Kendrick Raphael ran for a career-best 131 yards and a touchdown, quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele complemented 259 passing yards with a rushing score and California broke open a tight game with a 14-point third quarter en route to a 35-3 win over Texas Southern in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday afternoon.
The win was a costly one for the Golden Bears (2-0), as star linebacker Cade Uluave was ejected from the game on the final play of the third quarter for a targeting infraction, which means he will be ineligible for the first half of next week’s game against Minnesota.
Coming off a 34-15 win at Oregon State, Cal led just 11-0 at halftime after a 44-yard field goal by Abram Murray in the first quarter and a 1-yard sneak by Sagapolutele with 1:19 remaining before halftime. A two-point conversion run by Mason Mini produced the 11-0 halftime score.
The Golden Bears took charge with two impressive third-quarter drives. Sagapolutele engineered the first with 4-for-4 passing, capped by a 1-yard plunge by Raphael, before LJ Johnson Jr. scampered 12 yards for a touchdown with 5:27 remaining in the period, extending the lead to 25-0.
Texas Southern denied Cal its first shutout since 2005 when Christian Avelar connected on a 39-yard field goal with 13:58 remaining in the game.
The Golden Bears added a 43-yard field goal by Chase Meyer, then completed the day’s scoring when backup quarterback Devin Brown, an Ohio State transfer, threw a 14-yard TD pass to Jayden Dixon-Veal as time was winding down.
Sagapolutele finished 26-for-37 with one interception. A transfer from North Carolina State, where he never rushed for more than 90 yards in a two-year career, Raphael’s rushing total came on 18 runs for the Golden Bears, who outgained the Tigers 467-192.
Quarterback KJ Cooper threw for 137 yards on 19-for-35 with one interception and rushed seven times for a team-high 30 yards for Texas Southern (0-2), an FCS school that was playing an Atlantic Coast Conference foe for the first time. The Tigers’ Jalen Williams was the game’s leading pass-catcher with six receptions, but for just 42 yards.
