Mason Heintschel's Pitt offense rolls into Berkeley looking to spoil Tosh Lupoi's first season on the Cal sideline, and this one's a genuine ACC measuring-stick game.
Bush’s Picks
PITTCAL
PITTCAL
OverUnder
Best BetPittsburgh
Pitt brings the more proven quarterback and a coordinator who says his offense is primed to take a leap in year 3, while Cal is breaking in a first-year head coach and two new starting tackles. Until Lupoi's rebuilt roster shows it can protect Sagapolutele consistently, backing the more stable program on the road is the safer angle.
Pittsburgh
+Heintschel returns after a 2,354-yard, 16-TD freshman season
+OC Kade Bell back for year 3, calls for a leap
+Finished 8-5, second in ACC a year ago
−Receiving corps still needs to build chemistry
−Cross-country trip to Berkeley late in the year
California
+Sagapolutele back after 3,454 yards, 18 TDs in 2025
+Added transfer weapons including WR Ian Strong, RB Adam Mohammed
+Lupoi is a proven defensive mind from Oregon's staff
−First-year head coach replacing a fired Wilcox mid-scandal
−Rush offense was one of the nation's worst in 2025
−Breaking in two transfer tackles up front
Heintschel is the story for Pitt no matter who's across from him. He took the job in Week 5 last year as a true freshman, went 6-3 as a starter, and torched NC State for 400 yards — the first Pitt quarterback to hit that mark since Kenny Pickett in 2021. Offensive coordinator Kade Bell is back for year 3 and has been saying all offseason that this is when his system takes the leap.
Cal's whole operation looks different than it did a year ago. Justin Wilcox is out after 9 seasons, canned in November following a 31-10 Big Game humiliation against Stanford, and Tosh Lupoi — a Berkeley kid who played D-line for the Bears in the early 2000s and spent 3 years running Oregon's defense — is now the man in charge. Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele stuck around, and that's the best thing Lupoi has going for him.
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PITT Pittsburgh
CAL California
Sagapolutele threw for 3,454 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and looked like one of the better returning arms in the conference, but Cal's ground game was one of the worst in the country, which is exactly why the staff went out and grabbed transfer back Adam Mohammed and a pair of transfer tackles this offseason. Whether that o-line gels in time to actually open lanes — and keep Sagapolutele upright — is the swing factor for this Cal team.
Pittsburgh Panthers
Nov 20?@ Louisville—
Nov 13?vs Florida State—
Oct 30?vs Georgia Tech—
Oct 16?@ Boston College—
Oct 9?vs North Carolina—
Oct 2?@ Virginia Tech—
Sep 26?vs Bucknell—
Sep 17?vs Syracuse—
Sep 12?vs UCF—
Sep 5?vs Miami (OH)—
California Golden Bears
Nov 20?vs Stanford—
Nov 13?@ Virginia—
Oct 30?@ NC State—
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—
Recent form.
Pitt finished 8-5 a year ago, second in the ACC, and returns almost everything that made that offense hum — Heintschel, Bell, and a receiving corps that's still gelling but has talent. The have a real shot to be the team nobody in the ACC wants to see in November. Cal, at 6-5 with a coaching change and a rebuilt offensive line, is the more volatile side of this one — capable of hanging with anybody on a given Friday night, but also the program that's earned the phrase "Cal'd it up" more than once.
Pittsburgh Panthers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
California Golden Bears
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Whatever else changes between now and Black Friday, this is a program-direction game for both sides. Pitt is trying to prove last year's breakout wasn't a fluke; Cal is trying to show Lupoi's first season isn't just another rebuild stuck in neutral. A late-night West Coast kickoff at 11:00 PM ET only adds to the strange, appointment-viewing feel of it.
