BERKELEY – The California football team (4-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) will host North Carolina (2-3, 0-1 ACC) at California Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2018 on Friday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT in Berkeley, with the game set to be aired live on ESPN.
 
FRIDAY LINEUP
Venue: California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, Calif.
Time: 7:30 p.m. PT
Watch (ESPN): Anish Shroff (PxP), Andre Ware (Analyst), Paul Carcaterra (Sideline Reporter)
Listen: KNBR
Justin Allegri (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Ben Ross (sideline reporter); SiriusXM Ch. 84 or SXM App, The Varsity App 
 
BEARS VS. TAR HEELS
- Cal hosts UNC for the first time since 2018 when the Golden Bears beat the Tar Heels 24-17 in the Bears' season opener.
- The two teams also previously met in Chapel Hill, North Carolina the year prior in what was Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcoix's first game as head coach of the Bears. The Wilcox Era opened with a gritty road win over the Tar Heels, as Cal came back from a 17-14 halftime deficit to win 35-30
- This will be the first time the programs meet as conference opponents  

CAL... 
- Will celebrate Bay Area Appreciation Night and its Hall of Fame inductees on Friday night in Berkeley. Cal will celebrate the honorees of both the 2024 and 2025 California Athletics Hall of Fame classes, including former Bears head coach Jeff Tedford, NFF College Football Hall of Famer Alex Mack and three-time Pro Bowler Tarik Glenn.
- Will play its first of two back-to-back Friday night contests, with the Bears set to travel to Virginia Tech on Oct. 24.
- Won its only Friday night contest last season at Wake Forest when the Bears beat the Demon Deacons 46-26 in their first-ever ACC victory.
- Has posted strong passing defense numbers, averaging 207.3 yards allowed through the air per game which ranks fifth in the ACC. Cal has given up only four passing touchdowns this season, the fewest of any team in the ACC and tied for fourth fewest in the nation.
- Is currently on a streak of 18 consecutive games with at least one sack recorded.
 
RAPHAEL LEADS BEARS IN TOUCHDOWNS THIS SEASON
- RB Kendrick Raphael recorded his career-first two rushing touchdowns game in the Bears' last game against Duke. He has four rushing scores in 2025 and eight in his collegiate career. His four touchdowns lead the Bears this season.
- Raphael surpassed 1,000 career rushing yards in Cal's win over Boston College on Sept. 27. He had his second career 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 119 yards on a career-high 25 carries. He also had his second rushing touchdown at Cal and sixth of his career against the Eagles.
- Raphael is the Bears' leading rusher this season, having gained 414 yards on 93 attempts on the ground through the first six games (69.00 ypg).
- His 414 rushing yards are good for eighth in the ACC and his 93 carries are second most in the conference and rank 33rd in the NCAA this season.
- He recorded his first 100+ career rushing game against Texas Southern when he logged 122 yards and one rushing touchdown.
 
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 97.0 total tackles this season, the second most by any duo in the conference behind NC State's Caden Fordham and Sean Brown. They rank 20th in the nation as a duo.
- Uluave ranks third in the ACC and 27th in the NCAA in total tackles with 52, while Ferrelli is eighth in the conference and 69th in the NCAA with 45. Uluave is just 11 tackles shy of the 100 career tackles mark.
- Ferrelli registered one of Cal's two sacks against Duke, the first of his collegiate career. He pushed the Blue Devils back 11 yards.
- Ferrelli 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 leads the Bears in tackles for loss with 6.5 this season. He recorded his first sack of the season at Boston College, pushing the Eagles back eight yards. It was the fourth sack of his career.
- 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 CATCHES PASSES
- DB Hezekiah Masses has recorded four interceptions this season, tied for the second most in the NCAA.
- Masses is tied for first in the nation in passes defended, having recorded the most for the third consecutive week, with 11 total passes defended (four INTs and seven PBUs)
- 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. He returned a fourth-quarter interception 41 yards at Oregon State in his debut for the Bears.
- Prior to his arrival at Cal, Masses had only recorded three interceptions in his collegiate career.
- 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.
 
MINI, KING HAVING BREAKOUT SEASONS
- TE Mason Mini continues to make a major impact in his first season with Cal, with three touchdown receptions - the most of any Cal receiver.
- Mini's 51 yard touchdown reception at Boston College is tied for Cal's longest play from scrimmage this season. It was also the longest reception of his career and the Bears' longest TD reception of the season. His 70 yards receiving in that game was also a career high.
- Mini totaled 61 receiving yards in 12 games as a redshirt freshman at Idaho in 2024.
- Former walk-on WR Jordan King has compiled 110 yards and two touchdown receptions in 2025.
- Prior to this season, King had registered only 50 yards receiving and no touchdowns in 2024. He primarily played on special teams from 2022-23.
 
DE JESUS' RETURN NUMBERS NATIONALLY NOTABLE
- WR Jacob De Jesus ranks ninth nationally in combined kick returns with his 356 yards gained via punt and kickoff returns through six games this season.
- He ranks fourth in the conference and 21st nationally in kickoff returns, with a 22.22 average yards per return, and ranks fifth in the conference and 17th nationally in punt returns with 12.0 average yards per return.
- De Jesus has added 293 receiving yards on 34 receptions this season, including touchdowns against Minnesota and Boston College.
- He posted his longest catch of the season against Duke with a 30-yard grab.
- He had a Cal career-high eight catches at Boston College and tied his Cal career-high with 61 yards receiving.
- De Jesus ranks fifth in the ACC in total all-purpose yards with 640 and average yards per game with 106.7. His average yards per game rank 41st nationally.
 
SAGAPOLUTELE CONTINUES DEBUT SEASON
- True freshman QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele ranks sixth in the ACC in passer efficiency (129.2) and passing yards per game (246.5). His passing yards per game ranks 32nd in the NCAA. His 1,479 total passing yards is fifth-most in the conference and 33rd in the nation.
- Sagapolutele matched his career-longest pass at Boston College with a 51-yarder to Mason Mini, which was the longest TD throw of his career.
- He has recorded a pair of three-passing touchdown games this season against both Oregon State and Minnesota. He also has one rushing touchdown in 2025.
- Sagapolutele became Cal's first true-freshman signal caller to win a season opener in Cal's 34-15 win in Corvallis. 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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