BERKELEY, California -- California opens the 2015 season with its first-ever meeting against Grambling State, which is just seven miles away from Louisiana Tech where Cal head coach Sonny Dykes coached before coming to Berkeley.
The Golden Bears have won 11 of their last 13 home openers, dating back to 2002. Last season, Cal topped Sacramento State, 55-14, in the home opener. Since 2002, the Bears are 9-4 in season openers after last year’s 31-24 victory at Northwestern. In 120 seasons, Cal is 74-42-4 all-time in season openers.
Saturday’s tilt with Grambling State marks the eighth time that Cal will face an FCS opponent. The Bears are 8-0 against FCS teams, with the most recent game last year’s 55-14 victory over Sacramento State.
California Golden Bears vs Grambling State Tigers |
| Saturday, Sept. 5 | 2:00 pm PT |
| Kabam Field at California Memorial Stadium | Berkeley, CA |
| TV: Pac-12 Networks - Roxy Bernstein (Play by Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Drea Avant (Sideline) |
| Radio: KGO 810 AM – Joe Starkey (Play by Play), Dave Barr (Analyst), Todd McKim (Sideline) |
| Live Stats: Cal.StatBroadcast.com |
| Live Audio: TuneIn Radio |
| SiriusXM Satellite Radio: Sirius (93) and XM (197) |
| Cal Student Radio: KALX 90.7 FM – Glenn Borok (PlayBy-Play), David Straub (Analyst), Todd Vogel (Analyst) |
| Series History: First Meeting |
| Cal Game Notes | Pac-12 Weekly Release | Cal Information Guide | Cal Athletics YouTube | @CalFootball | @CalCoachDykes | Cal_Football Instagram |
| Tuesday Press Conference Video: Sonny Dykes, Jared Goff, Jalen Jefferson, Bryce Treggs |
| Inside The Lair Radio Show: Sonny Dykes, Art Kaufman, Daniel Lasco |
The 2015 Cal team features players who accounted for over 80 percent of its offense in the following categories in 2014 – passing (99.7%), total offense (99.3%), rushing (98.4%), all-purpose (89.7%), total touchdowns (88.5%) and receiving (84.6%).
Cal enters the 2015 season with its most experienced group under Dykes. The Bears’ roster lists 34 players who made a combined 228 starts last year (Offense 16/111, Defense 17/105, Specialists 1/12). Those figures are a marked improvement from 2014 when Cal entered the year with 28 players having made 164 starts (Offense 17/97; Defense 10/65; Specialists 1/12) in 2013. In 2012, Cal had 14 players who started 120 times the previous season (Offense 7/55; Defense 6/53; Specialists 1/12).
Cal received a single vote in the 2015 AP Top 25 preseason poll. The Bears last garnered top-25 consideration following their 4-1 start last season.
Cal finished the 2014 season with an overall record of 5-7 for a four-win turnaround from 2013 which was its best since the 2002 squad went 7-5 overall after the 2001 club finished 1-10.
National honors candidate junior quarterback Jared Goff is a Heisman Trophy contender and has been named to nearly every watch list for college football’s top player and quarterback awards. Goff is the nation’s second-leading returning passer after ranking fifth in nationally in passing touchdowns (35), passing yards (3,973) and passing yards per game (331.1) last season. He is already the holder of 19 school records.
Senior Trevor Davis is a second-team preseason All-American as a kick returner and on the watch list for the Paul Hornung Award honoring the nation’s most versatile player. Davis equaled NCAA and Pac-12 records in 2014 when he became the 20th player in FBS history and the third in the Pac-12 to bring back two kick returns in a single game on consecutive kick returns at Washington State.
Seven of the eight Cal players who recorded at least 20 catches in 2014 are returning, led by junior wide receiver Kenny Lawler who posted a team-best 54 receptions a year ago. Senior wide receiver Bryce Treggs was right behind with 52 catches. The others on the list are Stephen Anderson (46), Daniel Lasco (33), Maurice Harris (25), Trevor Davis (24) and Darius Powe (20).
CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS
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