The San Diego State football team, idle over the weekend, has had two weeks to prepare for this weekend’s nonconference game against Cal.
It’s a good thing, giving the Aztecs a chance to put a 36-13 loss at Washington State behind them while preparing for a Golden Bears team that is 3-0 to open the season.
Cal is averaging 32 points a game while limiting opponents to 10.7 points, which ranks 19th in the nation for defensive scoring.
SDSU coach Sean Lewis said last week’s practice involved “introducing some of Cal and the things that they were doing with the information that we had through the first two weeks of their opponents. Then, being able to refine the plan over this weekend with what we had seen from (Saturday’s) Minnesota game, and dotted the I’s, crossed the T’s, and we’ll get into those situational specifics of it all as we move through this week.”
The Aztecs are 12 1/2-point underdogs against Cal in Saturday’s game, which starts at 7:30 p.m. at Snapdragon Stadium and will air on CBS Sports Network:
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox has the Bears off to a 3-0 start for the second straight season. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG)
About the Golden Bears
Cal has opened the season with three straight victories for the second straight season, beating Oregon State 34-15, Texas Southern 35-3 and Minnesota 27-14.
What does it mean? It’s still too early to draw conclusions.
The Golden Bears opened the 2024 season by beating UC Davis 31-13, Auburn 21-14 and SDSU 31-10. They then lost four straight games on the way to a 6-6 regular-season finish. A 24-13 loss to UNLV in the L.A. Bowl left Cal with a losing record.
Coach Justin Wilcox has guided the Golden Bears to bowl games in four of his seven full seasons at Berkeley. That’s the program’s best stretch since making seven straight bowl appearances from 2003 to 2009.
Cal has a new opportunity in the Atlantic Coast Conference, though it may take the Golden Bears longer to earn a reputation. They were picked to finish 15th in the 17-team conference.
The offense
The best thing that happened to Cal during the offseason is that quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele graduated early from Hawaii’s Saint Louis School.
That enabled Sagapolutele to enroll at Oregon in December, realize it wasn’t for him and head to the transfer portal in January. Sagapolutele then signed with Cal, where he originally committed before flipping to Oregon on national signing day.
Sagapolutele won the job in fall camp and became the Golden Bears’ first true freshman starting quarterback since Jared Goff in 2013. The 6-foot-3 left-hander has been outstanding, completing 71 of 106 passes for 772 yards and six touchdowns with one interception.
“There’s a calm and there’s a composure to what he’s doing,” Lewis said. “You can tell he’s very decisive and he trusts the pieces that he’s playing with. … He’s been consistent with his footwork. He’s been consistent with his decision-making and he’s done a really good job throwing on time and on target and playing catch with his guys. …
“He’s learning, he’s growing, obviously, on the job, and he’s doing it at a very, very high level. So, you know, we’ve got to do a good job making it really tough on him.”
Sagapolutele’s top targets have been UNLV senior transfer wide receiver Jacob De Jesus (17 catches, 141 yards, TD), sophomore tight end Mason Mini (13-99, 2 TDs) and senior wide receiver Trond Grizzell (11-175, TD).
Junior running back Kendrick Raphael (39 carries, 201 yards, TD) leads a rushing attack that’s averaging 118 yards a game.
Oregon State Beavers running back Anthony Hankerson (0) breaks the tackle of California Golden Bears linebacker Luke Ferrelli (41) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, in Corvallis, Ore. (AP Photo/Mark Ylen)
The defense
Few teams force as many turnovers as Cal.
The Golden Bears tied for the national lead with 28 takeaways in 2023, recovering 16 fumbles and intercepting 12 passes.
Last year, they had 22 takeaways — 17 interceptions and five fumble recoveries.
The defense has forced five turnovers this season, mostly thanks to senior defensive back Hezekiah Masses, who has intercepted a pass in each of Cal’s first three games. Masses also has a team-high five pass breakups.
Linebacker Luke Ferrelli, a redshirt freshman from Carlsbad High School, has a team-high 27 tackles, followed by junior linebacker Cade Uluave (24) and junior defensive back Isaiah Crosby (21).
Did you know?
Cal’s offensive staff includes two former Mountain West head coaches. The Golden Bears’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach is Bryan Harsin, who coached at Boise State from 2014 to 2020 before spending two seasons at Auburn. The team’s offensive assistant is Nick Rolovich, who coached at Hawaii from 2016 to 2019 before spending two seasons as head coach at Washington State.
Originally Published: September 16, 2025 at 5:23 PM PDT