More than saving Cal from a likely road loss to Syracuse, Kingston Lopa may have turned around our season. Time will tell, of course, but I experienced something similar playing and coaching youth sports (football and baseball), where a single person's early season performance sparked an awakening and a rallying effect in their teammates. And haven't we all witnessed (or experienced) such a phenomenon not only in sports, but in all kinds of relationships that require effective communication, collaboration, cohesion, and chemistry? Our 2026 football Bears are in search of themselves and an identity, under the direction of a brand new head coach -- one who is long on experience as an assistant but also finding his way as the leader of a big family, a complex team. Growing pains, yes. A work in progress, absolutely. Go Bears!
I truly believe that the team is starting to believe in the ACs and HC Lupoi. Not just believe, but the offensive and defensive playbooks are slowly imprinting in their heads. I haven’t been this excited since Snyder’s Cal Bears almost beat Washington at home. If only Mike Caldwell had caught the TD with one foot in bounds in the end zone…💙💛👊🏼🏈🐻🙌🏻
While there are definitely many improvements to be made from the last two games, the fourth quarter of UCLA game is major driver of all our big angst. Speaking of pivotal plays re Lopa, think if the (first?) of JKS' interceptions hadn't been tipped to UCLA and instead caught to keep advancing for a score... JKS was hurt then also rattled by that first interception which helped lead to second interception, and possibly a little bit of let up (I'm not going to say quitting) by the team for end of 4th quarter. I am not doom and gloom as that tipped interception for me was the big pivot point in the UCLA game, and something that is fixable, but had a huge impact on momentum both in that game and for JKS confidence during Syracuse game... D turned it around for Syracuse game, O can get some confidence vs Wagner, and be ready for their new shot vs Clemson.
I was born in the Bay Area. Lupoi went to DeLasalle HS under HC Bob Laudeceur. He appears/acts like an old school disciplinarian. He completely turned around Oregon’s defense. He recruited so well Cal was ranked 19th in country in talent acquisition.
Radical hope, eyes wide open. (That’s hope rooted in reality, not uber-optimism.) I’ve experienced and witnessed multiple times a season turnaround born out of an individual’s (and team’s) odds-against, single-game majestic performance. Youth, college, and pro teams.
Syracuse's #3s are twins. The punt was nearly blocked by Davien Kerr. He blocked a punt in the New Hampshire game and I went down the same rabbit hole. Play-by-play, media game recap, etc, plus mentioned of him being the #3 on ST from the year before.
Good write up Nick. I'll come from a bit of a different angle. It's college football. Shit happens. We got the W and at this point it's all that counts. My frustration with the team is not with plays where a Syracuse player made a better play and we got beat. It with us beating ourselves. On defense this means terrible communication with calls getting to the defense late and our defense not being lined up at the snap by Syracuse. It's by blown coverages and assignment mistakes. This is all coaching related.
On offense I feel like a broken record regarding our OL. We have better talent this year than last year, yet the product is just as bad. That's coaching. Play calls lack surprise and there seems to be no strategy with how we set up the opposing team. Without the element of surprise it gets easy for them to defend. Also, we just aren't executing to the level a good team should be. Again, this is on the coaching.
I don't see us as having a talent problem, I see a coaching problem. I hope it can be fixed. It's early in the season and we have a lot of new players and coaches so perhaps the W against Syracuse and a game against Wagner to clean up our execution and will help us as we go forward.
Anae not living up to that great season in New Mexico. Maybe was carried by talent.
Beyond technical issues, I just don't see the physical furry from the OLine; they are playing soft. Mohammed, on the other hand, he plays with physicality.
Our three tight end sets also seem useless without a lead blocker. Would love to see Mohammed in an I formation with a FB or HB that can block.
I think our OL is playing physical, but they have terrible technique thus far. In fairness to Coach Anae, it can take 3 or 4 games for new guys to get in the groove. I speak from coaching experience. That said, the OL needs to up its game.
Excellent evaluation. I hate to sound like a broken record but the OL and DL will pretty much decide the season. I agree that the defense played better this week but also agree that the offense played just flat out terribly. With a QB as talented as JKS how can the Cal offense be that bad? I thought we’d strengthened the WR corps with the clear eyed vision of giving JKS reliable receivers to hit (way) downfield. And the OL was a little better this week but not enough to hold off some of the ACC DL’s they will meet later in the season.
And the Cal wimpy passing attack looked simply pathetic. The WR’s do not seem to get sufficient separation often enough to justify their salaries. Strong was supposed to be part of the answer to an anemic WR group, but he so far hasn’t lived up to the hype that surrounded his arrival in Berkeley or justified what I’m sure is the good piece if change that helped get him here. If he’s going to fulfill his NFL aspirations, he’s going to have to really step up his game and gain the confidence of JKS that if the ball comes to him he will catch it. It’s not that Cal has a QB who can’t throw a catchable ball!
As for the running attack, is Mohammed it? We have nobody on the bench who can give him a breather. Even Chuck Muncie needed an occasional rest. If I were giving coaching advice, which I am definitely not, I’d at least use the Wagner high school opportunity to give the RB’s on the bench a chance to show their stuff rather than just letting Mohammed run up 300 yds rushing. If Vargas isn’t coming back, let’s see who else Cal recruited and maybe we can keep the good ones from an end of season portal departure because they didn’t get any snaps playing behind Mohammed.
Good thing Cal has a breather this week. I just hope the coaching staff makes productive use of it. Cal definitely has coaching issues, whether inexperience or still getting organized, and needs to address those weaknesses right away or an easy ACC schedule could turn into a very long slog. This season is clearly not going to be an “Indiana Miracle.”
That last Offensive series was so Wilcoxian. Yes we got them to burn their TOs, but up the gut into a wall twice? OL got stonewalled. We finally go outside and get 9 (or maybe really 10). That should have been play 1 or 2.
Yes I thought we could end the game on that possession, even if we give the ball back, but was shocked to see there was still 1.5 minutes left and Syracuse had plenty of chance.
In my humble opinion this kind of hard intense effort win (on the road) is a huge boost to both player and coach (all) confidence going forward, especially with a easier game this coming week. Overall positives: we have impressive quickness, speed and strengh at LB and DB/Safety (its made a huge difference at the safety position to have an NFL caliber “safety” specifc coach....those intercrptions and near interceptions are no accident). Lopa has gone from a guy fighting for playing time at Oregon to someone whos now being talked about as a 1st round NFL draft choice. Harris the same. And the other DBs could have pulled down 2-3 other interceptions, if only they could catch the ball (there’s a reason they are not in the WR room......lol). The LBs are fast, powerful and nasty. The D line has far better technique and meaness in the pass rush. The D coordinator has implemented disguises and schemes that are confusing the opposing teams. I love bringing back the traditional screens on offense and they will start breaking big once the pulling O linemen get used to what it takes to anticipate and take out the quick D backs going balls out to stop the screens in their tracks. JKS will get used to simply patiently sitting in the pocket and not run into sacks and start picking apart the D backs/LBs. Our high quality receivers will get used to the heavy, high velocity pass he throws and stop dropping pass that hit them in both hands. Mohammed is a hard working relentless monster back who hits the hole hard and quick with enuf top end speed to take it to the house. We have a great, experienced head coach on the sidelines who is calmly watching, motivating and adjusting. Id be very surprised if this team doesnt make us all proud to call ourselves Cal football supporters. Call me delusional but thats what i see. Go Bears!!!!
Excellent write-up as usual Nick! Lopa 14, Cal O 7 says a lot. The GBs win this game because 'Cuse wanted to lose more. While the D improved from week 1, the O was pretty putrid. Right now this team looks like a Rockfights team until the O gets on track.
Once again, good write up. It's clear to me at this point, the OC's inexperience is showing big time. The question is do you wait and hope each game brings big improvements (which I don't see between games 1 and 2) or do you look for some help ( which is touchy because you don't want to undermine your new OC). So I'm curious what you all think is the right short-term and long-term strategy here. Can Rolo play a positive role? RR? How do we get the offense on track with this new coaching staff that will help us win but continue to support coaching development?
Nick posed the Qs: "...new offense that hasn’t been well-installed? A new play caller who hasn’t figured out the strength and weaknesses of his personnel?"
Ideally the offensive coaching staff would have the answers by now because learning on the job - and on the fly week to week - is not a recipe for success.
I also wonder how the mental game changes for a kid like JKS who likely got a significant bag this year after performing last year. Undoubtedly, that adds pressure to perform which can get into one's head, undermine confidence, and result in underperforming.
Yeah, deeply concerning. Given that our O-Line will clearly not produce an efficient (or even competent) running attack, Rolo needs to adjust to get guys open in space. Chase Hendricks slants? Crossing routes for Strong and our three-deep TE crew? Some screens on blitzing downs? ANYTHING please.
* There was also the PBU by Lopa that would have been for a long gain!
* We need to kick away from the returners on P, KO...special teams is suss!
* Play calling to end the 1st half (after a great screen play to Mohammed on a blitz) and the end of 4th both times in mid-field to only give the ball back to Cuse was horrible.
That long PR that was called back was terrible play by the defense. The punt bounced and the Syracuse guys went away from the ball and Cal guys saw that and kinda went away from the ball and seemed to start running off the field. A different Cuse guy saw that and went and got it. And the rest was almost history, if we weren't bailed out by a block in the back.
Just wanting to "remember some guys" (and ignoring all the running back performances which were non-QB driven wins)
1993 Alamo Bowl, Linebacker Jerrott Willard has 3 sacks, a 61 yard interception return and Iowa Hawkeye Coach Hayden Fry in his post game quotes "That's the best football player I've ever seen" I always wonder if his knees weren't ground into dust by playing 4 seasons on the Memorial Stadium turf if he could have made it in the NFL. Also, if he didn't have the Carl Kacher fortune to fall back upon. Willard is still the best Cal linebacker I've ever seen.
Need a few more Leaders like Lopa to rise up. Seems he has a high football IQ and can be a General on D (like Fred Warner). Almost an on the field Coach to help get guys in the right spot and coverage.
As for the Team’s current status, I reserve judgement for at least two more weeks to see if there’s an upward trajectory.
Even really good football teams like Oregon, SMU and Michigan are struggling early. We just need to find a way to win while we hopefully get better.
That said, if for some reason in the next few years we really do become a 10+ win program, I hope the Coaches stay on for a few more years, grateful for the opportunity they had at Cal.
Traveling cross country & pulling out a win is no small feat, and the team is to be congratulated for playing hard & securing the W.
But... play calling was predictable. OL = last year's in performance. The DL can't stop the run w/o the LBs & safeties coming up. It's looking like JKS is a good, not great QB. Substitution mistakes are exposing an inexperienced coaching staff.
This game (like last week's) was a toss-up. Against not good teams. At this point, Cal is a not good team with a slew of toss-up games ahead. Not optimistic about this season.
So, for the short time that this unsustainable environment will continue to exist, in the next portal let's spend 90% of the $ on linemen.
But, after the money spigot dries up, looking forward to re-joining the pac-12 in a few years.
We saw it last week and this week again demonstrated it. The offense is definitely off. Where are the inside slants and curls that DeJesus ran beautifully? Mohammed seems solid but the o-line is doing nothing to help. And perhaps most importantly, JKS does not look confident. Last year, maybe since he was an unknown quantity he played with more aggression and swagger. Two games in, not seeing it at all. Sure, some of the throws have been NFL level but he just seems less sure of himself, especially when he was supposed to get upgraded receivers.
YES and he's from Grant High School in Sacramento. Historically they've put out several All American and All Pro football players. We ought to recruit the he** out of them.
More than saving Cal from a likely road loss to Syracuse, Kingston Lopa may have turned around our season. Time will tell, of course, but I experienced something similar playing and coaching youth sports (football and baseball), where a single person's early season performance sparked an awakening and a rallying effect in their teammates. And haven't we all witnessed (or experienced) such a phenomenon not only in sports, but in all kinds of relationships that require effective communication, collaboration, cohesion, and chemistry? Our 2026 football Bears are in search of themselves and an identity, under the direction of a brand new head coach -- one who is long on experience as an assistant but also finding his way as the leader of a big family, a complex team. Growing pains, yes. A work in progress, absolutely. Go Bears!
I truly believe that the team is starting to believe in the ACs and HC Lupoi. Not just believe, but the offensive and defensive playbooks are slowly imprinting in their heads. I haven’t been this excited since Snyder’s Cal Bears almost beat Washington at home. If only Mike Caldwell had caught the TD with one foot in bounds in the end zone…💙💛👊🏼🏈🐻🙌🏻
I’m usually an optimist, but have been severely pessimistic since the first game. What is giving you these happy vibes?
While there are definitely many improvements to be made from the last two games, the fourth quarter of UCLA game is major driver of all our big angst. Speaking of pivotal plays re Lopa, think if the (first?) of JKS' interceptions hadn't been tipped to UCLA and instead caught to keep advancing for a score... JKS was hurt then also rattled by that first interception which helped lead to second interception, and possibly a little bit of let up (I'm not going to say quitting) by the team for end of 4th quarter. I am not doom and gloom as that tipped interception for me was the big pivot point in the UCLA game, and something that is fixable, but had a huge impact on momentum both in that game and for JKS confidence during Syracuse game... D turned it around for Syracuse game, O can get some confidence vs Wagner, and be ready for their new shot vs Clemson.
I was born in the Bay Area. Lupoi went to DeLasalle HS under HC Bob Laudeceur. He appears/acts like an old school disciplinarian. He completely turned around Oregon’s defense. He recruited so well Cal was ranked 19th in country in talent acquisition.
Radical hope, eyes wide open. (That’s hope rooted in reality, not uber-optimism.) I’ve experienced and witnessed multiple times a season turnaround born out of an individual’s (and team’s) odds-against, single-game majestic performance. Youth, college, and pro teams.
Love this take...thanks
Syracuse's #3s are twins. The punt was nearly blocked by Davien Kerr. He blocked a punt in the New Hampshire game and I went down the same rabbit hole. Play-by-play, media game recap, etc, plus mentioned of him being the #3 on ST from the year before.
Good write up Nick. I'll come from a bit of a different angle. It's college football. Shit happens. We got the W and at this point it's all that counts. My frustration with the team is not with plays where a Syracuse player made a better play and we got beat. It with us beating ourselves. On defense this means terrible communication with calls getting to the defense late and our defense not being lined up at the snap by Syracuse. It's by blown coverages and assignment mistakes. This is all coaching related.
On offense I feel like a broken record regarding our OL. We have better talent this year than last year, yet the product is just as bad. That's coaching. Play calls lack surprise and there seems to be no strategy with how we set up the opposing team. Without the element of surprise it gets easy for them to defend. Also, we just aren't executing to the level a good team should be. Again, this is on the coaching.
I don't see us as having a talent problem, I see a coaching problem. I hope it can be fixed. It's early in the season and we have a lot of new players and coaches so perhaps the W against Syracuse and a game against Wagner to clean up our execution and will help us as we go forward.
Anae not living up to that great season in New Mexico. Maybe was carried by talent.
Beyond technical issues, I just don't see the physical furry from the OLine; they are playing soft. Mohammed, on the other hand, he plays with physicality.
Our three tight end sets also seem useless without a lead blocker. Would love to see Mohammed in an I formation with a FB or HB that can block.
I think our OL is playing physical, but they have terrible technique thus far. In fairness to Coach Anae, it can take 3 or 4 games for new guys to get in the groove. I speak from coaching experience. That said, the OL needs to up its game.
Anae did nothing with our OL last season either
Is that true? Consensus here is that the OL got better late in the season once the right guys were in the right positions and everyone meshed.
Thanks for the insight Rug
Excellent evaluation. I hate to sound like a broken record but the OL and DL will pretty much decide the season. I agree that the defense played better this week but also agree that the offense played just flat out terribly. With a QB as talented as JKS how can the Cal offense be that bad? I thought we’d strengthened the WR corps with the clear eyed vision of giving JKS reliable receivers to hit (way) downfield. And the OL was a little better this week but not enough to hold off some of the ACC DL’s they will meet later in the season.
And the Cal wimpy passing attack looked simply pathetic. The WR’s do not seem to get sufficient separation often enough to justify their salaries. Strong was supposed to be part of the answer to an anemic WR group, but he so far hasn’t lived up to the hype that surrounded his arrival in Berkeley or justified what I’m sure is the good piece if change that helped get him here. If he’s going to fulfill his NFL aspirations, he’s going to have to really step up his game and gain the confidence of JKS that if the ball comes to him he will catch it. It’s not that Cal has a QB who can’t throw a catchable ball!
As for the running attack, is Mohammed it? We have nobody on the bench who can give him a breather. Even Chuck Muncie needed an occasional rest. If I were giving coaching advice, which I am definitely not, I’d at least use the Wagner high school opportunity to give the RB’s on the bench a chance to show their stuff rather than just letting Mohammed run up 300 yds rushing. If Vargas isn’t coming back, let’s see who else Cal recruited and maybe we can keep the good ones from an end of season portal departure because they didn’t get any snaps playing behind Mohammed.
Good thing Cal has a breather this week. I just hope the coaching staff makes productive use of it. Cal definitely has coaching issues, whether inexperience or still getting organized, and needs to address those weaknesses right away or an easy ACC schedule could turn into a very long slog. This season is clearly not going to be an “Indiana Miracle.”
Still have to call the right play at the right time.
That last Offensive series was so Wilcoxian. Yes we got them to burn their TOs, but up the gut into a wall twice? OL got stonewalled. We finally go outside and get 9 (or maybe really 10). That should have been play 1 or 2.
Yes I thought we could end the game on that possession, even if we give the ball back, but was shocked to see there was still 1.5 minutes left and Syracuse had plenty of chance.
In my humble opinion this kind of hard intense effort win (on the road) is a huge boost to both player and coach (all) confidence going forward, especially with a easier game this coming week. Overall positives: we have impressive quickness, speed and strengh at LB and DB/Safety (its made a huge difference at the safety position to have an NFL caliber “safety” specifc coach....those intercrptions and near interceptions are no accident). Lopa has gone from a guy fighting for playing time at Oregon to someone whos now being talked about as a 1st round NFL draft choice. Harris the same. And the other DBs could have pulled down 2-3 other interceptions, if only they could catch the ball (there’s a reason they are not in the WR room......lol). The LBs are fast, powerful and nasty. The D line has far better technique and meaness in the pass rush. The D coordinator has implemented disguises and schemes that are confusing the opposing teams. I love bringing back the traditional screens on offense and they will start breaking big once the pulling O linemen get used to what it takes to anticipate and take out the quick D backs going balls out to stop the screens in their tracks. JKS will get used to simply patiently sitting in the pocket and not run into sacks and start picking apart the D backs/LBs. Our high quality receivers will get used to the heavy, high velocity pass he throws and stop dropping pass that hit them in both hands. Mohammed is a hard working relentless monster back who hits the hole hard and quick with enuf top end speed to take it to the house. We have a great, experienced head coach on the sidelines who is calmly watching, motivating and adjusting. Id be very surprised if this team doesnt make us all proud to call ourselves Cal football supporters. Call me delusional but thats what i see. Go Bears!!!!
Excellent write-up as usual Nick! Lopa 14, Cal O 7 says a lot. The GBs win this game because 'Cuse wanted to lose more. While the D improved from week 1, the O was pretty putrid. Right now this team looks like a Rockfights team until the O gets on track.
Once again, good write up. It's clear to me at this point, the OC's inexperience is showing big time. The question is do you wait and hope each game brings big improvements (which I don't see between games 1 and 2) or do you look for some help ( which is touchy because you don't want to undermine your new OC). So I'm curious what you all think is the right short-term and long-term strategy here. Can Rolo play a positive role? RR? How do we get the offense on track with this new coaching staff that will help us win but continue to support coaching development?
Nick posed the Qs: "...new offense that hasn’t been well-installed? A new play caller who hasn’t figured out the strength and weaknesses of his personnel?"
Ideally the offensive coaching staff would have the answers by now because learning on the job - and on the fly week to week - is not a recipe for success.
I also wonder how the mental game changes for a kid like JKS who likely got a significant bag this year after performing last year. Undoubtedly, that adds pressure to perform which can get into one's head, undermine confidence, and result in underperforming.
Yeah, deeply concerning. Given that our O-Line will clearly not produce an efficient (or even competent) running attack, Rolo needs to adjust to get guys open in space. Chase Hendricks slants? Crossing routes for Strong and our three-deep TE crew? Some screens on blitzing downs? ANYTHING please.
I’d like to also see our RB in some open space. I think Adam can do some damage once he gets going.
We need to see some wheel routes (which was Christopher Brown Jr's specialty)
* There was also the PBU by Lopa that would have been for a long gain!
* We need to kick away from the returners on P, KO...special teams is suss!
* Play calling to end the 1st half (after a great screen play to Mohammed on a blitz) and the end of 4th both times in mid-field to only give the ball back to Cuse was horrible.
That long PR that was called back was terrible play by the defense. The punt bounced and the Syracuse guys went away from the ball and Cal guys saw that and kinda went away from the ball and seemed to start running off the field. A different Cuse guy saw that and went and got it. And the rest was almost history, if we weren't bailed out by a block in the back.
Just wanting to "remember some guys" (and ignoring all the running back performances which were non-QB driven wins)
1993 Alamo Bowl, Linebacker Jerrott Willard has 3 sacks, a 61 yard interception return and Iowa Hawkeye Coach Hayden Fry in his post game quotes "That's the best football player I've ever seen" I always wonder if his knees weren't ground into dust by playing 4 seasons on the Memorial Stadium turf if he could have made it in the NFL. Also, if he didn't have the Carl Kacher fortune to fall back upon. Willard is still the best Cal linebacker I've ever seen.
Need a few more Leaders like Lopa to rise up. Seems he has a high football IQ and can be a General on D (like Fred Warner). Almost an on the field Coach to help get guys in the right spot and coverage.
As for the Team’s current status, I reserve judgement for at least two more weeks to see if there’s an upward trajectory.
Even really good football teams like Oregon, SMU and Michigan are struggling early. We just need to find a way to win while we hopefully get better.
That said, if for some reason in the next few years we really do become a 10+ win program, I hope the Coaches stay on for a few more years, grateful for the opportunity they had at Cal.
Traveling cross country & pulling out a win is no small feat, and the team is to be congratulated for playing hard & securing the W.
But... play calling was predictable. OL = last year's in performance. The DL can't stop the run w/o the LBs & safeties coming up. It's looking like JKS is a good, not great QB. Substitution mistakes are exposing an inexperienced coaching staff.
This game (like last week's) was a toss-up. Against not good teams. At this point, Cal is a not good team with a slew of toss-up games ahead. Not optimistic about this season.
So, for the short time that this unsustainable environment will continue to exist, in the next portal let's spend 90% of the $ on linemen.
But, after the money spigot dries up, looking forward to re-joining the pac-12 in a few years.
We saw it last week and this week again demonstrated it. The offense is definitely off. Where are the inside slants and curls that DeJesus ran beautifully? Mohammed seems solid but the o-line is doing nothing to help. And perhaps most importantly, JKS does not look confident. Last year, maybe since he was an unknown quantity he played with more aggression and swagger. Two games in, not seeing it at all. Sure, some of the throws have been NFL level but he just seems less sure of himself, especially when he was supposed to get upgraded receivers.
Great photo of Lopa
Excellent write up and thank you.
YES and he's from Grant High School in Sacramento. Historically they've put out several All American and All Pro football players. We ought to recruit the he** out of them.