Cal inches past Syracuse, literally
The Bears squeeze past Syracuse, turning the Orange - to juice. These two teams provided the full college football experience, featuring both incredible and disastrous plays. The win kicks off the Bears’ ACC campaign with a strong bounce back after their home loss vs UCLA.
California defensive back, Kingston Lopa
Photo courtesy of IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The first half was slow. There were an impressive 7 punts, a missed field goal by Cal, and a failed two-point attempt by Syracuse; the Orange still managed to score a touchdown and knock through two field goals. Cal finally got on the board halfway through the second quarter, with a drive that had two impressive throws from quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. The first went to receiver Ian Strong in a strong elevated catch for a 43 yard gain, then finishing off the drive with a 15-yard connection to Chase Hendricks. Despite that stand-out series, it was a tough first half for the Bears. The team looked slow and lackadaisical, the score was 12-7, and hope for a win felt far-fetched.
After a disheartening first half, the third quarter turned things around for Cal. Despite being unable to convert on their first possession, The Bears responded quickly, behind University of Oregon transfer Kingston Lopa, who skied high for his first interception, returning it to the 20-yard line, nearly taking it all the way. Cal capitalized on this opportunity, scoring a touchdown six plays later with a JKS to Jordan King connection, taking the lead 14-12. Syracuse immediately responded with a 13 play touchdown drive, retaking the lead 18-14 but again failed to complete the two-point conversion. This began what turned into a tsunami of mistakes for the Orange.
On their following drive, Syracuse fumbled the ball over to Cal on fourth-and-one, 20 yards from the endzone. Even with this advantage, Cal’s dysfunctional substitutions became their demise. With 12 men on the field, Cal was flagged for an automatic first down, giving Syracuse the ball back. Even with the second chance, the Bears’ defense stayed strong, forcing Syracuse to settle for a field goal. In a miraculous turn of events for Cal, Syracuse kicker, Trip Woody, missed his third field goal of the day just inches off the left post, failing to tie the game.
Yet after all of this, Cal’s stagnant offense still hadn’t found anything and were forced to punt after only one first down. defensive back, Kingston Lopa, on the other hand had something else in mind. Two plays later Lopa intercepted Syracuse's quarterback Steven Angeli for the second time, this time scoring a touchdown and putting Cal up 21-18. Syracuse woes were far from over. Again, they managed to drive down the field and put themselves in a position to tie the game with an astonishing third-and-thirteen conversion, only to be let down by kicker, Trip Woody, missing a 46 yard attempt wide, right and short.
With only 1:35 left in the game, Cal had possession and needed one first down to ice it. They managed three plays for four yards and burned 32 seconds off the clock before punting the ball back to Syracuse. Only two plays into Syracuse’s possession Kingston Lopa intercepted quarterback Steve Angeli for the third time of the night, effectively ending the game and giving Cal their first win of the season.
Despite being close to coach Tosh Lupoi during their careers at Oregon together, Kingston Lopa rarely saw the field, notching only twelve tackles on the entire season. This year with Cal, he has secured twelve tackles in just two games. Once Lupoi got the head coach job at Cal, Lopa followed, transferring south. Now, he is leading college football with four interceptions and is the only ACC player to be named in Pro Football Focus’s national team of the week. In recent years Cal has had extreme success with defensive backs and safeties, earning themselves the nickname DBU (Defensive Back University). In 2024, they had the country's interception leader Nohl Williams (who notched seven interceptions) and in 2025 they had Hezekiah Masses with five interceptions. This success has spilled over into the pro leagues, with Cal putting nine safeties or defensive backs in the NFL.
The Bears hope to continue their success this week vs. Wagner, an FCS team. Cal is 17-0 vs FCS teams since 2005, and are predicted to win. This will give their offense an opportunity to build momentum, chemistry and continuity as a unit, while their defense can continue to dominate.