Cal shut out in road rout against San Diego State
Cal had a chance to close out nonconference play at 4-0 on Saturday. Instead, the Bears suffered one of their worst losses under Justin Wilcox. Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele looked like a freshman and struggled to get anything going for the Cal offense.
The end result was a 34-0 loss for the Bears on the road against San Diego State.
The Bears finished the game with just 289 total yards, and many of the offensive issues were self-inflicted. Cal had several dropped passes on the night and could only muster 2.1 yards per carry in teh loss. The Bears rushed for 65 yards as a team.
Sagapolutele was held without a touchdown in the game. He also threw two interceptions and had just 208 yards passing in his first loss as the starter. The freshman was under duress for much of the evening as the offensive line struggled to keep him comfortable in the pocket.
Cal’s offensive line allowed a season-high four sacks in the game.
Offensive miscues put pressure on defense
That sluggish start for the offense put more pressure on the Cal defense to perform well. The Bears were able to keep the SDSU offense in check for the first quarter, but an 80-yard pass play from Jayden Denegal to Jordan Napier opened up the offense for the Aztecs.
SDSU scored two plays later on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Denegal to Napier sparking a strong showing for the Aztecs’ offense.
Compounding the problem, SDSU was able to score two defensive touchdowns in the third quarter on an interception and a fumble recovery.
The Cal defense held SDSU to 321 yards but allowed the Aztecs to go a perfect 4 for 4 on red zone chances. The Bears, one of the best red zone teams in the country, was 0-of-3 on its opportunities in that part of the field.
Saturday’s game marked the first time Cal has been shut out since a 2019 matchup against Utah.
Cal will travel to east next week to square off with Boston College in its ACC opener.
