SAN DIEGO STATE at CAL
Records: Cal 2-0, 0-0 in the ACC; San Diego State 1-1, 0-0 in the Mountain West
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PT Saturday at Memorial Stadium, Berkeley.
TV: ESPN
Radio: 810 AM The Spread (KGO)
Series history: Tied 4-4. The home team has won every game. SDSU won the most recent meeting, 45-40, in 2016 when Donnell Pumphrey rushed for 281 yards to break Marshall Faulk’s career rushing record. Cal’s Davis Webb passed for 522 yards and five touchdowns in the game.
Cal storylines: Coming off a 21-14 upset victory at Auburn, the Bears are seeking their first 3-0 start since 2019, when they won their first four games on the way to an 8-5 record . . . RB Jaydn Ott’s availability with an ankle sprain will be a game-time decision. Four other starters on offense are not expected to play: OG Sioape Vatikani, C Will McDonald, WR Tobias Merriweather and WR Kyion Grayes . . . CB Marcus Harris will sit out the first half after being ejected at Auburn for a personal foul targeting penalty.
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San Diego State storylines: The Aztecs, along with Boise State, Colorado State and Fresno State, learned this week they are joining the new-look Pac-12 starting with the 2026 school year. … SDSU lost 21-0 at home to Oregon State week in the first of three games they will play this season against current or past Pac-12 teams. They face Washington State on Oct. 26 . . . The Aztecs are led by first-year coach Sean Lewis, who was offensive coordinator at Colorado last year and head coach for high-scoring teams at Kent State from 2018-22 . . . Danny O’Neil, who became the Aztecs’ first true freshman to start at quarterback a season opener since the program went Division I in 1969, is expected to play despite injuring his knee in the first quarter vs. OSU.
Stats that matter: SDSU running back Marquez Cooper, with 4,132 career rushing yards, is the first 4,000-yard back Cal has faced since Oregon’s Royce Freeman in 2017. A transfer from Kent State and Ball State, Cooper has 18 games of at least 100 yards but none of those in his nine outings vs. Power 5 (now Power 4) teams . . . Cal’s seven interceptions are two more than any other team in FBS.
