California (3-4, 2-2 ACC) at No. 23 SMU (5-1, 3-1 ACC). Saturday, Oct. 24, 11 a.m. CT (noon ET), Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, The CW.
Your hosts are Tatum Delacroix-Price, a Highland Park boutique owner who grades opponents' sideline outfits, and Quentin Oyelaran-Fitch, a Berkeley philosophy Ph.D. student with a picket sign for every bad play call.
Tatum: Welcome to the Boulevard, darling. Saddle up or sit down, sugar.
Quentin: Power to the play call! My sign today reads "WELCOME, GRACIOUS HOST (WE STILL INTEND TO WIN)."
Players to watch
SMU throws for 329.3 yards per game, fifth in FBS, and its pass defense allows only 164.8, 11th. Quarterback Kevin Jennings has completed 72.9% of his passes for more than 1,800 yards, with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Running back Kendrick Raphael has 542 yards and six touchdowns, and wide receiver Yamir Knight leads with 418 receiving yards. SMU has 18 sacks and has allowed only seven.
Cal throws on about 61% of its plays, for 288.1 yards per game, 15th in FBS. Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has 1,290 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. Wide receiver Chase Hendricks leads with 47 catches for 415 yards, and running back Adam Mohammed has 336 yards and three scores.
Tatum: Jennings at 72.9%. That's couture accuracy, darling.
What happened last week
SMU beat Virginia 23-13 on Oct. 17. Jennings went 23 of 36 for 246 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, and Raphael ran for 124 yards. Yannick Smith caught five passes for 87 yards.
Cal lost 41-7 at home to Wake Forest. Sagapolutele went 15 of 18 for 110 yards and a touchdown, and Hendricks caught eight passes.
Quentin: I painted a sign after that one. It reads "THIRD-AND-LONG IS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT."
Injuries and availability
The first official ACC availability reports post three days before kickoff. No injury news has surfaced for either team, so check back closer to kickoff.
What the coaches are up to
Tosh Lupoi was named Cal's 35th head coach on Dec. 4, 2025, replacing Justin Wilcox. His first Cal team won ACC games at Syracuse and against Virginia Tech, but its run game ranks 137th at 90.3 yards per game.
Rhett Lashlee is in his fifth season at SMU. His Mustangs are 4-0 at home and have outscored visitors 138-63 at Ford Stadium. Their only loss came at Louisville, 41-31, and they also won 27-24 at Florida State. The things to fix are 69.0 penalty yards per game, 114th in FBS, and red-zone touchdowns.
Player storylines
Sagapolutele is the central figure in this matchup's recent history. Last Nov. 29 in Berkeley, with Cal trailing then-No. 21 SMU 35-31 and just over two minutes left, he led a seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a go-ahead touchdown run. Cal won 38-35 when SMU's final drive ended with a missed field goal try. This week he faces a pass defense ranked 11th.
Tatum: Darling, we remember November. We've had it altered.
What's happening on campus
SMU has made Saturday Fan Appreciation and asks fans to Wear Red. Cal says this is only its second trip to Dallas to face SMU since both programs joined the ACC in 2024.
Quentin: A whole stadium in red. I'll bring a blue and gold sign for contrast. It reads "REMEMBER NOVEMBER (RESPECTFULLY)."
Tatum: I'll grade it, sugar. Gently.
Anything else fun and true
The last two meetings split: SMU won 38-6 in 2024, and Cal won 38-35 in 2025. SMU's Doak Walker won the 1948 Heisman Trophy, and Tatum would like you to know he looked fabulous doing it. Cal fans still celebrate "The Play," the five-lateral kickoff return that beat Stanford 25-20 in the 1982 Big Game.
Quentin: Five laterals. That's the people's offense.
Tatum: And this is the people's boulevard, darling. Five laterals won't get you through our gift shop. Saddle up.
The Cover Window
My call: SMU Mustangs 35, California Golden Bears 18.