New Look Cal Golden Bears Plunge Into the ACC

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The Cal Golden Bears football team represents the University of California at Berkeley. The football program has a rich history dating back to its commencement of play in 1886. The Golden Bears have won five national titles. However, the last was in 1937.

One of the founding members of the now-bereft Pac-12 Conference, Cal is set to commence play in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Today's Berkeley Boys

Justin Wilcox, who played defensive back for the Oregon Ducks in the late 1990s, has been Cal's coach since 2017. In his seven seasons at Berkeley, his record is 36-43.

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Wilcox will rely on talented redshirt sophomore Fernando Mendoza to quarterback the team. The 6-foot-5 signal caller took over the starting role last year, threw for 1,708 yards and 14 touchdowns and led Cal to victories over Washington State, UCLA and longtime rival Stanford. Talented junior running back Jaydn Ott returns to lead a potent Bears rushing attack. Ott was named first-team All-Pac-12 last year and is listed by On3 Sports as one of the top 100 players in college football for the 2024 season.

Cal's run defense was stout last year. The Bears allowed only seven runs of 20 yards or longer on the season, tying them for No. 7 in the nation in that category. They only allowed three rushes of 30 yards or more. However, the play of the defensive secondary was a weak point Wilcox is seeking to strengthen in 2024.

Golden Bears Schedule

The Bears play their home games in scenic California Memorial Stadium, situated just east of the San Francisco Bay.

College Football Network ranks Cal No. 64 out of the 134 FBS teams in 2024 and rates their strength of schedule No. 58.

Here's the Golden Bears' schedule:

• Aug. 31: University of California at Davis

• Sept. 7: at Auburn

• Sept. 14: San Diego State

• Sept. 21: at Florida State

• Oct. 5: Miami

• Oct. 12: at Pitt

• Oct. 19: North Carolina State

• Oct. 26: Oregon State

• Nov. 8: at Wake Forest

• Nov. 16: Syracuse

• Nov. 23: Stanford

• Nov. 30 at SMU

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Sports Illustrated forecasts Cal will win six or seven games in its inaugural season in the ACC and will be in contention to reach a bowl game for the second consecutive year. Last year Cal played Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl after going 6-6 in the regular season.

Stay tuned to College Football Dawgs for reporting on the California Bears, the ACC and other exciting college football content.