UNC looking to bounce back at Cal

by Sharon Thorsland

North Carolina’s brutal football season returns this week after another bye last week. The Tar Heels (2-3) head across the country to take on Cal (4-2) in Berkeley. Somehow this is an ACC matchup thanks to the crazy conference realignment that continues to plague college sports. Kick-off is set for a very late 10:30pm on WBT.

Like the Tar Heels, Cal is coming off a bye week. The Golden Bears began the season 3-0 but have since dropped two of their last three games, including a 45-21 home loss against Duke. They’ve got a freshman running the offense in quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. He’s had an up and down season, throwing for nearly 1500 yards and nine touchdowns to go with seven interceptions and seven sacks. Sagapolutele has a pair of excellent receivers in Trond Grizzell and Jacob De Jesus, they’ve combined for over 700 yards. The Bears have a mediocre rushing attack; they manage just 98 yards per game on the ground. Most of them have come compliments of Kendrick Raphael, who has picked up 414 yards and four touchdowns. They’ll face a UNC defense that has struggled, allowing over 373 yards and nearly 26 points per game.

UNC’s offense hasn’t been much better. The Tar Heels have played musical quarterbacks with Gio Lopez and Max Johnson and are averaging just 162 passing yards per game. Even worse, they’ve managed just 11 points in their three Power-4 games, all losses. Cal’s defense is solid across the board, allowing just 330 yards per game, that’s 6th in the ACC. They have a veteran secondary and disruptive front seven that’s helped force seven turnovers. Cal has two of the best linebackers in the ACC in Luke Ferrelli and Cade Uluave, who leads the team in tackles. They’ve got a stud at cornerback as well in Hezekiah Moses, whose four interceptions are tied for fourth in the country.

After all of the off-the-field Bill Belichick drama over the past two weeks, it’s going to be interesting to see how the players perform Friday night. Have they cashed it in? Or will they fight for the NC on their jersey? I’m hoping it’s the latter and that we’ll at least see a fight against the Bears. This is a winnable game – Go Tar Heels!