California and NC State are headed into this week with the same kind of season hanging over them, and that shared misery is about the only thing that makes their bowl matchup make sense. Both teams arrived here after preseason expectations collapsed under injuries and coaching issues, and both are staring at what could be the only bowl appearance they get.
For Cal, the first year under head coach Tosh Lupoi has been rough in ways that go beyond the record. The Bears have taken their hits on the field, but the bigger concern has been the string of warning signs around the program, enough that Cal fans have been left wondering whether the hire was the right move.
Lupoi spent the offseason trying to keep quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele in the program, but the offense has offered very little help. He hired a pair of NFL assistants as offensive and defensive coordinators even though neither had ever been a coordinator before, and that learning curve has shown up fast. By early October, OC Jordan Somerville had been stripped of play-calling duties.
The result has been an offense that never found its footing. The 2025 Cal team was flawed but at least had some life to it; this version has been much harder to watch. With so much pressure on Sagapolutele, the Bears have done almost nothing to put him in position to succeed.
The injury situation has only made everything uglier. Cal might be missing its top three running backs, two starting offensive linemen and multiple receivers, including its second-leading pass-catcher. Last weekend, defensive back Niles Davis was one of three defensive players used on offense, and he took four carries at running back.
The ground game has been a dead end all season. In league play, the Bears are averaging 70 rushing yards per game and 2.7 yards per carry. They have been held under 100 rushing yards in six of seven FBS games, with their high-water mark coming in Week 1 against UCLA, when they managed 119.
That means the ball is likely going back into Sagapolutele’s hands a lot again this weekend, even if his supporting cast is barely held together. If the situation wasn’t already thin enough, the source description of Cal’s receiving corps is essentially down to a handful of bodies.
Even so, this is college football, and stranger things have happened. Cal was leading SMU at halftime last weekend before things unraveled in a 59-20 loss. The Bears also beat Virginia Tech without JKS, though that came in Berkeley, and the cross-country trips have not gone especially well for them.
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NC State Coaching Search May Be Closing In On The Name Fans Want
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What has made the noise so persistent is the feeling that the Wolfpack may be circling a name that would instantly electrify the base and reshape the tone of the hire. The school has not made anything official, and the search remains fluid, but the combination of reported meetings and the latest travel has kept the speculation pointed in one very specific direction. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Faces A Brutal Test After Its Sudden Coaching Shakeup
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The attention now turns to how the team responds under new leadership and whether it can keep its focus through the final stretch. Changes in the personnel room have added to the uncertainty, and the Wolfpack will have to sort through the fallout while still trying to salvage the rest of the season. [Read more 🡒]