Cal Football: An Early Look at the 2022 Schedule, Featuring a Trip to Notre Dame

The Golden Bears will face the Fighting Irish for the first time in 55 seasons.

It’s not too early to look at the 2022 football season, right?

The Bears will not participate in a bowl game again this year, so we’ll turn our attention today to next season’s schedule.

The highlights: Seven home games, at least five against teams with new coaches and a trip to Notre Dame.

The Golden Bears will trek to South Bend, Indiana to face the Fighting Irish on Sept. 17, just their fifth-ever matchup against Notre Dame.

Touchdown Jesus awaits the Bears, but coach Brian Kelly didn’t stick around. He took the head coaching job at LSU, apparently convinced he can win a national title in the Bayou and equally sure folks will accept his sudden Southern accent.

The Bears are 0-4 all-time against Notre Dame, with all four games taking place in a nine-year span more than half a century ago. Funny thing is, while Cal compiled a record of just 14-25-1 in 1959, ’60, ’65 and ’67, the Fighting Irish were hardly world beaters those four seasons, going 22-17-1.

New coach Marcus Freeman, 35, is energized to do special things in his first-ever head coaching assignment. "I'm ready to lead this program to the greatest heights," said Freeman, promoted after directing the Notre Dame defense this fall in his first season with the program.

If Freeman is talking national championship, it would be the school's first since coach Lou Holtz engineered the program’s 11th title in 1988. Freeman was not quite 3 years old at the time.

Here’s our early look at Cal’s 12 opponents in 2022. Dates have not yet been assigned to the Pac-12 matchups:

Aggies coach Dan Hawkins, left, and Justin Wilcox / Photo by Kelley L. Cox, USA Today

— Sept. 3 vs. UC Davis

2021 record: 8-4 overall, 5-3 in Big Sky

Bowl assignment: Lost 56-24 to South Dakota State in first round of the FCS playoffs

All-time series: Cal leads 10-0 and has outscored the Aggies 372 to 36. The Bears won 27-13 in the most recent meeting in 2019.

Coach status: Former Boise State and Colorado coach Dan Hawkins is 31-22 in five seasons coaching his alma mater with a pair of trips to the FCS playoffs.

What to expect: The Aggies’ top two quarterbacks and 900-yard running back Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. are all eligible to return. Even so, this has been a virtual automatic win for the Bears.

Coach Marcus Arroyo and his UNLV players / Photo by Stephen R. Sylavnie, USA Today

— Sept. 10 vs. UNLV

2021 record: 2-10 overall, 2-6 in Mountain West

Bowl assignment: None

All-time series: First meeting

Coach status: Marcus Arroyo, who spent the 2011 and ’12 seasons as passing game coordinator at Cal, is 2-16 after two seasons with the Rebels. Oregon’s offensive coordinator — and coach to Justin Herbert — for two seasons before arriving at UNLV, Arroyo has three years left on his original contract.

What to expect: UNLV has enjoyed just one winning season since 2000 and it won’t help that senior running back Charles Williams (1,264 yards, 15 touchdowns) is expected to enter the NFL draft.

New Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman / Photo by Matt Cashore, USA Today

— Sept. 17 at Notre Dame

2021 record: 11-1 as an independent, with seven straight victories (including over USC and Stanford) to close the regular season.

Bowl assignment: The Fighting Irish will play Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1.

All-time series: Notre Dame has won all four previous matchups, most recently beating Cal 41-8 at South Bend in 1967. The Irish have outscored the Bears 138-27 in their four meetings.

Coach status: Marcus Freeman, 35, who served as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator for 11 months, was a popular choice with players as replacement for Brian Kelly — the program’s winningest coach — who bolted for LSU. Freeman, the second African American head football coach in program history, will make his debut on Sept. 3 on the road against Ohio State, his alma mater.

What to expect: Most of Notre Dame’s star players are expected to be gone, but look for quarterback Tyler Buchner, running back Logan Diggs and wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. to blossom in 2022. The Irish should be very good again.

Arizona freshman quarterback Will Plummer / Photo by Gary A. Vasquez, USA Today

— TBA vs. Arizona

2021 record: 1-11 overall, 1-8/last in Pac-12 South, with a 10-3 win over a COVID-depleted Cal team

Bowl assignment: None

All-time series: Arizona leads 19-14-2 and has won the past six meetings. Cal’s most recent win was in 2009.

Coach status: Jedd Fisch’s squad showed improvement during his debut season this fall, even if it only became tangible on the day the Bears showed up without their quarterback and 23 others in COVID protocols.

What to expect: Cal has had so much trouble with a generation of Arizona teams it’s tempting to suggest it doesn’t matter who the Wildcats trot out onto the field. Common sense suggests they should be better in Year 2 under Fisch. The Bears haven’t won in Tucson since 2004, when Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes in a 38-0 win.

Oregon linebacker Noah Sewell signs an autograph / Photo by Chris Pietsch, Register-Guard

— TBA vs. Oregon

2021 record: 10-3 overall, 7-2/1st in Pac-12 North. Two of the Ducks’ three losses were blowout defeats against Utah.

Bowl assignment: The Ducks will take on No. 16 Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29. Will they have a head coach or any top players on the roster by then?

All-time series: Tied 41-41-2, although the Ducks have won four of the past five meetings.

Coach status: Mario Cristobal decided to return to his alma mater at Miami, leaving the Ducks in search a coach for the fifth time in 11 years. Will it be Baylor’s Dave Aranda, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, BYU’s Kilani Sitake, or UCLA’s Chip Kelly, in a return engagement? We know it won’t be Jeff Tedford. Cal fans are nervous it could be Justin Wilcox.

What to expect: Lots of variables here, starting with the coach. The Ducks have a strong talent base, but how many of them will transfer or turn pro? We already know that defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, a two-time All-Pac-12 selection, is heading to the NFL. That’s no surprise.

Will quarterback Tanner McKee return in 2022? / Photo by Stan Szeto, USA Today

— TBA vs. Stanford

2021 record: 3-9 overall, 2-7/last in Pac-12 South, with seven straight losses to close the season. The Cardinal lost the final four games by a combined 127 points.

Bowl assignment: None, for the third straight season.

All-time series: Stanford leads 65-48-11 but Cal has won two of the past three meetings, including 41-11 this season

Coach status: David Shaw will be the Cardinal’s coach for as long as he wants, but his program is 11-19 the past three seasons after going 82-26 the previous eight years. The looming question: Will Shaw make staff changes he has so far been unwilling to do?

What to expect: Quarterback Tanner McKee, one of the team’s few bright spots when he was healthy, could enter the NFL draft. Few of the returning players have a connection to Stanford’s glory years, so Shaw has work to do to re-start his once-mighty program.

Kyle Phillips celebrates a touchdown vs. Cal / Photo by Jayne Kamin Oncea, USA Today

— TBA vs. UCLA

2021 record: 8-4 overall, 6-3/tied 2nd in Pac-12 South

Bowl assignment: The Bruins, who have scored 148 points in three games to close the regular season, will take on No. 18 North Carolina State in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 28

All-time series: UCLA leads 57-34-1 and has won four of the past five meetings, including a 42-14 win at the Rose Bowl last month

Coach status: Chip Kelly began this season on the hot seat after three seasons where he was 10-21. He finally got the Bruins revved up this season and now he may be getting courted by an old flame. Will Oregon decide Kelly can repeat when he achieved in Eugene, where his teams were 46-7 from 2009 through 2012?

What to expect: What the Bruins will look like in 2022 is a mystery. Assuming Kelly returns there should be continuity, but UCLA started a lot of seniors this season, including quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and all 11 defensive starters. How many of those can or will return?

New UW coach Kalen DeBoer / Photo by Kirby Lee, USA Today

— TBA vs. Washington

2021 record: 4-8 overall, 3-6/5th in Pac-12 North

Bowl assignment: None for the second straight season after 10 straight bowl appearances

All-time series: Washington leads 55-41-4. The Huskies beat Cal 31-24 this year, but Cal won the previous two meetings

Coach status: Kalen DeBoer takes over for Jimmy Lake after two seasons at Fresno State, where his Bulldogs were 9-3 this season. DeBoer spent five seasons as head coach at NAIA-Sioux Falls, compiling a record of 67-3 through 2009.

What to expect: For about 24 hours this week, it looked like quarterback Jake Haener would follow DeBoer from Fresno State, back to where he began his career at Washington. Alas, the East Bay native opted to stay where he is and play for new Bulldogs coach Jeff Tedford. But hiring DeBoer is not about what he does this week. UW fans are counting on him rekindling the program’s traditional success.

Colorado running back Jarek Broussard / Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA Today

— TBA at Colorado

2021 record: 4-8 overall, 3-6/tied 4th in Pac-12 South

Bowl assignment: None

All-time series: Cal leads 7-4, including a 26-3 victory this season in Berkeley.

Coach status: Karl Dorrell was a hit in his debut season in 2020, leading the Buffaloes to four straight wins to open the schedule, earning him Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors. CU is 2-10 since and will be looking for a bounce-back season in 2022.

What to expect: Running back Jarek Broussard was voted Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year as a freshman in 2020 when he rushed for 895 yards in a six-game schedule but his production tailed off this season (661 yards in 11 games) and the Buffaloes finished with their worst offensive showing in 57 years. Dorrell fired Darrin Chiaverini, so Broussard, quarterback Brendon Lewis and wide receiver Brenden Rice (Jerry’s son) will have a new offensive coordinator. Two-time All-Pac-12 linebacker Nate Landman is done.

Quarterback Chance Nolan against Cal / Photo by Kelley L. Cox - KLC fotos

— TBA at Oregon State

2021 record: 7-5 overall, 5-4/3rd in Pac-12 North

Bowl assignment: The Beavers will face Utah State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl on Dec. 18

All-time series: Cal leads 39-35 and ended a two-game losing streak vs. the Beavers with a 39-25 win this season at Berkeley

Coach status: After going 9-22 in his first three seasons at his alma mater, Jonathan Smith and the Beavers turned the corner, earning the program’s first bowl bid in eight years. OSU rewarded Smith last week, signing him to a six-year extension through 2027, with a raise and a higher buyout clause.

What to expect: Hard to know what All-Pac-12 running back B.J. Baylor may decide for his future after rushing for 1,259 yards during the regular season. Chance Nolan is expected back after beating out Colorado transfer and 2020 second-team All-Pac-12 quarterback Sam Noyer. The Beavers started just four seniors combined on offense and defense so, barring defections, they should have lots of experience returning.

New USC coach Lincoln Riley / Photo by Kirby Lee, USA Today

— TBA at USC

2021 record: 4-8, 3-6/tied 4th in Pac-12 South

Bowl assignment: None

All-time series: USC leads 71-32-5 after Cal’s 24-14 win in this year’s season finale

Coach status: Lincoln Riley has arrived to shake things up after the Trojans suffered their worst season in 30 years and missed playing in a bowl game for the third time in four seasons. Riley compiled a five-year record of 55-10 at Oklahoma, directed the Sooners to three appearances in the College Football Playoffs and tutored a pair of Heisman Trophy winners

What to expect: Riley may not return the Trojans to national contender status in one year, but top recruits are following him from Oklahoma, and USC figures to be more creative offensively from the start. Those close to the program say the biggest upgrades needed are along the line of scrimmage.

WSU quarterback Jayden de Laura / Photo by James Snook, USA Today

— TBA at Washington State

2021 record: 7-5 overall, 6-3/2nd in Pac-12 North

Bowl assignment: The Cougars will take on Miami at the Sun Bowl on New Year’s Eve

All-time series: Cal leads 48-29-5 but WSU won 21-6 this season

Coach status: Jake Dickert earned the permanent assignment by directing the Cougars to a 3-2 regular-season finish, including road wins over Arizona State and rival Washington, after taking over as interim coach when Nick Rolovich was fired for refusing the state mandate to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Previously the Cougars’ defensive coordinator, the 38-year-old Dickert played wide receiver at Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

What to expect: Sophomore quarterback Jayden de Laura should be back after passing for more than 2,700 yards and 23 touchdowns, but the Cougars start 14 seniors or graduate students so some retooling will be necessary. Likely to be gone are running back Max Borghi, linebacker Jahad Woods, second-team All-Pac-12 receivers Travell Harris and Calvin Jackson and first-team all-conference offensive tackle Abe Lucas.

Cover photo of Notre Dame players and mascot by Matt Stamey, USA Today

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