Cal Aims to Stay Perfect as Week 4 of the ACC Schedule Unfolds

It’s not the 3-0 start that has Cal fans excited. The Bears were 3-0 last season and wound up 6-7.

This doesn’t feel like that. 

Cal closes out its non-conference schedule Saturday night as a 12.5-point favorite over San Diego State and a victory would only add to the Bears’ momentum as the prepare for a second season in the ACC.

Curiously, while the Bears are among six ACC teams still unbeaten they are the only road favorite this week in 11 games involving conference teams. 

Here are the Week 4 matchups: 

(Point spreads provided by DraftKings)

SATURDAY

— Syracuse (plus-17.5) at Clemson, 9 a.m., ESPN

Clemson is 1-2 for the first time since 2014 and coach Dabo Swinney is already getting cranky. But for all the Tigers’ issues, beating Syracuse  Syracuse (2-1) has not been one of them. The Tigers have won the past six meetings vs. the Orange and have never to them lost at home. Can Syracuse QB Steve Angeli, who leads the NCAA with 1,072 passing yards, flip the script? 

— Wofford (no line) at Virginia Tech, 9 a.m., ESPN+/ACC Extra

Interim coach Philip Montgomery will try to correct the course of a Hokies squad that gave up 113 points in three defeats, prompting the dismissal of coach Brent Pry on Sunday. The FCS-level Terriers also are 0-3, having lost by margins of 1, 4 and 1 point.

— SMU (plus-7) at TCU, 9 a.m., ESPN2/ESPN

Ex-Cal coach Sonny Dykes’ Horned Frogs (2-0) lost 66-42 at SMU (2-1) a year ago, but they looked pretty formidable in their season-opening 48-14 rout of North Carolina. SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings has passed for 836 yards but also has three interceptions and six sacks.

— Bowling Green (plus-26.5) at Louisville, 9 a.m., ACC Network

Quarterback Drew Pyne, who spent three seasons at Notre Dame and one each at Arizona State and Missouri, will lead the Falcons (2-1) into Louisville (2-0), which plays a third consecutive cupcake opponent.

— Kent State (plus-45.5) at No. 7 Florida State, 12:30 p.m., ACC Network

This could get ugly. The Seminoles (3-0) are third in the nation in scoring at 54 points per game and the Golden Flashes (1-2) gave up 62 in a loss to Texas Tech.

— North Carolina (plus-6.5) at UCF, 12:30 p.m., Fox

Have Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels (2-1) convinced anyone they’re turned a corner after wins over Charlotte and Richmond? UCF (2-0) hasn’t impressed with their schedule so far, either, posting wins over Jacksonville State and North Carolina A&T.

— NC State (plus-3.5) at Duke, 1 p.m., ESPN2

Hollywood Smith rushed for 304 yards the past two games, but the Wolfpack (3-0) is nonetheless a road underdog to the the Blue Devils (1-2) who gave up 79 points in losses to Illinois and Tulane.

— Temple (plus-23.5) at No. 18 Georgia Tech, 1:30 p.m., CW Network

The Owls’ wins over UMass and Howard got some context last week when they were thumped 42-3 in Philly by Oklahoma. Tech, meanwhile, validated a season-opening road win over Colorado by knocking off Clemson 24-21 after a last-second 55-yard field goal. 

— Florida (plus-7.5) at No. 4 Miami, 4:30 p.m., ABC

When Miami quarterback Carson Beck was at Georgia last year, the Bulldogs beat Florida 34-20 but not before the Gators intercepted him three times. Beck is completing an NCAA-best 79 percent of his passes and averaging 9.9 yards per attempt this season and the Hurricanes (3-0) boast wins over Notre Dame and South Florida.

— Stanford (plus-15.5) at Virginia, 4:30 p.m., ACC Network

The Cardinal comes off a surprising 30-20 victory over Boston College, but winning two in a row will require bucking some hard-to-believe history: Stanford has not posted back-to-back wins over FBS opponents since beating Notre Dame and Arizona State in October of 2022.

— Cal (minus-12.5) at San Diego State, 7:30 p.m., CBSSN

Favored for the first time this season, the Bears cannot afford a hiccup the week before beginning eight straight ACC games. A victory here gets Cal halfway to eight wins and sets up the Bears for a potentially bigger season yet.