Cal QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele: `He's Going to be an Amazing Player'

So much clicked with the Cal offense in its 38-35 victory over No. 21 SMU on Saturday night.

The line enjoyed perhaps its best game as the Bears — who entered the weekend ranked last nationally in rushing yards per game — ran for 122 yards. That was equal to their most all season against an FBS opponent and the first time since September they topped 100 yards.

The Bears’ season-high point total sprouted from a clean performance in which they had no turnovers and no sacks for the first time in the same game since the season opener at Oregon State.

Just a week ago, the Bears coughed up three fumbles that led directly to Stanford touchdowns in a 31-10 Big Game defeat. And Cal had surrendered 31 sacks through the first 11 games.

Three wide receivers — Jaiven Plummer, Cole Boscia and QuaRon Adams all made their first career touchdown catches. The threesome wound up with 10 receptions for 149 yards.

Because of injuries, the Bears got blocking contributions from three players at tight end — Fred Williams III, Akili Calhoun and John Tofi Jr. — who either hadn’t played the position or just hadn’t seen much action anywhere.

Running back Kendrick Raphael carried the ball a career-high 33 times for 111 yards, caught five passes for 53 more yards and scored the game-winning touchdown with 43 seconds left.

“Offensively, there was some real production,” interim head coach Nick Rolovich noted.

The Cal fans crashed the interview after the big win over No. 21 SMU 😅 pic.twitter.com/SbkmTe2GtN
— ESPN (@espn) November 30, 2025

There was also a freshman quarterback who just keeps getting better.

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, the fearless southpaw from Hawaii, had the game of his young life. The 19-year-old completed 31 of 40 passes (77.5 percent) for 330 yards with touchdowns to four different players. All career-best totals.

Then he directed a near-perfect, go-ahead, 75-yard scoring drive in the final 2:22, with Raphael giving them the lead. Sagapolutele was 5 for 5 for 61 yards on the 99-second drive.

“There wasn’t a single incompletion . . . that’s crazy,” said senior wide receiver Jacob De Jesus, who finished with 12 catches for 96 yards and now has 99 receptions for the season, one shy of the program’s 27-year-old record. “Jaron was very poised, went through all his reads and found the right targets.”

Added Boscia, the one-time walk-on who grew up in the Easy Bay: “It’s easy when you’re being led by No. 3 down the field. It gives you a lot of confidence.”

Cal interim head coach Nick Rolovich and Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele embrace before the game | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Nick Rolovich, promoted from senior offensive analyst to interim head coach this week after Justin Wilcox was fired, was grateful to have Sagapolutele running the offense.

“He’s such a wonderful kid to be around,” Rolovich said. “Accurate. The mastery of the plays — these aren’t easy plays that we’re putting in there sometimes. There’s a lot of shifts and motion, there’s a lot of different looks he can get.

“But who he is as a competitor . . . he’s not here for the 330 yards. He’s here for winning.”

Sagapolutele has shined in Cal’s wins, struggled at times in their losses. Of course, he is only once piece of the equation, and the performance of others — good and bad — weighs heavily on those outcomes.

But consider this:

In seven victories, he has completed 65.8 percent of his attempts for an average of 271 yards per game, with 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

In five defeats, those numbers are 60.4 percent and 244 yards per game, with two TDs and seven interceptions.

Senior Aidan Keanaaina, who rooms with Sagapolutele in the “Poly house,” gets a glimpse of what he calls the “unfiltered side” of the Bears quarterback every day.

“He’s going to be an amazing player,” Keanaaina said. “He’s the most competitive guy. He’s fun to be around. He’s going to become a great leader. I had so much faith in him going into the year, watching him in the offseason. I saw his talent. I saw his leadership capabilities.

“He’s just getting better and better every game. Sometimes freshmen QBs struggle in those critical situations where there’s a lot of pressure on them. He’s so calm and collected. He makes the throws, he controls that offense and he’s going to be a big part of Cal.”

Old Blues everywhere hope Keanaaina is right.

Follow Jeff Faraudo on Twitter, Facebook and Bluesky

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