Early look at Florida State football's Week 3 opponent California

Florida State football will be the first team to introduce the new members of the Atlantic Coast Conference over the next two weeks.

In Week 3 of the 2024 season, FSU will play the California. The Golden Bears will travel over 2600 miles to Doak Campbell Stadium for its ACC debut.

Cal, Stanford and SMU are the new members of the ACC. The Seminoles will play Cal and SMU in back-to-back weeks before its showdown against Clemson.

If Cal were still in the Pac-12, it would've been the first time since 2018 that the Golden Bears faced an ACC team. That year, the Golden Bears opened the season against North Carolina and won 24-17.

In its final year in the Pac-12, Cal won three of the last four games, losing to Texas Tech 34-14 in the Radiance Technology Independence Bowl.

Who is Cal's head coach

Justin Wilcox will be entering his eighth season with Cal. Last season, Cal finished 6-7 (4-5 in conference).

Last FSU-Cal meeting

This season will be the first-ever meeting between FSU and Cal.

Cal's top players

Offense

QB Fernando Mendoza, 1708 yards, 14 TDs, 10 INTs; RB Jaydn Ott, 1315 yards, 12 TDs; RB Isaiah Ifanse, 365 yards, seven touchdowns; WR Trond Grizzel, 39 rec. 590 yards, 5 TDs; TE Jack Endries 35 rec., 408 yards, 2 TDs

Defense

DL Ricky Correia, 35 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks; LB Cade Uluave, 67 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles;

LB Davis Reese, 33 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, three passes defended; DB Craig Woodson, 79 tackles, four passes defended, two forced fumbles, one interception;

DB Nohl Williams, 53 tackles, six passes defended, two interceptions; P Lachlan Wilson, 44.45 net average

Cal’s key losses, additions

Losses: WR Jeremiah Hunter, LB Myles Jernigan, LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr, Jackson Sirmon, CB Jeremiah Earby, S Patrick McMorris

Additions: QB Chandler Rogers, RB Kadarious Calloway, WR Tobias Meriweather, WR Jonathan Brady, TE Corey Dyches, OL Will McDonald, OL Rush Reimer, LB Cheikh Fall, LB Liam Johnson, CB Marcus Harris

Outlook on Cal

The Golden Bears recorded three straight losing seasons before going 6-7 last year. They have gone 16-25 in the previous four years. 2019 was the last time Cal recorded at least eight wins.

FSU is one of the four teams Cal has to travel for this season. Like FSU, the Golden Bears have been active in the transfer portal.

Despite losing some important pieces, Cal returns seven starters on offense and eight on defense.

Ott could be a threat against FSU's defense after leading the Pac-12 in rushing yardage. Cal could also be dealing with a QB battle between Mendoza and Rogers.

Rogers threw 3,382 yards and 29 touchdowns in his final year at North Texas before entering the transfer portal.

Cal will open the season against UC Davis. Then, in Week 2, it will travel to Auburn and host San Diego State the following week before facing the Seminoles.

DJ Uiagalelei played his best game vs. Cal last season

FSU quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is all too familiar with California.

When he was at Oregon State, Uiagalelei had a career game against the Golden Bears last season.

On Oct 7., Uiagalelei threw a career-best five touchdowns and 275 yards to defeat Cal in a 52-40 shootout.

The Beavers won five of the last six games, completing the season with an 8-5 record. Uiagalelei threw for 2,638 yards and 21 touchdowns, his career-high.

Uiagalelei joined the Seminoles on Jan. 1.

Florida State Seminoles 2024 Football Schedule

• Aug. 24 vs. Georgia Tech *Dublin, Ireland at 7:30 p.m., ESPN
• Sept. 2 vs. Boston College at 7:30 p.m., ESPN
• Sept. 14 vs. Memphis
• Sept. 21 vs. California
• Sept. 28 at SMU
• Oct. 5 vs. Clemson
• Oct. 18 at Duke
• Oct. 26 at (U) Miami
• Nov. 2 vs. North Carolina
• Nov. 9 at Notre Dame
• Nov. 23 vs. Charleston Southern
• Nov. 30: Florida
• Dec. 7: ACC Championship

BOLD = ACC

* = Neutral Site

Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Early look at Florida State football's Week 3 opponent California