You think UVA Football is reeling? Cal, this weekend’s opponent, was 7-5 in 2025, but former NFL head coach Ron Rivera, hired last year to serve as the GM for Cal Football, moved on from Justin Wilcox, gave a first-time head coach, Tosh Lupoi, the big whistle, and the result has been, the wheels falling off.
The Golden Bears (3-6, 2-4 ACC) have lost five of their last six, as Lupoi hasn’t figured out how to get any use out of QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who passed for 3,454 yards as a freshman in 2025, and has regressed this season.
Things got so bad on the offensive side of the ball that Lupoi demoted his offensive play-caller, Jordan Somerville, at halftime of a 39-31 loss to UNLV on Oct. 3.
UVA fanbase reaction to learning that:
See, TE, it can be done.
This week’s game with Virginia (4-5, 2-4 ACC), which has lost five of its last seven, is an odd one, with both coming off byes.
Game Details
Cal at Virginia
- Day/time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
- TV: ACC Network
- Line: Virginia -10.5
- Over/under: 47.5
- Projected final score: Virginia 30, Cal 17
Getting to know: Cal
Sagapolutele still has decent counting numbers – 67.3 percent completion rate, 11 TDs, 6 INTs.
His ESPN QBR (47.8) is just 84th nationally among the 140 qualified FBS QBs.
For reference, UVA’s QB1, Beau Pribula, under fire with the fanbase, is 80th (52.4).
The Cal O line does a good job keeping a clean pocket – JKS has been pressured on just 26.1 percent of his dropbacks this season.
His sack-to-pressure rate is not bad: 18.9 percent.
He’s not a threat to scramble: just four scrambles in eight games, for 12 yards.
The ground game is built around Washington transfer Adam Mohammed, who is averaging 72.6 yards per game, with 120 yards on 28 carries in the season opener, a 45-24 loss to UCLA.
The backup, Ashton Emery, a transfer from UTEP, has 238 yards on the season, but is averaging just 3.1 yards per attempt.
The top targets in the pass game:
- SLOT Chase Hendricks: 61 catches/79 targets, 9.3 yards/catch
- WR Ian Strong: 34 catches/56 targets, 14.2 yards/catch
- TE Mason Mini: 22 catches/38 targets, 10.3 yards/catch
- TE Taimane Purcell: 19 catches/26 targets, 12.7 yards/catch
The Cal defense ranks 13th in the ACC in total defense (392.6 yards/game), 15th in rushing defense (184.6 yards/game, 5.0 yards/attempt) and 14th in sacks (1.7/game).
The names on the Cal D you’ll hear most often:
- S Kingston Lopa: 42 tackles, 5 INTs, 3 PBUs
- S Isaiah Crosby: 60 tackles, 4 PBUs, 1 INT
- LB AJ Tuitele: 50 tackles, 15 QB pressures, 3 sacks
- DE Solomon Williams: 16 tackles, 27 QB pressures, 2 sacks
- DE JD McKinley: 18 tackles, 17 QB pressures, 2 sacks
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Chris Graham
