The Virginia Tech Hokies (4-1, 1-1) are coming off their first loss of the James Franklin era, a heartbreaking, controversial 35-33 loss to the Pitt Panthers on Friday night. Now, Virginia Tech looks to put that disappointment behind them with a trip West, where it’ll face the California Golden Bears.
Cal enters Saturday’s game 2-3, with a 1-1 record in ACC play. The Golden Bears could be without their starting quarterback, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who suffered a head injury in last week’s loss to
UNLV. Keawe Sagapolutele is in concussion protocol.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound sophomore, one of the ACC’s best quarterbacks, has completed 65% of his passes for 1,180 yards, with eight touchdowns and five interceptions this season. The Hawaii native started as a true freshman for the Golden Bears last season and completed 64% of his passes for 3,454 yards, 19 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
The Hokies hosted Cal last October, and it was one of the more memorable games in a forgettable season for Virginia Tech. In a double-overtime thriller in Blacksburg, the Hokies defeated the Bears 42-34. JKS completed 24 of 39 passes for 286 yards and one touchdown. At times, he looked like a future first-round pick last season.
Junior Jackson Brousseau entered last week’s game for the injured JKS and played well. Virginia Tech coach James Franklin praised both Cal quarterbacks on Monday.
The ACC will release its first availability report for Week 6 on Wednesday, but the Bears could keep the Hokies guessing about JKS’ status until the end of the week. Regardless of who is under center, California will have a new playcaller on Saturday. Head coach Tosh Lupoi stripped offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville of playcalling duties during last week’s game and gave them to pass game coordinator Pat McCann.
We’ll keep you posted on the latest ahead of Saturday’s game.
