Cal finished 6-7 last season and faces pressure to produce the program's first winning season since 2019, with Chancellor Rich Lyons calling a .500 result unacceptable and new general manager Ron Rivera targeting eight or nine wins. Freshman left-handed quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele won the starting job over transfer Devin Brown. Multiple offensive-line transfers will start. Oregon State returns quarterback Maalik Murphy, who threw for 2,933 yards and 26 touchdowns last season, plus leading rusher Anthony Hankerson and receiver Trent Walker. Second-year head coach Trent Bray has added defensive coordinator duties. Cal lost several ball-hawking defensive backs.
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.
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 . . .
Collection
[
|
...
]