Cal Game Preview: Bears Face Auburn in Home Opener Saturday Night

Cal is an underdog at home against an SEC team that beat UMass last week

Cal plays its first home game of the season on Saturday night against Auburn of the Southeastern Conference. Cal quarterback Ben Finley calls the SEC “big-boy football.”

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze hates making long trips to the West Coast, and the Tigers will fly five hours to go 2,460 miles from Auburn to Berkeley for a game that starts at 9:30 p.m. Central Time (Auburn’s time zone).

The Cal-Auburn home-and-home series was originally scheduled in 2014 with the first game to be played in 2019. Auburn and Cal rescheduled the game in 2019 to its current dates -- tonight in Berkeley and Sept. 7, 2024, in Auburn.

Here are the basics:

CAL (1-0) vs. AUBURN (1-0)

SITE: Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, Calif.

WHEN: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN -- Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Brock Osweiler (analyst), Kayla Burton (reporter)

RADIO: 810 AM -- Justin Allegri (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Alex Jensen (sideline reporter)

BETTING LINE: Auburn is favored by 5 points as of Saturday afternoon. Auburn opened as a 6.5-point favorite. Over/under is 54.5 points.

WEATHER FORECAST: Saturday afternoon will be partly cloudy in Berkeley with a high of about 75 degrees. But the temperature will drop below 70 degrees by the kickoff and is expected to get down to 57 degrees Saturday night. Cloud cover will increase at night and there may be periods of mist and reduced visibility. There is a 12% chance of rain.

CAL-AUBURN HISTORY: Cal and Auburn have never met in a football game.

CAL STORYLINES:

--The Bears look for a significant win over a Southeastern Conference team. The last time Cal faced an SEC team was 2019, when the Bears defeated Mississippi 28-20 on the road. The last time Cal played a home game against an SEC was 2017 when the Bears beat Mississippi 27-16. Before that Cal had not played an SEC team since 2007, when it beat Tennessee 35-31 at home, one year after losing to the Vols 35-18 in Knoxville.

--Cal scored 58 points (most Cal points since 2016) and gained 669 yards (most in eight years) against North Texas in its opening win. But this game against Auburn will give a better indication of whether new offensive coordinator Jake Spavital’s spread, uptempo offense is a significant upgrade over previous Cal offenses, which were subpar.

--Sam Jackson V is expected to start at quarterback, although his status is officially a game-day decision. He injured his left arm in the second quarter last week and did not play the rest of the game. Ben Finley performed well as his replacement.

--Cal hopes to get a bowl berth for the first time since 2019, and this game will go a long way toward determining whether the Bears can get to the six wins needed for bowl-eligibility.

--Jaydn Ott ranks fifth in the nation in rushing after running for 188 yards last week against North Texas. Cal ranks fourth in the nation in total offense.

AUBURN STORYLINES

--Auburn was picked to finish sixth in the seven-team SEC Western Division in the preseason media poll. The Tigers went 5-7 last season and failed to get a bowl berth for the first time since 2012. Head coach Bryan Harsin was fired eight games into the 2022 season.

--The Tigers won their 2023 opener 59-14 over Massachusetts last week, and the Tigers gained 492 yards in the process.

--Auburn played two quarterbacks in the win over UMass and are expected to do the same this week. Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne is the starter and is the better passer of the two, and Robby Ashford is expected to receive significant playing time as well, especially in the red zone, and is the better runner.

--Talented Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter did not play in the opener as the result of an off-field incident. It is unknown whether he will play against Cal, although he has been practicing this week and is listed as a starter on the Auburn depth chart.

--Cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett, probably Auburn’s best defensive player, did not play last week because of an injury, but there’s a decent chance he will play against Cal. Auburn starting linebacker Austin Keys is out with a broken thumb.

--Hugh Freeze is in his first season as Auburn’s head coach after being at Liberty for four years. The Flames went 10-1 in 2020 when they finished with a No. 17 ranking. Freeze had been the head coach at Mississippi before he resigned after five seasons in 2017 for what the school termed a "pattern of misconduct."

--Auburn is 10-3 overall and 0-2 on the road against current members of the Pac-12: Arizona (2-1), Colorado (1-0), Oregon (2-0), Oregon State (1-0), USC (1-2), Washington (1-0) and Washington State (2-0). In Auburn's most recent matchup with a Pac-12 team, Auburn beat Oregon 27-21 in Arlington, Texas, to open the 2019 season.

---Auburn beat writer answers five questions about the Tigers---

CAL PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Sam Jackson V (3-for-4 passing, including a touchdown, before leaving with an injury last week); RB Jaydn Ott (188 rushing yards against North Texas): RB Isaiah Ifanse (impressive in the opener while scoring three TDs); WR Jeremiah Hunter (6 receptions and a TD, last week); ILB Jackson Sirmon (8 tackles, including 1 sack last week); am all-Pac-12 in 2022); loss); DL Brett Johnson (standout defensive lineman missed the past two seasons with injuries and played 17 snaps against North Texas).

AUBURN PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Payton Thorne (11-of-17 for 141 yards, 1 TD vs. UMass); QB Robby Ashford (51 rushing yards, 3 rushing TDs vs. UMass); CB Nehemiah Pritchett (preseason third-team all-SEC, if he plays); WR Jay Fair (5 receptions, 1 TD last week); CB DJ James (Oregon transfer was second-team all-SEC in 2022); RB Jarquez Hunter (questionable to play, averaged 6.4 yards per carry in 2022)

CAL STATISTICS: Click here

CAL NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click Here

AUBURN STATISTICS: Click here

AUBURN GAME PROGRAM: Click here

JAKE'S PICK: Cal 24, Auburn 20

JEFF'S PICK: Auburn 35, Cal 33

ZAC BLACKERBY'S PICK (Auburn Daily): Auburn 38, Cal 28

TICKETS: Click here. Stub Hub: Click Here: 

PARKING: Click here.

GAME DAY GUIDE: Click here

Cover photo of Payton Thorne and Hugh Freeze by John Reed, USA TODAY Sports

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