Al Sermeno/KLC photos
Bears to meet Hokies on gridiron for first time.
Bears Seek Bowl Game Eligibility In Blacksburg
The California football team (5-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) will travel East to Virginia Tech (2-5, 1-2 ACC) for the first time on Friday night at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT, with the game set to be aired live on ESPN.
FRIDAY LINEUP
Venue: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Virginia
Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
Watch (ESPN): Anish Shroff (PxP), Andre Ware (Analyst), Paul Carcaterra (Sideline Reporter)
Listen: 810 AM
Justin Allegri (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Ben Ross (sideline reporter); SiriusXM Ch. 371 or SXM App, The Varsity App
BEARS VS. HOKIES
– This will be the first time the Golden Bears and the Hokies square off in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup on the gridiron.
– The Bears and the Hokies have met once before when Cal won a dramatic 52-49 game at the Insight Bowl on Dec. 26, 2003.
– Virginia Tech is coming off a bye week after taking a 20-35 loss to Georgia Tech last time out on Oct. 11. This is the fourth time this season Cal is facing an opponent who is coming off a bye week after facing San Diego State, Boston College, North Carolina following their weeks off.
CAL…
– Will play its second consecutive Friday night matchup following last Friday’s 21-18 win over North Carolina in Berkeley.
– Won its only Friday night road contest last season at Wake Forest when the Bears beat the Demon Deacons 46-26 in their first-ever ACC victory.
– Is currently on a streak of 19 games with at least one sack recorded, following Chris Victor’s fourth-quarter sack against the Tar Heels last week.
– Has defended well in the passing game, only allowing four passing touchdowns this season, which is the fewest in the conference. The Bears rank third in the ACC and 29th in the NCAA in team passing efficiency defense with a 117.0 mark and rank fourth in the conference in passing defense with a 201.6 average yards allowed through the air. The Bears rank fifth in the ACC and 34th nationally in total defense (323.7 avg yards/game).
– Ranks second in the ACC and 19th in the nation in fumbles recovered with five and is tied for fifth in the conference in number of forced fumbles with four. The Bears forced three fumbles in their win over North Carolina, the first time Cal has recorded three forced fumbles in a game since its 42-39 win over Washington State on Nov. 11, 2023.
– Has its best mid-season record since 2015 and the best of Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox‘s career with a 5-2 record entering the eighth game of the season. This week, the Bears will seek bowl game eligibility and to go 6-2 for the first time since 2009.
DE JESUS CONTINUES TO CLIMB NATIONAL RETURN RANKINGS
– WR Jacob DeJesus ranks 11th nationally in combined kick returns with his 387 yards gained via punt and kickoff returns through seven games this season.
– He ranks third in the conference and 21st nationally in kickoff returns, with a 21.9 average yards per return, and ranks third in the conference and 20th nationally in punt returns with 11.2 average yards per return.
– De Jesus has added 398 receiving yards on 47 receptions this season, including touchdowns against Minnesota, Boston College and North Carolina.
– He finished with a career-high 13 receptions for 105 yards against UNC. His 13 catches tied for sixth most in a single game by a Cal receiver in program history. It was also the most in a game by a Cal receiver since Chad Hansen had 14 catches at SDSU on Sept. 16, 2016.
– De Jesus ranks fourth in the ACC in total all-purpose yards with 773 and fifth in average yards per game with 110.4. His average yards per game rank 34th nationally.
‘PACO PUNCH’ HIGHLIGHTS TRIO OF CAL FUMBLE RECOVERIES
– DB Brent “Paco” Austin forced a fumble with a textbook peanut punch and then recovered it in the endzone while North Carolina was on the doorstep of a go-ahead touchdown. It was his career-first fumble recovery and his second forced fumble of the season.
– DB Cam Sidney also both forced and recovered a fumble against the Tar Heels on the first play from scrimmage, setting up a short field for the Bears to score the first touchdown of the game four plays later.
– DB Dr. Polidore Jr. forced and recovered a fumble on the last play of the game, to make it the first time Cal has recorded three forced fumbles in a game since Cal’s 42-39 win over Washington State on Nov. 11, 2023.
RAPHAEL REMAINS BEARS’ LEADING SCORER
– RB Kendrick Raphael has five rushing scores in 2025 and nine in his collegiate career. His five touchdowns lead the Bears this season.
– He is the Bears’ leading rusher, having gained 495 yards on 115 attempts on the ground through the first seven games (70.71 ypg). His production accounts for 75% of Cal’s total yards gained on the ground this season.
– His 115 carries are the most of any running back in the ACC and tied for 16th most in the NCAA and his 495 rushing yards are good for eighth in the conference and 50th nationally.
– Raphael recorded his career-first two-rushing touchdowns game in the Bears’ game against Duke.
– Raphael surpassed 1,000 career rushing yards in Cal’s win over Boston College on Sept. 27. He has compiled 1,229 net rushing yards over three seasons played.
NEW BASH BROTHERS IN TOWN
– ILBs Cade Uluave and Luke Ferrelli have emerged as Cal’s latest dynamic inside linebacker duo.
– The pair have combined for 116.0 total tackles this season, the most by any duo in the conference.
– Uluave ranks second in the ACC and 23rd in the NCAA in total tackles with 62, while Ferrelli is fifth in the conference and 61st in the NCAA with 54. Uluave is just one tackle shy of the 200-career tackles mark.
– Uluave leads the Bears in tackles for loss with 7.5 this season, pushing opponents back a combined 19 yards. His TFL rank seventh in the ACC.
– Ferrelli registered one of Cal’s two sacks against Duke, the first of his collegiate career, pushing the Blue Devils back 11 yards. He recorded the first interception of his career at Boston College with 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter – the play that sealed the Bears’ victory.
– Uluave and Ferrelli are the latest in a strong pattern of notable Cal inside linebacker duos. Uluave and 2025 NFL Draft pick Teddye Buchanan turned heads in 2024, combining for 185 tackles even with Uluave’s season cut short due to injury after playing in only nine of the Bears’ 13 games. Jordan Kunaszyk and Evan Weaver combined for 307 total tackles in 2018 before Weaver paired with Kuony Deng to form the nation’s leading FBS duo with 301 tackles in 2019.
MASSES DEFENDS PASSES
– DB Hezekiah Masses leads the nation in passes defended for the fourth consecutive week with his 13 between four interceptions and nine pass breakups. His four interceptions are tied for second in the NCAA and lead the ACC.
– Masses recorded his fourth interception of the season at Boston College when he picked off the Eagles in the fourth quarter and returned it 22 yards, just two yards shy from the goal-line to set the Bears’ offense up for a score on the next play. He recorded a third-quarter interception against Minnesota and picked off TSU at the end of the second quarter and returned it 28 yards. He returned a fourth-quarter interception 41 yards at Oregon State in his debut for the Bears.
– Masses continues the legacy of Bears leading the NCAA in total interceptions after 2025 NFL Draft pick and consensus All-American Nohl Williams finished his senior season with the Bears as the leading interceptor in the nation with seven. Williams is tied for third on Cal’s single-season interceptions list, with Deltha O’Neal the all-time single-season interceptor with nine in 1999.
SAGAPOLUTELE HAS SEVEN STRAIGHT 200+ PASSING YARD GAMES
– True freshman QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele ranks fourth in the ACC in total passing yards with 1,696, good for 35th nationally.
– Sagapolutele has passed for more than 200 yards in every game this season to begin his collegiate career. He is tied with Maryland’s Malik Washington for most consecutive games with 200+ yards passing to begin their careers by any power conference true freshman. NC State’s Philip Rivers previously held the record with six in 2000.
– His 12 touchdowns (two rushing, 10 passing) are the third most of any true freshman quarterback in 2025, behind BYU’s Bear Bachmeier with 17 and Maryland’s Washington with 14.
– He had his second career rushing score on a 3 yard run against North Carolina. His first rushing touchdown was against Minnesota.
– He has recorded a pair of three-passing touchdown games this season against both Oregon State and Minnesota.
– Sagapolutele became Cal’s first true-freshman signal caller to win a season opener in Cal’s 34-15 win in Corvallis, Oregon. He completed the first nine pass attempts of his collegiate career and in his first two drives was 6-of-6 for 125 yards with two TDs. He is only the second true freshman to be named the Bears’ starting quarterback for a season opener and the first since Jared Goff arrived in Berkeley in 2013, on his way to becoming the No. 1 overall NFL draft pick in 2016.
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