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Cal Sports Report

Cal Football Game Summary: Bears Crush Wagner

Cal rolls up more than 300 yards of offense in the first quarter against overmatched FCS foe Wagner
Jake Curtis|
Cal running back Adam Mohammed
Cal running back Adam Mohammed | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In this story:

California Golden Bears

Cal defeated Wagner 49-7 before a crowd of 35,586 on Saturday afternoon in Berkeley. Wagner is an FCS program.

Cal had 626 yards of total offense, well short of the school record of 760 yards, achieved in 2015 against Oregon State. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele passed for a career-high 413.yards and he played only 2 1/2 quarters. Cal safety Kingston Lopa recorded his fifth interception of the season.

Cal hosts Clemson in an ACC game Friday night.

The summary:

CAL 49, WAGNER 7

RECORDS: CAL (2-1, 1-0 ACC), WAGNER (1-3, 0-1 Northeast Conference)

Player of the Game

Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. Sagapolutele completed 27 of 33 passes for a career-high 413 yards and three touchdown with no interceptions for a passer rating of 216.9. He played only 2 1/2 quarters.

Turning Point

Cal received the opening kickoff and scored on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead with 11:59 to go in the first quarter. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele completed all four of his passes in that seven-play, 75-yard drive, and Adam Mohammed scored the touchdown on a 28-yard run.

KEY PLAY 1: Cal running back Adam Mohammed scored a touchdown on a 24-yard run to complete a 75-yard drive and give Cal a 7-0 lead with 11:59 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 2: Mohammed scored a touchdown on a 6-yard run with 5:58 left in the first quarter to give Cal a 14-0 lead. The score finished off an 80-yard drive that was aided by two roughing-the-passer penalties .

KEY PLAY 3: Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele completed an 80-yard touchdown pass to Kyion Grayes, who covered most of the yardage himself, to give Cal a 22-0 lead after a two-point conversion with 3:32 remaining in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 4: Mohammed scored his third touchdown of the game on a 65-yard pass from Sagapolutele to give Cal a 29-0 lead with 1:42 remaining in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 5: Wagner quarterback Ben Newman completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Malik Redd to reduce Cal’s lead to 29-7 with 11:30 to go in the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 6: Cal’s Towns McGough kicked a 36-yard field goal to increase Cal’s lead to 32-7 with 8:23 left in the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 7: Cal’s Cooper Perry caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Sagapolutele to increase the Bears’ lead to 39-7 with 4:08 left in the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 8: Cal running back Ashten Emory scored on an 8-yard touchdown run to put Cal ahead 46-7 with 8:02 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 9: Cal's Chase Meyer kicked a 37-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to put Cal ahead 49-7

STAT OF THE GAME: With 1:42 left in the first quarter, Cal had 305 yards of offense, and Wagner had 13.

STAT OF THE GAME II: Cal scored 39 points in the first half, and that is the most points the Bears have scored in a first half since they put up 52 first-half points against Grambling State in 2015.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME: Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele completed 13-of-14 passes for 236 yards in the first quarter.  That’s 54 more passing yards than he had in the entire game against Syracuse.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME II: Cal running back Adam Mohammed had three touchdowns in the first quarter.  That tied his career high for touchdowns in a game, which he accomplished while playing for Washington.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME III: Cal safety Kingston Lopa recorded his fifth interception of the season. His four interceptions entering the game led the nation.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME IV: Cal wide receiver Chase Hendricks had nine receptions for 98 yards.

QUARTERBACK STATISTICS: Cal’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was 27-for-33 for 413 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Cal's Jackson Brousseau was 8-for-10 for 79 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Wagner’s Ben Newman was 15-for-36 for 86 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Wagner's Jason Wiley Jr. was 0-for-1 with no interceptions.

What It Means

Beating Wagner gives Cal a two-game winning streak and  may give the Bears a little momentum heading into Friday’s home game against Clemson. However, Saturday’s result means little to Cal’s season other than it chalks up an expected win to make the record look a little better. The Bears were 58.5-point favorites to beat Wagner, according to FanDuel. The Bears are now 18-0 against FCS schools dating back to 2005, while Wagner is 0-23 against FBS teams. The only way this game could have been meaningful is if Cal had lost.

Cal’s Bowl Barometer

With the win, Cal’s bowl chances remained at 60%. This was a game that was penciled in as a Cal victory before the season started, and it was assumed this would be one of the six wins Cal needs to become bowl-eligible. The Bears need to win just four of their remaining nine games to be eligible for postseason play for the fourth consecutive year.

Cal’s ACC Title Barometer

Cal’s title chances remain at about 25%. Saturday’s victory means virtually nothing to the Bears’ conference title chances, partly because it was a nonconference game but mostly because Cal was expected to beat Wagner easily. The only possible effect on the Bears’ chances to reach the ACC title game is if it provided a confidence boost heading into Friday’s critical home game against Clemson.

Cal’s Next Game

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

Site: California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, California

Date: Friday, September 25

Starting time: 7:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN

Most recent Clemson result: Clemson defeated North Carolina 28-20 after trailing 17-3 in the Tigers' ACC opener on Saturday.

Note: Clemson freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds made his first career start in that game, and he completed 20-of-29 passes for 215 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for 26 yards.

  • Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. 

·       If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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