Wake Forest clobbers Cal, which opens game with QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele on bench

The first season of the Tosh Lupoi Era at Cal was never going to be all rainbows and sunshine.

But a 41-7 loss to No. 21 Wake Forest - a blowout that began with the unexpected benching of Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele in favor of Jackson Brousseau and ended with hollow, apathetic cheers from the listless Cal fans still left in Memorial Stadium - who could have imagined the Bears' football season could get this tumultuous, this dramatically? 

Whether it was Demon Deacons quarterback Gio Lopez dissecting the Cal secondary or the Cal offense stalling out on its  first six drives and going scoreless in the first half, Cal looked overmatched from the jump. 

However, for all of Cal's shortcomings between the white lines, none cast a bigger shadow than Lupoi's decision to bench Sagapolutele, with ESPN sideline reporter Laura Sisler reporting that it will be a competition at the quarterback position moving forward. 

"Tosh Lupoi had a decision to make, he's sticking with Jackson as the starter tonight, said this will be a quarterback competition moving forward," Sisler said on the broadcast during Cal's first drive. "Tosh told us he met privately with Jaron on Sunday, addressed the entire offense on Monday, telling them this was a dream come true as a head coach with two ballers at quarterback." 

Sagapolutele, who was cleared to play Saturday after missing the last game and a half due to a concussion he suffered against UNLV, has struggled in his sophomore year, tallying just 767 yards passing and five touchdowns with five interceptions against FBS competition this season. 

Wake Forest 41, Cal 7

First Quarter

WAKE_Barry 39 pass from Lopez (Calvert kick), 8:20.

WAKE_Foley 29 pass from Lopez (Calvert kick), 6:15.

Second Quarter

WAKE_Searcy 1 run (Calvert kick), 11:55.

WAKE_Clark 31 run (pass failed), 8:53.

WAKE_Barry 30 pass from Lopez (Calvert kick), :09.

Third Quarter

WAKE_Barry 2 pass from Lopez (Calvert kick), 2:57.

Fourth Quarter

CAL_Mini 28 pass from Sagapolutele (McGough kick), 8:29.

___

___

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING_Wake Forest, Searcy 5-61, Clark 8-53, Lopez 8-51, Lawrence 8-26, Pizzella 4-15, Henley 2-13, Daniels 1-1. Cal, Emory 12-56, Brousseau 5-14, League 3-7, Sams 1-(minus 2).

PASSING_Wake Forest, Lopez 16-23-0-267, Pizzella 3-3-0-22. Cal, Sagapolutele 15-18-0-110, Brousseau 17-29-0-81.

RECEIVING_Wake Forest, Shanks 5-79, Barry 4-102, Foley 3-45, Meeks 2-29, Dickmann 2-7, Lawrence 1-12, Bryson 1-9, K.Johnson 1-6. Cal, Hendricks 8-54, League 6-30, Mini 5-49, Purcell 4-32, Sams 4-15, Emory 3-1, King 1-6, Rogers 1-4.

MISSED FIELD GOALS_None.

Still, Sagapolutele's struggles don't lessen the surprise of Lupoi turning to Brousseau, a decision that thrusts not only Cal's quarterback situation into uncertainty but also the program at large given their heavy NIL and brand investment in a player many believed to be the hope of the program. Combined with the fact that other programs have reached out to Sagapolutele's camp, confirmed by the Chronicle, in an effort to lure him away, it's hard not to see this benching as the possible first domino in the young quarterback leaving the Bears.

But in some ways,  Cal (3-4, 2-2 ACC) doesn't even have the luxury to worry only about a problem this seismic right now, given how pressed the Bears are in the short term. 

Sagapolutele did take over the offense with 2:57 left in the third quarter, replacing Brousseau with the Bears trailing 41-0. The sophomore completed 15 of his 18 attempts for 110 yards and a touchdown.

The Bears weren't expected to beat Wake Forest (6-1, 4-1); the sports books had Cal as 9.5-point underdogs entering Saturday night. But they were expected to put up a better fight. Especially coming off what seemed like a building-block victory over Virginia Tech a week earlier, a last-seconds 25-20 win that at the very least seemed to assuage the concerns over the offensive playcalling and the Bears' struggles in crunch time. 

Instead, hard truths reared their ugly heads. 

The concerns for the offense? Once again on the table after they tallied only 266 total yards in their second full game under pass game coordinator Pat McCann. The defense's inconsistency? Certainly up for debate after Wake Forest chunked the Bears for explosive play after explosive play, even with star defensive back Kingston Lopa back in the fold. Lupoi's coaching? Absolutely a talking point after a decision to go for it on a 4th-and-1 on their own 34. The Bears failed to get the first down, and Wake Forest scored on a 34-yard pass to wideout Jack Foley on the very next play.

Big-picture-wise, it's a loss that's made worse by the difference in the two programs' NIL budgets. This season, Cal football is reportedly spending around $30 million in NIL deals, more than double the reported figure for Wake Forest. And all Cal has to show for it is three wins in seven games, a far cry from the Deacons, who will likely rise in the next top 25 rankings. 

Last month, Lupoi preached patience when it came to the Bears turning their program around. "We want to be like bamboo," the first-year coach said, a metaphor for how they want to always be growing. At the time, an apt mindset for a young program still finding its way. But now, with turmoil in the soil, it's fair to wonder how far Cal's patience can be stretched the rest of the season. 

The Bears will look to right the ship at No. 24 SMU next Saturday.

Subscribe

This article originally published at Wake Forest clobbers Cal, which opens game with QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele on bench.