California Golden Bears Athletics
Saturday, September 12
Syracuse, N.Y.
12:30 PM
California
at
Syracuse
Cal to open conference play in week 2.
Cal Travels East For ACC Opener Against Syracuse
9/8/2026 4:15 PM | Football
Bears, Orange To Meet In New York For First Time In Nearly 60 Years
California football (0-1, 0-0 ACC) will open its conference slate with a trip East to face Syracuse (1-0, 0-0 ACC) in what will be the Golden Bears' first time facing the Orange on their home turf in nearly 60 years. Cal and 'Cuse will kick off on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT / 3:30 p.m. ET at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York. The game will air live on ACC Network with Jorge Sedano on play-by-play, Rodney McLeod Jr. as the analyst and sideline reporter Kendra Douglas.
SATURDAY LINEUP
Venue: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, New York
Time: 12:30 p.m. PT
Watch (ACCN): Jorge Sedano (PxP), Rodney McLeod Jr. (Analyst), Kendra Douglas (Sideline Reporter)
Listen: 810 AM – Justin Allegri (PxP), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Ben Ross (Sideline Reporter); Sirius XM Ch. 258/Sirius XM App, The Varsity App, YouTube Live Stream
BEARS VS. ORANGE
- Saturday's meeting will be the fourth all-time and second conference matchup between the two programs.
- The Orange lead the series with a 2-1 advantage over the Bears.
- Most recently, Syracuse visited Berkeley on November 11, 2024, for the first conference contest between the two programs. Despite a late comeback by the Bears, Cal fell short 25-33 to the Orange.
- Prior to the 2024 game, the two teams had only met for a two-game series from 1967-68 with each team winning a game on their home turf.
MOHAMMED SETS CAREER-HIGHS IN CAL DEBUT
- RB Adam Mohammed set career-highs of 28 carries and 120 yards rushing while adding a touchdown in his Cal debut against UCLA. He also had a career-best seven catches for 46 yards.
- Mohammed ranks second in the ACC in average rushing yards per game, behind Duke's Nate Sheppard who totaled 227 rushing yards in week one.
- Mohammed was added to both the 2026 Doak Walker Award Watch List and the Paul Hornung Award Watch List leading up to the season.
- In his 2025 campaign at Washington, Mohammed compiled 523 yards and five touchdowns on 116 carries while adding 17 receptions for 138 yards through the air in 13 games for the Huskies. He was rated as high as the sixth running back in the 2026 transfer portal by both 247Sports and On3.
SAGAPOLUTELE EXTENDS 200+ PASSING YARDS STREAK TO TIE NCAA RECORD
- QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele opened his sophomore campaign by completing 24 of 41 passes for 271 yards with two touchdowns against UCLA. He now has 20 career touchdown passes.
- Sagapolutele extended his streak to 14 games with over 200 passing yards to now tie the NCAA record for most consecutive 200+ passing yard games to begin a collegiate career. Houston's David Piland began his career with 14-straight 200+ passing yard games spanning the 2010-12 seasons (did not play in 2011).
PASS-CATCHING CORPS HAS SOLID FIRST OUTING
- Senior WR Ian Strong paced the Bears' pass-catchers with 94 yards receiving on four catches against UCLA, including a 49-yard grab. His receiving yards rank eighth in the ACC after week one.
- Fellow transfer WR Chase Hendricks scored his first touchdown as a Bear against the Bruins. He totaled six receptions for 66 yards in the game.
- The connection between Sagapolutele and returning TE Mason Mini holds strong with Mini scoring his fifth career touchdown pass against UCLA and tallying 58 receiving yards from four catches to average 14.5 yards per catch.
- Strong and Hendricks were both named to the 2026 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List. Cal is one of 10 schools in the FBS to land at least two players on the watch list, and the Bears' duo are two of 45 receivers that got the preseason nod. The pass-catching pair was also the highest-rated ACC wide receiver duo, according to PFF's preseason ratings.
WILKINS HAS A KNACK FOR THE BAT-DOWN
- Senior DL Derek Wilkins got his paw on the ball two times against UCLA in Cal's season-opener to register a pair of pass breakups.
- His two PBUs are tied for second-most in the ACC after week one.
- Wilkins recorded eight passes defended in 2025, which were the most by a Cal defensive lineman in recorded history.
- He finished the 2025 season as the highest-ranking defensive lineman in pass breakups in the ACC and was the only defensive lineman to be ranked in the conference's top-25 in passes defended.
DEFENSE ADDS TO THE STAT SHEET
- R-Sophomore DB Kingston Lopa snagged his career-first interception in his first game as a Bear this past weekend against UCLA. The transfer from Oregon was rated as the nation's No. 8 safety in the 2026 transfer portal by 247Sports.
- Senior DL Nate Burrell recorded his first sack since Oct. 5, 2024, against Miami in Cal's season-opener versus UCLA. He now has 5.5 career sacks after missing all of last season due to injury. Burrell is eyeing his 40th game played at Cal this weekend at Syracuse.
- Senior DB Daniel Harris was credited with a sack for a loss of eight yards against the Bruins in his Cal debut. It was his career-first sack. Harris transferred to Cal from Georgia where he appeared in seven games and totaled the same number of tackles as a 2025 junior and played in 13 contests and tallied 22 stops and three pass breakups as a sophomore.
STAY POSTED
For coverage of Cal football, please follow the Bears on X (@CalFootball) and Instagram (@cal_football).
SATURDAY LINEUP
Venue: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, New York
Time: 12:30 p.m. PT
Watch (ACCN): Jorge Sedano (PxP), Rodney McLeod Jr. (Analyst), Kendra Douglas (Sideline Reporter)
Listen: 810 AM – Justin Allegri (PxP), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Ben Ross (Sideline Reporter); Sirius XM Ch. 258/Sirius XM App, The Varsity App, YouTube Live Stream
BEARS VS. ORANGE
- Saturday's meeting will be the fourth all-time and second conference matchup between the two programs.
- The Orange lead the series with a 2-1 advantage over the Bears.
- Most recently, Syracuse visited Berkeley on November 11, 2024, for the first conference contest between the two programs. Despite a late comeback by the Bears, Cal fell short 25-33 to the Orange.
- Prior to the 2024 game, the two teams had only met for a two-game series from 1967-68 with each team winning a game on their home turf.
MOHAMMED SETS CAREER-HIGHS IN CAL DEBUT
- RB Adam Mohammed set career-highs of 28 carries and 120 yards rushing while adding a touchdown in his Cal debut against UCLA. He also had a career-best seven catches for 46 yards.
- Mohammed ranks second in the ACC in average rushing yards per game, behind Duke's Nate Sheppard who totaled 227 rushing yards in week one.
- Mohammed was added to both the 2026 Doak Walker Award Watch List and the Paul Hornung Award Watch List leading up to the season.
- In his 2025 campaign at Washington, Mohammed compiled 523 yards and five touchdowns on 116 carries while adding 17 receptions for 138 yards through the air in 13 games for the Huskies. He was rated as high as the sixth running back in the 2026 transfer portal by both 247Sports and On3.
SAGAPOLUTELE EXTENDS 200+ PASSING YARDS STREAK TO TIE NCAA RECORD
- QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele opened his sophomore campaign by completing 24 of 41 passes for 271 yards with two touchdowns against UCLA. He now has 20 career touchdown passes.
- Sagapolutele extended his streak to 14 games with over 200 passing yards to now tie the NCAA record for most consecutive 200+ passing yard games to begin a collegiate career. Houston's David Piland began his career with 14-straight 200+ passing yard games spanning the 2010-12 seasons (did not play in 2011).
PASS-CATCHING CORPS HAS SOLID FIRST OUTING
- Senior WR Ian Strong paced the Bears' pass-catchers with 94 yards receiving on four catches against UCLA, including a 49-yard grab. His receiving yards rank eighth in the ACC after week one.
- Fellow transfer WR Chase Hendricks scored his first touchdown as a Bear against the Bruins. He totaled six receptions for 66 yards in the game.
- The connection between Sagapolutele and returning TE Mason Mini holds strong with Mini scoring his fifth career touchdown pass against UCLA and tallying 58 receiving yards from four catches to average 14.5 yards per catch.
- Strong and Hendricks were both named to the 2026 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List. Cal is one of 10 schools in the FBS to land at least two players on the watch list, and the Bears' duo are two of 45 receivers that got the preseason nod. The pass-catching pair was also the highest-rated ACC wide receiver duo, according to PFF's preseason ratings.
WILKINS HAS A KNACK FOR THE BAT-DOWN
- Senior DL Derek Wilkins got his paw on the ball two times against UCLA in Cal's season-opener to register a pair of pass breakups.
- His two PBUs are tied for second-most in the ACC after week one.
- Wilkins recorded eight passes defended in 2025, which were the most by a Cal defensive lineman in recorded history.
- He finished the 2025 season as the highest-ranking defensive lineman in pass breakups in the ACC and was the only defensive lineman to be ranked in the conference's top-25 in passes defended.
DEFENSE ADDS TO THE STAT SHEET
- R-Sophomore DB Kingston Lopa snagged his career-first interception in his first game as a Bear this past weekend against UCLA. The transfer from Oregon was rated as the nation's No. 8 safety in the 2026 transfer portal by 247Sports.
- Senior DL Nate Burrell recorded his first sack since Oct. 5, 2024, against Miami in Cal's season-opener versus UCLA. He now has 5.5 career sacks after missing all of last season due to injury. Burrell is eyeing his 40th game played at Cal this weekend at Syracuse.
- Senior DB Daniel Harris was credited with a sack for a loss of eight yards against the Bruins in his Cal debut. It was his career-first sack. Harris transferred to Cal from Georgia where he appeared in seven games and totaled the same number of tackles as a 2025 junior and played in 13 contests and tallied 22 stops and three pass breakups as a sophomore.
STAY POSTED
For coverage of Cal football, please follow the Bears on X (@CalFootball) and Instagram (@cal_football).
Players Mentioned
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