Cal will get a midday kickoff for its October 10 home date with Virginia Tech, and the Bears may not mind the timing.
The ACC announced Monday that the game in Berkeley will start at 12:30 p.m. The television assignment is still to be determined, with ESPN2 or the ACC Network carrying it once the network selection is finalized next week.
It will also be Cal’s Homecoming game.
That afternoon slot fits a pattern the Bears have already shown this season. Cal is 2-0 in day games, with wins over Syracuse and Wagner, and 0-2 at night after losses to UCLA and Clemson. The Bears are 2-2 overall entering this Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. game at UNLV, where they are listed as 2.5-point underdogs as of Monday, according to FanDuel.
Virginia Tech arrives with an unbeaten record and a new coach. The Hokies are 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the ACC after surviving a tougher-than-expected 21-14 win over Boston College. They are led by James Franklin, who was fired as Penn State’s head coach last October 12 with the Nittany Lions at 3-3.
Before coming to Berkeley, Virginia Tech has a Friday night home game against Pitt, another unbeaten team at 4-0. That matchup will be shown on ESPN, giving Cal a chance to see the Hokies while getting ready for UNLV the next day. Virginia Tech is a 3.5-point favorite in that game as of Monday, according to FanDuel.
The Oct. 10 game will be Virginia Tech’s first ever in Berkeley.
Cal and Virginia Tech have split their two previous meetings. The Hokies won 42-34 in double overtime last season in Blacksburg, while Cal took the 2003 Insight Bowl 52-49. That bowl win closed out Aaron Rodgers’ first season at Cal and helped set up the Bears’ 10-2 run in 2004, when they finished ranked in the top 10.
For Cal, though, the bigger issue right now is offense. The Bears did not score an offensive touchdown in Friday night’s 24-10 home loss to Clemson.
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