King(ston)'s Day for Lopa as Cal Halts 'Cuse

In the second week of the 2026-27 season for the Syracuse Orange, we have conference play as the Orange hosted the Golden Bears of California-Berkeley for a midday Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) bout.

The game began with sophomore wide receiver Darien Williams, a graduate from nearby Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) Syracuse, taking the kickoff from his own seven-yard line to the 36, a 29-yard return to begin the contest.

Syracuse's first offensive play would be a one-yard run by sophomore running back Tylik Hill. He would take his second carry out into the open field for a 55-yard gain.

This opening drive for the Orange would end with a 25-yard field goal by redshirt-sophomore Tripp Woody to give Syracuse a 3-0 lead at the 12:37 mark of the first quarter.

Pressure by senior transfer defensive end Keyshawn Johnson on Golden Bears' sophomore quarterback Jaron-Keave Sagapolutele on 3rd-&-6 would force Cal to punt on their opening drive.

Fifth-year wide receiver Justus Ross-Simmons, who returned to Syracuse after putting his name into the 2026 National Football League (NFL) Draft, caught his first pass in the 2026-27 season on the second Orange drive of the game, a 22-yard connection between him and quarterback Steve Angeli, a fellow fifth-year student-athlete.

This second drive by Syracuse would end in their first punt of the day.

Orange senior transfer cornerback Nazir Ward kept strong coverage on Golden Bears' senior transfer wide receiver Ian Strong, preventing the ball from getting there from Sagapolutele and bringing up another punt by Cal.

Syracuse would appear to be punting on their third drive, but the Orange had a trick up their sleeve.

True freshman punter Jimmy Gregg would take the hiked ball and run toward the line, jump, and send the ball to senior defensive end David Omopariola who caught it and gained 12 yards on 4th-&-3 for a first down that brought Syracuse from their own 47 to the Cal 41-yard line.

The first quarter would end with the Orange still holding possession, ahead 3-0. This third drive of the day by Syracuse, which began at the 3:53 mark of the first quarter, would conclude with a 33-yard field by Woody with 14:44 left on the second-quarter clock that made it 6-0 Syracuse.

Ward would appear to end Cal's third drive of the game when he tackled fifth-year transfer wide receiver Chase Hendricks for a loss of two yards on 3rd-&-4. However, the Orange would be flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play and what would have been a punt by the Golden Bears turned into a new set of downs for them, moving them to the Orange 34-yard line.

But, this Cal drive would end with zero points to show as a result of redshirt-sophomore kicker Towns McGough missing from 46 yards away.

The Orange would take over downs at their own 28-yard line for their fourth drive of the day.

On 1st-&-10 from their own 39-yard line, Syracuse sent the ball downfield from Angeli to sophomore tight end Daunte Bacheyie, a CBA Syracuse graduate, who did not hold onto the ball.

Angeli would go right back to Bacheyie on the next play and Bacheyie reeled this one in for a 38-yard gain to the Golden Bears' 23-yard line. The officiating crew would review this play to determine if it was a catch, and the call was upheld.

On the next play, Angeli found a wide-open Bacheyie for the remaining 23 yards for a 12-0 lead by the Orange; this was Bacheyie's second touchdown in as many games, and second-ever in college football.

Syracuse Head Coach, in his third year at the helm for the Orange, would elect to go for two to follow. Angeli would take the hike, look, attempt to scramble, and head to the ground outside of the end zone, keeping the score at 12-0 Orange at the 8:50 mark of the second quarter.

Following a pass-interference call on Ward, Sagapolutele would send the ball to Hendricks who had two players attempting to cover him. The ball got to Hendricks' chest and he held on for the first score for Cal in the game, which was followed by an extra point by McGough, making it 12-7 with 7:15 remaining in the first half.

Syracuse and Cal would each punt the ball away on their fifth drives of the day.

The Orange would go a quick 3-&-out on their sixth drive, sending the ball back to the Golden Bears with just under 1:20 left in the first half.

A holding penalty on the Golden Bears would aid the Orange, bringing up 3rd-&-12 on Cal's own 39. Syracuse would no let Cal get more than a yard on a screen pass on that third-down attempt, forcing Cal to punt for the fourth time of first-half six drives.

This punt would come with drama as a flag was thrown, the officials said there was no penalty, and then said that there was a penalty but it was declined and the Golden Bears would re-kick.

The ensuing punt would hit the ground and junior defensive back Davien Kerr would decide to come out of no where and pick up the ball. He would get the ball all the way from inside his own 15-yard line to inside the Cal 30-yard line.

However, the officials would throw a flag for a blindside block, turning what would have been a potential field-goal attempt for Syracuse into Syracuse choosing to kneel down and send the game to halftime.

Angeli went 7-for-18 (38.9%) for 116 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions in the first half of play.

Bacheyie led the Orange in receptions (three) and receiving yards (65).

Hill had the most yards on the ground for Syracuse with 56 on two carries, 55 coming on his second carry.

Junior transfer running back Ju'Juan Johnson, who came from the LSU Tigers via the transfer portal, had four carries for eight yards (two yards per carry) in his debut in orange and blue.

True freshman running back Shavane Anderson, Jr., had six carries for 19 yards (2.5 yards per carry).

Senior transfer linebacker Chris D'Appolonia led the Orange with six total tackles (three solo).

Keyshawn Johnson had the lone quarterback hit for Syracuse, while Ward and fifth-year transfer defensive end Tunmise Adeleye each had a pass breakup in the first half.

Sagapolutele went 14-for-20 (70%) for 98 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.

Strong led Cal with 43 receiving yards, coming on one catch. Hendricks had the most first-half receptions for the Golden Bears with four, amounting 19 yards.

Junior running Adam Mohammed had eight carries for 43 yards (5.4 yards per carry).

Senior cornerback Daniel Harris led Cal with six total tackles (four solo). He also had the only sack and pass breakup of the first half for the Golden Bears.

Cal would open the second half with a seven-play drive that would end on a turnover-on-downs when a pass attempt from Sagapolutele to Hendricks fell incomplete on 4th-&-3.

Syracuse would take over at the Cal 48-yard line, already past midfield,

However, the Orange would not capitalize on this opportunity. Instead, redshirt-sophomore safety Kingston Lopa would intercept Angeli, returning the ball 51 yards from his own 30 to the Orange 29-yard line. This was Angeli's first interception of the 2026-27 season.

The Golden Bears would make the most of this interception, scoring on a pass from Sagapolutele to redshirt-senior wide receiver Jordan King for a two-yard touchdown to give the Golden Bears their first lead of the game, at 14-12, with 7:15 left on the third-quarter clock.

Syracuse would respond with a scoring drive of their own as Ju'Juan Johnson took the ball in from two yards out for his first touchdown in orange and blue. The Orange would not convert their second two-point conversion of the day, making it 18-14 Orange with 1:38 remaining in the third quarter. This touchdown came after a 19-yard pass-play from Angeli to Darien Williams.

The Orange would get the ball back right before the end of the third quarter on a punt by the Golden Bears. Sophomore cornerback/wide receiver Demetres Samuel, Jr., would return the punt for a touchdown, but it would be called back due to two penalties on the return by Syracuse for illegal blocks, ending the third quarter with the score staying at 18-14 Syracuse.

Taking their drive from the end of the third into the fourth quarter, the Orange seemingly lost possession early on a second interception thrown by Angeli.

However, the Golden Bears were flagged for roughing-the-passer, keeping the ball with the Orange and giving them a new set of downs and taking them from their own 22 to their 37-yard line.

Later on this drive, the officials ruled a fumble on the field but then reviewed the fumble and found that Cal had too many men on the field, giving Syracuse a new set of downs.

This drive, however, would end with no points as Woody's 31-yard field-goal attempt hit the left upright.

The Golden Bears would take over possession at their own 20.

D'Appolonia would get his first sack as a member of the Orange on this Golden Bears' drive, taking Sagapolutele back nine yards to bring up a 3rd-&-20 attempt. That third-down try would fall incomplete on a pass from Sagapolutele to King and Cal would punt the ball back to Syracuse, who would start at their own 10-yard line.

The sack by D'Appolonia is the second overall of his career; he had one in three seasons as a member of the Toledo Rockets prior to coming to Syracuse.

Angeli would end this drive for the Orange when he threw his second interception of the day, and to the same person, as Lopa grabbed the ball over the middle, returning this one for a touchdown to give the lead back to the Golden Bears at 21-18 with 4:51 to play.

Worth noting, if Woody had made the prior field-goal attempt, the game would have been tied.

On 3rd-&-13 during Syracuse's next drive, Angeli took a big hit, somehow getting the ball downfield. Ross-Simmons caught it on the Cal 24-yard line giving Syracuse a new set of downs on a 25-yard play.

Having another opportunity at a field goal, this time to tie the game, Woody attempted a 46-yarder. This one also did not go through the uprights, falling short, keeping the score at 21-18 Golden Bears, who took over on their own 28-yard line.

On 3rd-&-9, Mohammed would fall short of the first-down marker. The officials would review and uphold that call, making it 4th-&-1 at the 37-yard line for Cal.

The Golden Bears would take a delay-of-game penalty, moving back to their own 32-yard line and would punt it away to the Orange, who would start at their own 24-yard line with 1:05 to play.

On the first play of this drive, Angeli found Ross-Simmons on the left sideline for a 23-yard gain.

However, Angeli would throw his third interception of the day on the very next play, and to his favorite Golden Bears' player, Lopa, who had all three interceptions for Cal in this game. Officials reviewed the interception and upheld the call.

The Golden Bears would gain possession and get in victory formation for a 21-18 win that placed both them and the Orange at 1-1 on the season, with Cal 1-0 and Syracuse 0-1 in ACC play.

For the victors, Sagapolutele went 21-for-34 (61.8%) for 182 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Strong led all Golden Bears' receivers with 64 yards, while Hendricks and King had the two receiving touchdowns.

Mohammed took 19 carries 74 yards (3.9 yards per carry).

Lopa led the Cal defense with all three takeaways in the game. He also had one interception in their first game at home versus the UCLA Bruins in a 45-24 non-conference loss.

Angeli finished 24-for-49 (49%) for 306 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.

Ross-Simmons led the Orange with 82 receiving yards on five catches.

Hill ended the game ahead of all Syracuse rushers with 56 yards despite not carrying the ball in the second half.

Ju-Juan Johnson had 15 carries for 46 yards (3.1 yards per carry) and one touchdown for Syracuse.

Just as he did at the half, D'Appolonia was atop all Orange at the end of the game, finishing with 11 total tackles (eight solo).