Cal Football: One Year in the Pac-12 and It's Back to the ACC for Ben Finley

Quarterback Ben Finley spent the first three years of his college football life playing for North Carolina State.

When he exited for Cal last summer, he figures he had said goodbye to the Atlantic Coast Conference and hello to the Pac-12.

Turns out, the Phoenix native will get just a single season in the Pac-12 before returning to the ACC.

Cal, Stanford and SMU accepted invitations last Friday to join the ACC, and Finley admits the thought of returning to his former stomping grounds is a bit “weird.”

“I’m relieved we found a conference,” he said Tuesday. “Last four weeks, every week it’s been a new conference. It started with Big Ten, Big 12 Mountain West . . . it was for sure we were going to the Mountain West. Now it’s the ACC.”

That’s probably how it seemed to a lot of Cal folks, although it never was close to certain the Bears were headed the Mountain West. But the ACC is for sure, starting next fall.

“I’m obviously excited to go back home,” said Finley, a fourth-year sophomore. “It’s going to be weird playing in Carter-Finley Stadium.”

That’s the name of the Wolfpack’s football facility and, no, it was not named after young Ben. The 56,919-seat facility that was opened in 1966 and has hosted concerts by Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead and the late Jimmy Buffett, is named partly for Raleigh philanthropist A.E. Finley, who gave $290,000 to finance the fieldhouse at the facility.

Carter-Finley Stadium has sold out all its tickets for nine straight years, creating a terrific home-field atmosphere.

The idea of playing in front of friendly fans Saturday night at Memorial Stadium has Finley intrigued, although it’s unclear whether Finley or Sam Jackson V will get the call. Jackson was injured early in the second quarter at North Texas, and Finley filled in capably, passing for 279 yards and a touchdown in the Bears’ 56-21 victory.

“I’m excited to play a home game. I’ve never played a home game and this is my fourth year of college football,” he said. “It’s going to be weird having the home crowd on your side. I’ve never experienced that, only played away games.

“So that’s going to be nice to have some Cal fans rooting for us.”

It was a curious thing for Finley to say, suggesting it has slipped his mind that on Sept 18, 2021, when NC State beat Furman 45-7 in a non-conference matchup at home, he came off the bench late to completed 5 of 8 passes for 28 yards.

Hey, we’ll cut him some slack — it was no doubt a forgettable game.

In seven other career appearances in games at NC State and Cal, Finley has never played in front of the home crowd.

He saw action at North Carolina in 2020, at at Mississippi State and Boston College in 2021 and at Louisville and North Carolina last season before closing out his career there in Duke’s Mayo Bowl against Maryland at Charlotte, NC.

Finley’s attention right now is focused on the here and now, with Cal playing its next two games in Berkeley before trekking north to take on Washington at Seattle.

“I’m most excited to play in some of these Pac-12 stadiums,” he said.

Then it’s back to the ACC.

Cover photo of Ben Finley by Al Sermeno, KLC fotos

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo