SACRAMENTO STATE AT CAL
Records: Cal (0-2, 0-0 Pac-12); Sacramento State (1-1, 0-0 Big Sky)
Kickoff: 1 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium, Berkeley
TV: Pac-12 Bay Area
Radio: KGO (810 AM)
Series history: Cal leads 2-0. The Bears won 41-3 in 2005 and 55-14 in 2014, both times in Berkeley.
Cal storylines: The Bears look to claim their first victory after losses to Nevada and TCU by a combined total of eight points … Dating back to 2005, Cal has beaten its previous 12 FCS opponents by an average margin of nearly 32 points … Cal finally unleashed a vertical passing game in its 34-32 loss at TCU, with Chase Garbers completing four passes of at least 40 yards … Garbers is second in the Pac-12 in both total offense (262.0 yards per game) and passing yards (243.0) … Senior RB Christopher Brooks, who gained more than 900 yards in 2019, left the Nevada game with an undisclosed injury and carried the ball just twice for 1 yard last week … Cal begins Pac-12 play next Saturday at Washington.
Sacramento State storylines: Former Cal quarterback Troy Taylor returns to Memorial Stadium for the first time as an opposing head coach. The Bears’ all-time passing leader when he departed after the 1989 season, Taylor is in his second season as coach of the Hornets. His 2019 debut produced a 9-4 record, a Big Sky Conference co-title and a berth in the FCS playoffs … Sac State uses two quarterbacks but starter Asher O’Hara gets most of the snaps. The two combined for six turnovers last week against Northern Iowa … The Hornets’ best player may be senior running back Elijah Dotson, a two-time, first-team All-Big Sky selection who has more than 3,500 yards rushing and receiving in his career.
Stats that matter: Cal is 10th nationally, having coughed up just one turnover through two games … The Bears have rebounded from an 0-2 start to reach a bowl game just once in program history — in 1958, when Joe Kapp quarterbacked the Bears to their most recent Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1959 … Sacramento State is 2-7 all-time vs. current Pac-12 opponents, with wins over Oregon State in overtime in 2011 and vs. Colorado in 2012.
— JEFF FARAUDO