Cal looks to capitalize on a big opportunity against No. 8 Miami while “GameDay” is in town

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — California has spent most of the last 15 seasons on the fringes of major college football, with the Golden Bears having little success on the field and failing to generate much interest off it.

That's what makes the big stage for Saturday night's home game against No. 8 Miami such a big opportunity for a program looking to improve its standing in its first year in the ACC.

The Bears (3-1, 0-1 ACC) will seek their second win over a top-10 team since the start of the 2004 season when they host the Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0) on a day that begins. welcomed with the first-ever visit of ESPN's popular “College GameDay” to Cal's campus.

“This is a great opportunity,” said Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who grew up in Miami and attended Hurricanes games. “Opportunities like this don't come along often, especially with all the bells and whistles of 'GameDay' and the fact that Miami is one of the top 10 teams in the country.”

The Bears will have a tough task with quarterback Cam Ward – the Heisman Trophy favorite – on Saturday according to BetMGM Sportsbook and one of the few Hurricanes to play Cal before transferring to Coral Gables. Ward enters the week as the national leader in touchdown passes (18) and No. 2 in passing yards (1,782 – 33 behind Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart).

So far, Ward has thrown for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in all five Miami games.

“He quickly understood that when you come to Miami, we compete against everyone,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “Everyone wants you to lose in Miami because we won a lot of games back then and were very arrogant. Everyone wants your (butt) to lose and they understand that.”

Game day in Berkeley

This will be the first time the “GameDay” show will be held on Cal's campus, leaving only six schools currently in power conferences that have not hosted the show.

Those schools are Syracuse, Virginia and SMU of the ACC, with the Mustangs in their first year in a power conference, and Illinois, Maryland and Rutgers of the Big Ten.

Coach Justin Wilcox acknowledged the value of the program and fans' excitement about the increased attention, but said it won't be a factor for players and coaches.

“We have enough to think about preparing for the game, so we spend our time doing that,” he said.

Miami at Golden State

It's a rare trip to the state of California for Miami. At Cal in 1990, the Hurricanes won 52-24 in their only previous visit to Berkeley, and they defeated Nebraska in the Rose Bowl to capture the national championship in 2001. This was Miami's fifth and most recent national title. Miami also beat San Diego State 2-1 in away games.

The Canes lost 28-3 to USC in 1968, 31-8 to UCLA in 1995 and to end the 2008 season 24-17 to Cal in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco.

Hello again

There are a handful of Miami players, all with Pac-12 connections, who have played Cal before.

Tight end Cam McCormick caught passes against the Bears for Oregon in 2017 and 2022. Safety Meesh Powell posted a 3-0 win over the Bears during his time in Washington, running back Damien Martinez ran for 194 yards on 40 carries against Cal in a two-win win. With Oregon State, offensive lineman Francisco Maugioa played in two wins against Cal, as he was at Washington State, and defensive back Isaiah Taylor recorded a team-high nine tackles for Arizona in a loss to the Bears in 2022.

Ward faced Cal twice and went 1-1 at Washington State after completing 61 of 99 passes for 697 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.

When Cristobal coached at Oregon, he went 3-1 against the Bears.

Ties that bind

Cal QB Fernando Mendoza — a Miami native who attended the same high school as Cristobal — has a burrito named after him in Berkeley. It's a nod to his Cuban-American roots: rice, black beans, carne asada, chimichurri and spicy sour cream.

The proceeds, he said in Cal's coursework earlier this year, will go toward raising awareness for multiple sclerosis. Mendoza's mother was diagnosed with MS about a decade ago, he said.

Mendoza said his parents would be traveling across the country for the game.

I'm coming back

The Bears expect to bring back right guard Sioape Vatikani after he suffered a horrific injury two weeks ago at Florida State that sent him to the hospital.

Vatikani remained on the turf for about ten minutes after a collision before being placed on a board and carried off the field. He was taken to hospital but had no serious injuries and is ready to play on Saturday. Vatikani started 20 games over the past two seasons but has only appeared once this season as he missed the first three games with a foot injury.

___

AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

___

Get poll alerts and AP Top 25 updates throughout the season. Sign up Here. AP College Football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll And https://apnews.com/hub/college-football