CAL AT OREGON STATE

2024 records: Cal 6-7 overall, 2-6 in ACC; Oregon State 5-7 overall, 1-0 in Pac-12

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Reser Stadium, Corvallis, Oregon

TV: ESPN

Radio: 810 AM

Series history: Cal leads 40-37; Cal won 44-7 at Berkeley last year

Cal storylines: The Bears face pressure to assemble their first winning season since 2019. Cal played in bowl games each of the past two seasons, but finished 6-7 each time. Chancellor Rich Lyons has said that a .500 season is not acceptable and new general manager Ron Rivera, who is working with coach Justin Wilcox but reports directly to Lyons, described a successful season as eight or nine wins . . . Left-handed freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele makes his debut after beating out Ohio State transfer Devin Brown in fall camp. Jared Goff was Cal’s only previous freshman QB to start the season’s first game, a 44-30 loss at home to Northwestern in 2013 . . . Among the six offensive line transfers the Bears signed, left guard Jordan Spasojevic-Moko and center Tyson Ruffins will start vs. OSU. Three others are listed as second-team players.

Oregon State storylines: The Beavers are led by 6-foot-5, 234-pound redshirt junior quarterback Maalik Murphy, a transfer from Duke, who passed for 2,933 yards and a program-record 26 touchdowns last season. After spending the two previous seasons at Texas, Murphy directed the Blue Devils to a 9-3 record as a starter . . . For the first time since 2019, OSU returns both its leading rusher and receiver. Senior Anthony Hankerson rushed for 1,082 yards and 15 TDs and senior Trent Walker caught 81 passes for 901 yards . . . Second-year head coach Trent Bray, previously the team’s defensive coordinator, has added those duties to his workload this season.

Stats that matter: The Bears were among the nation’s leaders with 22 takeaways last season, but four defensive backs who accounted for 12 of their 17 interceptions are gone . . . New Cal running backs Raphael Kendrick, LJ Johnson Jr. and Brandon High Jr.  have rushed for a combined career total of 2,223 yards . . . The Beavers are 13-4 in August and September the past four seasons and are 20-5 at home over that same stretch.

— JEFF FARAUDO

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