CORVALLIS, Ore. – Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw three touchdown passes in his collegiate debut and the California football team led wire-to-wire in a season-opening 34-15 thumping of Oregon State on Saturday night at Reser Stadium.

Sagapolutele, who became the first Cal quarterback to start a season-opener as a true freshman since Jared Goff in 2013, got his career off to a breathtaking start. He completed his first nine pass attempts, including two for touchdowns, as the Golden Bears scored on each of their first two possessions of the game to lead 14-0 midway through the first quarter.

"I got to play in my first college game, and it went not too bad," Sagapolutele said. "It wasn't my best game. We left some points on the board. Our coaches put in a great game plan for us and I just trusted the system."

Cal turned two turnovers into 10 points and linebacker Cade Uluave made 10 tackles for the Bears, who won its season-opener for the third consecutive season.

Sagapolutele finished 20-for-30 passing for 234 yards while Trond Grizzell recorded five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Mason Mini caught his first career touchdown pass, a 19-yard grab from Sagapolutele that gave the Bears an early 7-0 lead. Grizzell hauled in a 32-yard scoring catch on the following drive to push Cal's early advantage to 14-0.

"Jaron is a very accurate passer," Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox said. "It showed up early in the game and late in the game. He still has a lot to learn but he threw the ball really well. That's what we expected. That's exactly what he does in practice."

Abram Murray and Chase Meyer each converted field goals in their first games as a Golden Bear. Tight end Landon Morris also caught a 4-yard scoring pass from Sagapolutele in the third quarter.

"For me, there's no better feeling like this," Uluave said. "Oregon State is a tough place to play and I thought we handled it really well. All of the guys were just having fun. You could tell on the sidelines. It was a fun environment. We just have to keep building and moving forward."

The Bears host Texas Southern in their home opener next Saturday at 3 p.m. The game will air on ACC Network Extra.


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