California football now knows its 2027 ACC slate, and the home schedule brings three first-time visitors to Berkeley.
The conference released next season’s schedule Wednesday, giving Cal nine league matchups as most ACC teams enter the second year of playing a nine-game conference slate. The Bears will host Boston College, Florida State, Louisville and SMU at California Memorial Stadium.
On the road, Cal is set to travel to Georgia Tech, Miami, Pitt, Stanford and Wake Forest. The trip to Georgia Tech stands out because it will be the first meeting between the schools as conference opponents. It also means Cal will have played every other ACC football team since joining the league in 2024.
Among the teams heading to Strawberry Canyon, Boston College brings one of the more familiar recent storylines. The series is tied 1-1, and Cal won the latest meeting 28-24 in Chestnut Hill last season.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele hit Mason Mini for a 51-yard touchdown with 1:30 remaining to decide it. Next season will be Boston College’s first visit to Memorial Stadium.
Florida State will also be making its first trip to Berkeley. The only previous game between the programs ended in a 14-9 Seminoles win in 2024.
Louisville joins Boston College and Florida State as another first-time visitor to Memorial Stadium. Cal has only one prior meeting with the Cardinals, and the Bears took that one 29-26 in overtime at Louisville last season. Sagapolutele’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Jacob De Jesus on 4th-and-goal in the extra period sealed it.
SMU comes to Berkeley after a tight series and another close recent result. The Mustangs lead the matchup 2-1, but Cal won the regular-season finale at California Memorial Stadium last year, 38-35.
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 exact dates and kickoff times for Cal’s 2027 conference games have not been announced. The Bears’ nonconference schedule that year already includes Sacramento State on Aug. 28, a road game at UCLA on Sept. 4 and a home game against Old Dominion on Sept. 11.
In Other News...
Cal Fans Just Got An Early Look At A Defining ACC Test
Cal fans got an early glimpse of what the 2027 ACC slate could look like when the league unveiled the Golden Bears conference schedule, and it comes with the kind of home lineup that will immediately draw attention. Cal is set to play nine league games, with Boston College, Florida State, Louisville and SMU among the visitors to California Memorial Stadium, giving the Bears a mix of familiar conference brands and newer league opponents to measure themselves against.
The road trip list is every bit as demanding, with Georgia Tech, Miami, Pitt, Stanford and Wake Forest all waiting away from Berkeley. The schedule also carries some built-in context from past meetings against the teams coming to town, but the bigger picture is still to come, since the dates and kickoff times for those 2027 matchups have not been announced yet. [Read more 🡒]
Cal's Syracuse Film Review Exposed One Much Bigger Problem
The film review from Cals win over Syracuse dug into more than the box score, using fresh efficiency metrics to sort out what really happened on each side of the ball. The defense came out looking mixed but mostly sturdier than the offense, while special teams checked out favorably, even if some of that edge may have been tied to Syracuses own mistakes. A clustering analysis of the ratings also produced a few surprises, which is part of what made the breakdown more interesting than a simple postgame recap.
The bigger concern, though, was how hard it was to find anything convincing on offense. Cal managed just 10 points on 11 drives, and the numbers backed up the eye test that the unit never really found its footing against Syracuse. Even the Oranges first possession of the fourth quarter turned into a mess of replay reviews and near-misses, with turnovers and almost-turnovers piling up before the drive ended with a field goal that clanged off the upright, a sequence that summed up the strange volatility of the afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Gets One Last Chance To Fix Troubling Issues Before Clemson
Cal gets a brief pause in the schedule before the ACC grind resumes, and Saturday's home date with Wagner offers a chance to clean up a few things that still need attention. The Bears are coming off a win at Syracuse, but there were enough uneven stretches on offense and special teams to make this feel like more than a routine matchup, especially with Clemson looming next.
Wagner, led by head coach Tom Masella, arrives for the first meeting between the schools after a rough start to its season, which gives Cal a clear opportunity to sharpen execution and build some confidence at home. For a team trying to steady itself before the schedule tightens again, this is the kind of game where the details matter as much as the result. [Read more 🡒]