Cal Football Game Preview: Bears Face No. 9 SMU Saturday

Golden Bears play their final regular-season game in Dallas against an SMU team that is No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings

Cal safety Craig Woodson / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Cal plays its final regular-season game on Saturday against SMU, which is ranked No. 9 in this week’s AP poll and College Football Playoff rankings.

Here are the important facts of the game:

CAL (6-5, 2-5 ACC) Vs. NO. 9 SMU (10-1, 7-0 ACC)

SITE: Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, Texas

WHEN: Saturday, 12:30 p.m. Pacific time (2:30 p.m. Dallas time)

TV: ESPN2 -- Brian Custer (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst), Lauren Sisler (sideline)

RADIO: 810 AM and Sirius XM Radio (Sirius XM 113 and 202) -- Justin Allegri (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Kevin Danna (sideline reporter)

BETTING LINE: SMU is favored by 12 points as of Saturday morning. Over/Under is 57 points

WEATHER FORECAST: Saturday afternoon in Dallas will be partly cloudy with a high of about 60 degrees and no rain expected. The temperature will drop to 37 degrees Saturday night.

CAL-SMU HISTORY:  SMU won the only previous game against Cal, which was 67 years ago. The Mustangs beat Cal 13-7 in Berkeley on Sept. 21, 1957 in the season opener. Cal went 1-9 that year with Joe Kapp as its quarterback. The Golden Bears went to the Rose Bowl the next season, and that’s the last time Cal played in the Rose Bowl.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Cal starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza will not play against SMU because of an illness. Cal's Jaivian Thomas, the team's leading rusher, will not play because of an injury. Cal sarting offensive tackle will not play because of an injury. Cal inside linebacker Cade Uluave is questionable for the game. He missed the past two games with a lower-body injury.

CAL STORYLINES:

---Cal became bowl-eligible with its 24-21 victory over Stanford last week, and the Bears appear likely to play in the LA Bowl against a Mountain West team, possibly UNLV. However, the bowl destination and opponent could change based on this week’s results.

---The Bears’ last road win over an AP top-10 team was in 1969, when Cal beat Indiana 17-14 in Bloomington, Indiana. Cal’s last win over a AP top-10 team at any venue was on 2017, when the Bears upset eighth-ranked Washington State 37-3 in Berkeley. Cal's last win over a ranked team was in 2020 when it beat No. 23 Oregon 21-17. The Bears' last road win over a ranked team came in 2019, when Cal defeated No. 12 Washington 20-19.

---A Golden Bears victory would assure Cal of its first winning season since 2019 and just its fourth winning season in the past 14 seasons. Cal has already clinched is 15th consecutive season with a losing conference record, which is the longest active such streak in the country.

---Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza has thrown for 3,004 passing yards this season, which is the ninth-most in Cal history. If Mendoza throws for more than 92 yards on Saturday, he would move into sixth place on the Bears’ single-season passing-yards list. Only Jared Goff, Davis Webb and Pat Barnes would be ahead of him (Goff has three of the top four seasons in passing yards.) However, it was reported shortly before kickoff that Mendoza will not play against SMU because of an illness.

---Cal is tied for third nationally in turnover margin at plus-13 (22 takeaways, 9 turnovers), but Cal has not forced a turnover in either of is past two games. Cal ranks tied for second in the country in interceptions with 17, and Cal cornerback Nohl Williams leads the country in interceptions with seven.

---Despite having just a 2-5 record in ACC games, Cal has barely been outscored in those seven games combined, 184-180. All five conference losses have been one-score defeats. Despite being just 6-5 overall, Cal has outscored its 11 opponents by a combined margin of 79 points.

---Cal allowed its quarterback to be sacked six times against Stanford, and the Bears have allowed 40 sacks for the season. Only five teams in the country have allowed more than the 3.64 sacks per game that Cal has allowed. SMU has recorded 32 sacks this season, including nine last week against Virginia.

---The Bears lead the ACC in scoring defense, yielding 20.7 points per game, although Cal have given up more than its average in each of its past three games

---Cal's starting safeties, Craig Woodson and Miles Williams, are both from the Dallas area..

SMU STORYLINES:

---SMU is the only ACC team unbeaten in conference games, and the Mustangs have already assured themselves a berth in next week’s ACC championship game against either Miami or Clemson. It would get an automatic berth in the College Football Playoff if it wins the ACC championship game. However, SMU needs to win this week to improve its chances of getting a College Football Playoff berth if it does not win the conference title game.

---SMU played in the American Athletic Conference last season, and SMU’s 7-0 record in ACC play is the best conference start ever in the first season of a team that jumped from a Group of Five conference to a Power-4/5 conference. No other team has started 2-0 in its first season after making that jump, with only Louisville in 2014 finishing with a winning conference record (5-3).

---SMU ranks fifth in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 39.3 points per game, and the Mustangs are second in the ACC in scoring defense, yielding 21.0 points per contest.

---The Mustangs are 18-1 in their last 19 regular-season games, and they are 29-5 at home since 2019.

---The Mustangs have won eight straight games, including last week’s 33-7 victory over Virginia. That was SMU’s best defensive effort of the season, as it prevented the Cavaliers from scoring until 4:16 remained in the game.

---Kevin Jennings became SMU’s starting quarterback in the fourth game of the season, and the Mustangs are 8-0 with him as their starter. SMU is averaging 41.1 points in the eight games with Jennings as its starter.

---SMU running back Brashard Smith, who was a wide receiver at Miami last season, is third in the ACC in rushing with 1,089 yards and a 6.2 average per carry. He also returns kickoffs and ranks eighth in the nation in all-purpose yards. His 15 touchdowns are tied for the ACC lead.

---Mustangs kicker Collin Rogers has made seven field goals of more than 50 yards this season. That leads the nation and is one shy of the NCAA record of eight set by Tennessee’s Fuad Reveiz in 1982.

---An SMU beat writer answers five questions about the Mustangs---

CAL PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Fernando Mendoza (16 TDs, 6 interceptions); RB Jaydn Ott (2.9 yards per carry); RB Jaivian Thomas (6.6 yards per carry); CB Nohl Williams (7 interceptions, tops in the nation); ILB Teddye Buchanan (105 tackles, 11.0 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 7 QB hurries); WR Jonathan Brady (16 receptions, 3 TDs over the past three games); OLB Xavier Carlton (9.0 sacks, 8 quarterback hurries)

SMU PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Kevin Jennings (17 TD passes, 7 interceptions, 315 rushing yards); RB Brashard Smith (99.0 rushing yards per game, 15 TDs); WR Jordan Hudson (13 receptions, 2 TDs over the last two games); DE Elijah Roberts (6.0 tackles for loss, 9 quarterback hurries); DE Isaiah Smth (6.5 sacks, 6 quarterback hurries); K Collin Rogers (7 field goals of more than 50 yards, 1 shy of the NCAA record)

CAL STATISTICS: Click here

CAL GAME NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click here

SMU STATISTICS: Click here

SMU NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click here

JAKE'S PICK: SMU 30, Cal 17

JEFF'S PICK: SMU 27, Cal 21

LIA ASSIMAKOPOULOS’ PICK (Dallas Morning News): SMU 35, Cal 17

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