Cal Hosts Arizona On Saturday For Homecoming
BERKELEY -- California returns to FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium for the third time in four weeks on Saturday, Sept. 24 with a 2:30 p.m. PT kickoff on the Pac-12 Network against Arizona. The Golden Bears (2-1) and Wildcats (2-1) are set to meet for the 36th time in history.
SATURDAY LINEUP
Venue: FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium
Time: 2:30 p.m. PT
Television (Pac-12 Network): J.B. Long (play-by-play), Max Browne (analyst)
Cal Bears Sports Network Powered By Learfield: KGO 810 AM
Joe Starkey (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Todd McKim (sideline reporter);
SiriusXM Ch. 85 or 197 / SXM App 959, The Varsity App
ABOUT THE SERIES
— This will be the 36th all-time meeting between California and Arizona.
— Arizona has taken the last six meetings of the series, but the two programs have only met twice in the last four years. Cal's last win against the Wildcats came on Nov. 14 2009, a 24-16 victory in Berkeley.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
— Cal has been led defensively by a pair of inside linebackers in Jackson Sirmon and Oluwafemi Oladejo. The duo has recorded 60 tackles through the first three games of the season, the second most among any pair of teammates in the Pac-12.
— Sirmon set a new career-high for tackles in a game with 13 in last week's visit to Notre Dame, while Oladejo also put up a new career-best (12) tackles and recovered the first fumble of his career.
BEAR TERRITORY
— The Bears are riding a five-game home win streak heading into Saturday's matchup with the Wildcats, winning the last three games of the 2021 season (Colorado, Oregon State, USC) and the first two tilts of 2022 (UC Davis, UNLV).
— It's the longest home win streak since Cal won five straight from Nov. 14, 2015 to Oct. 1, 2016. (2015 Oregon State, Arizona State. 2016 Texas, Utah, Oregon).
— The last time Cal won more than five straight in Strawberry Canyon was in 2008 and 2009, when the Bears took nine straight victories. All seven games in 2008 and first two in 2009 before USC ended the streak on Oct. 3, 2009.
OTT-STANT IMPACT
— Freshman running back Jaydn Ott has immediately made his presence known in the first three games of the season, rushing for 189 yards on 37 carries while adding seven receptions for 53 yards and his first career touchdown. Ott was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the second consecutive time last week, the first Bear to earn the honor in back-to-back weeks since its inception in 2019. Lu-Magia Hearns III is the only other Cal player to pick up the honor after the Golden Bears' 2021 Big Game victory at Stanford.
— Ott has proven to be a threat both running the ball and receiving out of the backfield, currently ranking eighth in the Pac-12 in rushing yards (63.0) through the first three weeks of the season. The Chino, California native is averaging 80.7 total yards per game with 189 rushing and 53 receiving yards in three games. Ott is the only freshman to rank in the Top 20 of the conference in all purpose yards.
— With 189 yards rushing in the first three games of the season, Ott ranks eighth in the Pac-12 Conference. Ott is the top freshman rusher in the Pac-12.
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