Wagner at California
Cal had no problem dispensing with Wagner early in this one, up 29-0 at the end of the first quarter and 39-7 at the break. Holding the Seahawks to four consecutive three-and-outs, the Golden Bears would match it with four consecutive TD’s in the first quarter. The first two on TD runs by Junior RB Adam Mohammad; the third on an 80 yard TD pass from Sophomore QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele to Senior WR Ian Strong; and the fourth on a 65 yard TD pass from Sagapolutele to Mohammad—his third score of the game.
The Seahawks would finally get on the board to start the 2nd Qtr on a 12 play 65 yard drive and 8 yard TD pass from Freshman QB Benjamin Newman to Sophomore WR Malik Redd to make it a 29-7 game. Cal would add three more at the end of their next drive on a 36 yard field goal by Sophomore Place Kicker Towns McGough and then another seven–after holding Wagner to a three-and-out–on a 16 yard TD pass from Sagapolutele to Sophomore WR Cooper Perry making it 39-7. Forcing the Seahawks to punt once again on their next possession, Cal would fumble three plays into theirs and give the ball back to Wagner with about a minute left in the half. Fourth and 7 at the Cal 27 yard line, the Seahawks would try but miss a field goal to end the 2nd Qtr.
Scoring would be far more scarce in the second half of the game for Cal and non-existent for Wagner as they were shut-out the rest of the way. Wagner would be held to three punts, throw an interception, and miss a field goal for their part. Cal would pick up another score on their first possession of the second half on an 8 yard TD run by Sophomore RB Ashton Emory to push the lead out to 46-7. They’d miss a field goal at the end of the quarter and make one on their last possession of a 49-7 win.
For Cal, Sophomore QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele would connect on over 80% of his passes for 413 yards, 3 TD’s and no interceptions. His backup, Junior QB Jackson Brousseau, would connect at the same pace going 8-of-10 for 79 yards. On the ground the Golden Bears would rush 28 times for 134 yards and 3 TD’s with Mohammad picking up 2 along with 91 of the total yards and Sophomore RB Ashten Emory the other. For Wagner, Freshman QB Benjamin Newman was 15-of-31 for 86 yards, 1 TD, and 1 interception while also rushing for 23 yards. Collectively Wagner rushed 27 times for 112 yards without ever hitting pay dirt. Cal takes on a whole other level of opponent on a short week as they’ll stay home to host Clemson.
Stanford at Duke
Although neither team scored in the first quarter of this one—an interception followed by five punts—Duke would lead off the second quarter with back-to-back TD’s to take a 14-0 lead. The first on a 9 play 90 drive and 32 yard TD run by Sophomore RB Nate Sheppard and the second on a 2 yard TD pass from Senior QB Walker Eget to Sheppard as well. On their last possession before the half, Stanford would close the gap on a six play 55 yard drive and five yard TD pass from Senior QB Davis Warren to Senior WR Caden High to make it a 14-7 game at the break.
But that’s all the scoring the Cardinal would put up on the board as they would get shut out in the second half while Duke would start the third quarter just like they did the second, with back-to-back TD’s. This time on a 1 yard TD run by Sheppard—his third score of the game—and the second on a 16 yard TD run by Freshman WR Kevon Simmons to take a 28-7 lead. After Stanford’s three-and-out to start the 4th Qtr Duke would score once again at the end of an 8 play 71 yard drive and five yard TD run by Freshman RB Jayvian Tanelus to make it 35-7. Although there was more than half the quarter left neither team put any more points on the board.
For Stanford, Senior QB Davis Warren connected on 18-of-32 for 151 yards, 1 TD to Senior WR Caden High, and no interceptions. On the ground, Junior RB Micah Ford and Senior Sedrick Irvin collectively rushed 15 times for 94 yards but never made it into the end zone. For Duke, Senior QB Walker Eget was 14-of-24 for 202 yards, 1 TD to Sophomore RB Nate Sheppard, and 1 interception. Exploiting Stanford’s weak run defense, the Blue Devils would rush 47 times for 268 yards and 4 TD’s. Nate Sheppard led the way with 154 yards and two TD’s on 23 carries with Freshman RB Javian Tanelus and Freshman WR Kavon Simmons picking up one each and 37 yards on 8 carries. Stanford has a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball. They were really inefficient on third and fourth down conversions, 18% and 0% respectively; rushed for just 73 yards; had well over 200 yards less of total offense; averaged a little more than 3 yards per rush and 4 yards per pass; had the ball 14 minutes less than Duke; and had no sacks, just four tackles for loss, and only 2 pass disruptions. They’re 0-2 in conference to start the season and go back home to take on Georgia Tech.