Kendrick Raphael of Cal gains for the first down against Texas Southern in the first half at hosting Cal Berkeley in Berkeley, CA on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (Don Feria for Bay Area News Group)
BERKELEY — Freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and the Cal offense needed nearly a half to find their rhythm against Texas Southern in the Bears’ home opener on Saturday afternoon.
Leading just 3-0 against an FCS opponent from Houston, the Bears scored with 1:19 left in the second quarter, then reached the end zone on their first two possessions of the third quarter, en route to a 35-3 victory in front of 35,898 at Memorial Stadium.
Sagapolutele, who earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors for his sharp performance at Oregon State the week before, was out of rhythm early. But he completed seven straight passes for 74 yards and scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak as the Bears hiked the lead to 11-0 before halftime.
He then went 4 for 4 for 62 yards on a drive that pushed the advantage to 18-0 and completed his only attempt in a brief possession, making it 25-0 with 5:27 left in the third quarter.
“It all starts with me. I came out flat,” Sagapolutele said. “I was missing passes that were wide open. I’ve got to be able to hit them. I think I could have made it easier on myself by not trying to play hero ball. I’m just so glad my guys played through it and we started picking things up in the second quarter, the second half.”
The defense kept the visiting Tigers (0-2) off balance most of the afternoon and was positioned to rack up the program’s first shutout since 2005 until a 39-yard field goal by TSU’s Christian Avelar a minute into the fourth quarter.
That 52-yard drive was costly to the Bears (2-0), who lost star linebacker Cade Uluave to a targeting hit on Texas Southern quarterback TJ Cooper. As a result, Uluave will be ineligible to play the first half next week when Minnesota (2-0) visits.
“You’ve got to hit them in the strike zone. If you don’t, you get a targeting call and they throw you out of the game,” Bears coach Justin Wilcox said. “It’s really unfortunate. I know Cade doesn’t want to be thrown out of the game. He’s an aggressive player. He’s really fast. He’s very explosive when he hits people. It was a technique error.”
Sagapolutele finished the afternoon 26-for-37 for 259 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
“Jaron will learn a lot from this game,” Wilcox said. “He did some really good things, especially later in the game. We know he can really throw the ball.”
Sagapolutele backup, Ohio State transfer Devin Brown, saw his first action of the season late in the game and threw a 13-yard TD pass to wide receiver Jayden Dixon-Veal with 3:09 left to make it 35-3.
Running back Kendrick Raphael, a transfer from North Carolina State, delivered his first career 100-yard rushing performance with 131 yards on 18 attempts, including a 1-yard that made it 18-0 in the third quarter. LJ Johnson Jr., a transfer from SMU, scored on a 12-yard run that pushed the lead to 25-0.
The Cal defense held Texas Southern to 193 yards and prevented an opponent from scoring a touchdown for the first time since a 28-3 win over Colorado on Oct. 23, 2021.
The Bears led 11-0 after a mostly uninspiring first half.
Cal had just two yards of offense after its first two possessions, a week after it scored a pair of touchdowns in the same time frame at Oregon State.
Sagapolutele, who completed his first nine pass attempts last week, misfired on his first four in this one. By halftime, he had also experienced his first collegiate interception and sack.
Abram Murray gave the Bears a 3-0 lead by converting a 44-yard field goal with 11:37 left in the opening period after a 25-yard punt return by Jacob De Jesus. Otherwise, Cal did little on its first six possessions.
“To answer your question, why did it take so long to get going, I wish there was one reason,” Wilcox said. “But it was a matter of executing the plays. We didn’t really block, run, throw, or catch very well in the first half. If we’re not doing that up to par, it’s going to be hard to move the ball.
“Some guys were pressing a little bit, excited to play, but trying to do a little bit too much. We need to do a better job of focusing on the play right in front of us.”
Uluave appeared to break the game open with a 59-yard interception return to the end zone midway through the second period. But TSU quarterback KJ Cooper was ruled down on a sack by TJ Bush Jr., with a good defensive play nullifying another one.
The Bears finally scored a touchdown late in the second quarter, with Sagapolutele scoring on a one-yard quarterback sneak with 1:19 left to cap a 12-play, 86-yard drive.
Sagapolutele had completions of 26 and 19 yards to wide receiver Mark Hamper, a 21-yarder to De Jesus, and a 9-yard hookup with tight end Mason Mini to get into scoring position.
After the TD, Cal ran a trick play on the conversion, shifting out of kick mode before Mini took a direct snap and ran over right tackle for the two-point conversion.
The Tigers used a 45-yard kick return to get into Cal territory before cornerback Hezekiah Masses made his second interception in as many weeks to snuff out the threat.
Originally published at Jeff Faraudo