Game info

Who: Cal (3-1) vs. Florida State (5-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. PT
Where: California Memorial Stadium | Tallahassee, Florida
TV/streaming: ESPN [Rece Davis (play-by-play), Brock Osweiler (analyst), Sherree Burruss (sideline)]
Radio: 810 AM | SiriusXM: 371 or 973
All-time series: 2-2
Odds: Miami (-10), O/U (53.5)

The big night has arrived! Cal is hosting its first ever ACC game tonight, and the Bears welcome No. 8 Miami to CMS after an exciting day with ESPN College Gameday in town.

As always, we invite you to join in the conversation and follow along for updates throughout the game.

Pregame notes

- Right guard Sioape Vatikani did not go through warmups with the rest of the team, and appears to be out for tonight's game after his scary injury a couple weeks ago at Florida State.

- Jaydn Ott is a full go and went through warmups without any issue.

3-2

at Pitt - Toss up. We are by far the best team pitt has played all year. They beat a terrible UNC team by 10 and barely beat a bleh west virginia team. If this was at home I'd predict a win. I still think our chances are better than 50%.

NC State - Win. NC State is garbage.

Oregon State - Win. Really oregon state is a middle of the road G5 team.

at Wake Forest - Win. Wake lost to virginia and lousiana at home. They have no home field advantage. Could be a wilcox special but I still see a W.

Syracuse - Win. Glad this is a home game. Syracuse isn't terrible, but they are a middle of the road power 5 team. Should be a W.

Furd - Win. I don't see the furd scoring on us at home.

at Smu - Toss up. SMU is decent. I don't think spectacular. They beat a Louisville team I think is severely overrated and blew out Sonny Dykes. I think this is a decent matchup for us and they don't have much of a home field advantage.

Anything less than 8-4 is a serious disappointment given the quality of the ACC. 9-3 is doable.

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Cal’s Week 8 game and return to California Memorial Stadium will come with an afternoon kickoff as the Bears will host NC State at 12:30 p.m. PT on Oct. 19.

It will be the second daytime kickoff at home for the Bears this season after they hosted UC Davis in the sunshine back in Week 1.

The game, which will be televised by ACC Network, will mark the first ever meeting between the Bears and Wolfpack.

Cal heads to Pittsburgh this week for a matchup against the 22nd-ranked and undefeated Panthers. That matchup is also set to kick off at 12:30 p.m. PT and will be televised by ESPN.

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ESPN is checking another school off the list! Cal will host ESPN College Gameday next Saturday ahead of the Bears' matchup with No. 7 Miami. Cal is one of the few remaining Power 4 programs that has yet to host the national show with Illinois, Maryland, Rutgers, Syracuse and Virginia being the others. It'll be a big day for the Bears and Berkeley that will begin at 6 a.m. PT on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

"We are thrilled that ESPN’s College GameDay will be coming to the Berkeley campus this week," chancellor Rich Lyons said in a statement. "A college football Saturday brings together our community, and we welcome the wonderful opportunity ESPN’s College GameDay provides to show what Berkeley is all about."

The broadcast will take place at Memorial Glade and will be open to fans.

"We couldn't be more excited to welcome ESPN’s College GameDay to Cal," Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton said. "It's a great reward for everyone associated with our football program, and I know our Cal Family will savor this incredible opportunity to have our student-athletes, University and the city of Berkeley showcased on the national stage."

The Bears are 1-2 in previous Gameday contests having lost to No. 1 USC in 2004 and No. 5 Utah in 2015 with Gameday in town for both of those matchups. Cal beat No. 11 Oregon in 2007 when the Ducks hosted the pregame show.

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3-5 last week for 32-24-1 for the year. 1-0 for my lock of the week for 5-2 for the year picking Vandy over Bama. https://cal.forums.rivals.com/threads/lets-pick-the-acc-week-6-games.33033/

Home team in Italics

Georgia Tech by 5.5 over North Carolina - Done picking North Carolina. Georgia Tech.

Clemson by 20.5 over Wake Forest - Wake Forest covers.

Louisville by 7.5 over Virginia - Two bad teams. I'll take Virginia.

ND by 23.5 over the Furd - Didn't see the virginia tech game, but maybe the Furd is just a road team?

Pitt by 3.5 over Cal - I don't agree with Rox that a blowout is coming. The line looks right. I expect another wilcox special. Cal covers.

Syracuse by 4.5 over NC State - NC State is garbage. Syracuse covers.



Non conference lock of the week: Tenn by 14.5 over Florida - Tenn rolls.

The names are starting to roll in as recruits confirm their visits to Cal this weekend, I'll keep adding to this list and we'll have something more official by the weekend.

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Early underdog for a 3:30pm Eastern kickoff in Pittsburgh. They are ranked 22 in the nation and their QB has been very good so far

It’s gonna take a strong effort to get out with a W. I could see it being another stressful game for fans. Mostly interested in how the team responds to the brutal loss.

before I go to bed, I must say.

**** JUSTIN WILCOXLESS

good night, enjoy your sundays

Yes it sucks.It sucks major.No way to sugar coat it as we should be 5-0 right now.I do believe there are positives to take away from yesterday.We showed up and showed out for ESPN College Gameday.As selfish as it was for SC to destroy the Pac-12 as we knew it,the exposure that we got from Gameday and for taking it to Miami for most of the night cannot be understated.As a cal alum,I have been dreaming for matchups like the one we had last night for most of my life and I'm glad we now have the opportunity to be apart of college football in a way that most of the anti-football Cal community has feared.Is Wilcox the guy to lead this program to new heights? Definitely not as we have seen enough of his passive/non-killer attitude.But what gives me hope for the future is that no matter who comes or goes,we will always be Cal Bears and nothing will change the love and passion we have for our community.We will continue to be one of the top universities in the world in most things and that is something that 99.99 percent of the other universities on this planet cannot say. Let's respond to this in the right way and give it to Pitt next week.Love all you guys.Roll On You Bears!!!!!!!!!!!

Game info

Who: Cal (3-0) at Florida State (0-3)
When: 4:00 p.m. PT
Where: Doak Campbell Stadium | Tallahassee, Florida
TV/streaming: ESPN2 [Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Sam Acho (analyst), Taylor Davis (sideline)]
Radio: 810 AM | SiriusXM: 385 or 971
All-time series: First meeting
Odds: Florida State (-2.5), O/U (44.5)

It's almost that time! The Bears are set to open ACC play today in Tallahassee, and here's a full preview for you ahead of kickoff.

Pregame notes

- RB Jaydn Ott is expected to play today. There could be some limitations but he has been cleared and is expected to see the field.

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- Florida State is dealing with several injury issues right now including a big one with starting tackle Jeremiah Byers and running back Roydell Williams. Starting left tackle Darius Washington is set to return while linebacker Cam Riley is a game-time decision according to ESPN.

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- Uniform combo

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- Captains

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As always, I invite you to join the conversation as the Bears look to go to 4-0 on the season.

Please post your predicted scores here in this thread.

Vegas line currently at Miami -10.5 and O/U of 53.5

The upcoming home game against Miami is one of the biggest Cal football games in a very long time (given the ESPN gameday).

Here are a few factors that might play in Cal’s favor (hopefully contributing to a Cal win this Saturday).

• Kickoff at 7:30pm PT. That means the game will run from roughly 10:30pm ET to 1:30am ET
• Travel. Miami has to fly a long way to Berkeley, which they’re not used to making long trips
• Healthy. Cal will hopefully be as healthy as they’ve been all year long, including Jaydn Ott and the OL (especially if McDonald and hopefully Vatikani plays)
• Home crowd. Will we see one of the best attended home games so far this year (given the ESPN gameday)???
• Bye week. Cal has had 14 days to prepare for this game, while Miami will have had only 8 days. Yes, I know Cal is not great off bye weeks, but hopefully this time it is better
• Cal knows from Pac 12 days QB Cam Ward and RB Damian Martinez, plus HC Mario Cristobal
• Last time Cam Ward came to Berkeley (Nov 2023), Cal beat Wazzu 42-39 despite Ward throwing for 350+ yards.
• A big part of the 2023 Cal win was getting turnovers (3 fumbles and 1 INT off Ward). In 2022, although Cal lost that road game at Wazzu, Cal did intercept Ward twice in that game too. Getting a Cal win in 2024 will definitely require winning the turnover battle

Great read.

Game info

Who: Cal (1-0) at Auburn (1-0)
When: 12:30 p.m.
Where: Jordan-Hare Stadium | Auburn, Alabama
TV and/or streaming: ESPN2 (Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Brock Osweiler (analyst), Stormy Buonantony (sideline))
Radio: 810 AM | SiriusXM: 132 or 201
All-time series: Auburn leads 1-0
Odds: Auburn (-12), O/U (52.5)

Cal is back in action this afternoon as the Bears play the return game in their first-ever series with Auburn. The Tigers defeated Alabama A&M, 73-3, last week in their opener while the Bears dispatched UC Davis, 31-13, in a sometimes shaky performance in Week 1. Justin Wilcox's team is working through several injuries across the board but none bigger than Jaydn Ott's ankle injury that put him on the sideline in the third quarter last week after he scored two rushing touchdowns.

There will be plenty to keep an eye on today in a key early-season game for the Bears, and I'll have coverage for you throughout this afternoon's game.

Pregame notes

- Ott's injury is one of the key pregame topics for the Bears, and all indications right now are that the star running back will try and give it a go against the Tigers. How much he will be used remains a question, but the Bears absolutely need him out there even if it is just as a decoy at times. Wilcox called him probable early in the week and even though he is not at 100%, there is some confidence that he will be able to at least have some kind of role today.

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- The Bears are going with a gold, white, gold look with their uniforms today with the Cal script on the gold helmet being debuted.

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- Fernando Mendoza, Jack Endries, Xavier Carlton and Nohl Williams are serving as the captains today at Auburn giving some good insight into Mendoza being the expected starter again today. There has been no clear indication on how much or if Chandler Rogers will indeed play today, but Mendoza should have the reins for most of the game barring a surprise.

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As always, I invite you to join the conversation as things play out throughout the contest.

For those without ESPN because of the Directv dispute with Disney, here are some other ways to watch today's game. It's not ideal but would be an alternative for you.

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Now that we know Cal has secured Gameday, who ya got?