His second takeaway was even bigger in the moment: a pick six that pushed Cal ahead 21-18 with less than five minutes to play.
Then, with Syracuse moving again and down to Cal’s 47-yard line, Lopa slammed the door. He grabbed his third interception with 53 seconds left to secure the win.
That was enough to give Lopa four interceptions on the season, which leads the nation. He also picked off a pass in Cal’s opener against UCLA, and only three other FBS players have reached three interceptions.
Cal will get another chance to ride that momentum Saturday, when it hosts Wagner, the FCS program from Staten Island, New York, at 12:30 p.m. Wagner is coming off an 87-3 loss to James Madison on Saturday.
Lopa’s surge fits a familiar Cal pattern. In 2024, Nohl Williams led the country with seven interceptions before moving on to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Last year, Hezekiah Masses finished among the nation’s top 20 with five interceptions and tied for the national lead in passes defended with 18, including five interceptions and 13 pass breakups. Masses is now with the Las Vegas Raiders.
At 6-foot-5, Lopa transferred from Oregon after the 2025 season, when he played under Tosh Lupoi, then the Ducks’ defensive coordinator and now Cal’s head coach.
This is Lopa’s third college season, which makes him eligible for the NFL draft after this year. It is still far too early to know whether he would be better off entering the 2027 draft, and it is assumed he will stay in college at least another year unless he keeps stacking interceptions.
Cal has had at least one defensive back selected in each of the last seven NFL drafts, the longest streak of any college. Eight former Cal defensive backs are currently on NFL rosters.
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