BERKELEY -- The California football team heads to the Lone Star State for its 2023 season-opener on Saturday against North Texas at 1 p.m. PT. The Golden Bears and Mean Green are set to meet for the second time in history.  

SATURDAY LINEUP
Venue: DATCU Stadium
Time: 1 p.m. PT
Television (ESPNU): Courtney Lyle (play-by-play), Hutson Mason (analyst)
Cal Bears Sports Network Powered By Northern California Auto Dealers: 810 AM
Justin Allegri (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Alex Jensen (sideline reporter);
SiriusXM Ch. 132 /203 SXM App 966, The Varsity App

ABOUT THE SERIES
– This will be the second all-time meeting between California and North Texas
– The Bears won the only previous matchup, 23-17, on Sept. 14, 2019 at California Memorial Stadium

BUILDING SUCCESS UNDER JUSTIN WILCOX
– Cal has a long list of achievements in its first six seasons under Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox
– The Bears have enjoyed success against conference opponents from the state of California, including Big Game wins over Stanford in three of the last four seasons and a pair of victories against USC after a long losing streak to the powerhouse Trojans that extended back to 2003
– Cal has five wins over teams that were reigning or current Pac-12 champions the season when they were knocked off by the Golden Bears
– Wilcox has compiled a 13-4 record in nonconference games, including a 5-3 mark against Power 5 teams with home-and-home sweeps of North Carolina (ACC) and Ole Miss (SEC). The victory at Ole Miss in 2019 was the first road win by a Pac-12 team at an SEC school since an Oregon triumph at Tennessee in 2010

SPAV IS BACK
– Jake Spavital returned to Cal this offseason for a second stint as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after also having the role in 2016 
– The Bears' offense was explosive under Spavital during his first run with the program, ranking fourth in the nation in passing offense and 10th in total offense 
– Spavital has recruited and coached a long line of future NFL quarterbacks during his collegiate coaching career, including the first selection in the 2019 NFL Draft in Kyler Murray, fellow first-rounders Brandon Weeden and Johnny Manziel, and current Seattle Seahawks' starter Geno Smith

NEW FACES
– There will be a lot of new faces on the sideline when the Bears take the field in Texas. Cal has added 49 student-athletes to its roster since the end of the 2022 season, making strong use of the transfer portal with 27 of the 49 players either four-year or junior college transfers 

QB1
– One of the transfers, Sam Jackson V, was named the Bears starting quarterback by Wilcox and Spavital on Aug. 24 after a spirited competition throughout fall camp 
– During his two seasons at TCU, Jackson saw action in seven games, completing all six of his passes for 140 yards while adding 15 rushes for 79 yards and two touchdowns on the ground
– Jackson played in five games in 2022 and completed 5-of-5 passes for 63 yards while adding nine rushes for 64 yards and two scores on the ground for a team that reached the National Championship Game, finished second in the final AP Top 25 and AFCA Coaches Poll, and won both the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the regular-season Big 12 title while finishing 13-2 overall

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