Cal Football Game Preview: Bears Host Wagner

Cal seeks its second straight victory when it hosts FCS-level Wagner on Saturday afternoon. Cal is a heavy favorite.

The preview:

CAL (1-1, 1-0 ACC) vs. WAGNER (1-2)

SITE: California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, California

WHEN: Saturday, 12:30 p.m.

TV: ACC Network -- Roxy Bernstein (Play-By-Play), Dave Clawson (Analyst), Madison Hock (Sideline Reporter)

RADIO: 810 AM -- Justin Allegri (Play-By-Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Ben Ross (Sideline Reporter)

BETTING LINE: Cal is favored by 58.5 points, according to FanDuel. Over/Under is 65.5 points.

WEATHER FORECAST: Saturday in Berkeley should be mostly sunny with a high of 73 degrees. No rain is expected, but winds could gust up to 20 miles per hour.

Cal-Wagner History

Cal and Wagner have never faced each other on the football field.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Cal did not release an injury report for this nonconference game. However running back Carter Vargas, who missed last week’s game, is considered questionable for Saturday. There is some question about the readiness of tight end Dorian Thomas, who played just two plays last week; cornerback Ricky Fletcher, who played only 15 defensive plays against Syracuse, and offensive tackle Jimothy Lewis, who was on the field for just 18 offensive snaps last week.

WAGNER PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Starting quarterback Jack Steven suffered a neck injury in Wagner’s first game and has not played since. He is unlikely to play against Cal, so Benjamin Newman is expected to be Wagner’s starting quarterback Saturday. Running back Matt Morad is questionable after not playing last week.

CAL Storylines

--- Cal is coming off a 21-18 victory over Syracuse in its ACC opener, a game in which the statistics favored Syracuse. Cal won because of three pivotal turnovers, all three of which were provided by safety Kingston Lopa with interceptions.

---Cal has never lost to an FCS opponent, going 17-0 against FCS teams dating back to 2005. Wagner is an FCS school.

---The Bears must avoid looking ahead to next Friday night’s nationally televised game against Clemson, which will be pivotal to Cal’s ACC season.

---Cal will not have a sellout crowd for Saturday’s game as it did for its opener at home against UCLA. It will be interesting to see how many people show up for this contest, which is not as attractive a matchup as the UCLA game was. Cal lost to the Bruins 45-24.

---Tosh Lupoi got his first win as a college head coach last week, and he is expected to get his second win this weekend.

--- Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has been solid in the Bears' first two games, but has not been as spectacular as some had expected. He passed for 182 yards against Syracuse, which was the first time in his Cal career that he passed for fewer than 200 yards, but Cal still won the game. He ranks 12th in the ACC in passer rating at 123.0, 12th in passing yards per game at 226.5, 11th in completion percentage at 60.0%, and tied for fourth in touchdown passes with four.

---Cal’s offense was expected to be the Bears’ strength this season, but it has not been as explosive as expected. They have scored just 24 points and 21 points in their first two games, and one of their three touchdowns last week was scored by Cal’s defense. Cal ranks 13th in the ACC in scoring offense (22.5 points per game) and 15th in total offense (329.5 yards per game), and their average of 4.5 yards per play is better than just one ACC team, Clemson.

--- Cal safety Kingston Lopa leads the nation in interceptions with four, three of which came last week against Syracuse.

---Cal’s defense used a lot more blitzing against Syracuse. It resulted in 26 pressures on Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli, who threw three interceptions. Cal had recorded just seven pressures in the opener against UCLA, when the Bears did a lot less blitzing. It remains to be seen whether Cal will continue to do a lot of blitzing this week.

Wagner Storylines

--- Wagner is an FCS school, and the Seahawks have never beaten an FBS team, going 0-22 in those games. Wagner is 0-8 against Power Four conference FBS teams, losing those games by an average margin of 56-5.

--- Wagner College, which is located in Staten Island, New York, has an undergraduate enrollment of 1,666 students as of 2024, with an incoming freshman class in 2026 of 404 students. Approximately 61% of the students are female and 39% are male.

--- Cal is paying Wagner $525,000 to make the cross-country trip to Berkeley to play Cal, according to Hero Sports.

--- Wagner’s football stadium has a seating capacity of 3,700, but there are plans to expand it.

--- Wagner lost its opener to Robert Morris 28-7 in a Northeast Conference game played on Wagner’s home field. Wagner defeated Southern Connecticut State, a Division II team, by a score of 31-7 in another home game. Last week, in its first road game, Wagner lost to James Madison 87-3.

---The 87 points scored by James Madison are the most points scored this season in a game involving NCAA Division I teams (FBS and FCS). Houston Christian defeated Houston Baptist 88-0 on the same day, but Arkansas Baptist is an NAIA school, not an NCAA member. (Houston Christian had the ball for just 10 minutes, 31 seconds in that game, but still scored 88 points.) The 87 points are also the most points ever scored against Wagner, and the most points ever scored by James Madison.

--- Wagner’s No. 1 quarterback, Jack Stevens, suffered a neck injury in the opening game this season. He did not play the next two games and is not expected to play against Cal. Ben Newman, a redshirt freshman, is expected to start at quarterback against Cal. He has completed 58.5% of his passes for 380 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in three games.

--- Wagner was picked to finish fourth in the eight-team Northeast Conference preseason poll, behind Central Connecticut State, Duquesne and Long Island University

Wagner play-by-play man answers five questions about the Seahawks

Cal Players to Watch

QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele – He had a career-low 182 passing yards against Syracuse, but Cal won.

WR Ian Strong – The Rutgers transfer has caught eight passes for a team-leading 158 yards in two games.

WR Chase Hendricks – Hendricks, a transfer from Ohio University, has 11 receptions, including two touchdown catches.

TE Mason Mini – Mini has six receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown.

RB Adam Mohammed – Mohammed is third in the ACC in rushing with 194 yards, and he leads Cal in receptions with 12.

S Kingston Lopa – He had three pivotal interceptions last week against Syracuse, earning him several honors: ACC defensive back of the week, Walter Camp national defensive player of the week, Bednarik Award national player of the week, and was one of 22 players on the PFF national team of the week,

CB Daniel Harris – He leads the team in sacks with 2.0, and tied for the team lead in pass breakups with two.

Wagner Players to Watch

RB Matt Morad – He is Wagner’s leading rusher with 115 yards in two games. He did not play last week, but there is a good chance he will play against Cal.

DL Ethan Appalone – Appalone was a preseason first-team all-Northeast Conference pick

DL Logan Barnes – He was a preseason first-team all-Northeast conference selection

DB Shamar Williams – He was a first-team preseason all-conference pick. He has 10 tackles, one interception and one pass breakup in three games this season.

WR Zion Fowler-Eli – He is by far the team’s leading receiver with 16 catches for 143 yards in three games. He played three seasons at Pitt before transferring to Wagner.

RB Sekou Kamau – He was a preseason all-conference pick who has rushed for 53 yards in three games this season.

CAL STATISTICS: Click here

CAL GAME NOTES: Click here

WAGNER STATISTICS: Click here

JAKE'S PICK: Cal 38, Wagner 7

JEFF'S PICK: Cal 42, Wagner 6

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