2024 Miami Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 6: Cal
The Miami Hurricanes are welcoming a new ACC addition this season by traveling over 3000 miles to play the California Golden Bears for the first time since 2008.
This game has a different feel now that each team is under the ACC banner which means that the stakes are higher than ever in the lengthy road trip for the Hurricanes. The Golden Bears have a record of 2-0 against the Hurricanes but those wins game in 1964 and 2008. This is a new age of college sports and a new age for the University of Miami under head coach Mario Cristobal who has recruited two top Pac-12 talents Cameron Ward and Damien Martinez who are familiar with putting up big numbers against this team.
With that being said, the Golden Bears also added 21 new players from the transfer portal, majority on the defense that could bolster their chances against the Canes.
This will be an interesting game between the two as this will also be the first time Cristobal will be back on the West Coast for a game since leaving the head coaching job at Oregon for Miami. Here is a look at the 2024 California Golden Bears:
Offense
One of the many worries for the Cal offense this season is who will be the starting quarterback to this point in the season. Last season they were 130 out of 133 in turnovers and it cost them many games last season and most came from the three quarterbacks the team had in rotation.
Many expect Fernando Mendoza to be the starter for his second season behind his offensive line. In his freshman season, he threw for 1708 yards but his issue was his touchdown to interception ratio. With a completions percentage of 63 percent, he threw for 14 touchdowns and also 10 interceptions. That also doesn't talk about his fumbling issue he had throughout the season.
One of the positives out of their 6-7 season was the team's rushing attack. When given the chance and while the team is not fighting from behind, they effectively ran the ball against opponents. The offensive line did not perform to the capability of many expectations but the ability of returning running back Jaydn Ott.
He rushed for over 1300 yards and accumulated over scrimmage yards for the team with 12 touchdowns. he was the anchor of the team and him returning means that they have a chance to catch fire on their home field and rush away on the Miami defense.
Defense
Statically, the Bears had one of the weakest defenses in the conference last season. Now this is the Pac-12 we are talking about here. All high power offensives and very little defense. Defenses could produce many turnovers but they could not keep teams off the field.
Cal ranked 114 in total defense in the country but the key addition of Ryan Yiates (LSU) and Jasiah Wagoner (UO) who are young and talented players could be molded in the way the head coach Justin Wilcox would imagine. That also goes for many of the transfer players who primarily were of the defensive side of the ball to have those new improvements that got Wilcox hired because of his time as the defensive coordinator for the Wisconsin Badgers.
On the positive side, the Golden Bears were able to win several games because of how many turnovers the team could generate. Cal forced 18 fumbles which was second in the nation and led the nation in recovering them with 16. Now in the ACC, the defense will have to match what the offense will be able to do because of how reliant some teams are on their defense in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Schedule
The Schedule will now favor the Hurricanes as they have a bye week following this road trip. This won't be the team's only stop, however, as they are right back on the road heading to Louisville, Kentucky to try and take down one of their most difficult opponents in the Cardinals.
This could be the step that Cristobal has been looking for to get an immense buildup of pressure off of his back if he goes on the road and delivers an impressive victory for the university and the city of Coral Gables. A win against Cal would only help his case and following that game would be a toss-up home game against Florida State that could go either way for each program. When a victory or a loss this will be a great way to gauge how the team will fare if they make it to the ACC Championship game and even the College Football Playoffs.
Outlook
This is the final game before the Hurricanes take their first bye week of the season. Once they return, the two most difficult games on their schedule stand in their way first being the Louisville Cardinals and following them will be the Florida State Seminoles. This would also be back-to-back road games coming from Cal which is already a treacherous trip traveling over 3000 miles from Coral Gable to Berkeley, Cal.
This could also be a great time for the team to be undefeated or at least have one loss on their resume going into the bye week with one of the most important games of their season. Cal is a step up in competition but the road trip could also take a lot out of the team. The bye week will be important.
The Game
Date: October 5
Time: TBA
TV: TBA
Location: California Memorial Stadium
Series: Cal leads the series 2-0 against Miami
Last Matchup: The Golden Bears defeated the Hurricanes 24-17 Dec. 27, 2008 in the teams second matchup where Cal's Zack Follett forced a fumble on Jacory Harris deep in Miami territory with under four minutes left in the game. Anthony Miller then scored the go-ahead touchdown moments later in the Emerald Bowl on Saturday night.
Miami Hurricanes 2024 Football Schedule
August 31 at Florida
September 7 Florida A&M
September 14 Ball State
September 21 at USF
September 27 Virginia Tech
October 5 at California
October 12 Bye Week
October 19 at Louisville
October 26 Florida State
November 2 Duke
November 9 at Georgia Tech
November 16 Bye Week
November 23 Wake Forest
November 30 at Syracuse
