Cal Football Game Preview: Bears Host Syracuse on Saturday

Cal needs one win to become bowl-eligible, but Syracuse has a strong passing attack

Syracuse wide receiver Trebor Pena / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

CAL (5-4, 1-4 ACC) Vs. SYRACUSE (6-3, 3-3 ACC)

SITE: California’s Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, California

WHEN: Saturday, noon

TV: The CW Network -- Thom Brennaman (play-by-play), Max Browne (analyst), Treavor Scales (sideline)

RADIO: 810 AM and Sirius XM Radio (Sirius XM 113 and 202) -- Justin Allegri (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Kevin Danna (sideline reporter)

BETTING LINE: Cal is favored by 10 points as of Saturday morning. Over/under 57.5 points

WEATHER FORECAST: Saturday afternoon in Berkeley will be mostly sunny with some clouds. The temperature at kickoff will be about 58 degrees, and it will rise to 60 degrees by the end of the game. There is just a 2% chance of rain.

CAL-SYRACUSE HISTORY:  Cal is 1-1 alltime in games against Syracuse. The most recent meeting was in 1968, when 11th-ranked Cal beat 10th-ranked Syracuse 43-0 in Berkeley. The previous season, the Orange beat Cal 20-14 in Syracuse in 1967.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY:  Cal inside linebacker Cade Uluave is not expected to play Saturday because of a lower-body injury suffered last week. Wide receivers Tobias Merriweather and Kyion Grayes are expected to play after making their Cal debuts last week.

CAL STORYLINES:

---Cal needs one win in its final three games to become bowl-eligible for the second straight year.  The Bears need two wins to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2019. Cal needs to win its final three games, against Syracuse, Stanford and SMU, to avoid finishing with a losing conference record for the 15th consecutive season, which would be the nation’s longest active streak.

---The Bears have won two games in a row and are coming off their two highest scoring games of the season – 44-7 over Oregon State and 46-36 over Wake Forest. It’s the first time since Justin Wilcox became head coach that Cal scored more than 40 points in consecutive games.

---Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza is coming off his two most productive games in his Cal career. He threw for a career-high 364 yards against Oregon State, then topped that by passing for 385 yards in the next game against Wake Forest.  He threw 40 passes in the first half against Wake Forest, and it was the first time this season that an FBS team attempted as many as 40 passes in a first half.

---Cal running back Jaydn Ott, a first-team all-Pac-12 selection last year, has struggled this season because of a nagging ankle injury and erratic play by the offensive line.  He has rushed for 169 yards this season while averaging 2.4 yards per carry. However, he has caught 19 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown.  Cal’s leading rusher is Jaivian Thomas, who has run for 503 yards and averaged 6.1 yards per carry.

---The Bears need to improve their running game against Syracuse, which has given up more yards per rushing attempt (4.9) than any other team in the ACC. Cal was expected to rely on its running game this season, but the Bears rank 14th in the ACC in rushing offense, averaging just 3.4 yards per rushing attempt.

---Cal ranks second in the nation in turnover margin at plus-16 (22 takeaways, 6 turnovers), and only James Madison, at plus-18, is better. The Bears lead the nation in interceptions with 17, and Cal cornerback Nohl Williams leads the nation with seven interceptions, which is two more than anyone else in the country.

---The Bears lead the ACC in scoring defense, yielding 19.3 points per game, and are second in total defense, but Cal and its talented secondary will be challenged by Syracuse’s strong passing attack. The Orange ranks fourth in the country in passing yards per game.

---Cal quarterbacks have been sacked 30 times, and only two ACC teams have allowed more sacks. Syracuse has sacked the opposing qurterback 20 times. Cal recorded seven sacks last week against Wake Forest and has recorded 29 sacks for the season. Syracuse quarterbacks have been sacked 22 times, and Orange quarterback Kyle McCord was sacked four times last week by Boston College.

SYRACUSE STORYLINES:

---Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord leads the nation in passing yards per game, at 350.33 yards per contest. He is the Orange’s main weapon on offense, since Syracuse averages just 3.0 yards per rushing attempt, which is worse than every other ACC team except Florida State. He has thrown for 3,153 yards through nine games and has a chance to break the Syracuse record for a passing yards in a season, set by Ryan Nassib, who passed for  3,749 yards in 2012. McCord’s 23 touchdown passes are three shy of the single-season school record set by Nassib in 2012. McCord has thrown 12 interceptions, but five of those came in a single game against Pittsburgh. McCord is a transfer from Ohio State, where he was a starter in 2023. But he entered the transfer portal after the loss to Michigan in the regular-season finale and before the Buckeyes’ Cotton Bowl loss.

---Syracuse is coming off a 37-31 loss to Boston College, but the Orange are already bowl-eligible for the third year in a row. Syracuse still has a chance to finish with a winning conference record for just the second time since 2012 and has an opportunity to win eight games or more in a season for the first time since 2018 and just the second time since 2012.

---Fran Brown has energized the Syracuse program in his first season as a head coach at any level.  Brown was an assistant at Georgia the past two seasons, and he is known as an excellent recruiter. Brown said this week that he does not shower after losses, so Cal's mission is to keep Brown out of the shower.

---Syracuse’s run defense has been poor. The Orange has allowed 4.9 yards per rushing attempt this season and that ranks last in the ACC. Boston College ran the ball 51 times for 313 yards against Syracuse last week. But Cal's run offense has been poor. The Bears are averaging just 3.4 yards per rushing attempt.

---Syracuse has four players who have caught more than 45 passes this season: Trebor Pena (60 receptions), Jackson Meeks (55), Oronde Gadsden II (46) and LaQuint Allen (47). Allen is a running back who is as much of a threat as a receiver as a runner.  He has run for 653 yards this season while averaging 4.5 yards per carry.

---Syracuse has a turnover margin of minus-3 (14 turnovers, 11 takeaways), and only two ACC teams have a worse turnover margin than that. It contrasts with Cal, which is among the national leaders in turnover margin at plus-16. Last week, Syracuse committed just one turnover and forced one Boston College turnover.

---Orange starting cornerback Jayden Bellamy, who leads the team in interceptions with two and has broken up four passes, is not expected to play against Cal because of an injury.

---A Syracuse beat writer answers five questions about the Orange---

CAL PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Fernando Mendoza (12 TDs, 4 interceptions); RB Jaydn Ott (2.4 yards per carry); RB Jaivian Thomas (6.1 yards per carry); CB Nohl Williams (7 interceptions, tops in the nation); ILB Teddye Buchanan (83 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss); TE Jack Endries (28 receptions over the last four games); OLB Xavier Carlton (9.0 sacks); WR Tobias Merriweather (6 receptions, 1 TD in his first game last week)

SYRACUSE PLAYERS TO WATCH:  QB Kyle McCord (23 TD passes, 12 interceptions); WR Trebor Pena (60 receptions, 5 TDs); WR Jackson Meeks (55 catches, 4 TDs); TE Oronde Gadsden II (46 receptions, 4 TDs); RB LaQuint Allen (652 rushing yards, 47 receptions); LB Marlowe Wax (second-team all-ACC in 2023, missed 5 games this year, but back now); DE Fadil Diggs (10 tackles for loss)

CAL STATISTICS: Click here

CAL NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click Here

SYRACUSE STATISTICS: Click here

JAKE'S PICK:  Cal 35, Syracuse 24

JEFF'S PICK:  Cal 28, Syracuse 24

CHRIS CARLSON’S PICK (Syracuse Post-Standard): Syracuse 34, Cal 31

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