Syracuse hopes a step up in the level of competition goes smoothly when the Orange seek their fourth 2-0 start in the past five seasons at the expense of visiting Cal in each team’s Atlantic Coast Conference opener on Saturday afternoon.
Shavane Anderson Jr. led a relentless ground attack with 102 yards and three touchdowns when the Orange (1-0) opened at home with a 66-3 shellacking of FCS-level New Hampshire last Saturday.
Across the country later that day, Cal (0-1) had neither the luxury of facing an overmatched opponent nor the pleasure of a victory, as it was outscored 21-0 in the fourth quarter of a 45-24 home loss to in-state rival UCLA.
Making their debut under new coach Tosh Lupoi, the Golden Bears allowed the Bruins to rack up 277 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Now they face a Syracuse team that rushed for 239 yards and four TDs in its opener.
Lupoi told the media this week that the defensive mistakes were typical of an opening game and are things you hope to improve upon in Week 2.
“It’s all correctable,” he noted. “There’s some unfortunate miscues in gap cancellation. It starts there: Communicating. Applaud the staff as far as the emphasis (in practice) on that. Just have to do a better job of executing those and making it important to communicate.”
Cal got a good chunk of its offensive production against UCLA from its running game, with Adam Mohammed churning out 120 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.
Nonetheless, asked about the Cal offense at his first press conference of the week, Syracuse coach Fran Brown assured his defensive unit’s focus will be on highly regarded Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.
“That kid is a gunslinger,” Brown gushed of the southpaw. “At any moment he could rip off four or five touchdowns. I think he can really play. He does an amazing job of being poised in the pocket, throwing the ball and stuff like that. We’re playing against a future pro.”
Sagapolutele passed for 271 yards and two touchdowns against UCLA, but was intercepted twice. Both interceptions occurred in the fourth quarter after Cal had rallied to a 24-all tie.
The teams have met only once since Cal joined the ACC in 2024. The Orange made the trip west that time and saw their QB Kyle McCord outduel future Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, 323 yards to 225, in a 33-25 triumph.
