Cal’s unbeaten season came crashing to the turf in front of 31,369 fans at San Diego State’s Snapdragon Stadium, where the Bears suffered a stunning 34-0 defeat on Saturday night.
Favored by 14 points after three straight victories by double-digit margins, the Bears returned home with a long list of issues they must address before their ACC opener at Boston College next Saturday.
Cal committed ill-timed penalties, dropped at least four passes, failed to convert any of its three red-zone chances and lost the battle at the line of scrimmage, especially in the run game.
Freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagpolutele, who played beyond his years over the first three weeks, suddenly looked like a 19-year-old in this one. After completing 7 of his first 8 pass attempts, he connected on just 8 of his next 25.
Intercepted just once in three games, Sagapolutele was picked off on consecutive attempts in the third quarter, the first of them returned 97 yards for a touchdown by cornerback Chris Johnson, pushing the Aztecs into a 27-0 lead with 5:59 left in the third quarter.
Earlier, the Aztecs stretched a 13-0 halftime lead to 20-0 when safety Dwayne McDougal returned a fumble by Cal running back Kendrick Raphael 35 yards for a touchdown with 11:03 left in the third period.
Running back Lucky Sutton capped the scoring for the home team by going across on a 7-yard TD run with 9:30 to play.
Down 34-0, coach Justin Wilcox pulled the plug on Sagapolutele for the night, sending backup Devin Brown onto the field.
Sagapolutele finished 17 for 38 for 208 yards with the two picks.
Cal was shut out for the first time since a 35-0 loss at No. 12 Utah on Oct. 26, 2019. It hadn’t happened in a non-conference game a 45-0 road loss to No. 5 Nebraska on Sept. 11, 1999.
This was a collapse by the Bears on virtually all fronts.
The Bears couldn’t run the ball again, managing just 81 rushing yards on 25 attempts by their three running backs, and a lot of those came long after the outcome was settled. SDSU countered with 132 rushing yards and controlled the ball for long stretches in the second half to protect its lead.
Cal found itself trailing 13-0 at halftime after a second quarter filled with mistakes.
The Bears, hoping to go to 4-0 for the first time since 2019, outgained the Aztecs 73 yards to 21 in the first quarter. But the game was scoreless after Cal failed to convert a fourth-and-goal play from the 2-yard line. Sagapolutele’s incomplete pass to tight end Landon Morris marked the first time all season the Bears failed to score points in the red zone.
SDSU did everything right in the second quarter and Cal paved the way with a series of errors.
An 80-yard completion from quarterback Jayden Denegal to wide receiver Jordan Napier — SDSU’s longest pass play since 2017 — set up the only touchdown of the half. Napier took it in from 6 yards with 11:42 left in the second period after taking a short flip pass on a right to left dash.
SDSU made it 10-0 on a 34-yard field goal by Gabriel Plascencia — his 15h consecutive made field goal — with 6:20 left in the half.
Sagapolutele completed a 33-yard pass to Trond Grizzell for a first down at the Aztecs’ 17-yard line and the Bears were poised to cut into the lead. But back-to-back false starts pushed them back and Chase Meyer missed wide right on a 44-yard field goal try with 3:49 left.
Normally, Abram Murray attempts field goals of that distance, but he was unavailable to play Saturday night.
The Aztecs pushed into Cal territory again before safety Isaiah Crosby seemingly ended the threat with an interception in the end zone that he returned 34 yards. But an offsides flag against the Bears allowed SDSU to maintain possession, and Plascencia drilled a 41-yard field goal as time expired in the half.
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