Dropped Passes the Past Two Games Have Hurt Cal

While watching Cal’s game against Virginia Tech last Friday, you had the sense that quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagaplutele had regained the touch that had made him a national story early in the season. But when you saw at his final statistics – 24-for-39, 286 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions – it didn’t reflect a standout performance.

His stats should have been 29-for-39 for well over 300 yards and at least two touchdowns along with no interceptions.

The problem was that Cal receivers had five drops in that game, which Cal lost 42-34 in double overtime. The most distressing moments came in the second quarter when Trond Grizzell and Mark Hamper dropped would-be touchdown passes in the end zone on consecutive plays, forcing Cal to settle for a field goal on that possession.

“I thought he made some phenomenal throws,” Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said of Sagapolutele on Tuesday, “so we have to catch the ball more consistently. We have to clean up the snaps, we got to block better, protect him better. There’s certainly things he can do better, but some of the balls he threw were elite. He does that every week.”

It was the second straight game in which Sagapolutele had no turnovers. And it was the second straight game Cal had at least five drops.

Grizzell has a history of making outstanding contested catches. That’s how he moved up from being a walk-on to becoming a starter. He made some great catches early in the season, but has struggled a bit lately.

He had 24 catches in the first six games, but just two in the past two games combined. And dropped passes were also an issue in Cal’s razor-thin victory over North Carolina two weeks ago. Cal receivers dropped six passes in that game, so Sagapolutele should have completed 27 of 39 passes with a couple of touchdowns and no interceptions instead of his official numbers of 21-for-39, one score and no interceptions against the Tar Heels.

“I know Trond wants to catch it, I know Hamper does. I know all the guys do, Mason [Mini],” Wilcox said. “We just have to take advantage when that ball is hitting us in the chest or right near our facemask, so we can take advantage of those touchdowns. And I think we had one late to Jordan King, who traditionally has been very, very sure-handed.

“So unfortunate, I know they don’t want to not make the plays, we just have to find ways to make them.”

The one Cal receiver who continues make catches consistently is Jacob De Jesus, who has made 35 catches over the past four games and 55 receptions for the season, which ranks second in the ACC, one catch behind Boston College's Lewis Bond.

However, De Jesus has been the exception recently.

"I wish there was something we could point to," Wilcox said regarding the drops. "Guys that have been traditionally sure-handed. We got to keep drilling it. We got to keep working those contested-catch drills and catching in traffic."

Sagapolutele is not about to criticize his receivers, and explained what he says to a receiver after a drop.

“For sure sometimes you got to get on them of course,” he said, “but you also got to lift them up at times as well.”

He says he won’t harp on dropped passes.

“At the same time when I make mistakes, that’s on me,” he said. “I just got to uplift them and continue to help them. Because, of course, some of my passes weren’t right where they were supposed to be, and if they drop it, next play, and I know they’re going to catch the next one.”

Eleven dropped passes in two games is not a recipe for success, and Cal receivers need to make contested catches for the Bears (5-3, 2-2 ACC) to be competitive in Saturday afternoon’s home game against 15th-ranked Virginia, which is 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the ACC.

The Cavaliers are just 4-point favorites as of Tuesday, so a dropped pass could be the difference.

Recent articles:

Cal's next opponent has a surprisingly low ESPN SP+ rating

Hawaii a possible bowl destination for Cal

Cal's Ron Rivera among highest-paid GMs and he deserves it