Cal Football Game Summary: Bears Beat Minnesota

KEY PLAY 2: On a fourth-and-2 play from the Minnesota 31-yard line, Sagapolutele completed a pass to Jacob De Jesus, who fell down for no gain after catching the low pass, turning ball over to Minnesota with 7:17 left in the second quarter. A 51-yard completion to Jaiven Plummer had put the Bears in Minnesota territory before the stop.

KEY PLAY 3: On a third-and-8 play from the Cal 10-yard line, Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey completed a 9-yard pass to Jameson Geers, putting the ball at the 1-yard line. It was the fourth third-down conversion of that drive and set up Cam Davis’ 1-yard run. That tied the game 7-7 with 43 second left in the half.

KEY PLAY 4: On a first-down play from the Cal 25-yard line with 43 seconds left in the half, Sagapolutele completed a 29-yard pass to Mark Hamper putting the ball at the Minnesota 46-yard line. Sagapolutele added a 19-yard completion to De Jesus, and on fourth down from the Minnesota 27-yard line Abram Murray booted a 45-yard field goal that bounced off the right upright and through on the final play of the first half. It gave Cal a 10-7 lead at halftime.

KEY PLAY 5: On Minnesota's third-and-10 play from the Gophers' 49-yard line, Cal cornerback Hezekiah Masses recorded his third interception of the season, giving Cal the ball at its own 37-yard line with 11:32 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 6: Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey completed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Geers, giving Minnesota a 14-10 lead with 4:36 to go in the third quarter. It completed a 64-yard drive.

KEY PLAY 7: On a third-and-6 play from the Minnesota 9-yard line, Sagapolutele completed a pass to Mason Mini at the 4-yard line, and Mini spun away from two tacklers to complete the 9-yard touchdown play. It put Cal ahead 17-14 with 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 8: On Minnesota's third-and-7 play from the Cal 30-yard line, Cal linebacker Luke Ferrelli tackled Gophers running back Cam Davis for a 3-yard loss. One play later Minnesota's Brady Denaburg missed a 51-yard field goal attempt wide right with 9:38 left in the third quarter. It kept Cal's lead at 17-14.

KEY PLAY 9: Minnesota returner Koi Perich tried to gather in a rolling Cal punt inside his 10-yard line, but it bounced off his hands for a fumble that was recovered by Cal's Aiden Manutai at the Minnesota 8-yard line. It led to Sagapolutele's 2-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Jordan King, putting Cal ahead 24-14 with 6:55 left in the fourth quarter.

STAT OF THE GAME: With four minutes left in the third quarter, Cal had minus-13 rushing yards. The Bears finished with 61 yards on the ground, and they still won.

STAT OF THE GAME II: Cal had no turnovers, and the Bears forced Minnesota into two turnovers,

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME: Cal cornerback Hezekiah Masses recorded his third interception of the season. He also had seven tackles.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME II: Cade Uluave played only the second half, but still had nine tackles.

QUARTERBACK STATISTICS: Cal’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was 24-for-38 for a career-high 277 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 150.9 passer rating. He was sacked three times. Minnesota’s Drake Lindsey was 19-for-32 for 205 yards, one touchdown and one interception for a 117.3 passer rating. He was sacked twice.

WHAT IT MEANS: Cal is 3-0 for the second straight season and improved its resume by beating a decent Big Ten team. The Bears are unlikely to be ranked this week, but they put themselves in position to go to 4-0 for the first time since 2019 with a road game against San Diego State next Saturday night. Cal seems to have a good shot at finishing with a winning overall record for the first time since 2019, and the Bears may be capable of having a winning conference record for the first time since 2009.

CAL'S BOWL BAROMETER: Cal’s chance of getting a bowl berth rose to 70%. This was a pivotal win in the Bears’ bid to land a postseason bid for the third year in a row. This game was considered a virtual tossup, and winning leaves the Bears needing just three wins in their final nine games to get a bowl bid.

CAL’S ACC TITLE BAROMETER: Cal’s chance of winning the ACC title stands at 15%. The Bears have one more nonconference game before starting ACC play. Cal was picked to finish15th in the 17-team ACC in the preseason media poll, and the only reason Cal’s conference title chances are not lower than 15% is because Cal does not face Miami, Clemson, Georgia Tech or Florida State this season. Heading into this weekend, the ESPN College Football Power Index placed Cal’s chance of winning the ACC title at just 0.7%.

NEXT GAME: Cal (3-0) vs. San Diego State (1-1) at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on Saturday, September 20. Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. TV: CBS Sports Network. San Diego State had a bye this week after losing to Washington State 36-13 on the road on September 6. The Aztecs beat Stony Brook 42-0 at home in their opener.

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