There’s a reason Grambling State is better known for its marching band than its football team. Despite a thoroughly enjoyable halftime performance, the Tigers were dismantled by the Bears at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, 73-14.

“Nice, good win. It’s been a while since we’ve played. We had a really good fall camp, and I was really pleased with how we came out of camp. Our players were really excited to get out and have a chance to compete,” said Cal head coach Sonny Dykes. “It got a little sloppy at times. A lot of things, we could improve on.”

Grambling State’s defense struggled early on, with Cal making the score, 7-0, on a 45-second, three-play drive. After two completions from Jared Goff to running back Daniel Lasco and wide receiver Maurice Harris, Lasco punched in the ball from the 4-yard line to give the Bears their first of 10 touchdowns in the game.

But the story of the first quarter was the flurry of turnovers. The Bears’ offense notched its first turnover of the season early in the first quarter as a pass intended for wide receiver Bryce Treggs landed in the hands of Tigers defensive back Nicholas Peoples.

Though Grambling State was unable to capitalize on the pick, Tigers defensive end Jevonta Williams was able to end Cal’s next series, recovering a fumble by running back Vic Enwere at the 1-yard line.

But on the next drive, the Bears quickly found another way to score when nickelback Cameron Walker intercepted Tigers quarterback Johnathan Williams and returned the ball for a touchdown, earning his first career pick-six.

Grambling State’s next drive ended in yet another interception, with cornerback Darius Allensworth picking off Williams to give the ball back to Goff and Co. at the Tigers’ 43. Cal then pushed the score to 21-0 on a 3-yard pass from Goff to Kenny Lawler, routing Grambling State before some had even taken their seats.

Lawler also scored the Bears’ next touchdown, taking the ball 19 yards into the endzone and recording his sixth career multiple-touchdown game. Cal added one more score before the end of the first quarter on another pick-six, this time from Cal linebacker Devante Downs. The Bears’ 35 points in the first quarter would tie the program record for most scored in a quarter, matching the mark set against Baylor in 2002.

“I think we played really well offensively. A few snags there early — the interception, fumble down the line,” Goff said. “Besides those two plays, really, we played pretty well the whole game.”

Cal continued to pile on as the second quarter opened, with Goff finding Lawler once again for a 16-yard touchdown to bring the score to 42-0. With his third touchdown of the game, Lawler is now tied with Keenan Allen for seventh on Cal’s all-time touchdown reception list with 17. The Bears would then bring a 52-0 lead into the half, after a field goal and a rushing touchdown by Enwere. As expected, Cal was leading in all statistical categories, including total yards — 415 to 128 — and first downs, 19 to 6.

If nothing else, Saturday’s game gave the Bears an opportunity to spread the ball as they pleased. Along with Lawler, Harris and Treggs, Patrick Worstell, Trevor Davis, Darius Powe, Chad Hansen and Bug Rivera were among the wideouts to tally receptions for Cal during the game.

The excess of garbage time also gave Cal a chance to explore its depth chart further, with many players taking snaps against the Tigers on defense.

“The sign of a good defensive football team is when they can create havoc. That’s the first defensive touchdown we scored since I got here. They’re creating turnovers. They’re playing opportunistic football,” Dykes said. “It got us a lot of momentum early. It’s important — it’s a much-maligned defense, and they wanted to build confidence.”