Cal shed a lot of painful history at Boston College on Saturday afternoon.
A year after losing four straight ACC games by a combined margin of nine points and a week after a shocking 34-0 defeat to underdog San Diego State, the Bears delivered a thrilling 28-24 victory in their conference opener.
“I know this stat well,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said, reflecting on last year’s string of agonizing defeats. “You’ve got to continue to play. If you get too emotional in those moments . . . that’s how you beat yourself.
“Finding a way to win late . . . that says a lot about the individuals.”
Three of them in particular made plays that ultimately won the game for the Bears (4-1, 1-0) in front of a capacity crowd of 44,500 at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, whose first pass of the afternoon was picked off, improvised on the biggest offensive snap of the game and delivered a 51-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mason Mini with 1:30 left on the clock.
“We had a play (called) . . . I’m not going to say what it was,” Sagapolutele said, explaining how that play didn’t quite unfold as it was drawn up. “I had a little crease — I was thinking about running it. I pump-faked to Jacob (De Jesus) but Mason was over the best. I gave him a chance and Mason did the rest.”
Mini, a sophomore transfer from Idaho, caught the ball just past the 30-yard line and raced toward a throng of Cal fans in the stands behind that end zone, capping a nine-play, 88-yard drive that began with 4:48 left.
“We’re all the way here in Boston and to see a Cal crowd like that was great, said Mini, who grew up in the Bay Area community of Pacifica.
The game wasn’t quite over. The Eagles (1-3, 0-2) moved efficiently down the field, reaching the 5-yard line on Dylan Lonergan’s 26-yard completion to wide receiver Reed Harris with 20 seconds left.
Lonergan, a transfer from Alabama who had been intercepted just once all season entering the game, threw incomplete on first down. Then he tried to anthem a target crossing in the end zone but Cal’s redshirt freshman linebacker Like Ferrelli stepped in front for an easy pick with 15 seconds left.
“It’s a zone coverage and that gives him an opportunity to have his eyes on the quarterback,” Wilcox said of Ferrelli. “And he made a great play.”
Cal was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for celebrating the big moment and twice the offensive line drew false start penalties. After an offsides call against the Eagles, Sagapolutele finally was able to take a knee to close out the win.
Sagapolutele experienced his first clunker performance last week after three straight strong outings. His early interception helped BC jump out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead.
But he completed his next 10 pass attempts and the Bears pulled even after the left-hander from Hawaii orchestrated touchdown drives of 75 and 84 yards. LJ Johnson powered in from the 1-yard line to cap the first one, then Sagapolute threw a 5-yard TD pass to De Jesus to knot the game with 3:46 left in the second quarter.
Sagapolutele finished 22 for 34 for 254 yards with the two TDs. “We’ve seen him so much immediately, we’re not all that surprised,” Wilcox said. “Is it unique to have a freshman with that poise and be able to make the throws? Yeah, it is. He’s just going to get better and better.”
The Bears also made some progress in the run game, led by Kendrick Raphael rushing 24 times for 113 yards. His 2-yard TD one play after cornerback Hezekiah Masses’ NCAA-leading fourth interception and 22-yard return early in the fourth quarter gave Cal its first lead at 21-17.
BC struck back immediately with a 71-yard scoring run by Turbo Richard, who had 171 yards and two TDs for an offense that was producing just 73 rushing yards per game.
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