After Cal’s first defeat of the season — a stunning 34-0 road loss to 14-point underdog San Diego State — coach Justin Wilcox could hardly wait for the Bears’ next practice.

“The most important day of the year is going to be Monday and what everybody looks like walking through that door,” he said.

The team’s three double-digit victories to start the season were swallowed up by a flood of disappointing play Saturday night in front of 31,369 fans at Snapdragon Stadium.

While Wilcox praised the Aztecs (2-1), he couldn’t have been more critical of the Bears (3-1).

“Our level of detail, the fundamentals, the execution was very, very poor, obviously. We’ve got to learn a lot,” he said. “You don’t get to just wipe it and forget it. You also can’t wallow in your own self-pity.”

It added up to Cal being shut out for the first time since a 35-0 loss at No. 12 Utah on Oct. 26, 2019 when injuries forced the Bears to start a third-string quarterback who’d never played in a college game. It hadn’t happened in a non-conference game since a 45-0 road loss to No. 5 Nebraska on Sept. 11, 1999.

The Bears trailed 13-0 at halftime, then allowed the Aztecs to score a pair of defensive touchdowns in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

“We’re going to own it,” linebacker Cade Uluave said. “We got punched in the mouth — that’s obvious. We’re going to reflect, get better, hit the reset button and get going again.”

Next up is a road trip to Boston College on Saturday to open the ACC schedule. There are bolts that need tightening before then.

Frederick Williams III #54 of California looks on as Aug. Salvati #56 and Jared Badie #31 of San Diego State celebrate after a stop during their game at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 

Too many mistakes

The Bears committed ill-timed penalties, including one that erased an interception by safety Isaiah Crosby in the end zone, and back-to-back false starts to push the offense just out of field goal range.

There was much more.

“We played very poorly,” Wilcox said. “You can’t turn the ball over, we had penalties, drops, missed tackles, special teams. All losses are awful. I don’t know how to rank a loss. They’re all terrible. We have to do something about it.”

Coming off a 27-14 win over Minnesota, the shortcomings in this one perhaps felt worse, Wilcox suggested, because “we have shown we can play much better than that.”

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele #3 of the California Golden Bears tries to get a pass off under pressure from the San Diego State Aztecs defense during the first half of a game at Snapdragon Stadium on Sept. 20, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) 

Freshman QB has first setback

Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who played beyond his years the first three games, looked very much like a 19-year-old freshman in this one. He completed seven of his first eight passes, before he was late with a fourth-down pass to tight end Landon Morris in the back of the end zone, an incompletion that prevented the Bears from scoring to cap a 19-play drive on their first possession.

After his sharp beginning, Sagapolutele was just 10 for 30 the rest of the game, including interceptions on consecutive passes in the third quarter, one of them a 97-yard pick-six.

“Everything starts with me. I didn’t come out firing, wasn’t hitting the throws I needed to hit. I wasn’t doing my job,” said Sagapolutele, who repeatedly blamed himself for the defeat. “We’ve just got to attack practice harder, take it day by day. It’s going to be a big one for us to learn from. We’re a better team than we were today.”

Wilcox wouldn’t let Sagapolutele shoulder all the responsibility.

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“He’s a very talented young man. We have to help him,” Wilcox said. “There will be a lot of lessons to learn for Jaron, and a lot of other guys. Not just Jaron.”

Said Uluave, “Jaron is a hell of a player and we have his back.”

Losing the line of scrimmage

The Bears continue to struggle running the ball. Their three running backs totaled 81 yards on 25 carries, but a chunk of that production came after the game was out of reach. In three games against FBS opponents, the trio is averaging a combined 3.8 yards per carry.

Asked how concerned he is with line play, Wilcox said, “They won the line of scrimmage. They ran it better than we did. The whole game’s a concern.”