2025 UNC Football Opponent Preview: Cal

UNC will make its longest road trip of the season this week when it travels to Berkeley to face Cal. It will be the first meeting between the two schools as conference foes, as Cal is in only its second season as an ACC member.

Like the Tar Heels, Cal is coming off a bye week. The Golden Bears began the season 3-0 but have since dropped two of their last three games, both in blowout fashion: a 34-0 loss at San Diego State and a 45-21 home loss against Duke.

Here’s more on Cal:

Head coach: Justin Wilcox. Wilcox is in his ninth season with Cal, which is the only head coaching job he’s ever had. Ironically, Wilcox’s first win as a head coach came against UNC, when the Bears traveled to Kenan Stadium and defeated the Tar Heels 35-30. It was the first game of a home-and-home series between the schools, and Cal beat Carolina again the next year in Berkeley. Wilcox has never won more than eight games in a season with Cal, though the Bears have qualified for bowl games in each of the past two seasons.

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox is in his ninth season with the Golden Bears. (Image via Associated Press/Jose Carlos Fajardo)

What’s the history? The two aforementioned meetings in 2017 and 2018 are the only games on record between UNC and Cal.

Diaper dandy: Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has been a revelation for the Bears in his redshirt freshman season. The former five-star prospect is averaging nearly 250 passing yards per game, more than stars like Miami’s Carson Beck, Virginia’s Chandler Morris and Florida State’s Tommy Castellanos. Sagapolutele’s 1,479 total passing yards rank fifth in the league.

Sagapolutele was named the Hawai’i High School Football Player of the Year in 2024 and was heavily recruited by schools such as Oregon and Georgia. He committed to Cal initially, but then flipped to Oregon before the 2024 season. However, after just one season with the Ducks, Sagapolutele transferred to Cal in January 2025. He’s been named the ACC Freshman of the Week twice this season.

QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has had a strong start to his first season with Cal. (Image via Associated Press/Jose Carlos Fajardo)

The Riverboat: North Carolina football fans will notice a familiar face within the Cal program. Former Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera was named Cal’s general manager in March, with a contract running through at least 2028. Rivera coached the Panthers for nearly a decade and oversaw one of the most successful eras in franchise history: the team won three straight NFC South division titles, made the playoffs four times and reached Super Bowl 50. After the Panthers fired Rivera in 2019, he coached the Washington Commanders for four seasons before spending 2024 out of football entirely. The GM role with Cal is his first front office position.

What are the odds? At the time of publication, Cal is a 10.5-point favorite in the game.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

2025 UNC Football Opponent Preview: Cal

On Air Now: 97.9 FM