There is one team in this bloated, oversized version of the ACC that hasn’t won a league game yet.
Even Florida State, which is finished its league slate and guaranteed to miss a bowl game, beat California this season.
One of the ACC’s three expansion teams, Cal is winless in its first four ACC games — losing them by a combined nine points. The Golden Bears have the same overall record as Wake Forest, at 4-4, entering the final month of the season looking to punch a ticket to bowl eligibility.
So, after this week, one team will be a win away from having that ticket punched and the other will have more work to do.
Here are five things to know about Cal ahead of Friday night’s game:
1. Oh-so-close losses
This really is where you have to start when talking about Cal’s season through two months.
The Golden Bears were 3-0, including a win at Auburn, heading to Tallahassee, Fla. They lost to the Seminoles 14-9 — FSU’s only win of the season — despite outgaining them by more than 100 yards. Cal settled for five field-goal attempts; one was missed and one was blocked.
Miami, the ACC’s lone unbeaten team, has flirted with disaster in most of its ACC games and its trip to Berkeley, Calif., was no exception. Cal was up 25 in the second half before Miami stormed back and won 39-38.
Cal lost at Pittsburgh 17-15 and at home against N.C. State 24-23 in the following weeks, a missed field goal in the final two minutes of each game costing the Golden Bears.
“They’re just as good as any other team we’ve played, if not — I mean, they should be in the top half of the ACC,” linebacker Dylan Hazen said.
2. Kicking the problem
You can get the hint from above; kicking has been a problem for Cal.
Ryan Coe, a transfer from UNC, started the season as Cal’s kicker and went 7-for-14. He missed both of those kicks against FSU and missed from 40 yards at Pitt, which would’ve given Cal the lead with about 1:40 left.
Freshman Derek Morris took over after that game and has made 8 of 9 field goals, along with all five PATs he has attempted. It’s just that the one miss he had was a 28-yarder against N.C. State with 1:34 left in the game.
Morris handled field goal/PAT duties in Cal’s last game, a 44-7 romp over former Pac-12 foe Oregon State — and future Wake Forest opponent — and went 5-for-5 on field goals, including a 46-yarder.
3. Shutting things down
What pairs well with having an opportunistic secondary that is tied for third in the country with 14 interceptions?
A rushing defense that doesn’t yield many yards and puts opposing offenses in third-and-long situations.
Cal is third in the ACC and ninth in the country in rush defense, allowing 99 yards per game. The Golden Bears haven’t given up more than 144 rushing yards in any of eight games; Wake Forest has rushed for at least that many in three of eight games, including 173 against Stanford in the Deacons’ last game.
“I think when you watch them play, they don’t look like a team that would be 0-4 in the ACC,” Wake Forest center Luke Petitbon said. “They look like one of the better teams — they’ll probably be one of the better D-lines and defenses that we play all year.
“It’s a great challenge and I have all the respect in the world for those guys.”
4. Fernando-mania
Cal got its quarterback from the footprint of the ACC before the league’s westward expansion was announced.
Redshirt sophomore Fernando Mendoza came to Cal from Miami and has been solid in his second season as a starter. His numbers and efficiency have shown improvement and he’s coming off a career-best 364 yards against Oregon State.
To put Mendoza’s growth into numbers:
- In nine games last season, he completed 153 of 243 passes (63%) for 1,708 yards and 14 touchdowns, with 10 interceptions.
- In eight games this season, he has completed 178 of 260 passes (68.5%) for 2,095 yards and 10 touchdowns, with three interceptions.
5. Big-bodied targets
Mendoza spreads it out but his top two targets present big targets.
Jack Endries, a former walk-on, is Cal’s leading receiver with 34 catches and 421 yards. He’s a redshirt sophomore tight end and is 6-4, 240; he has 23 catches for 275 yards in the last two games.
Nyziah Hunter emerged at wide receiver while Cal has been missing a couple of transfers who were expected to be immediate contributors but haven’t played because of injuries; Notre Dame transfer Tobias Merriweather and Ohio State transfer Kyion Grayes.
Hunter, a 6-2, 210-pound redshirt freshman, caught a touchdown in the season opener and had two at Auburn. He is second on the team with 24 catches and 315 yards, coming off an 85-yard game against Oregon State.
