NORTH CAROLINA AT CAL
Records: Cal (4-2 overall, 1-1 in ACC); North Carolina (2-3, 0-1 ACC)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PT Friday at Memorial Stadium, Berkeley
TV: ESPN
Radio: 810 AM
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Series history: Cal leads 2-0. The Bears won 24-17 in their most recent matchup in 2018 at Berkeley. Cal won 35-30 at Chapel Hill the year before in coach Justin Wilcox’s debut.
North Carolina storylines: Season 1 of the Bill Belichick era has been a train wreck. The Tar Heels have beaten just one FBS opponent — a 1-5 Charlotte team that is ranked 129th nationally in ESPN’s SP+ ratings — and have given up 120 points in their three defeat. … Carolina has been outscored 55-6 in the first half of its past two games, vs. UCF and Clemson. … Belichick coached 511 NFL regular-season and postseason games over 29 seasons, but his Browns and Patriots teams played in the Bay Area just six times, and not at all since 2017. He is 5-1 in those games, unbeaten since a 27-20 loss to the Raiders in 2002. … No word on who will start at quarterback. Sophomore Gio Lopez, who began the season as the starter, sustained a right leg injury vs. UCF on Sept. 20. Senior Max Johnson, who previously played at Texas A&M and LSU, started vs. Clemson in the Heels’ most recent game two weeks ago.
Cal storylines: The Bears, like the Tar Heels, are coming off a bye following a defeat. They started the season 3-0 but are 1-2 since and need two more victories to become bowl eligible for the third straight year. … Freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who is sixth in the ACC at 246.5 passing yards per game, also shares the conference lead with seven interceptions. … Cal hopes to generate a more effective run game after averaging just 71 rushing yards per game at 2.4 yards per attempt over the past four games. The Bears’ run defense also has regressed, allowing 178 rushing yards each of the past two games after giving up an average of just 95.5 yards through four outings.
Stats that matter: Among the nation’s leaders last season with 22 takeaways, Cal has just seven through six games. Over the past three games, the Bears have eight turnovers and only two takeaways. … UNC ranks 1118th nationally in scoring (18.8 points per game), 122nd in passing yards (161.6), 131st in total offense (263.8 yards) and 125th in third-down conversions (31.7 percent).
— JEFF FARAUDO
