Wake Forest Demon Deacons at California Golden Bears

The only other time these two played, it turned into a 46-36 shootout. Wake Forest gets a shot at revenge in Berkeley, and this time the opponent looks even more dangerous.

Bush’s Picks

WAKECAL

WAKECAL

OverUnder

Best BetWake Forest

Wake Forest's experience edge and a coaching staff that's already proven it can win close games make the Deacons the more trustworthy side to win outright. Cal has the flashier name in Sagapolutele, but a first-year head coach and a roster that turned over 32 players is exactly the kind of profile that trips up preseason hype. Back the Deacons for pure win probability over the shinier storyline.

Wake Forest

• +Jake Dickert delivered best-ever debut season, 9-4
• +Signed long-term extension, staff stability
• +Robby Ashford won a clean QB1 job in camp
• −Lost the only prior meeting with Cal, 46-36
• −Still a young coaching tenure with no long track record

California

• +Sagapolutele is a legit Heisman-radar sophomore QB
• +Built ACC's No. 2 transfer class this offseason
• +Won the only head-to-head meeting, 46-36 in 2024
• −Fired Wilcox mid-2025, first-year HC Lupoi now in charge
• −Finished just 7-6 with a bowl loss to Hawaii
• −Lost 32 players to the transfer portal

This one's built around two very different rebuilds. Wake Forest enters year 2 under Jake Dickert, who turned in the best debut season by a first-year Demon Deacons coach in program history, going 9-4 with a Duke's Mayo Bowl win over Mississippi State. Cal, meanwhile, fired Justin Wilcox in the middle of last season and handed the keys to first-time head coach Tosh Lupoi, whose entire offseason mission was keeping sophomore QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele in Berkeley.

Sagapolutele is the headline act here. As a true freshman in 2025 he threw for 3,117 yards and produced 20 total touchdowns, including a torrid stretch where he racked up 653 yards and 6 touchdowns with zero interceptions in back-to-back upset wins over ranked SMU and Louisville teams. Cal also went out and built the No. 2 transfer class in the ACC around him — but replaced 32 players who hit the portal in the process, which is a lot of new pieces for a first-year staff to gel.

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WAKE Wake Forest

CAL California

Wake Forest counters with continuity. Robby Ashford beat out Deshawn Purdie for the starting job in camp, and Dickert's staff returns what one preseason outlet called the ACC's most experienced roster. The Deacons already know what a track meet with Cal looks like — they gave up 46 points at home in 2024 and still nearly won it. That defense has questions to answer if this game turns into a similar shootout on the road.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

(0)

Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report

California Golden Bears

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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report