Cal Football: Bears to Open 2021 Pac-12 Schedule at Washington on Sept. 25

The 2021 Big Game Set for Nov. 20 at Stanford Stadium

Cal will play its Pac-12 football opener at Washington on Sept. 25, the conference announced Tuesday morning.

A year after the COVID-19 pandemic limited the Bears to four games, they are scheduled to play nine Pac-12 opponents.

The Bears will travel to Stanford for the 124th Big Game on Saturday, Nov. 20.

Here is the Bears' complete 2021 Pac-12 schedule:

- Saturday, Sept. 25 at Washington

- Saturday, Oct. 2 vs. Washington State

- Saturday, Oct. 9 - bye

- Friday, Oct. 15 at Oregon

- Saturday, Oct. 23 vs. Colorado

- Saturday, Oct. 30 vs. Oregon State

- Saturday, Nov. 6 at Arizona

- Saturday, Nov. 13 vs. USC

- Saturday, Nov. 20 at Stanford

- Saturday, Nov. 27 at UCLA

The Bears' lone bye week is Oct. 9, preceding their Friday, Oct. 15 game at Oregon.

Cal coach Justin Wilcox, appearing on the Pac-12 Network on Tuesday morning, gave the understated reaction to the schedule that you'd expect from him.

"They don’t traditionally come and ask us how we want it set up. They sent it out, we got it yesterday and I love it," he said. "I’m going to be honest with you guys - I don’t spend a ton of mental energy on whether I love the schedule, don’t love the schedule. It’s the schedule. What we spend our mental energy on is tomorrow’s practice.”

Wilcox said the schedule won't even be a talking point at practice.

The back end of the schedule appears very challenging. Cal's final home game is Nov. 13 vs. USC, then the Bears play back-to-back road games at Stanford and UCLA to close the schedule.

Note: The Pac-12 initially announced that the UCLA-Cal game will be played on Friday, Nov. 26. Both Cal and UCLA confirmed it's scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 27.

Cal plays four Pac-12 home games and five on the road. The Bears will miss Arizona State and Utah next season.

Game times and TV information will be announced at later dates.

Click here for an assessment of which Pac-12 teams have the easiest schedules.

Here's the entire Pac-12 football schedule:

2021 Pac-12 football schedule

The Pac-12 was the last of the five major conferences to announce its football schedules.

The Southeastern Conference announced its 2021 schedule 33 days ago. The Atlantic Coast Conference announced next fall's schedule on January 28. The Big Ten followed soon thereafter, with an announcement on Feb. 5, and the Big 12 laid out its 2021 schedule on Feb. 11.

Cal's season kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 4 against Nevada at Memorial Stadium. The Wolf Pack was 7-2 in 2020. The Bears then will play Sept. 11 at TCU, which was 6-4 last fall with wins over Texas and Oklahoma State.

The Bears complete their non-conference portion of their schedule vs. Sacramento State on Sept. 18 at Berkeley. The Hornets are coached by former Cal quarterback Troy Taylor.

.

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo