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Only One Cal Football Player Is Still Getting High PFF Grades
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- Only One Cal Football Player Is Still Getting High PFF Grades
Kington Lopa (2) | Mike Wondolowski, Cal Athletics
Despite Cal's disappointing 3-6 record, which includes a current three-game losing streak, one Bears player continues to stand out.
At least that's the opinion of the Pro Football Focus grades, and few would disagree that Cal safety Kingston Lopa has been the Bears' best player this season -- by far.
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PFF grades every play of every player, and Lopa's grades continue to be impressive.
Cal did not do much laudable work against North Carolia State in the 31-10 loss to the Wolfpack on Saturday, but Lopa managed to stand out.
He received a PFF grade of 83.7 for his performance in that game, and no other Cal player who was on the field for more than 25 plays received a grade higher than 71.7. The highest grade for a Cal offensive player in that game was 68.9, which third-string running back Anthony League received after playing 27 snaps, which was about one-third of the Bears' offensive plays.
More significant are the grades Lopa has received for the season. His overall grade of 85.8 is the eighth-best of any safety in the country. No other Cal player is ranked among the top 100 players at his position.
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Even more impressive is Lopa's grade against the pass. His grade of 91.1 in pass coverage is the highest of any defensive back (cornerbacks and safeties) in the country.
Lopa is still tied for the national lead in interceptions with five, and three times against NC State he nearly had his sixth pick.
He also has 30 solo tackles this season, which is just two behind team leader Isaiah Crosby even though Lopa has missed two games with a concussion.
And Lopa won one Cal game virtually by himself, when he intercepted three passes, all at critical junctures and one returned for a touchdown, in the 21-18 victory over Syracuse.
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He has the ability to read a quarterback and anticipate where a play or pass is going. He has the wherewithal to be at the right place at the right time and the skills to turn it into a game-changing play. The fact that at 6-foot-5 he is unusually tall for a safety is a distinct advantage.
And although he listed as a safety, Lopa really plays a variety of positions. He will be stationed at any one of a number of places behind the defensive line on a given play, putting him in the best position to create a turnover.
Now compare his PFF grade to that of quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. Sagapolutele's grade of 52.7 against NC State was his lowest of the season, and his grade of 71.7 for the season ranks tied for 149th among quarterbacks in the country.
The lack of any running-game threat and shortcomings on the offensive line account for a lot of Sagapolutele's struggles, but he faced the same issues last year when he had a breakout freshman season.
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The only noticeable difference is that he had Jacob De Jesus to throw to last year. De Jesus set a Cal single-season record with 108 receptions, one behind national leader Malachi Toney, who played in three more games than De Jesus.
But Chase Hendrick is a reliable Cal receiver this season. He has 61 catches, which rank fourth in the ACC and 12th in the nation.
What is particularly surprising is that Sagapolutele's passer rating for last season (131.61) was worse than it is this season (132.34). Typically, the passer-rating stat is the best indicator of a quarterback's effectiveness. Miami's Darian Mensah and Ohio State's Julian Sayin rank first and second in that category nationally at the moment, which seems about right.
However, Sagapolutele's passer rating is hard to explain, since it certainly seems he was more effective last year.
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He finished 2025 on a high note, throwing seven touchdown passes with no interceptions over the final four games. Perhaps he can do something similar this season in the Bears' final three games after this week's bye.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/cal as Only One Cal Football Player Is Still Getting High PFF Grades .
