The California football team will take the field at California Memorial Stadium for the first time in 2025 on Saturday as the Golden Bears take on the Texas Southern Tigers. Kickoff will be at 3 p.m. PT with the game set to air live on ACC Network Extra/ESPN+.
 
SATURDAY LINEUP
Venue: California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, Calif.
Time: 3 p.m. PT
Watch (ACCNX/ESPN+): Chris Sylvester (PxP), Ahman Green (Analyst)
Cal Bears Sports Network: 810 AM
Justin Allegri (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Ben Ross (sideline reporter); SiriusXM Ch. 384 or SXM App, The Varsity App 
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP: TIGERS VS. BEARS
- Cal and Texas Southern will meet for the very first time on the gridiron this Saturday.
- This will be the first time the Golden Bears have played a game against an HBCU since Cal's 73-14 victory over Grambling State on Sept. 5, 2015 in the season opener.
- Cal will celebrate Black Culture Appreciation Day on Saturday and will welcome the historic TSU "Ocean of Soul" marching band for a special halftime performance.

CAL...
- Is embarking upon its 102nd season in California Memorial Stadium.
- Has won two of its last three home openers in Berkeley.
- Saw 32 players make their debuts for the Bears during Cal's season opening 34-15 win at Oregon State last weekend.
- Scored three touchdowns in four trips to the redzone against OSU. The Bears scored touchdowns on just 24-of-47 (51.1%) of their trips to the red zone in 2024.
- Did not allow a sack in its game against the Beavers, snapping a five-game streak of at least 3.0 sacks allowed per contest dating back to Cal's 2024 46-36 win over Wake Forest. The Bears are one of three ACC teams to not give up a sack through week one.
- Recorded the second-longest field goal in the ACC this season with Abram Murray's 49-yard FGA against OSU.
 
SAGAPOLUTELE TURNS HEADS IN COLLEGIATE DEBUT
- True freshman QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele stunned in his collegiate debut, finishing 20-for-30 (66.7%) for 234 yards passing with 3 TDs, no interceptions and no sacks taken.
- Sagapolutele racked up several player of the week honors, taking home ACC Rookie of the Week, On3 True Freshman of the Week and PFF Quarterback of the Week.
- Sagapolutele is the first true-freshman signal caller to win a season opener. 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 since Jared Goff arrived in Berkeley in 2013, on his way to becoming the No. 1 overall NFL draft pick in 2016.
- As a senior at Campbell High School in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Sagapolutele completed 213-of-302 passes for 3,404 yards and 46 TDs with just 3 interceptions. He notched six games with 300+ yards passing and two games of 400+ yards passing. He also tallied five games with six TD passes and eight contests with multiple TD passes in 2024.
- In total, he recorded 10,653 yards passing in his prep career from 2022-24 to set Hawai'i all-time passing yards record, surpassing both Dillon Gabriel (10,048 yds) and Tua Tagovailoa (8,158)
- He was rated as a 5-star recruit and the No. 19 overall player (No. 4 QB) by On3 and a 4-star recruit according to 247, ESPN and Rivals. He was a 2024 Elite 11 finalist and a 2024 Elite 11 Rail Shot Challenge winner.
 
GRIZZELL GETS 1K,  AND THEN SOME
- Redshirt-senior WR Trond Grizzell surpassed 1,000 career receiving yards in Cal's win at Oregon State.
- Grizzell led the Bears in receiving yards against the Beavers, tallying 83 on five catches (16.6 AVG/C), including one receiving TD, which was the seventh of his career.
- He has compiled 1,074 receiving yards since 2023 when he first recorded stats other than participation as a redshirt-sophomore.
- The former walk-on has spent his entire collegiate career at Cal and was named "Big Game Hero" in 2023 for his pair of TD receptions on The Farm.
 
DBU: "THE STANDARD IS THE STANDARD"
- Cal's defensive backs continued Cal's legacy of excellence at the position at Oregon State, despite losing three starting DBs to the 2025 NFL Draft (Craig Woodson, Nohl Williams, Marcus Harris).
- FIU transfer DB Hezekiah Masses returned a fourth-quarter interception 41 yards at OSU in his debut for the Bears. The interception was his first at Cal and the third of his career. Masses also led the Bears with a pair of PBUs. He ranks second in the ACC in passes defended.
- JMU/USF transfer Brent "Paco" Austin forced a fumble against the Beavers, the first of his career.
- DB Isaiah Crosby led the Bears with five solo tackles and set a new career-high six total tackles against the Beavers. He also recorded the first pass breakup of his Cal career at OSU.
- Nine Cal DBs have been drafted to the NFL over the past six seasons (2025 - Williams, Woodson, Harris; 2024 - Patrick McMorris; 2023 - Daniel Scott; 2022 - Elijah Hicks; 2021 - Camryn Bynum; 2020 - Ashtyn Davis, Jaylinn Hawkins). 
 
TIGHT END TAKEOVER
- Two of the three receiving TDs in Cal's win over Oregon State were hauled in by tight ends, with Mason Mini registering his career-first TD catch and Landon Morris recording his first at Cal, second overall.
- The last time Cal had two tight ends with touchdown catches in a single game was Oct. 23, 2021, in Cal's 26-3 win over Colorado when Keleki Latu and Gavin Reinwald each scored a touchdown.
- Returning TE Jeffrey Johnson hauled in his career-best reception with a 20-yard grab against the Beavs.
 
CAPTAIN CADE
- Junior inside linebacker Cade Uluave led out his defense for the first time as season captain in 2025 and led the Bears on the stat sheet with 10 total tackles, including 2.5 TFL (-6 yds). His 2.5 TFL tie for second in the ACC and his 10 total tackles place him eighth in the conference.
- The 2024 All-ACC Honorable Mention linebacker tallied 71 tackles, three TFL, three passes defended, one interception and a half sack in only nine games played last season.
- He recorded six games with eight or more tackles and three games with 11 or more in 2024.
- Uluave and three other teammates will serve as game captains, which will be announced weekly ahead of each contest.
 
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