Cal Cruises To 49-7 Win Over Wagner

BERKELEY — Cal running back Adam Mohammed scored a hat trick of first-quarter touchdowns to set the tone in the Golden Bears’ cozy 49-7 win over the commendable Wagner Seahawks on Saturday afternoon at a lightly crowded Memorial Stadium.

“Good team win,” Cal coach Tosh Lupoi said of the team’s first punt-less performance since 2017. “That team fought their butt off … really respect Tom (Masella) and (the) Wagner Seahawks (for) fighting to the end there.”

Mohammed, who surpassed 1,000 career rushing yards in the win, got the Golden Bears rolling early and finished with 169 all-purpose yards and those three scores on 15 bully-esque touches.

“He’s a captain for a reason,” Lupoi said of Mohammed. “Not making any comparisons ... but a guy I played with here … Marshawn Lynch, a very close friend of mine ... he had a unique ability to ignite the defense. That's what I think Adam can do at times ...”

Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele also casually had a career game. 

The true sophomore completed 27 of 33 passes — nine to wideout Chase Hendricks — for a single-game career-high of 413 yards and three touchdowns, surpassing 4,000 career passing yards in the process. 

“His preparation … that stands out,” Lupoi said of Sagapolutele. “He takes a lot of pride in that. … He prepared at a high level; he played at a high level.”

Sagapolutele is the first Cal quarterback to throw for 400-plus yards since Jack Plummer threw for 406 against the USC Trojans in 2022.

Wide receiver Kyion Grayes, however, had the play of the day. 

In the first quarter, the redshirt junior turned a medium-range throw from Sagapolutele into a cross-field 80-yard touchdown, the longest score of each of their collegiate careers thus far. 

“Without (my teammates), that doesn’t happen,” Grayes said, reiterating the support he receives from his Brother Bears. “So, I’m very grateful.”

Grayes was helped on his dash by fellow wideout Ian Strong, who, well, delivered a strong block as a downfield escort.

“My dawg,” Grayes said.

Wideout Cooper Perry and running back Asthen Emory also recorded their first touchdowns of the season.

Defensively, the Golden Bears did their job. 

Safety Kingston Lopa led the unit with a combined five tackles and a pass breakup as Cal allowed a season-low seven points.

“It’s been great just seeing how he’s just grown and how he’s taking over games,” defensive back Isaiah Crosby, who collected four tackles, said.

And, of course, Lopa earned his nation-leading fifth interception of the year.

Cal’s special-teams unit, despite linebacker Aaron Hampton blocking a field goal, still has much to address.

The Golden Bears allowed a 51-yard kick return in the first quarter, fumbled multiple punts, missed a field goal and simply struggled across the board once again — against Wagner’s special-teams unit, which allowed three punt-return touchdowns against James Madison a week ago.

“Effort, I can promise you, is not an issue, from a special-teams standpoint,” Lupoi said. “Any error we see, we're going to try to address (it) ... grow from it, improve it and keep growing all three phases.”

Cal must clean up its trench warfare, too, as the Golden Bears didn’t fully control the line of scrimmage, particularly in the first half.

Nonetheless, Cal is 2-1 (1-0 ACC).

After taking care of business on Saturday, the Golden Bears now await the Clemson Tigers (2-1, 1-0 ACC) for a pivotal conference showdown on Friday night in Berkeley.

Lupoi wants you in Berkeley.

“Friday night, if you have any plans (and) it's not coming to the Cal game, you need to cancel them,” Lupoi said. “I don't care what age you are. … We want our butts in the seat when kickoff happens.

“I'm calling out the entire Bay Area – the South Bay as well … you can leave that environment and come here to the East Bay. We got a really cool opportunity on Friday night versus a big-time opponent ...”