Cal Football Game Summary: Bears Beat Syracuse

Cal beat Syracuse 21-18 in both teams’ ACC opener on Saturday afternoon in Syracuse, New York.

The summary:

CAL 21, SYRACUSE 18

RECORDS: CAL (1-1, 1-0 ACC), SYRACUSE (1-1, 0-1 ACC)

Player of the Game

Cal safety Kingston Lopa. Lopa got his second, third and fourth interceptions of the season on Saturday, and all three were pivotal. His first pick halted a Syracuse drive and set up a Cal touchdown, His second interception was a 24-yard pick-six that put the Bears ahead 21-18 in the fourth quarter. His final interceptions with 54 seconds left clinched the victory.

Turning Point

With Cal trailing 18-14 with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Cal's Kingston Lopa intercepted a Steve Angeli pass at the Syracuse 24-yard line and he returned it 24 yards for a touchdown that put the Bears ahead 21-18 with 4:51 left in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAY 1: Syracuse running back Tylik Hill ran up the middle for 55 yards to the Cal 8-yard line on the second offensive play of the game. Cal held Syracuse to a field goal, a 25-yard kick by Tripp Woody, that gave the Orange a 3-0 lead with 12;37 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 2: On a fourth-and-3 play from the Syracuse 47-yard line, Syracuse ran a fake punt. Syracuse punter Jimmy Gregg threw a jump pass to David Omopariola for a 12-yard completion and a first down to the Cal 41-yard line with 2:27 left in the first quarter. An interference call on Cal’s Jae’on Young later in that possession led to Woody’s 33-yard field goal, giving Syracuse a 6-0 lead with 14:44 remaining in the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 3: Cal kicker Towns McGown missed a 46-yard field-goal attempt, allowing Syracuse to maintain a 6-0 lead with 11:16 to go in the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 4: Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli completed a 38-yard pass to tight end Daunte Bacheyie putting the ball at the Cal 23-yard line.

KEY PLAY 5: On the next play Angeli completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Bacheyie, giving Syracuse a 12-0 lead with 8:50 to go in the second quarter. A two-point conversion attempt failed.

KEY PLAY 6: Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele completed a 43-yard pass to Ian Strong, putting the ball at the Syracuse 33-yard line.

KEY PLAY 7: On that same Cal possession, following a pass interference call against Syracuse, Sagapolutele completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Chase Hendricks, reducing Syracuse’s lead to 12-7 with 7:15 remaining in the second quarter.

Right on target 🎯@JaronKeawe finds @ChaseHendricks_ for a Bears touchdown.

📺 @accnetwork #GoBears pic.twitter.com/At6eTzr2hS
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) September 12, 2026

KEY PLAY 8: Cal defensive back Kingston Lopa intercepted a Steve Angeli pass at the Cal 18-yard line and returned it 53 yards to the Syracuse 29-yard line with 10:22 left in the third quarter. That led to a 2-yard touchdown pass from Sagapolutele to Jordan King, giving Cal a 14-12 lead with 7:15 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 9: Steve Angeli completed a 19-yard pass to Darien Williams that put the ball at the Cal 2-yard line. That led to Ju'Juan Johnson's 2-yard touchdown run to complete a 75-yard drive and put Syracuse back in front 18-14 with 1:38 to go in the third quarter. A two-point conversion attempt failed.

KEY PLAYS 10: A Cal interception was negated by a roughing the passer penalty by Solomon Williams with 13:08 left in the fourth quarter. Later in that possession a Cal recovery of a Syracuse fumble at the Cal 18-yard line was negated by a penalty because Cal had 12 men on the field..

KEY PLAY 11: Syracuse kicker Woody missed a 31-yard field-goal attempt that bounced off the left upright, keeping the score at 18-14 with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAY 12: On a third-and-20 play from the Syracuse 41-yard line, Cal's Jordan King dropped an accurate Sagapolutele pass that would have gained at least 19 yards, forcing Cal to punt.

KEY PLAY 13: Cal's Kingston Lopa intercepted a Steve Angeli pass at the Syracuse 24-yard line and he returned it 24 yards for a touchdown that put the Bears ahead 21-18 with 4:51 left in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAY 14: Syracuse kicker Tripp Woody missed a 46-yard field-goal attempt wide right, preserving Cal's 21-18 lead with 1:35 left.

KEY PLAY 15: Cal's Kingston Lopa intercepted an Angeli pass at the Cal 42-yard line with 54 seconds left, after Syracuse had reached the Syracuse 47-yard line.

STAT OF THE GAME: Cal had just 67 rushing yards but still won.

STAT OF THE GAME II: Syracuse was penalized 15 times for 134 yards, and Cal was penalized nine times for 87 yards.

STAT OF THE GAME III: Syracuse committed three turnovers, Cal committed none.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME: Kingston Lopa had three interceptions, giving him four for the season.

QUARTERBACK STATISTICS: Cal’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was 21-for-34 for 182 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. It halted his streak of 14 straight games with at least 200 passing yards. Syracuse’s Steve Angeli was 24-for-39 for 306 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

What It Means

Cal bounced back from its loss to UCLA in the opener to win its ACC opener for the second year in a row. The Bears were slight underdogs on the road against Syracuse but pulled out the win to avoid starting the season with an 0-2 record in Tosh Lupoi’s first season as a head coach. A 1-1 record casts Cal in a much different light than if the Bears had fallen to 0-2. Now, with a home game against FCS-level Wagner next Saturday, the Bears should be 2-1 heading into the Friday night, September 25 home game against Clemson.

Cal’s Bowl Barometer

With the win, Cal’s bowl chances improved to 60% as the Bears now need five wins in their remaining 10 games to become bowl-eligible for the fourth straight year. After the loss to UCLA this game against Syracuse was considered pivotal to Cal’s postseason chances.

Cal’s ACC Title Barometer

Cal’s title chances stand at about 25%. Cal, picked to finish 12th in the ACC in the preseason media poll, got off to a positive start by winning its first conference game, and did it on the road. The Bears demonstrated that they might be good enough to be a factor in the ACC title race if they get some breaks, perhaps even qualify for the ACC title game in a conference with few elite teams. The fact that Cal does not face Miami and Louisville this year gives Cal an outside chance to make a title run if the Bears continue to improve.

Cal’s Next Game

Cal (1-1, 1-0 ACC) vs. Wagner (1-2)

Site: California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, California

Date: Saturday, September 19

Starting time: 12:30 p.m.

TV: ACC Network.

Most recent Wagner result: Wagner lost to James Madison 87-3 on the road on Saturday afternoon. James Madison had 588 yards of offense while winning by 84 points.

Note: Wagner College is an FCS-level school located in Staten Island, New York.

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