Cal (2-1) faced off against the Wagner Seahawks (0-3) today. Wagner is a college based in Staten Island, NY that plays in the Northeastern conference of division one FCS football. Despite playing sound football and tackling well, Wagner was physically overwhelmed by a Berkeley side filled with players who have their sights set on playing Sundays. Cal’s first drive was not electric, but Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele went 4/4 passing and Adam Mohammed scored on a 28 yard run.
Despite Wagner’s gumption, their offense could not find a fresh set of downs despite being spotted in good field position. Cal’s second drive was constipated and threatened to die on 3rd down more than once, but they muscled their way down the field to put Adam Mohammed in position to gain his second touchdown of the afternoon.
Cal’s offense did not look productive until Kyion Grayes took a short passing concept 80 yards for a touchdown assisted by a cracking block by Ian Strong. The Bears went for 2 and got it with a confident grab by TE Mason Mini, bringing the score to 29-0 with more than 3 minutes in the first quarter.
Wagner found their offensive rhythm on the next drive, getting their first set of fresh downs to open up the second quarter. Another first down and a gutsy QB run from Benjamin Newman brought the Seahawks all the way to the Cal 10. The next play he found Malik Redd for a touchdown bringing the score to 29 - 7. The following drive Cal once again made it deep in Wagner territory but could not find the endzone. McGough threaded it through the uprights from 36 yards out to make it 32 - 7 in Cal’s favor. The following drive JKS found Cooper Perry in the endzone to bring the score to 39 - 7.
A penalty denied Cal a scoop and score on Wagner’s next offensive effort, and the first half ended with Wagner attempting a 45 yard field goal that they could not complete. Through one half, JKS was 24-29 with 358 passing yards (he would finish his day with 413), while Adam Mohammed had 91 yards from 19 carries.
The second half continued much like the first, with Wagner unable to find yardage on offense, and Cal papering over mistakes with physical prowess. Cal’s first drive ended in a rushing score from Ashten Emory, on Wagner’s next drive, Kingston Lopa got his fifth interception in three games, bringing the ball to the Wagner two. Jackson Brousseau was brought in at QB at this point. The Bears failed to score on this opportunity, with an Anthony League TD getting called back for a facemask penalty.
Cal’s special teams woes continued, peaking with a muffed punt return that gave Wagner the ball on the Bears 17. Wagner could not capitalize, their drive ended in a blocked field goal attempt. Cal’s next drive took six minutes and 16 seconds and ended in a successful field goal attempt from Chase Meyers to bring the score to 49 - 7 in Cal’s favor. Wagner did not score on the final drive of the game.
Have to do something about the kicking game - short kick offs are really a problem and are going to bite us at some point. Combine that with poor kick off tackling and it's really a big problem that must be addressed ASAP.
Let's get this out of the way first.
Cal won against a team that Cal should have beaten.
We are not looking at a Cal team that threatens to lose to an inferior team.
This Cal team has enough skill and talent to be able to make the right plays at the right time.
The question that everyone wants the answer to is:
Will Cal make the right plays at the right time, enough times, to be a force in the ACC?
With the number of players that were inhaled through the transfer portal, scattered across different teams with different coaches with different football identities, it would seem that the 2026 problem that most P4 teams face is, "How do we get all these players on the same page fast enough to make a difference?"
QB: Money.
O-Line: Needs more push
D-Line: Mostly serviceable at this level of talent. Against bigger guys we need more beef.
WR: Fewer drops than last 2 weeks. Seeing flashes of cohesion, but not De Jesus levels. I would say they need to learn how to do more perimeter blocking, but without an elite O-line, they'd just be doing pushing drills.
RB: Looks nice. Could use a little more elusiveness.
Secondary: More Lopa. If our safeties can lock down just a little better, we can throw more linebackers toward Run support - MLB just has to watch for misdirection plays at an elite level.
Kicking: Where is Tavecchio? I'm sure he can come back from the NFL for one season right?