Clemson used to arrive in the Bay Area looking like a juggernaut. Eight years ago, when the Tigers last made the trip, they were in the middle of one of the most dominant runs in the sport - 69-5 over five seasons under Dabo Swinney, with four national championship game appearances and title-game wins over Alabama after the 2016 and 2018 seasons.
That 2018 team rolled through a 15-0 season and finished it with a 44-16 demolition of Nick Saban’s top-ranked Crimson Tide at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Clemson had freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence throwing for 3,280 yards and 30 touchdowns, Travis Etienne piling up 1,658 rushing yards and 24 scores, and three defensive linemen headed to the first round of the 2019 NFL draft.
The version of Clemson heading to Memorial Stadium on Friday night is a different animal.
The Tigers are 2-1, just like Cal, but they have looked shaky along the way. After a 7-6 season last year - Clemson’s worst record since Swinney’s second season in 2010 - the Tigers opened this fall with a 51-10 loss to LSU. “The best thing about that game is it’s over,” Swinney said afterward.
They followed that with a 22-7 win over Georgia Southern, then needed a comeback last Saturday after falling behind 17-3 at home against North Carolina before escaping with a 28-20 victory. That kind of uneven start has left plenty of questions about how good Clemson actually is.
The Bears get them at a time when the name still carries weight, but the aura is thinner. First-year coach Todd Lupoi’s team has a real chance to make a statement on national television and give Berkeley a jolt of momentum.
The setup has a familiar feel for Cal. It brings back memories of the 2022 game against No.
8 Miami, when College GameDay descended on campus before sunrise and a packed Memorial Stadium watched the Bears build a 38-18 lead early in the fourth quarter. Cal let that one slip away, giving up three late touchdowns in a 39-38 loss.
That defeat still lingers in the background, but this group has a shot to do something it has not done since Jared Goff’s final season in 2015: start 2-0 in conference play.
Two areas stand out for Cal on Friday night.
First, the Bears can go after the middle of Clemson’s defense with running back Adam Mohammed, who ranks fourth in the ACC in rushing. Clemson has been vulnerable against the run, sitting 16th in the conference and allowing 182 yards per game. Against Power Four opponents, that number jumps to 262.
Second, Cal can turn up the heat on Clemson quarterback Tait Reynolds. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound freshman from Queen Creek, Arizona, made his first start against Carolina and finished with 215 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The Bears showed at Syracuse what disruptive defense can do, blitzing early and often while forcing Steve Angeli into three interceptions and three sacks. They played it more conservatively in their 49-7 win over Wagner College, but Clemson has already taken an ACC-worst nine sacks. If Cal adds to that total, it improves its chances of leaving Friday night with a win.
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Cal Gets Its Biggest Early Test Yet Against Clemson
Cal gets its first real measuring-stick game of the season Friday night when Clemson comes to town for a home ACC matchup between two teams sitting at 2-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play. It should be a revealing one for the Bears, who have already shown enough early to make this feel like more than just another September date, especially with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele coming off a strong performance in their last game.
Clemson enters favored by a slim margin, which says plenty about how closely matched this one looks on paper. The Tigers are expected to roll out freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds, and after Cal handled its conference opener, this gives the Bears a chance to see where they really stand against a team with the same record and plenty of talent, in what could easily turn into the kind of game that comes down to a few plays late. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Still Has One Lingering Problem After Its Wagner Blowout
Wagners visit gave Cal a chance to clean up the scoreline, but not much more than that. The Bears were facing such a clear talent gap that the blowout offered only limited answers about where the team really stands this early in the season. Even so, there were a couple of useful signs hidden in the routine work, including Dorian Thomas getting back on the field after missing time in fall camp and sitting out against UCLA.
Up front, the tackle picture also got a little clearer, with Klisiewicz emerging over Lewis for the starting job. Still, the bigger concern lingers on special teams, where Cal continues to look like it has unfinished business after a game that otherwise did little to change the broader read on the season. [Read more 🡒]
Cals Offense Faces A Brutal Test In A Tight Clemson Showdown
Clemson is back in the ACC spotlight after its 28-20 win over North Carolina in Week 3, and California now gets the next swing at a Tigers team that has been winning with defense more than offensive flair. The matchup sets up as a grind from the start, with both sides having struggled to generate much consistent production and neither offense showing much room for easy separation.
That profile is exactly why this game feels like it could stay tight deep into the second half, with field position and pass rush mattering as much as anything else. Clemsons front has been the more reliable part of the operation so far, while California has had to search for steadier rhythm on its own side of the ball, making this one of those ACC games where every drive may feel like it matters a little more than usual. [Read more 🡒]