Cal football enters 2026 season under new head coach Tosh Lupoi

The California Golden Bears are set to begin their 2026 season with a new head coach, as Tosh Lupoi makes his debut leading the program. The team will host former Pac-12 rival UCLA at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley on 5 September, kicking off a campaign that follows a 2025 season which concluded with a 7-6 overall record and a 4-4 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Lupoi, who began his coaching career at Cal in 2008 as a defensive line coach, returns to his alma mater after serving as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Oregon for four years. His coaching resume also includes stints with the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, and Jacksonville Jaguars, as well as two national championships with Alabama.

The 2025 campaign marked the program’s first winning season since 2019 and secured a bowl game bid, which ended with a 35-31 loss to Hawai'i in the Hawai'i Bowl. The team enters the new season with a core group of players returning from that close defeat, alongside the addition of transfer players at key positions, some of whom have prior connections to Lupoi.

A central figure in the team's 2026 outlook is sophomore quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who started all 13 games in 2025. In his freshman year, Sagapolutele completed 316 of 492 passes for 3,454 yards, 18 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. His statistical output was the second-highest by a Cal freshman quarterback in completions, attempts, and passing yards, trailing only the records set by Jared Goff in 2013.

While the source material suggests the team has improved over the summer, analysts note that a number of factors must align for Cal to replicate or exceed its previous season's performance. The program is expected to have the capability to surprise opponents, particularly those who underestimate the squad's development.

The upcoming season will test the integration of the new coaching leadership and the continued growth of the quarterback position. With the ACC schedule ahead, the Golden Bears aim to build on the momentum of their first winning season in six years.