Clemson is going to Berkeley.
For the first time ever.
The Tigers head west Friday night to take on Cal at 10:30 p.m. ET in their first ACC road game of the season. Clemson is coming off a 28-20 comeback win over North Carolina, a game that took nearly six hours because, for the third straight week, somebody apparently forgot to tell the weather that football was being played.
Thankfully, there are no weather concerns to worry about this time. Just a 2,500-mile trip, a three-hour time difference and a 10:30 p.m. kickoff for everyone watching back in South Carolina.
Sounds fun.
Clemson is 2-1 and Cal is also 2-1, so this isn’t exactly a leisurely trip to the West Coast. The Tigers finally showed some life offensively against North Carolina, while the defense came up with the plays it needed late to finish the comeback.
Now they get a completely different challenge in Berkeley.
It’s Clemson’s first ACC game on the West Coast, its first trip to Cal and its latest kickoff in the Eastern time zone in more than four decades.
So grab some coffee, settle in and try to stay awake.
It’s going to be a late one.
The Tigers and Golden Bears meet Friday night at 10:30 p.m. ET at California Memorial Stadium.
Here is everything we think we know about Clemson’s first trip to Berkeley.
University of California at Berkeley
School Location: Berkeley, California
Game Location: Databricks Field at California Memorial Stadium
Time: Friday 9/25; 10:30pm EST
2026 Record – 2-1; (1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference)
Wins Against: Syracuse (21-18); Wagner (49-7)
Losses against: UCLA (45-24)
Head Coach
Tosh Lupoi (1st Season at Cal; Previous Oregon DC)
Coach Lupoi is back in Berkeley, which makes this one a little more personal. The former Cal defensive lineman and assistant coach was named the Golden Bears’ head coach in December after spending the previous four seasons as Oregon’s defensive coordinator. Before that, Lupoi won two national championships at Alabama and also spent time coaching in the NFL.
Now he’s back at his alma mater trying to build Cal into an ACC contender. Lupoi is known as an excellent recruiter and defensive coach, and he has plenty of experience working with some pretty good football players. He also gets to welcome Clemson to Berkeley for the first time, which feels like a pretty good way to introduce himself to the ACC.
Offense
Offensive Coordinator: Jordan Somerville (1st Season at Cal)
Jordan Somerville is in his first season as Cal’s offensive coordinator after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant quarterbacks coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he worked closely with Baker Mayfield. Before that, Somerville coached at Oregon, New Mexico and Arizona State.
This is Somerville’s first season calling an offense, and he’s brought a pro-style system to Berkeley. Cal wants to establish a physical running game while giving quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele plenty of opportunities to get the ball to an upgraded group of playmakers. That’s going to be something to watch Friday night, particularly if Clemson can make Cal one-dimensional.
Here is a look at the projected offensive starters for Cal from the published depth chart, as well as their opening few weeks statistics:
| Quarterback | Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele | Sophomore | 3 | 72/108, 866 YDS, 7 TD, 2 INT | |
| Running Back | Adam Mohammed (Washington) | Junior | 24 | 60 CAR, 285 YDS, 3 TD | 14 REC, 138 YDS, 1 TD |
| Wide Receiver | Cooper Perry (Oregon) | Sophomore | 10 | 5 REC, 76 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Wide Receiver | Chase Hendricks (Ohio) | Senior | 7 | 20 REC, 195 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Wide Receiver | Ian Strong (Rutgers) | Senior | 9 | 14 REC, 206 YDS | |
| Tight End | Mason Mini | Senior | 85 | 6 REC, 96 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Left Tackle | Frederick Williams III | Junior | 54 | ||
| Left Guard | Tyson Ruffins | Senior | 56 | ||
| Center | Bastian Swinney | 5th Year | 76 | ||
| Right Guard | Sioape Vatikani | 5th Year | 71 | ||
| Right Tackle | Jimothy Lewis Jr. (Mississippi State) | Junior | 77 |
Defense
Defensive Coordinator: Michael Hutchings (1st Season at Cal)
Michael Hutchings is in his first season as Cal’s defensive coordinator, returning to Berkeley after spending the previous two seasons as Oregon’s linebackers coach. Hutchings played linebacker at Cal from 2012-15 and has worked his way through the coaching ranks since his playing days, including stops at USC, Stanford and Oregon.
Now Hutchings gets his first shot at running a defense at his alma mater. Cal’s defense has been solid through the first three games, allowing 21.0 points per game while holding opponents to 3.8 yards per rush. The Bears have also recorded eight sacks and forced four turnovers, so Clemson’s offense will have its hands full Friday night.
Here is a look at the projected starters for the Golden Bears on defense along with stats from the first three games.
| Defensive End | Nate Burrell | 5th Year | 98 | 6 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 SK, 2 QBH |
| Nose Tackle | Jericho Johnson (Oregon) | 5th Year | 44 | 5 TKL, 0.5 TFL, 0.5 SK |
| Defensive Tackle | Derek Wilkins | 5th Year | 96 | 4 TKL, 2 PBU, 1 QBH |
| Outside Linebacker | Solomon Williams (Texas A&M) | Junior | 0 | 4 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 SK, 3 QBH |
| Middle Linebacker | Kamar Mothudi (Oregon) | Junior | 3 | 10 TKL, 1 QBH |
| Weakside Linebacker | JD McKinley | Freshman | 33 | 7 TKL |
| Weakside Linebacker | Tristan Jernigan (Texas A&M) | Junior | 32 | 12 TKL, 1 QBH |
| Cornerback | Daniel Harris (Georgia) | 5th Year | 7 | 11 TKL, 2 TFL, 2 SK, 3 PBU |
| Strong Safety | Kingston Lopa (Oregon) | Junior | 2 | 16 TKL, 1 TFL, 5 INT, 1 PBU, 1 QBH |
| Free Safety | Michael Hurst Jr. (Northern Arizona) | 5th Year | 16 | 5 TKL |
| Nickelback | Cam Sidney | 5th Year | 20 | 8 TKL, 1 FF, 1 PBU |
| Cornerback | Ricky Fletcher (Ole Miss) | 5th Year | 1 | 3 TKL, 2 PBU |
Special Teams
Here is a list of the specialists for Cal along with statistics from the first two weeks:
| Kicker | Chase Meyer (Penn State) | RS Senior | 91 | 1/2 FG, 50.0%, Long 37; 2/2 PAT |
| Punter | Angus Davies (Tulsa) | Senior | 29 | 10 punts, 376 yds, 37.6 avg, Long 52, 3 inside 20 |
| Punt Returner | Chase Hendricks (Ohio) | Senior | 7 | 4 PR, 7 yds, 1.8 avg |
| Kick Returner | Adam Mohammed (Washington) | Junior | 24 | 3 KR, 61 yds, 20.3 avg |
Final Thought
TSo here we are.
Clemson is headed to Berkeley for the first time, which is still a sentence I never thought I’d write about a Clemson football schedule.
It’s a Friday night. It’s 10:30 p.m. on the East Coast. It’s 7:30 in California. And if you’re planning to stay up for the whole thing, I’d suggest having the coffee (or something stronger) ready before kickoff.
The Tigers are 2-1. Cal is 2-1. Neither team has exactly been perfect, and both still have plenty to figure out.
For Clemson, this is another chance to see if the offense can keep moving in the right direction and whether the defense can clean up the mistakes that have made things harder than they need to be.
It’s also a chance to win a football game about 2,500 miles from home.
That’s different.
That’s the ACC in 2026.
So enjoy the trip, stay up late and let’s see what happens in Berkeley.
