Cal at Boston College Game Thread: Bears Win ACC Opener at Finish

Freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw a 51-yard touchdown pass tight end Mason Mini with 1:30 left and Cal scored a 28-24 victory in their ACC opener at Boston College.

The Bears (4-1, 1-0) didn't clinch the victory until linebacker Luke Ferrelli intercepted a pass in the end zone wth 15 seconds left.

Defensive tackle TJ Bollers talks in the video at the top of this story about the Bears' approach this week in the aftermath of the San Diego State game.

Here's our game thread:

PLAYER AVAILABILITY: The Bears will play without two starters on defense — edge Ryan McCulloch and safety Isaiah Crosby, both injured in the San Diego State game. Placekicker Abram Murray, who handled longer field goals and kickoffs through the first three games, will miss his second straight outing.

The Eagles, despite a bye last week, announced on their Thursday injury report that starting cornerbacks Amari Jackson and Syair Torrence will again be sidelined. Also out is one of the squad’s top wide receivers, Jaedn Skeete. Linebacker Daveon Crouch is listed as questionable.

COIN FLIP: Cal wins the toss and defers. The Bears will kick off to start the game and will get the ball to open the third quarter.

8:56 1st Q: Cal gets a break on the opening kickoff when, after 34-yard return and a facemask penalty put the ball at the 50, a review showed BC had called for a fair catch. That pushed the ball back to the 16-yard line. Even so, the Eagles marched 84 yards in 12 plays with QB Dylan Lonergan completing 6 of 8 passes for 65 yards before he ran it in himself from the 7-yard line. BC , Cal 0

7:47 1st Q: The Eagles score two touchdows in a span of 69 seconds. This one was set up by Omar Thornton's interception at the 27-yard line of a pass by Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who was pressured and threw into some traffic, trying to get the ball to TE Mason Mini. BC cashed it in on a second-down 27-yard TD by Turbo Richard. BC 14, Cal 0

1:05 1st Q: Cal comes alive with an 11-play, 75-yard drive, triggered by a 29-yard completion to Trond Grizzell to get into BC territory. LJ Johnson gets the final yard up the middle for the TD. BC 14, Cal 7

END OF 1ST Q: BC has a total yardage edge of 113 to 63. Cal has 41 passing yards, 22 rushing yards; BC has 65 yards through the air, 48 on the ground. First downs are 6 to 4 for BC. Key stat of the quarter - Cal has the game's only turnover. Sagapolutele is 2 for 3 for 41 yards with 1 INT. The Eagles start the second quarter with a 3rd-and-8 play from their own 37. BC 14, Cal 7

3:46 2nd Q: Cal goes 84 yards in 14 plays, knotting the score on a 5-yard TD pass from Sagapolutele to Jacob De Jesus on a third-and goal play. Sagapolutele was 7 for 7 for 50 yards on the drive. Cal 14, BC 14

0:37 2nd Q: Luca Lombardo kicks a 52-yard goal to cap a 12-play, 36-yard drive in which Lonergan was 4 for 9 for 18 yards. Defensive back Ja'ir Smith missed a great chance to derail the drive when he could not haul in an interception. BC 17, Cal 14

HALFTIME STATS: BC has an edge in total yards of 159-132. The breakdown: Cal has 91 passing yards, 41 on the ground; BC has 96 passing yards, 63 on the ground. First downs are even at 10-10. Cal has convered 3 of 4 third downs and 1 of 1 fourth downs. BC is 3 for 6 on third down, 1 for on fourth down.

Sagapolutele is 9 for 10 for 91 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. So the ball has not hit the turf. RB Kendrick Raphael has 42 rushing yards on 11 attempts. De Jesus has 43 yards on five catches, including the TD. Lonergan is 12 for 21 for 96 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs. Richard has 6 rushes for 62 yards and a TD. Lewis Bond is the top Eagles receiver with 5 catches for 47 yards.

Cal will get the ball to start the second half. BC 17, Cal 14

13:47 4th Q: After a scoreless third quarter, Cal takes its first lead of the afternoon on a 2-yard TD ryb by Kendrick Raphael. It was a one-play drive after CB Hezekiah Masses collected his NCAA-leading fourth interception of the season, picking off Lonergan at the 24 and returning it 22 yards to the 2. That all happened after Cal failed to convert a fourth-and-1 play from the 3-yard line, with Raphael stopped for no gain. But Cal has been stubborn about running the ball, and Raphael got it in the next time they gave it to him. Cal 21, BC 17

13:35 4th Q: That didn't last long . . . after the kickoff set up the Eagles at their own 29-yard line, Richard broke a tackle by Cade Uluave at the line of scrimmage and broke free to race 71 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles entered the game averaging just 73 rushing yards. Richard has 12 carries for 159 yards. BC 24, Cal 21

1:30 4th Q: Sagapolutele finds Mini behind the defense at about the 30-yard line and the sophomore tight end runs it in from there, capping a nine-play, 88-yard drive. Cal 28, BC 24.

0:15 4th Q: Ferrelli intercepts Lonergan in the end zone and brings the ball out to the 1-yard line before being tackled. Cal 28, BC 24

Pre-game reading:

You’ll find everything you need in our thorough game preview

Ron Rivera's message to the team

Cal's availability report for the BC game has at least one surprise

We asked a Boston College beat writer 5 Questions about Cal's next opponent

What did BC coach Bill O'Brien say about Cal QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele?

Cal's first conference road trip tops the week's slate of games in the ACC

One Cal defeat, even a bad one, doesn't deter those who project bowl matchups

Justin Wilcox discusses the tone this week after humbling loss