Clemson left its ACC opener with a comeback win over North Carolina and eight-time Super Bowl Champion Bill Belichick, 28-20, but the attention quickly shifts to a Cal team that’s already showing plenty of firepower.
The Golden Bears come in at 2-1, and the matchup brings a long list of problems for Clemson to sort through. Cal’s passing game has been one of the biggest early-season storylines, and the Tigers are also facing a defense that has already produced one of the nation’s most disruptive ballhawks. Add in a running back who’s doing damage both on the ground and through the air, and there’s no shortage of names Clemson has to account for in Week 4.
The most obvious headliner is quarterback Sagapolutele.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound sophomore broke out last season as a true freshman after beating out Ohio State transfer Devin Brown in fall camp. He started 13 games, completed 64% of his passes for 3,454 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and added four rushing scores. By the end of the year, Sagapolutele ranked sixth nationally in total passing attempts and 18th in passing yards, and he picked up On3 True Freshman All-American honors.
He’s picked up right where he left off. Through three games, he has thrown for 866 yards and seven touchdowns while completing 67% of his passes. His two interceptions came in a 45-24 loss to UCLA in Week 1, but even in that game he nearly hit 300 passing yards.
Clemson safety Jerome Carter summed up the challenge this week.
"Just his ability to make throws [and] keep the play alive," he said on Tuesday. "We're just going to have to stay in coverage. Just be disciplined all around on defense; do our job."
That’s only part of the problem for Clemson, though, because Cal’s receiver room has been rolling too. The Golden Bears rank No. 14 nationally in passing offense, averaging 321.7 yards per game and 965 passing yards overall, and the production has been spread around.
Rutgers transfer Ian Strong and Ohio transfer Chase Hendricks have been the biggest downfield threats, combining for 34 catches, 401 yards and two touchdowns. Kyion Grayes has added 101 yards and a touchdown, Mason Mini has 96 yards and a touchdown, Oregon transfer Cooper Perry has 76 yards and a touchdown, and Jordan King has 52 yards and a touchdown. Even running back Adam Mohammed has chipped in as a receiver, with 14 catches for 138 yards and a score.
Mohammed also belongs on the list because of what he’s doing as a runner. After spending 2025 as a backup behind now-Denver Broncos running back Jonah Coleman, he transferred to Cal and has made the move pay off quickly.
He rushed for 523 yards and five touchdowns on 106 carries last season, and this year he already has 285 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 60 attempts. He’s also averaging nearly 10 yards per reception, giving Cal another layer to its offense.
The final name Clemson has to keep close tabs on is Lopa, a breakout redshirt sophomore in the secondary.
The 6-foot-5 defensive back spent his first two years at Oregon, where he recorded 13 tackles, one sack and one pass deflection before following defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi, who took over as Cal’s head coach over the offseason. Since arriving, Lopa has wasted no time making an impact: 16 tackles, one tackle for loss, five interceptions and one pass deflection in three starts.
His best performance came against Syracuse in Week 2, when he picked off three passes and then delivered the game-winning pick-six in a 21-18 victory. He leads the country in total interceptions and interceptions per game at 1.67, and he’s allowed just four catches for 69 yards.
Dabo Swinney said Tuesday that Clemson has been studying that Cal defense closely.
The Tigers have "studied Oregon a lot."
In Other News...
Clemson Fans Just Lost A Future Showdown They Had Circled For Years
Clemson and Georgia have quietly taken a long-anticipated series off the board, ending four scheduled home-and-home football games that had been set for 2029 through 2033. The decision, already formalized in a contract termination signed in March, comes as both the SEC and ACC adjust their scheduling formats, forcing schools to rethink how nonconference marquee matchups fit into the calendar.
For Clemson fans, it removes one of the more eye-catching future dates from the schedule, especially given the regional pull and national intrigue of a Tigers-Bulldogs meeting. The two programs are still open to finding another way to play down the road, with neutral-site options among the possibilities, but for now the showdown that had been circled for years is off the table. [Read more 🡒]
Clemsons Top 2027 Commit Just Gave Fans A Reason To Worry
Clemsons 2027 recruiting board got a little more complicated when Jamarin Simmons, one of the Tigers top wide receiver commitments, acknowledged that Florida is still making a push. The highly regarded prospect remains verbally committed to Clemson, and he has continued to express support for the program, but the Gators have not backed off in their pursuit of him.
For a Clemson staff that has already seen its share of recruiting shakeups in recent classes, that kind of attention is enough to keep the pressure on. Simmons is still lined up to be around the Tigers soon, with an Oct. 3 home game against Miami on his schedule, but Floridas persistence means this one is hardly settled just because a commitment is in place. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Can Count On Nolan Hauser While The Offense Figures It Out
While Clemson works through the early-season questions on offense, Nolan Hauser has given the Tigers something they can trust without hesitation. The placekicker has become a steady source of points and a quiet stabilizer for the team, especially in games where field position and finishing drives have mattered as much as big plays. His recent work has been a big part of Clemson's wins, with important points coming against Georgia Southern and North Carolina.
What stands out most is the range of his reliability. Hauser has hit 12 straight field goals from 40 yards or longer going back to last year, and he has not missed in more than a year. For a team still sorting out its rhythm on offense, that kind of consistency changes the way games feel in the fourth quarter, and it gives Clemson an edge in the special teams battle while the rest of the operation keeps finding its footing. [Read more 🡒]