• TV: FOX/FOXSportsGo.com – Brian Custer (Play-By-Play), Ben Leber (Analyst)
• Radio: KGO 810 AM – Joe Starkey (Play-By-Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Todd McKim (Sideline Reporter) 
• *Also available on the Cal Bears Sports Network Powered By Learfield, tunein.com/cal18schedule and SiriusXM Radio (Sirius 83, XM 83, Internet 83)
• Student Radio: KALX 90.7 FM – Ryan Zimmerman (Play-By-Play), Jack Hinson (Analyst)

BERKELEY - California opens the 2018 campaign with a rematch of its 2017 season opener against North Carolina when the Golden Bears defeated the Tar Heels, 35-30, in Chapel Hill. Last season's victory was the first head coaching win for Justin Wilcox. This will be the second meeting all-time between the schools. 

Wilcox begins his second season as the head coach at Cal in 2018. He posted a 5-7 overall mark in his first campaign with the highlights including a 3-0 start, as well as a 37-3 victory over then No. 8/9 Washington State.

Patrick Laird is a national honors candidate and on the preseason watch list for numerous awards including the Maxwell Award and the Doak Walker Award. Laird rushed 191 times for 1,127 yards and eight touchdowns as a 2017 junior to become the 16th 1,000-yard rusher in Cal history while recording the 19th 1,000-yard rushing season in school history. 

Ross Bowers completed 272-of-461 passes (59.0%) for 3,039 yards with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for a 122.06 quarterback rating as a 2017 sophomore with his 253.2 passing yards per game the most of any returning Pac-12 player. His sophomore passing yardage total is sixth in Cal's single-season history.

Many of the Bears' defensive leaders from a year ago return in 2018 including last year's team leaders in tackles Jordan Kunaszyk (74), an All-American and national honors candidate.

Top Receiving Duo Returns
Vic Wharton III (67-871, 5 TD) and Kanawai Noa (56-788, 4 TD) combined for 123 receptions to rank third among all returning FBS duos while their 1,659 yards receiving is seventh. Wharton's 67 receptions rank ninth in school single-season history. They were named to the preseason watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to college football's outstanding receiver at any position. Other Bears returning with experience from 2017 are Jordan Duncan and Jeremiah Hawkins. Duncan's touchdown reception in the fourth quarter at North Carolina last year put Cal ahead for good. Hawkins was one of only four true freshman to see action last season. Newcomers in the mix at wide receiver are graduate transfer Moe Ways (Michigan) and true freshman Nikko Remigio, a four-star recruit (247Sports, Rivals).

Experienced O-Line Is Back
Cal returns all of its offensive line starts from a 2017 group that helped the Golden Bears boast a 3,000-yard passer and 1,000-yard rusher in the same season for only the third time in school history in 2017. Kamryn Bennett, Addison Ooms and Jake Curhan each started all 12 games a year ago, while Patrick Mekari (10), Valentino Daltoso (9), Ryan Gibson (3) and Michael Saffell (2) also made starts in 2017. Cal's 2018 recruiting class had an emphasis on the offensive line with the Golden Bears signing five of the nation's top-100 ranked offensive tackles or guards in Will Craig (No. 14 OT, Rivals), Brandon Mello (No. 56 OT, Rivals), Jasper Friis (No. 77 OT, ESPN), Miles Owens (No. 84 OT, 247Sports Composite) and Matthew Cindric (No. 87 OG, ESPN).

Multiple Leaders From Improved Defense Back In 2018 
Cal's defense made significant improvements in 2017. The Bears allowed 28.4 points per game after giving up 42.6 in 2016 - the fifth-best turnaround among FBS schools - the season before the arrival of head coach Justin Wilcox. Cal had better total numbers and rankings in 14 of the primary 15 defensive statistics tracked by the NCAA and improved by an average of nearly 40 spots per category in those 15 defensive statistics. Many of the team's defensive leaders from a year ago will return in 2018 with 12 players that made 86 starts last season and 10 of the top 14 tacklers back including last year's team leaders in tackles (Jordan Kunaszyk, 74), tackles for loss (Alex Funches, 10.5) and pass breakups (Camryn Bynum 8), as well as those that shared the team lead in interceptions (Bynum/Kunaszyk, 2) and forced fumbles (Elijah Hicks, 2).

Cal In Season Openers
Cal opens the 2018 season in Berkeley when the Bears host North Carolina in the second-ever meeting ever between the teams. Cal won the first meeting, 35-30, in the 2017 season-opener in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Bears have won their last four openers. Cal is 77-42-2 all-time in season openers and has an 11-3 mark since 2004 including a 51-31 victory over Hawai'i in the first college football game of the 2016 season at the College Football in Sydney Cup in Sydney, Australia. Cal enters this week's game with an all-time record of 4-2-1 vs. ACC teams, two of which were bowl victories. The last time Cal hosted an ACC team was when the 12th-ranked Bears beat Maryland, 52-13, in the 2009 season opener. Cal has won its last four consecutive home openers and is 14-2 in its home openers dating back to 2002. 

A Look Back At The 2017 Season-Opening Win At UNC
Ross Bowers made his first start as a Golden Bear and completed 24 of 38 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns, guiding Cal to a 35-30 win in the 2017 season opener at North Carolina, the first head coaching victory for Justin Wilcox. Vic Wharton III hauled in five passes for 156 yards and a 67-yard touchdown reception. Patrick Laird scored his first touchdown of the season on a 54-yard TD catch from Bowers. Defensively, Cal claimed three takeaways, including two interceptions, and held North Carolina to just 194 yards of total offense in the second half.

Game Captains
On Monday, Patrick Laird and Jordan Kunaszyk were selected as team captains for the 2018 season. In addition to the two season captains, Cal will select two players to be game captains each week. For North Carolina, the game captains will be Patrick Mekari and Luc Bequette.