{"id":1034947,"date":"2026-10-23T12:57:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T12:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1034947\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T12:57:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T12:57:17","slug":"sagapolutele-expected-back-at-qb-but-cals-offense-less-than-full-strength-for-no-23-smu-the-mercury-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1034947\/","title":{"rendered":"Sagapolutele expected back at QB, but Cal\u2019s offense less than full strength for No. 23 SMU \u2013 The Mercury News"},"content":{"rendered":"

BERKELEY \u2014 The puzzle that is Cal\u2019s offensive lineup continues to be plagued by missing or damaged pieces.<\/p>\n

Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele<\/a>, after sitting one game with a concussion and being held out until the third quarter last week against Wake Forest<\/a>, seems certain to be back on the field when the Bears (3-4, 2-2 ACC) face No. 23 SMU (5-1, 3-1) on Saturday morning in Dallas. Kickoff is at 9 a.m. Pacific.<\/p>\n

Even if coach Tosh Lupoi declined to confirm it this week.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, the are questions or holes.<\/p>\n

The club\u2019s top two running backs when the season began \u2014 Adam Mohammed and Carter Vargas \u2014 remain out due to injuries. Ashten Emory, the starter since Mohammed went down a month ago, limped off the field in the third quarter of the Bears\u2019 41-7 loss to Wake but was not included on the ACC\u2019s weekly injury report.<\/p>\n

\"California<\/a>California running back Ashten Emory (20) is tackled by Wake Forest defensive back Myles Turpin (22) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026 (AP Photo\/Justine Willard)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, four wide receivers are included on the availability list, albeit as questionable. Ian Strong, the team\u2019s No. 2 pass catcher, was a late scratch last week. The status of Jordan King, Cooper Perry and Mark Hamper is also uncertain.<\/p>\n

There are concerns up front, as well. Center Bastian Swinney, who left the Wake Forest game in the first quarter, guard Sioape Vatikani and reserve tackle Jimothy Lewis Jr., all are tagged as questionable.<\/p>\n

Sagapolutele, injured in the first half of the UNLV game on Oct. 3, is nowhere on the availability chart after a surprise appearance in relief of Jackson Brousseau in the third quarter against Wake.<\/p>\n

Even so, Lupoi at his weekly news conference opted against revealing a starter. \u201cI\u2019m going to put the individual I think is going to be best for us to go win the game coming up this Saturday,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

SMU coach Rhett Lashlee sees no mystery.<\/p>\n

\"California<\/a>California defensive lineman Jayden Williams (51) tackles Wake Forest running back Deuce Lawrence (22) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP Photo\/Justine Willard)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re getting their quarterback back, who I think is one of the better quarterbacks in our league and the country,\u201d he said this week.<\/p>\n

A year ago, JKS passed for 330 yards and four touchdowns in the Bears\u2019 38-35 upset win over Lashlee\u2019s squad<\/a>. \u201cWe saw the talent last year, so that part we do remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll find out Saturday who will be taking handoffs from Sagapolutele, catching his passes or providing him protection.<\/p>\n

Rolovich gratified by son\u2019s debut at SJSU<\/p>\n

On Saturday night, while the Bears were playing Wake Forest in Berkeley, quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich\u2019s 19-year-old son was halfway across the country, making a successful debut as a college football player.<\/p>\n

True freshman Daniel Rolovich got his first start at quarterback for San Jose State<\/a>, and passed for 193 yards and a touchdown in a 24-11 victory at UTEP.<\/p>\n

A quarterback at Hawaii and beyond college, Rolovich knew just what to say to his son when they talked later on the phone. \u201cI asked him if he was sore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick Rolovich coached his son his sophomore and junior seasons at San Marin High School in Novato before joining the Cal staff in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the greatest years of my life being able to drive home with him before he got his license, just spending that time with him,\u201d Rolovich said. \u201cAs a parent, those times are pretty precious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coaching his own son could be a balancing act at times, he said. \u201cBut as long as you put him as your son first and his journey\u2019s his journey, I think it\u2019s an incredible experience I wish every father could experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cal\u2019s long bowl odds<\/p>\n

The Bears have played in 27 bowl games, but only twice have gotten there after starting a season at 3-4 or worse:<\/p>\n

\u2014 2024: After opening 3-4, the Bears won three of four, securing bowl eligibility with a 24-21 win in the Big Game against Stanford<\/a> when Fernando Mendoza threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes.<\/p>\n

\u2014 2003: At 3-5, the Bears responded by winning five of their next six games and toppled Virginia Tech 52-49 in the Insight Bowl as Aaron Rodgers passed for 394 yards and two TDs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BERKELEY \u2014 The puzzle that is Cal\u2019s offensive lineup continues to be plagued by missing or damaged pieces.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1034948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[8308,1925,1926,1927,26679,12657,1443,339,1928,7,1921,929,49,48,9],"class_list":["post-1034947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-acc-football","tag-alameda-county","tag-bay-area","tag-berkeley","tag-cal-bears","tag-cal-football","tag-california","tag-college-sports","tag-east-bay","tag-football","tag-inside-sports","tag-latest-headlines","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117490342172071687","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1034947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1034948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1034947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1034947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1034947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}