Three Major Storylines for Virginia Tech's Week Six Game vs. Cal

Cal could be without its starting quarterback and the FBS interception leader. Virginia Tech still has to fix its own mistakes first.

Oct 2, 2026; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer (17) throws a pass during the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Virginia Tech outgained Pitt by 204 yards on Friday and lost. Cal outgained UNLV by more than 100 yards a day later and lost, too. 

Only one of them finished without its quarterback. Sophomore Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele hit his head on the turf late in the first half in Las Vegas and never came back. So the Hokies’ first trip to Berkeley comes with a question they can’t answer yet. Virginia Tech (4–1, 1–1 ACC) and Cal (2–3, 1–1) kick off Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET at California Memorial Stadium.

Cal’s quarterback won’t be known for days

Sagapolutele was 19-of-27 for 195 yards with a touchdown and an interception when he left with 43 seconds remaining in the half. He was medically cleared to return, and first-year coach Tosh Lupoi held him out anyway. Cal will reassess during the week.

“If Jaron is ready to rock, then awesome,” Lupoi said.

Tech has to prepare for two quarterbacks, and the gap between them is smaller than the word backup suggests. Redshirt junior Jackson Brousseau started eight games at Colorado State last season. He took over down 24–7, went 19-of-32 for 200 yards and two touchdowns, and had Cal ahead 25–24 in the fourth quarter.

In three games against power-conference opponents, Sagapolutele is 61-of-104 for 572 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions, and Cal has averaged 18.3 points. The Bears also played without their top two running backs at UNLV, ran for 69 yards, and threw 59 times. Whoever takes the snaps will be throwing into a front that has a solo sack from senior end Aycen Stevens in five straight games.

The turnovers were either a blip or a habit

Junior quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer threw 136 passes over four games without an interception. Against Pitt, he threw two interceptions, lost a fumble on a strip sack, and was part of a botched exchange that became the fourth giveaway. Pitt turned the turnovers into 14 points in a two-point game.

He also threw for a career-high 434 yards, so nobody’s asking Tech to play scared. The better question is who’s waiting in the Cal secondary. Redshirt sophomore safety Kingston Lopa leads the FBS with five interceptions, and he left the UNLV game on the first defensive snap. His status might matter more to this matchup than Sagapolutele’s. After he went out, UNLV hit touchdown passes of 70 and 36 yards before halftime.

The run game has to come back

Sophomore Jeffrey Overton Jr. ran for 209 yards at Boston College. Six days later, Tech finished with 65 against Pitt after averaging 177.8 through four games.

Cal is the right opponent for a reset. The Bears rank 121st in the FBS against the run, allowing 187.4 yards per game. Some of UNLV’s 173 rushing yards on Saturday came from quarterback Jackson Arnold, who ran for 110 yards, and Grunkemeyer does most of his work from the pocket.

This is also a game where Marcellous Hawkins Jr. can do some damage. Over the past two games, Tech's leading rusher from last season has carried the ball 18 times for 51 yards.

Georgia Tech comes to Lane Stadium on Oct. 17, and Clemson is a week after that. The ACC’s availability reports will sort out Cal’s quarterback by the end of the week. Nothing sorts out the turnovers but Saturday.