Cal football general manager Ron Rivera may not be done with the NFL after all. The former coach of the Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders interviewed recently with the Arizona Cardinals for their vacant coaching position, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic. Rivera, 64, took over the Golden Bears' football program less than year ago, aiming to use his NFL experience to help his alma mater fast-forward into the new world of college football, complete with Name, Image and Likeness,
Asked what it will take to upset the Cardinals (7-1, 4-1), Cal coach Justin Wilcox offered no magic formula. Block and tackle. I know that's going to seem like coach-talk and over-simplification but it's true, he said. We have to block and we have to tackle. Without that, we have no chance. I don't care what scheme you have. You just have a dry-erase marker at that point.
Under the lights at Memorial Stadium and in front of a national TV audience, Cal faces its biggest challenge of the young season Saturday when Minnesota pays a visit. Both teams bring 2-0 records to the 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN. We will need to play our best game so far, coach Justin Wilcox said. I'm confident we can do that.
The Bears play their home opener against an FCS opponent. Cal has never lost to an FCS-level team . . . Freshman QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was named ACC Rookie of the Week after passing for 234 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers in the Bears' 34-15 win at Oregon State . . . Cal would like to run the ball more effectively after three backs totaled 100 yards on 27 attempts . . .
Sagapolutele, one of a boatload of questions about this team entering the season, emphatically answered with an impressive debut performance. The 18-year-old left-hander from Hawaii wound up completing 20 of 30 passes for 234 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers and no sacks. He is just the second Cal quarterback to start a season-opening game as a freshman. Jared Goff passed for 450 yards with two touchdowns against Northwestern in 2013, but he was intercepted three times in a 44-30 home defeat.
