Cal Football Game Preview: Bears Host Clemson Friday Night

Cal hosts Clemson in a nationally televised game Friday night, and the Bears will attempt to go to 2-0 in the conference for the first time since 2015.

The preview:

CAL (2-1, 1-0 ACC) vs. CLEMSON (2-1, 1-0 ACC)

SITE: California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, California

WHEN: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN -- Mike Monaco (Play-By-Play), Jordan Rodgers (Analyst), Dana Boyle (Sideline Reporter)

RADIO: 810 AM -- Justin Allegri (Play-By-Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Ben Ross (Sideline Reporter)

BETTING LINE: Clemson is favored by 1.5 points, according to DraftKings and FanDuel as of Thursday. Over/Under is 50.5 points.

WEATHER FORECAST: When the game starts, the temperature is expected to be about 62 degrees under partly cloudy skies. By the time the game ends the temperature will be down to about 54 degrees with very little chance of rain throughout the evening.

Cal-Clemson History

Cal and Clemson have met only once before, and Cal won that matchup 37-13 in the January 1, 1992 Citrus Bowl. That victory wrapped up Cal’s 10-2, 1991 season when the Bears were ranked No. 8 in the final AP poll. That is the highest final ranking for Cal since 1950, when the Bears wound up No. 5. That 1991 Cal team will be honored at Friday’s game as part of the 35th anniversary of that Citrus Bowl victory.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Cal's No. 2 running back Carter Vargas and starting defensive lineman Nate Burrell are both listed as doubtful.

CLEMSON PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Starting cornerback Corian Gipson and defensive lineman Devarrick Woods, who started one game this season, have both been declared out for Friday's game. Quarterback Christopher Vizzina, who started the Tigers' first two games, is listed as probable, but freshman Tait Reynolds is expected to be Clemson’s starting quarterback on Friday regardless of whether Vizzina is available.

Cal Storylines

---This is an important game for Cal’s football image. Clemson is recognized as one of the nation’s premier football programs and a win over the Tigers on national television on a Friday night would lift the Bears’ status as a program.

---Cal is hoping to win its first two conference games for the first time since 2015, when Jared Goff led Cal to a 5-0 start overall, including 2-0 in the Pac-12. The Bears finished that season 8-5 overall and 4-5 in the conference. Cal won its first conference game this season when it defeated Syracuse 21-18 in its ACC opener two weeks ago. A Cal victory against Clemson would begin discussions about whether the Bears, picked to finish 12th in the preseason poll, have a chance to reach the ACC championship game.

---Friday’s game is pivotal to Cal’s season, and before the season began the game against Clemson was seen as the most important game on Cal’s schedule.

---A Cal victory over Clemson and coach Dabo Swinney would provide a significant boost to the reputation of Tosh Lupoi, who will be coaching his fourth game as Cal’s head coach.

---Cal has won its last two games, including a 49-7 victory over Wagner last week. Cal had 626 yards of offense in that game, and for the first time since a 2017 game against Oregon State, the Bears did not punt in that contest.

---Bears safety Kingston Lopa leads the nation in interceptions with five. Nobody else has more than three. Pro Football Focus this week gave Lopa the highest grade of any defensive back in the country for the first three games. He has the highest overall grade and the highest coverage grade.

---Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele had his best game of the season last week against Wagner, albeit against an FCS team. He was 27-for-33 for a career-high 413 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He played only 2½ quarters.

---Bears running back Adam Mohammed ranks fourth in the ACC in rushing with 285 yards. His 60 carries rank second in the conference, and with No. 2 running back Carter Vargas listed as doubtful for the game, Mohammed is likely to get a lot of carries against Clemson. Mohammed had 147 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in the first quarter against Wagner, and he accomplished both on just 11 touches..

--- Cal’s offense, expected to be the strength of the team, has scored a total of just 38 points in its two games against FBS opponents – 24 against UCLA and 14 against Syracuse. Cal scored a defensive touchdown against the Orange, a game Cal won 21-18.

---The Bears rank last in the ACC in rushing offense, gaining just 106.2 yards per game on the ground. Cal’s defense ranks last in the ACC in terms of yards allowed per rushing attempt at 5.3. No other ACC team had allowed more than 5.0 yards per rushing attempt. Clemson also ranks near the bottom of the ACC in both rushing offense and rushing defense.

---About nine hours after the completion of the Cal-Clemson game, Cal's Memorial Stadium will be the site of two high school football games involving some of the top programs in California. Saint Mary's of Stockton will face Marin Catholic (Jared Goff's alma mater) at 11 a.m. Saturday, and that will be followed by a 2 p.m. game between powerhouses De La Salle and Centennial High School of Corona, California. Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi and Bears defensive coordinator Michael Hutchings both attended De La Salle.

Clemson Storylines

--- Clemson was picked to finish fourth in the preseason ACC poll, and the Tigers were ranked No. 23 in the preseason coaches’ top-25 poll. Clemson was knocked out of the coaches rankings after its 51-10 loss to LSU in its opener.

---Clemson has won its past two games – a 22-7 victory over Georgia Southern and a 28-20 victory over North Carolina last week in Clemson’s ACC opener.

---Freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds made his first career start in Clemson’s 28-20 victory over North Carolina, helping the Tigers rally from a 17-3 deficit to win their ACC opener. He is expected to start against Cal. He played in each of Clemson first two games and has been making noticeable improvement the more he plays. He has completed 64.5% of his passes for 415 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Reynolds is also a threat to run and is Clemson’s second-leading rusher with 55 yards.

---Each of Clemson's first three games has been interrupted for two hours or more because of weather delays. There is little chance Friday's game against Cal will be interrupted because of weather.

---Tigers running back Gideon Davidson rushed for 105 yards while averaging 6.6 yards per carry against North Carolina last week.

---Clemson football has been built on a strong rushing offense and a strong rushing defense under Dabo Swinney, but that has not been the case through three games this season. Clemson averages just 3.7 yards per rushing attempt, which is the third-worst in the 17-team ACC, and the Tigers give up 4.7 yards per rushing attempt, and only four ACC teams allow more than that.

---This will be Clemson’s first trip to the West Coast since Cal and Stanford were added to the conference in 2024, and it will be Clemson’s first conference game ever played on the West Coast. Clemson has played four games in the state of California alltime, with the Tigers’ most recent game in the state being the 2018 national championship game on January 7, 2019 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Clemson beat Alabama in that game 44-16.

---Friday’s game will start at 10:30 p.m. Clemson time, which will make it difficult for Tigers fans to stay up for the entire game, which is expected to end around 2 a.m. Eastern time. It is the latest Eastern time kickoff time for a Clemson game since 1982 when Clemson’s win over Wake Forest in Tokyo, Japan, began at 11 p.m. Eastern time.

---Friday will be Clemson’s second road game of the season, after the 51-10 loss to LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the opener. Clemson had a 4-1 record last season in games played on the opponent’s home field.

---Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has a career record of 189-54 and his .778 winning percentage is the third-best among active coaches with at least five years as a head coach. Only Ohio State’s Ryan Day (.875) and Georgia’s Kirby Smart (.851) have better winning percentages. Swinney’s Clemson team has played in the national championship game four times, winning it in the 2016 and 2018 seasons.

Clemson beat writer answers five questions about the Tigers

Cal Players to Watch

QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele – Five TD passes, no interceptions the past two games.

WR Ian Strong – 14 catches, 14.7 yards per reception

WR Chase Hendricks – Nine receptions last week against Wagner.

TE Dorian Thomas – He got his first significant playing time of the season last week after being slowed by injury

RB Adam Mohammed – Leads Cal in rushing (285 yards) and is tied for second on the team in receptions (14).

S Kingston Lopa – Leads the nation in receptions with five, and has had at least one pick in each of Cal’s three games.

Clemson Players to Watch

QB Tait Reynolds – The freshman will make his second career start Friday, and is a threat run or pass.

DE Will Heldt – A preseason all-conference selection who has four sacks and six tackles for loss this season.

WR Bryant Wesco Jr. – Wesco was on the preseason all-conference team, and is a big-play weapon who has 141 receiving yards this season and averages 9.5 yards on punt returns.

LB Sammy Brown – Brown was a first-team all-ACC selection last year when he had 13.5 tackles for loss. He has one sack, one pass breakup and two quarterbacks hurries this year.

CB Ashton Hampton – A first-team all-conference pick in 2025 who has four pass breakups this season.

K Nolan Houser – He is 9-for-9 on field-goal attempts this season with his longest being a 50-yarder.

CAL STATISTICS: Click here

CAL GAME NOTES: Click here

CLEMSON STATISTICS: Click here

CLEMSON GAME NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click here

JAKE'S PICK: Cal 28, Clemson 27

JEFF'S PICK: Cal 21, Clemson 20

JACKSON CASTELLANO (Charleston Post & Courier): Cal 27, Clemson 21

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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