Cal heads into Saturday morning’s trip to Raleigh with the margin for error gone. The Bears are 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the ACC, and with three of their final four games still ahead, they need to win three of those last four just to get to six victories and lock up bowl eligibility.
That makes this second straight road game a big one, especially after what happened last week at SMU. Cal was in front 20-17 at halftime before the game flipped hard in the final two quarters, with the Bears getting outscored 42-0 in a 59-20 loss to the No.
19 Mustangs. They’ve now dropped two straight.
There is at least one bright spot on the defensive side. Sophomore safety Kingston Lopa has been named one of 25 semifinalists for the Thorpe Award, which goes to the nation’s top defensive back.
The injury picture is worth watching, too. WR Jordan King and DT Nate Burrell are both listed as out, while 10 players are questionable, including RBs Adam Mohammed and Ashten Emory, Cal’s two leading ground gainers.
NC State comes in at 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the ACC, but the Wolfpack’s week has already taken a sharp turn. Dave Doeren, in his 14th season as head coach, was fired last Saturday after NC State’s 31-28 loss at Stanford. Todd Goebbel is now serving as interim coach.
The Wolfpack still have an offense that can pile up points. Led by quarterback CJ Bailey, NC State averages 32.3 points per game.
Bailey, a 6-foot-6 quarterback, has 53 career passing touchdowns and 13 rushing scores. He also had a costly moment in last month’s 35-31 Vanderbilt comeback, when his fumble in the end zone helped set up the decisive finish.
NC State’s injury report is heavy, with 12 players out. That list includes RB Jayden “Duke” Scott, the team’s top rusher, and WR Jojo Trader. Scott has posted two 100-yard rushing games, but this will be his third straight missed game.
The Bears will also have to deal with a defense that has been vulnerable. NC State allows 28.1 points per game and has been especially shaky against the pass, giving up 240 passing yards per game along with 16 touchdown passes and only three interceptions.
A few numbers stand out for Cal, too. Wide receiver Chase Hendricks is tied for second in the ACC with 54 catches, and sophomore quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele went past 5,000 career passing yards last week.
Cal and NC State have met once before, with the Wolfpack winning 24-23 at Berkeley in 2024. Saturday’s kickoff is set for 9 a.m.
PT at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina. The game will be carried on 810-AM.
In Other News...
Cal's Losing Streak Keeps Exposing One Frustrating Offensive Problem
Cals slide deepened with a 31-10 loss to North Carolina State, its third straight defeat, and the offense again looked stuck in the same frustrating place. The Bears never established much on the ground, finishing with 73 rushing yards on 27 carries, while quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele managed 196 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception as the unit struggled to find any real rhythm.
North Carolina State, meanwhile, handled the emotional backdrop of a week after its coach was fired and played its best football after halftime. The Wolfpack found the answers they needed in the second half and kept Cal from turning the game into anything resembling a late push, leaving the Bears with more questions than answers about how to generate consistent offense as the losses keep piling up. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Now Faces A Bigger Test Than This Road Loss
Cals trip to Raleigh ended with a familiar kind of frustration, the sort that can linger longer than the flight home. NC State put together enough offense to keep the Bears chasing all night, mixing in touchdowns and field goals while Cal could only answer with a touchdown and a field goal of its own. It was a game that left the Bears with more questions than comfort, even before the bigger picture around the program came back into focus.
For Tosh Lupoi, the result was only part of the story, because the more pressing issue is how Cal responds now after a road loss that exposed the margin for error. The Bears showed effort, but effort alone does not solve the problems that showed up against an NC State team playing under interim coach Todd Goebbel and looking for a fresh start. Cals next step will say more about where this team is headed than the final score in Raleigh ever could. [Read more 🡒]
Cal's Season Is Slipping Fast As The Offense Keeps Failing
Cals season has gone from frustrating to precarious, and the latest stretch has only sharpened the concerns around an offense that keeps sputtering when it matters most. The Bears have struggled on both sides of the ball in recent games, with the second half becoming a particular problem, and the overall record now reflects how quickly the year has tilted away from them. Even in the middle of the slide, there have been a few bright spots, including the work of punter Angus Davies, but those have been too few to change the broader picture.
The bigger issue is that there does not appear to be much relief ahead, with a difficult closing run looming and bowl hopes fading fast. Cal has been forced to live with the consequences of offensive stalls and questionable decisions, and the margin for error is gone at this point in the season. Unless something changes quickly, the Bears are staring at a finish defined less by what went wrong in one game than by how often the same problems have repeated. [Read more 🡒]