Cal heads into Saturday night’s matchup with Wake Forest facing a clear defensive test, and the biggest question mark for the Bears may be under center before the ball is even snapped. Sagapolutele was still questionable as of Wednesday night, but the best guess is that he’ll be the starter if he’s cleared. He was a game-time decision against Virginia Tech, so another week is expected to give him a better chance to play.
If Sagapolutele can’t go, Jake Curtis of California Golden Bears On SI said not to expect a dramatic change in the Bears’ offense. Sagapolutele and Brousseau are both dropback passers with limited mobility and neither is a serious run threat.
The difference is in the arm talent. Brousseau is described as smart, mature and poised, and he makes good decisions, but he doesn’t have the pro-level arm talent that Sagapolutele does.
Sagapolutele is the one more likely to hit the big deep ball, and he’s also left-handed, which Cal receivers say changes things a bit.
Cal is coming off a home win over Virginia Tech, and the formula there came on defense. The Bears blitzed often, disrupting Ethan Grunkemeyer and keeping him from settling in. Cal had three sacks, and Grunkemeyer didn’t get comfortable until the final 18 seconds, when Cal backed off into a soft defense and almost let the game slip away.
That aggressive plan wasn’t a one-off. Cal used a similar approach against Syracuse and Steve Angeli, and that game ended with three interceptions for the Bears.
But Curtis pointed out that both of those quarterbacks were stationary types, not runners. That matters here, because Wake Forest’s Gio Lopez brings a different challenge and could force Cal to be more selective with its pressure.
Defensively, Cal has the kind of personnel that allows Tosh Lupoi’s group to attack. Dickert spoke highly of the Bears’ defense, and while Curtis noted that coaches tend to talk up the next opponent, Cal does play with an aggressive edge. The numbers back up some of the concern: the Bears are 12th in the ACC in both scoring defense and total defense.
Even so, the defense has been stronger than the offense, which says a lot about how the Bears have pieced this group together. Nearly every defensive position has a new starter compared with last season, and many of those jobs belong to transfers who were highly rated recruits in high school but saw little action with their previous teams.
The secondary is Cal’s strength, led by safeties Kingston Lopa and Isaiah Crosby. Lopa is tied to the most eye-catching stat on the roster, with five interceptions to lead the nation, though he is questionable for Saturday. The Bears are also far better against the pass than they are against the run, and they have struggled to set the edge, especially against quarterbacks who can extend plays outside the pocket.
One name to keep an eye on beyond the quarterback spot is tight end Taimane Purcell. The freshman has talent, but injuries have slowed him down and he’s only caught nine passes so far. Curtis also mentioned inside linebacker AJ Tuitele, a disruptive defensive presence who can rush the passer and force turnovers, though he has already been ejected from two games for targeting.
For Cal, the path on Saturday is straightforward: limit Gio Lopez on the perimeter. If Wake Forest’s quarterback can get outside the rush through scrambles or designed rollouts, the Bears could be in trouble. Curtis said that if Lopez can roll out without pressure, Cal’s defense will have a hard time staying in the game.
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Wake Forest Brings A Major Depth Question Into Berkeley
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There is some good news in the form of key names trending toward availability, which matters for a team trying to keep its quarterback clean and avoid leaning too heavily on any one spot. Carlos Hernandez, Langston Hardy and Kadear Dembele are among those listed as probable, and their status will go a long way toward determining how much flexibility Wake Forest has once the game starts. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Returns Home With A Chance To Flip The ACC Narrative
Wake Forest heads to California Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 carrying plenty of momentum and a record that has started to turn some heads around the ACC. At 5-1, the Demon Deacons have already notched three Power Four road wins, a rsum that has given this trip west a different kind of weight than a typical mid-October game.
A victory would stretch the winning streak to four games and further strengthen the Deacs' case as one of the league's early surprises. The staff predictions lean their way by an average of about 11 points, though the spread of opinion says there is still room for this matchup to get interesting. [Read more 🡒]