BERKELEY — Cal has lost two games in a row for the first time this season, again missing a chance to earn bowl eligibility in a 31-21 setback to No. 15 Virginia in front of 30,893 at Memorial Stadium on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
Trailing 24-21, Cal got one last chance after Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris threw incomplete on fourth-and-2 from the Bears’ 14-yard line.
Cal took over with 45 seconds left and on first down Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw down the field into double coverage. He was picked off by linebacker Kam Robinson, who returned it 35 yards untouched into the end zone with 29 seconds left.
The Bears (5-4, 2-3 ACC) travel next week to No. 16 Louisville, which improved to 7-1 with a 28-16 win over Virginia Tech. Cal still is one win shy of securing bowl eligibility for the third straight season, and its chances are dwindling to put together the kind of season that will ensure ninth-year coach Justin Wilcox has job security.
Cal fell behind 10-0 early and could not muster enough consistency on offense to overtake the Cavaliers (8-1, 5-0), whose first victory ever in the Pacific time zone gives them seven straight wins this season.
The Bears finished with a season-low 263 yards. Sagapolutele was 19 for 30 for 213 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He played turnover-free the two previous weeks. He was sacked three times, contributing to Cal’s net rushing total of 8 yards.
The Bears played much of the game without star linebacker Cade Uluave, who had one pass breakup but no tackles before coming out with an undisclosed injury. He was on the sidelines with his helmet off all of the second quarter and was in a T-shirt after halftime.
The ACC’s leading tackler had a career-best 19 tackles a week ago in the Bears’ 42-34 double-overtime loss at Virginia Tech.
Cal drew within three points for the second time in the second half, thanks in part to a 14-yard punt that skidded off the foot of Virginia’s Daniel Sparks. That set up the Bears at the 25-yard line and they needed just two plays to get into the end zone.
Sagapolutele completed a 24-yard pass to tight end Mason Mini to the 1-yard line, but the Cal freshman QB stayed on the ground afterward and had to come out of the game for one play.
Redshirt freshman EJ Caminong came on and handed off to Raphael Kendrick, who powered in from the 1 for his third touchdown of the game, his sixth in two weeks. That enabled the Bears to close within 24-21 with 12:57 left in the fourth quarter.
The Bears had used some razzle-dazzle to get within 17-14 midway through the third quarter.
Jacob De Jesus set the Bears up at the Virginia 42-yard line with an 18-yard punt return.
Sagapolutele then threw a lateral pass to the left flat to Mini, who uncorked a deep ball down the right side of the field to Raphael, who took it in with 6:08 left in the period.
Virginia answered immediately, assembling an 11-play, 75-yard drive, climaxed by Chandler Morris throwing a lateral pass to tight end Eli Wood, who ran in from the 4-yard line for a 24-14 lead with 1:51 left in the third period.
The Cavaliers scored on their first possession and never trailed on the way to a 17-7 halftime lead.
Cal was down 10-0 when it assembled its only scoring drive of the half a 14-play, 75-yard march that was capped by a 2-yard run by Raphael, who took a direct snap on a first-down play with 13:00 left in the second quarter.
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 17: Connor Co #81 of the North Carolina Tar Heels runs the ball while being tackled by Cade Uluave #0 of the California Golden Bears during the first half at California Memorial Stadium on October 17, 2025 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Thien-An Truong/Getty Images)
Thien-An Truong
Getty Images
Berkeley, Calif.
As Nathan Leacock rushed toward the end zone with less than four minutes left on the clock — and North Carolina down three points — a breakthrough for the Tar Heels seemed imminent Friday night.
Instead, Cal’s Brent Austin punched the ball from his grasp just shy of the goal line. Soon Leacock was crawling on the turf, trying in vain to reach the ball before the Golden Bears pounced on it.
Fumble. Turnover. Game essentially over.
Returning from a drama-filled open date in which rumors of coach Bill Belichick’s exit swirled to such a crescendo that it forced joint statements from the head coach and UNC’s athletic director, North Carolina’s trip to Cal offered a chance for the Tar Heels to provide a source of positive news for the program.
Instead, what was nearly a statement win — what would have been Belichick’s first conference win as UNC head coach — turned into more frustration and a 21-18 loss. UNC (2-4, 0-2 ACC) played closer than it had against any Power Four opponent this season, but it couldn’t beat the Golden Bears (5-2, 2-1 ACC).
Still, under the lights of California Memorial Stadium, facing a Pac-12 After Dark-esque 10:30 pm ET kickoff, North Carolina proved its ability to compete against a Power Four team for the first time in the Belichick era. The Tar Heels had been outscored 120-33 against P4 opponents previously this fall, and were coming off a 38-10 loss to Clemson where they trailed 28-3 after one quarter.
Here’s what we learned from the loss Friday night:
Lopez looks unsure in return
Playing his first game in four weeks after recovering from a leg injury, UNC quarterback Gio Lopez left California without throwing an interception. But he had a few close calls in the first half.
With just under five minutes left in the first quarter, Lopez faced a blitz and targeted Leacock on a go route down the left sideline. The pass was a good bit short. Hezekiah Masses got his hands on the ball — nearly intercepting it — but was called for targeting. Hall’s touchdown on the next play quickly wiped that near-miscue from memory.
And while Lopez showed off his arm talent at a few points — see his 37-yard completion to Kobe Paysour midway through the first quarter, for instance — his decision-making and accuracy appeared wary at times.
Gio Lopez of the North Carolina Tar Heels throws a pass during the first half against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17, 2025 in Berkeley, California. Thien-An Truong Getty Images
Midway through the second quarter, on a second-and-7 with plenty of time in the pocket, Lopez looked past an open Jordan Shipp in the middle of the field and instead fired deep — and way past — Chris Culliver. The pass was nearly picked off in the end zone.
Lopez had another close call with just under two minutes to play in the half. In another throw down the field — and another hold-your-breath moment for the Tar Heels — Lopez’s pass intended for tight end Jake Johnson was broken up by Masses. The defensive back, a force to be reckoned with throughout the game, threw his hands on his helmet in frustration at missing the interception.
Lopez finished the game 18 for 34 (53% completion rate) and threw for 174 yards. He has yet to throw for over 200 yards this season.
Flawed fundamentals
North Carolina’s fumble on the first snap of the game didn’t inspire much confidence — especially after a second early bye week. It proved to be a bad omen for the rest of the quarter.
After a three-and-out on the next offensive possession, UNC began its third drive with a pre-snap penalty — a false start — on offensive lineman Austin Blaske. North Carolina failed to get past the chains for the remainder of the drive.
Belichick has preached fundamentals throughout his tenure in Chapel Hill. He said in his news conference Monday he felt the team had a “good week” during the bye. Belichick said he saw improvement on the field from a “fundamental standpoint.”
But dropped passes and mental lapses still plagued the Tar Heels at various points.
Look no further than the unnecessary roughness call on D’Antre Robinson late in the first quarter, which put Cal in the red zone. Two plays later, the Golden Bears scored when Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele completed a short pass to Jacob De Jesus — putting Cal up 14-7.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele of the California Golden Bears reacts after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against North Carolina at California Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17, 2025 in Berkeley, California. Thien-An Truong Getty Images
Cal added to its lead early in the third quarter thanks to some Tar Heel defensive lapses. Golden Bears wideout QuaRon Adams used his wheels to evade multiple UNC defenders and sneak into the end zone five minutes into the second half. A few plays later, in a third-and-9 scenario, Marcus Allen — who slotted into the top cornerback spot with Thad Dixon out — was called for pass interference. That moved Cal to the 2-yard line, where running back Raphael Kendrick scored to put the Golden Bears up 21-10.
Although North Carolina eventually clawed back into the game, these unnecessary penalties ultimately proved costly.
Tar Heels look more competitive
When Benjamin Hall burst into the end zone toward the end of the first quarter on an 18-yard dash, it marked the first meaningful touchdown for UNC football in a month.
After claiming a win over Richmond on Sept. 13, North Carolina faced halftime deficits of 20-3 against UCF and 35-3 against Clemson before scoring second-half TDs in both matchups. On Friday night in Berkeley, the halftime difference was a slight 14-10.
And the Tar Heels, to their credit, remained competitive for most of the game. After falling behind 21-10 through three quarters, UNC orchestrated an 11-play, 84-yard drive that ended in a rushing touchdown from running back Davion Gause and a two-point conversion pass to Hall. That brought UNC within field goal distance at 21-18.
Hall proved to be a bright spot for the Tar Heels, rushing for 68 yards on 14 attempts. He had one touchdown, as did Gause, who rushed for 31 yards on six attempts.
Despite the Tar Heels’ struggles, they were in a position to take a late lead. They nearly capped off an 11-play, 53-yard drive — if not for Leacock’s late-game fumble.
BERKELEY — It was all working for Cal on Saturday night against Duke at Memorial Stadium.
Freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele led the Bears on lengthy drives for touchdowns on their first three possessions, producing a 21-7 lead barely two minutes into the second quarter.
But the Blue Devils, making their first visit to Berkeley since 1963 when Craig Morton was a junior quarterback for the Bears, scored the final 24 points of the second quarter on the way to a 45-21 victory.
They return to action on Friday, Oct. 17 at home against coach Bill Belichick’s North Carolina team.
Duke (4-2, 3-0), powered by Tulane transfer quarterback Darian Mensah, shredded Cal’s defense in the second quarter. He finished 22 for 30 for 265 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers.
Sagapolutele’s performance was split into two distinct segments.
Two plays before Kendrick Raphael’s 4-yard touchdown run made it 21-7 with 12:17 left in the second quarter, Sagapolutele tried scrambling on a broken play and came up limping after a 1-yard gain.
He was 13 for 16 for 168 yards and a touchdown to that point.
But Duke came hard after him the rest of the night, sacking him a season-high six times and intercepting him three times. Whether that was a function of Sagapolutele’s diminished mobility or a breakdown of the offensive line, the Bears did not score again.
Cal lifted Sagapolutele after Duke extended its lead to 24 points. He wound up 20 for 31 for 245 yards. Backup Devin Brown came on with 5:45 left and was promptly intercepted.
Duke Blue Devils linebacker Bradley Gompers (24) is called for targeting against California Golden Bears wide receiver Jordan King (4) after making a catch in the first half of their game at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The teams played scoreless football in the third quarter before the Blue Devils put the game out of reach with a pair of fourth-quarter TDs.
The Bears’ offense appeared almost unstoppable early, producing touchdowns on drives of 75, 55 and 80 yards to start the game.
But the Blue Devils, trailing 21-7 early in the second quarter, scored the final 24 points of the half to take a 31-21 advantage into intermission.
Sagapolutele threw a 6-yard TD pass to wide receiver Jordan King on the game’s opening possession and Raphael had TD runs of 5 and 4 yards.
The Bears accumulated 206 yards on their first three series. They had just 80 yards the rest of the night.
When Sagapolutele came up limping after a scramble on a broken play. Cal called timeout but he returned to the field and got the Bears into the end zone again.
The rest of the half, facing a more aggressive Duke pass rush, Sagapolutele was sacked three times, intercepted once and threw incomplete on his only other attempt.
Duke, meanwhile, found its rhythm on offense, scoring 24 points in the final 7:47 of the half. Mensah heated up, completing 10 of 12 passes for 154 yards on the Blue Devils’ final four possessions of the quarter as Cal managed generated only a minimal pass rush.
The Blue Devils’ Que’Sean Brown caught a 26-yard scoring pass from Mensah to tie the game at 21-21 with 5:50 left in the opening half.
Anderson Castle then gave Duke its first lead when he rammed in from the 1-yard line for a 28-21 advantage with 1:10 left in the half.
After Cal went three and out and punted, Duke moved into position for Todd Pelino to convert a 25-yard field goal as the first half ended.
Records: Cal 3-1 overall, 0-0 in ACC; Boston College 1-2 overall, 0-1 in ACC
Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. PT Saturday at Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, MA
TV: ACC Network
Radio: 810 AM
Series history: Boston College leads 1-0. The Eagles won 21-15 at home in Cal’s 1986 season opener.
Cal storylines: Playing their ACC opener, the Bears hit the road for the second week in a row and make the first of three cross-country treks for conference games. They play at Virginia Tech on Oct. 24, at Louisville on Nov. 8 . . . Coach Justin Wilcox said the Bears he could make lineup changes, especially on the offensive and wide receiver . . . Linebackers Cade Uluave (8.5) and Luke Ferrelli (8.3) are the sixth- and seventh- leading tacklers, respectively, in the ACC . . . Starting safety Isaiah Crosby, starting edge Ryan McCulloch and kicker Abram Murray are listed as out on the ACC’s availability report.
Boston College storylines: The Eagles are Cal’s second straight opponent coming off a bye. They lost 30-20 at Stanford in their most recent game . . . Second-year coach Bill O’Brien is 8-8 at BC, but 7-1 at home. He was 15-9 in two seasons (2012-13) as head coach at Penn State before posting a record of 54-48 over six-plus seasons (2014-20) with the NFL’s Houston Texans . . . The Eagles lead the nation in passing yards (393.7 per game), with Alabama transfer and redshirt sophomore Dylan Lonergan quarterback throwing for 330.3 yards per outing to go with nine touchdowns and just one interception. Lonergan’s favorite targets are WR Lewis Bond (NCAA-leading 9.67 receptions per game) and tight end Jeremiah Franklin . . . BC will play without injured starting CBs Syair Torrence and Amari Jackson and LB Dave Crouch is questionable.
Stats that matter: Cal’s 34-0 loss at San Diego State marked the first time in first-year offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin’s 18 seasons as a head coach or OC — spanning 218 games — that his team suffered a shutout defeat . . . BC is fourth in the ACC in scoring offense (42.0 points) and Cal is fourth in scoring defense (16.5) .. . The Bears (105.3 yards) and BC (73.3) rank second-to-last and last in the ACC in rushing yards per game.
BERKELEY — Cal took on San Diego State without five offensive starters and, for most of the first half, played without four regulars on defense.
It showed early Saturday night before 35,197 fans at Memorial Stadium. But the Bears got it together to complete an unbeaten pre-conference schedule with a 31-10 victory, and will take a 3-0 record into their debut game in the Atlantic Coast Conference next Saturday at Florida State.
As uneven as Cal’s game was at times, Florida State would gladly swap places at this point. The Seminoles, who won their first 13 games a year ago and captured the ACC title, lost 20-12 to Memphis and fell to 0-3 for just the second time since the late coach Bobby Bowden’s first season in 1976.
Sophomore running back Jaivian Thomas was the Bears’ headliner, rushing for a career-high 169 yards, including dashes of 37 and 57 yards that set up touchdowns by others. The Oakland native and McClymonds High alum got his chance because star junior Jaydn Ott, hobbled by a sprained ankle, was held out of the game.
Fernando Mendoza overcame seven sacks to complete 21 of 29 passes for 198 yards with a pair of touchdowns and his first interception of the season. The Bears’ defense, which entered the weekend leading FBS with seven interceptions, added two to its total.
Cal led just 7-3 after a penalty-plagued first half before assembling drives of 85 and 90 yards to stretch its lead to 21-3 through three quarters. Ryan Coe’s 48-yard field goal with 13:33 left to play made it 24-3.
The Bears knew that, going in, they would be without four injured offensive starters: guard Sioape Vatikani, center Will McDonald, and wide receivers Tobias Merriweather and Kyion Grayes.
Ott warmed up with the team but had his shoulder pads off before the game began and watched from the sideline.
On defense, Cal was without outside linebacker David Reese, nickelback Matthew Littlejohn, and cornerback Marcus Harris, who was required to sit out the first half after a targeting penalty last week at Auburn. Safety Craig Woodson was flagged for the same thing with 7:04 left in the first quarter, drawing an ejection.
Harris returned to action in the second half and had an interception.
Cal wound up with a season-best 473 total yards after managing 163 in the first half. The Bears also had 12 penalties for 113 yards, including two unsportsmanlike conduct flags against fans for throwing objects onto the field.
The Aztecs (1-2), who will join the Pac-12 in 2026, played without freshman starting quarterback Danny O’Neil, nursing a knee injury.
Cal’s second-half touchdowns came on a 7-yard run by Kadarius Calloway, a 20-yard pass from Mendoza to tight end Corey Dyches, and a 15-yard pass to wide receiver Nyziah Hunter, the redshirt freshman’s fourth TD catch of the season. A 60-yard run by Calloway set up that score.
An ESPN audience was subjected to a ghastly first half, in which the teams combined for 19 penalties and just 10 points.
The Bears led 7-3 on Mendoza’s 8-yard keeper with 2:25 left in the first quarter, capping a seven-play, 69-yard drive.
The Aztecs scored first when Nick Lopez, a one-time backup kicker for Cal, converted a 29-yard field goal with 5:42 left in the opening period.
Otherwise, the first half was a series of mishaps, drawing yellow flag after yellow flag. SDSU, which entered the game having committed 24 penalties for 224 yards, had 13 for 100 yards in the first half.
The Aztecs became just the third FBS team in the past 10 seasons to draw 13 penalties in a half, according to the Associated Press. By game’s end, SDSU had drawn 15 penalties for 120 yards.
