Five Takeaways From Cal's Opening Loss to UCLA

The final score was grim. But as the capacity crowd of 54,283 fans at Memorial Stadium saw on Saturday night, Cal’s 45-24 season-opening loss to UCLA was a mix of good and bad.

A disappointing kickoff to the Tosh Lupoi coaching era, but it was a starting point.

There were moments — including when the score was tied at 24-all in the fourth quarter — when this felt different than what we’re accustomed to seeing. And then that feeling, along with the potential victory, was gone.

Now the Bears turn the page to prepare for an ACC road game next Saturday at Syracuse, which demolished FCS foe New Hampshire 63-3. There’s time enough to dissect that assignment, but first here are five takeaways from Saturday night:

JKS: `I’ve got to do better’

We’re not here to beat up on Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. The sophomore quarterback is Cal’s best player, and he did plenty of good things against the Bruins, including throwing for 271 yards with two touchdowns, often against all odds while sprinting away from UCLA’s pass rush.

But he also lost a fumble after being sacked, played a role in a botched fourth-down try and his fourth-quarter interceptions on consecutive series set up the first two of UCLA’s three closing touchdowns.

“Definitely didn’t play to the standard,” Sagapolutele said. “I’ve got to put the offense in a better position and I’ve got to do better myself.”

The two picks were his first after 211 consecutive pass attempts without one, dating back to last season, which eclipsed the program record held by Jared Goff.

JKS is going to be terrific this season. But he knows the mistakes can be costly.

Where was the run defense?

The Bruins’ ground game did pretty much whatever it wanted for most of the night. UCLA rushed for 277 yards and, aside from quarterback Nico Iamaleava, four players averaged an unacceptable 11.4 yards per try.

Citing an early UCLA reverse play that gained 20 yards, Lupoi acknowledged the defense failed to contain the perimeter. “It’s something we try to take a lot of pride in,” he said.

By the fourth quarter it became clear to UCLA coach Bob Chesney that there was no reason to even attempt a pass. On their three scoring drives that decided the game, the Bruins ran 10 plays — all of them runs — for 130 yards.

Encouraging third-quarter reset

The Bears drove 75 yards for a touchdown on the game’s first possession, but by halftime trailed 24-17 and had given up 302 yards.

His team’s third-quarter response — limiting the Bruins to 21 yards on 12 plays leading to three punts — elicited Lupoi’s most enthusiastic praise during his postgame news conference.

“The defense coming out in the third quarter on fire,” he said, “was just awesome.”

The newcomers deliver, mostly

Running back Adam Mohammed, who came from Washington, ran for a 120 yards on 28 attempts — both career highs — and caught seven passes for 46 more yards. That represented 40 percent of the Bears’ 410 total yards.

Te 6-foot-, 220-pound junior did his heaviest lifting on Cal’s 14-play, 85-yard third-quarter drive that tied the score at 24-all. JKS handed him the ball 10 times and he gained 54 yards while also picking up seven yards for a first down on a screen pass before getting the TD on a one-yard plunge.

“He kept the chains moving, he was running hard for us,” Sagapolutele said. “I’m proud of him.”

Among receivers, Ohio U transfer Chase Hendricks had six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown and Rutgers transplant Ian Strong made five receptions for 94 yards, although the pass that seemed to skip off his hands resulted in Sagapolutele’s first interception.

Tight end Dorian Thomas, formerly of New Mexico, reportedly was nicked up in fall camp and did not play.

Cal fans do their part

Lupoi repeatedly campaigned in recent weeks for a big turnout and fans came through, selling out Memorial Stadium. Traffic coming into Berkeley was somewhat more congested, parking filled up earlier than usual and activity on campus near the stadium was noticeably brisker.

By kickoff, everyone was in their seats. Lupoi made mention of it in his postgame, but it wasn’t lost on players, either.

“Shout out to our fans,” said Oregon transfer linebacker Kamar Mothudi. “It was amazing. It was electric. I was truly honored and blessed to play in that environment. It was so much fun.”

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