Preview of Cal's Friday Game Against North Carolina

Cal will host North Carolina in a nationally televised game Friday night.

The preview:

CAL (4-2, 1-1 ACC) vs. NORTH CAROLINA (2-3, 0-1 ACC)

SITE: California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, California

WHEN: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN -- Anish Shroff (Play-by-Play), Andre Ware (Analyst), Paul Carcaterra (Sideline Reporter)

RADIO: KNBR (680 AM) -- Justin Allegri (Play-By-Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Ben Ross (Sideline Reporter)

BETTING LINE: Cal is a 7.5-point favorite as of Friday afternoon.. When the week began Cal was favored by as much at 11.5 points. Over/Under is 47.5 points

WEATHER FORECAST: Friday afternoon will be partly cloudy with a high of 74 degrees. The temperature will drop to about 64 degrees at game time and will fall to about 56 degrees by the end of the game. There is only a 6% chance of rain Friday night.

CAL-NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY: Cal has a 2-0 record in games against North Carolina, and Justin Wilcox was Cal’s head coach in both games. Cal defeated the Tar Heels 35-30 in Chapel Hill, N.C., in 2017 in Wilcox’s first game as the Golden Bears’ head coach. Cal beat North Carolina again in 2018 by a score of 24-17 in Berkeley.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Running back Brandon High Jr., who is second on the team in rushing yards per game, has been ruled out for Friday’s game.

NORTH CAROLINA PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Quarterback Gio Lopez, who missed the Tar Heels’ previous game with a knee injury, is available for this game and presumably will be North Carolina’s starting quarterback, although no starter has been named. Cornerback Thaddeus Dixon, who started the first five games, is not available for Friday’s game.

CAL STORYLINES:

---Cal is coming off a bye. The Bears have a 4-7 record in games played after a bye week under Justin Wilcox. North Carolina is also coming off a bye, and the Bears are 2-2 under Wilcox in games in which both teams had a bye the previous week.

---Cal’s last game was a 45-21 home loss to Duke two weeks ago when the Bears had an early 21-7 lead after scoring touchdowns on each of their first three possessions but did little offensively after that.

---Cal is presumed to have an advantage when a team travels across the country and plays a game in Berkeley, which is the case on Friday. However, Cal is 0-4 since it joined the ACC in home games played against an East Coast team, losing to Miami, North Carolina State and Syracuse at home last season by a combined margin of 10 points and falling to Duke in Berkeley this year.

---Cal needs two wins to become bowl-eligible for the third straight year and needs three wins (including a potential bowl-game victory) to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2019.

---Golden Bears true freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele had an outstanding start to his college career but has struggled a bit recently. He led Cal to a 3-0 start, completing 67 percent of his passes with six touchdowns and one interception in those three games. But his completion percentage dropped to 57.3% over the next three games when he threw three touchdown passes with six interceptions as Cal lost two of those three games. He started the game against Duke completing 13 of his first 16 passes, but he ended up with no touchdown passes and three interceptions.

---Cal’s offensive line has been an issue, especially lately. Cal allowed Duke to sack the Bears’ quarterback six times, and Cal had allowed 14 sacks for the season. Cal is averaging just 3.12 yards per rushing attempt, and only two ACC teams are worse than that. The Bears’ inability to run the ball consistently has led to much of their offensive struggles.

---Cal ranks 14th in the 17-team ACC in scoring offense (24.2 points), and it ranks 15th in the conference in total offense (250.2 yard per game).

---Despite having only nine sacks this season, Cal’s pass defense has been pretty good. The Bears rank fifth in the ACC in passing yards allowed per game (207.3), and the four passing touchdowns Cal has yielded are the fewest in the ACC.

---Cal was a double-digit favorite for this game for most of the week, although the spread has dropped to 7.5 points as of Friday afternoon. The last time Cal was more than a touchdown favorite was in the fourth game of this season, when the Bears were favored by 14 points in a road game against San Diego State. Cal lost that game 34-0, the first time in six years it had been shutout.

---Bears cornerback Hezekiah Masses is second in the nation in interceptions with four, and he is tied with Tulsa’s Elijah Green for the national lead in passes defended with 11 (4 interceptions, 7 pass breakups).

---The game against North Carolina is the first of two consecutive Friday night games for Cal, which plays a road game against Virginia Tech next Friday night. In its only Friday night game last season, Cal defeated Wake Forest 46-26 on the road.

---Cal has a minus-3 turnover margin – 7 takeaways, 10 turnovers.

---During Friday’s game, Cal will honor the 2024 and 2025 California Athletics Hall of Fame classes, including former Bears head coach Jeff Tedford, College Football Hall of Famer Alex Mack and three-time Pro Bowler Tarik Glenn.

NORTH CAROLINA STORYLINES:

---North Carolina coach Bill Belichick said during his Monday press conference this week that reports that he was seeking an exit strategy from his role as North Carolina’s head coach were “categorically false.” University chancellor Lee Roberts attended Monday’s press conference. Belichick and athletics director Bubba Cunningham issued statements last week affirming Belichick’s commitment to North Carolina.

---North Carolina is coming off a bye after suffering its second straight loss two weeks ago, a 38-10 defeat at home against Clemson. The Tar Heels’ only wins this season have come against Richmond, an FCS team, and Charlotte, which is 0-5 against FBS teams.

---Friday’s game will be North Carolina’s first road game on the West Coast since Cal, Stanford and SMU were added to the ACC prior to last season. The last time the Tar Heels played a road game on the West Coast was 2018, when Cal beat UNC 24-17 in Berkeley. Berkeley is nearly 2,400 miles from Chapel Hill, N.C. All five of the Tar Heels games this season were played on the East Coast.

---Gio Lopez, a transfer from South Alabama, is expected to be North Carolina’s starting quarterback against Cal, although Belichick has not announced a starter. Lopez started the Tar Heels’ first four games, but missed the game against Clemson with a leg injury. Lopez was not listed on the Tar Heels’ injury report on Wednesday so he is available for Friday’s game. Max Johnson was the Tar Heels quarterback against Clemson. Johnson was North Carolina’s starting quarterback to open the 2024 season, but he suffered a season-ending injury in that first game last season.

---North Carolina’s offense has been poor. The Tar Heels rank last in the ACC and 133rd of 136 FBS teams in total offense, averaging 263.8 yards. They rank last in the ACC in scoring offense, averaging 18.8 points per game. North Carolina ranks last in the ACC in passing offense (162.6).

---North Carolina ranks 12th in the ACC in scoring defense (25.8) and 11th in total defense. The Tar Heels have recorded just five sacks, the fewest in the ACC.

---The Tar Heels have a plus-1 turnover margin, with 7 takeaways and 6 turnovers committed.

---As head coach of the New England Patriots, Belichick won six NFL championships, a record for an NFL head coach. In Belichick’s 11 seasons as an NFL head coach when Tom Brady was not his quarterback, Belichick’s teams reached the playoffs twice and posted one playoff victory. Belichick’s teams had losing records in eight of those 11 seasons without Brady.

---North Carolina is hoping to play in a bowl game for the seventh consecutive season and for the 15th time in the past 18 years.

---Five questions to a North Carolina beat writer about the Tar Heels---

CAL PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (9 TD passes, 7 interceptions); LB Cade Uluave (52 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss); WR Trond Grizzell (16.7 yards per reception); WR/PR Jacob De Jesus (34 catches, 12.0 yards per punt return); CB Hezekiah Masses (4 interceptions, 11 passes defended); TE Mason Mini (at least 3 catches in every game this season).

NORTH CAROLINA PLAYERS TO WATCH: RB Demon June (7.0 yards per carry); QB Gio Lopez (62.7% completion rate, 3 TDs, 3 interceptions); WR Jordan Shipp (18 receptions, 2 TDs); LB Andrew Simpson (29 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss); K Rece Verhoff (6-for-6 on field goals less than 50 yards).

CAL 2024 STATISTICS: Click here

CAL GAME NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click here

NORTH CAROLINA STATISTICS: Click here

NORTH CAROLINA INSIDER PREVIEW OF CAL GAME: Click here

JAKE'S PICK: Cal 28, North Carolina 10

JEFF'S PICK: Cal 31, North Carolina 17

GRANT CHACHERE’S PICK (North Carolina Tar Heels on SI): Cal 35, North Carolina 14

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