How Cal's 2026 Football Opponents Fared This Week

Nine of Cal's 2026 football opponents were in action over the weekend, and seven of them won their games.

UCLA -- Played Cal on September 5

Saturday result: UCLA 45, Cal 24

UCLA outscored Cal 21-0 in the fourth quarter to give Bob Chesney a victory in is first game as the Bruins' head coach. Cal will try to rebound on Saturday against Syracuse.

Syracuse -- Hosts Cal on Saturday, September 12

Saturday result: Syracuse 66, New Hampshire 3

Syracuse, picked to finish 14th in the ACC in the preseason media poll, won its season opener by beating up on FCS opponent New Hampshire. Quarterback Steve Angeli, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the Orange's fourth game last season, threw three touchdown passes, and freshman Shavane Anderson ran for three touchdowns. The Orange piled up 32 first downs and 514 yards in a result that proved nothing. Syracuse is favored by 3.5 points in Saturday's game against Cal, according to FanDuel.

Wagner -- Faces Cal in Berkeley on Saturday, September 19

Saturday result: Wagner 31, Southern Connecticut State 7

Following its 28-7 loss to Robert Morris last week, Wagner evened its record at 1-1 with a convincing victory over its Division II opponent, Southern Connecticut State. Redshirt freshman quarterback Benjamin Newman threw three touchdown passes in a game dominated by the Seahawks..

Clemson -- Faces Cal on Friday night, September 25 in Berkeley

Saturday result: LSU 51, Clemson 10

LSU humiliated Clemson in every way possible in Clemson's ego-crushing season-opening defeat.
"Incredibly disappointing performance," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. LSU had 644 yards of offense, including 309 yards on the ground, while getting 38 first downs to Clemson's eight. Six of Clemson's first downs came in the second half after LSU took a 31-3 lead at halftime.

UNLV -- Faces Cal on Saturday, October 3 in Las Vegas

Saturday result: UNLV 21, Hawaii 6

UNLV evened its record at 1-1 with a strong defensive effort that featured five sacks, seven tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one interception and seven pass breakups to the disappointment of a sold-out crowd of 15,014 in Honolulu. It was the first time since October 28, 2023 that Hawaii failed to score a touchdown. UNLV, the preseason favorite to win the Mountain West Conference, got a big game from Ja'Den "Jet" Thomas, who rushed for 143 yards on 20 carries, averaging 7.2 yards per attempt..

Virginia Tech -- Faces Cal on Saturday, October 10 in Berkeley

Saturday result: Virginia Tech 73, VMI 3

In the Hokies' first game under new coach James Franklin, they piled up 619 yards of offense and 30 first downs in a beat-down of FCS opponent Virginia Military Academy. The 73 points were the most points scored in a game by Virginia Tech in 31 years, since they beat Akron 77-27 in 1995.

Wake Forest -- Faces Cal on Saturday, October 13 in Berkeley

Thursday result: Wake Forest 38, Akron 16

Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez, a transfer from North Carolina, threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns against an Akron team picked to finish 10th in the Mid-America Conference. The Zips were forced to start freshman quarterback Cibastian Broughton because of eligibility problems with North Texas transfer Reese Poffenbarger.. Wake wide receiver Carlos Hernandez had five catches for 165 yards and a touchdown.

SMU -- Faces Cal on Saturday, October 24 in Dallas

Monday game: The 19th-ranked SMU Mustangs open their season on Monday night in an ACC game against Florida State.

North Carolina State -- Hosts Cal on Saturday, October 31

North Carolina State had a bye this week after losing its opener to Virginia 34-8 last week.

Virginia -- Hosts Cal on Saturday, November 14

The Cavaliers also had a bye this week after beating NC State last week.

Stanford -- Faces Cal on Saturday, November 21 in Berkeley

Friday result: Miami 45, Stanford 6

After pulling out a 37-27 victory over Hawaii in Tavita Pritchard's debut as Stanford's coach last week, the Cardinal felt the full might of the Miami machine this week. Miami quarterback Darian Mensah, a transfer from Duke, was 27-for-30 for 401 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions, and Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney had 12 catches for 234 yards and three touchdowns. Stanford quarterback Davis Warren was 21-for-41 for 214 yards. (Cal does not play Miami this season.)

Pitt -- Faces Cal on Saturday, November 8 in Berkeley

Saturday result: Pitt 59, Miami-Ohio 14

Pitt sophomore quarterback Mason Heintschel tied a school record by throwing seven touchdown passes in the Panthers' season opener. Heintschel passed for 453 yards with zero interceptions while tying the touchdown record set by Pete Gonzalez in 1997 against Rutgers. Heintschel threw his seven TD passes to seven differeent receivers.

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