California fans got an early look at the 2027 ACC slate Wednesday, when the conference released next season’s football matchups and put Cal on a nine-game league schedule for the second straight year.
The Bears will host Boston College, Florida State, Louisville and SMU at California Memorial Stadium. Their road trips will send them to Georgia Tech, Miami, Pitt, Stanford and Wake Forest.
The Georgia Tech game stands out immediately: it will be the first meeting between the Bears and Yellow Jackets as conference opponents. It also means Cal has now been paired with all 16 of the other ACC football teams since joining the league in 2024.
A few of the home dates already come with some history attached.
Against Boston College, Cal’s series is even at 1-1. The Bears won 28-24 in Chestnut Hill last season behind Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele’s 51-yard touchdown pass to Mason Mini with 1:30 remaining. Next season will be the Eagles’ first trip to Memorial Stadium.
Florida State, too, will be making its first appearance in Berkeley. The teams have met once before, with the Seminoles taking a 14-9 win in 2024.
Louisville is another first-time visitor to Strawberry Canyon. Cal owns the lone previous meeting, a 29-26 overtime win at Louisville last season. Sagapolutele delivered again there, hitting Jacob De Jesus on a 3-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal in the extra period.
SMU brings the most familiar recent matchup. The Mustangs lead the series 2-1, but Cal won the most recent one, a 38-35 regular-season finale at California Memorial Stadium last year.
Sagapolutele threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns in that game. The teams are set to meet again this season in Dallas on Oct.
The dates and times for Cal’s 2027 conference games will be announced later.
The Bears’ three nonconference games for 2027 are already on the calendar: Sacramento State on Aug. 28, at UCLA on Sept. 4 and against Old Dominion on Sept. 11.
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