Two programs with more than a century of football history between them have somehow never played each other — and this one arrives with a fired coach, a new staff, and a quarterback who almost bolted for the portal.
Bush’s Picks
CALNCSU
CALNCSU
OverUnder
Best BetNC State
NC State brings a proven, third-year starter and a staff that hasn't been blown up, while Cal is still figuring out life after firing its head coach mid-season. That gap in continuity is the whole ballgame here — the Wolfpack know who they are, the Golden Bears are still finding out.
+Beat coverage calls transfer portal class productive
−Wilcox fired mid-season after 34-0 loss as favorite
−First-time HC and two first-time coordinators
−Lost 32 players to the portal this cycle
NC State
+Bailey returns for 3rd year as starter, elite completion rate
+Won Gasparilla Bowl 31-7, first bowl win since 2017
+Manageable 2026 schedule per ESPN FPI
−Doeren still chasing first 10-win season in year 14
−Preseason projections have Wolfpack in ACC's middle tier
−O-line needed full portal reload after departures
Cal shows up to Raleigh mid-rebuild. Tosh Lupoi, the former Cal defensive lineman and Oregon defensive coordinator, took over in December after Justin Wilcox was fired mid-season following a 34-0 home loss to San Diego State as a 14-point favorite. Lupoi has never been a head coach at any level, and both of his coordinators are first-timers straight from the NFL. The one thing keeping this from being a full teardown is that quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who threw for 3,117 yards and 17 touchdowns as a true freshman in 2025, chose to stay through the coaching change instead of hitting the portal himself.
NC State is the calmer program in this one, at least on paper. CJ Bailey is back for his third year as the starter after completing 68.8% of his throws with 25 passing touchdowns and 6 more on the ground in 2025 — third in the ACC in completion rate. Dave Doeren told ESPN this offseason Bailey could be the best quarterback in the country, and the Wolfpack are one of just two ACC teams bringing back a third-year starter in the same offense. That continuity matters against a Cal roster that lost 32 players to the transfer portal and is breaking in new coordinators on both sides of the ball.
Show fees
11:00 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
CAL California
NCSU NC State
Doeren, though, is entering year 14 in Raleigh still chasing his first 10-win season, and the "unfinished business" storyline follows him into every preseason. NC State closed 2025 at 8-5 and beat Memphis 31-7 in the Gasparilla Bowl for its first bowl win since 2017 — real progress, even if outside projections still have the Wolfpack around ninth in a 17-team ACC. Cal isn't rated much better, sitting closer to 11th in early league projections, which tells you this is a game between two programs picked for the middle of the pack rather than a marquee clash.
California Golden Bears
Oct 16?vs Wake Forest—
Oct 9?vs Virginia Tech—
Oct 3?@ UNLV—
Sep 25?vs Clemson—
Sep 19?vs Wagner—
Sep 12?@ Syracuse—
Sep 5?vs UCLA—
NC State Wolfpack
Oct 23?@ Stanford—
Oct 9?vs Wake Forest—
Oct 2?vs Louisville—
Sep 25?vs App State—
Sep 19?@ Vanderbilt—
Sep 11?vs Richmond—
Aug 29?@ Virginia—
Recent form.
There's no history here to lean on — no prior meetings, no rivalry angle, nothing to draw from except what both rosters look like walking in. NC State has rebuilt its offensive line through the portal, adding a Texas transfer projected to start at guard and a receiver in Chance Robinson who has real chemistry with Bailey from their 7-on-7 days together. Cal's portal class has been called productive by beat writers, but replacing an entire coaching infrastructure in one offseason is a different kind of lift than plugging portal pieces into an established system.
California Golden Bears
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
NC State Wolfpack
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
By the time this one kicks off on Friday, October 30, both teams will have nine games of tape on their new-look pieces — Cal's staff figuring out what it actually has, NC State hoping its early-season continuity has turned into results instead of just potential. If Doeren's team is finally stacking wins the way its quarterback situation suggests it should, this is a get-right spot. If Cal is still finding its footing under Lupoi, it's the kind of game that gets away from a rebuilding roster fast.
