**No. 15 Virginia at Cal Preview**
**Records:**
Cal (5-3, 2-2 ACC)
Virginia (7-1, 4-0 ACC)
**Kickoff:** 12:45 p.m. at Memorial Stadium
**TV:** ESPN2
**Radio:** 810 AM
**Series History:**
This will be the first meeting between Cal and Virginia.
—
### Cal Storylines
The Bears are aiming for their sixth win to secure bowl eligibility after a tough 42-34 double-overtime loss at Virginia Tech. This game marks the first of back-to-back matchups against Top-25 teams, with a trip to No. 16 Louisville scheduled for next week.
Cal has struggled against ranked opponents, having lost 13 straight games against Top-25 teams. The last victory came in the 2020 COVID-shortened season with a 21-17 home win over then-No. 23 Oregon.
Freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has shown promise, completing 45 of 78 passes for two touchdowns and no turnovers over the last two games. However, Cal’s receivers have dropped as many as 11 passes in those contests, suggesting his accuracy could have improved from 57.7% to around 72%.
The Bears will be without several key players due to injury. Running backs LJ Johnson Jr. and Brandon High Jr. (Nos. 2 and 3), starting safety Aiden Manutai, and offensive lineman Lamar Robinson are all sidelined according to the latest injury report.
—
### Virginia Storylines
Virginia sits at No. 15 in the AP rankings—their highest since 2004. Quarterback Chandler Morris, a seasoned sixth-year senior with experience at Oklahoma, TCU, and North Texas, was sacked six times in the previous game against UNC and is playing through a shoulder injury. Despite this, he is expected to start.
The Cavaliers remain one of only two unbeaten teams in ACC play, alongside Georgia Tech. Defensive lineman Fisher Camac, who played at UNLV last season, recorded four tackles for loss in the Rebels’ 24-13 LA Bowl victory over Cal last year.
—
### Stats That Matter
– **Turnover Margin:** Virginia is tied for 11th nationally with a plus-8 turnover margin. Cal is tied for 60th at plus-1.
– Virginia is one of just three teams in the country without a lost fumble this season.
– Cal linebacker Cade Uluave leads all Power 4 conference players with 81 tackles, including a career-best 19 tackles in the loss to Virginia Tech. At his current pace of 10.1 tackles per game, Uluave could finish the season with 121 tackles—the fifth-most by a Cal player since 2000.
– Cal slot receiver Jacob De Jesus ranks second in the ACC with 55 receptions.
—
*Report by Jeff Faraudo*
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/11/01/what-to-know-before-cal-kicks-off-against-no-15-virginia/
About the Author
