UNC football vs. Cal game preview, info, prediction and more

After their second bye week of the season, the North Carolina Tar Heels are back as they hit the road to face off against Cal on Friday night.

The last time UNC was on the field, they were blown out at home by Clemson, suffering their first loss in the ACC season. They now have the chance to silence some critics after a frustrating week of reports and rumors. But the task won't be easy.

While Cal is coming off a 45-21 loss to Duke, they are 4-2 on the year and 1-1 in the ACC. Plus, the travel across the country could hurt the Tar Heels with a tough road environment.

Let's dig into our preview for UNC and Cal.

Key to victory

The Tar Heels are going to have to find a way to slow down Cal's offense in this one. Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has thrown for 1,487 yards and nine touchdowns. But he does have seven interceptions and has been hit or miss.

The best case of that was the last game against Duke where he started off hot but then as the game went on, he went the opposite way. He finished with just one touchdown and three interceptions with some accuracy issues. If North Carolina can get pressure on him and force Cal to be one-dimensional, they should have a chance to win this game.

Something to watch

The offense. The Tar Heels have struggled big time this year on offense with no stability. Quarterback Gio Lopez suffered an injury in the loss to UCF and missed the Clemson game. Max Johnson was the starter for that loss to the Tigers and while he played better, the offense still struggled.

Lopez is practicing and could return, which means UNC has a decision to make this week at quarterback. But whoever it is, they need to be able to move the football in the passing attack.

Stat leaders

Passing

UNC: Gio Lopez 42 of 67, 430 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT

Cal: Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele 130 of 209, 1,487 yards, 9 TD, 7 INT

Rushing

UNC: Demon June 38 carries, 266 yards, 1 TD

Cal: Kendrick Raphael 93 carries, 414 yards, 4 TD

Receiving

UNC: Jordan Shipp 18 receptions, 234 yards, 2 TD

Cal: Trond Grizzell 24 receptions, 400 yards, 1 TD

What you need to know

WHAT? North Carolina Tar Heels (2-3, 0-1 in ACC) AT Cal Golden Bears (4-2, 1-1 in ACC)

WHEN? Friday, October 17 at 930 p.m. ET

WHERE? California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California

TV? ESPN

RADIO? SiriusXM (Channels 82 and 371)

WEATHER?  66 degrees, partly cloudy

LINE? Cal -10.5

ALL-TIME: Cal leads 2-0.

LAST MEETING? Cal 24, UNC 17 on 9/1/18 in Chapel Hill

PREDICTION? Cal 27, UNC 17

2025 UNC Football Schedule

Sept. 1: vs. TCU (L, 48-14)

Sept. 6: at Charlotte (W, 20-3)

Sept 13: vs. Richmond (W, 41-6)

Sept. 20: at UCF (L, 34-9)

Oct. 4: vs. Clemson (L, 38-10)

Oct. 17: at Cal

Oct 25: vs. Virginia

Oct 31: at Syracuse

Nov. 8: vs Stanford

Nov. 15: at Wake Forest

Nov. 22: vs. Duke

Nov. 29: at NC State

This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Football: Game preview, info, prediction vs.Cal