Cal-Texas Southern Thread: Bears Start Slow, Cruise to 35-3 Victory

Cal has never lost to an FBS team. Texas Southern has never beaten an FBS opponent.

That's still the case after Cal's 35-3 victory in front of 35,898 fans at Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

This one was much closer than the final score, with Cal leading just 3-0 until scoring its first touchdown with 1:19 left in the first half.

The only real bad news of the day was ejection of linebacker Cade Uluave for a targeting penalty in the third quarter. That will keep him out of the first half next week when the Bears host Minnesota. The Golden Gophers ran past Northwestern State 66-0 on Saturday.

Here's our game thread:

COIN FLIP: Cal wins the toss and elects to receive the opening kickoff. The Bears will defend the north end zone.

11:37 1st Q: Abram Murray kicks a 44-yard field goal after Jacob De Jesus returned a punt 25 yars to the Texas Southern 29-yard line. The Bears managed just 3 yards on three plays before settling for the field goal. Cal 3, Texas Southern 0

End of 1st Q: An uneventful first 15 minutes are in the books. Texas Southern with 48 yards and 3 first downs. Cal with 42 yards and 2 first downs. Sagapolutele is 4 for 9 for 19 yards. Cal 3, Texas Southern 0

1:19 2nd Q: Sagapolutele scores on a 1-yard QB sneak to cap Cal's best possession of the first half, an 86-yard, 12-play drive. Sagapolutele had completions of 21 yards to Jacob De Jesus and 26 yards to Mark Hamper and Kendrick Raphael had runs of 14 nad 10 yards on consecutive plays to get the Bears into scoring position. A 19-yard pass to Hamper gave Cal a first down at the 12 and a 9-yarder to Mason Mini moved the Bears to the 3-yard line.Cal ran a trick 2-point play with Mason taking the direct snap and running it across. Cal 11, Texas Southern 0.

HALFTIME: Cal 11, Texas Southern 0. Cornerback Hezekiah Masses intercepted TSU quarterback KJ Cooper at the Cal 8-yard line and returned it 28 yards to the 36 to halt TSU's last-minute drive.

Cal finished the half with 219 yards (5.5 yards per play), including 108 rushing yards. Raphael, the transfer from NC State, has 86 rushing yards on 8 tries. Sagapolutele is 14 for 23 for 111 yards with 1 interception (his first) and 1 sack (his first). Hamper has 3 catches for 50 yards, De Jesus has 3 or 30 yards.

Texas Southrn has 102 yards (3.0 per play), including just 31 rushing yards on 14 attempts. Cooper is 10 for 20 for 71 yards with 1 INT and 2 sacks.

9:38 3rd Q: After Texas Southern elected to punt rather than go for it on 4th and less than a foot from its own 34, the Bears took over at their 35 and went 65 yards in seven plays. Sagapolutele was sharp, completing 4 for 4 for 64 yards to four different receivers before Kendrick Raphael piled over from the 1-yard line. Cal 18, Texas Southern 0

5:27 3rd Q: The defense forces a 3-and-out and an 18-yard punt return by De Jesus sets up the Bears for a six-play 32-yard scoring drive. Running back LJ Johnson Jr., a transfer from SMU, gets the final 12 yards on a run and the Bears have now scored 22 points in the past 11 minutes of game time. Cal 25, Texas Southern 0

13:58 4th Q: Christian Avelar kicks a 39-yard field goal to cap a 14-play, 57-yard drive, which allows the Tigers to avoid a potential shutout. Cal was hoping to secure its first shutout since a 28-0 home victory vs. Arizona on Oct. 1, 2005. A key play on the drive and a costly one for Cal was a targeting penalty against linebacker Cade Uluave, which means he will have to sit out the first half of next week's home game vs. Minnesota. Cal 25, Texas Southern 3

Pre-game reading:

Our Cal vs. Texas Southern game preview

Has Cal already filled its big vacancy at tight end?

How chocolate chip cookies have helped Cal develop its chemistry

Texas Southern radio analyst answers our 5 Questions

Cal borrows from Raiders' Black Hole to create Black Bears cheering section

Four ways freshman QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele can be better still