CAL at FLORIDA STATE
Records: Cal 3-0, 0-0 in the ACC; Florida State 0-3, 0-2 in the ACC
Kickoff: 4 p.m. PT Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida.
TV: ESPN2
Radio: 810 AM The Spread (KGO)
Series history: First meeting
Cal storylines: Cal will make its ACC debut after playing in the Pac-12 Conference since 1916 . . . The Bears are 3-0 for the first time since 2019, which was also the last time they had a final winning record (8-5) . . . This is Cal’s first game in the state of Florida since beating Clemson in the Citrus Bowl at Orlando on Jan. 1, 1992 . . . The Bears have held three consecutive opponents to 14 points or fewer for the first time since Jeff Tedford’s 2004 team that also featured quarterback Aaron Rodgers . . . redshirt sophomore quarterback Fernando Mendoza has completed 70 percent of his passes and has just one interception a year after throwing 10.
Florida State storylines: The defending ACC champion Seminoles have lost four straight games since going 13-0 to start last season, then being left out of the four-team College Football Playoff . . . FSU’s offensive line has a combined 377 college games (most in the country) but played last week without injured starting tackles Darius Washington and Jeremiah Byers. Washington is expected back, Byers is questionable . . . The Seminoles struggle everywhere: 128th in total offense (274.0 yards), 132nd in rushing offense (52.0 yards), 103rd in rushing defense (172.7 yards), 125th in third-down conversions (26 percent) and 124th in third-down defense (50 percent).
Stats that matter: Cal leads the nation with nine defensive interceptions and is tied for second in turnover margin at plus-8. FSU is at minus-3 . . . FSU punter Alex Mastromanno leads FBS with a 49.8-yard average. Seminoles’ placekicker Ryan Fitzgerald is 6-for-6 on field goals with three of them from 50 yards or longer, including a 59-yarder that is the longest in FBS this season.
— JEFF FARAUDO
