Sagapolutele threw for 3,454 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and looked like one of the better returning arms in the conference, but Cal's ground game was one of the worst in the country, which is exactly why the staff went out and grabbed transfer back Adam Mohammed and a pair of transfer tackles this offseason. Whether that o-line gels in time to actually open lanes — and keep Sagapolutele upright — is the swing factor for this Cal team.
Pitt finished 8-5 a year ago, second in the ACC, and returns almost everything that made that offense hum — Heintschel, Bell, and a receiving corps that's still gelling but has talent. The have a real shot to be the team nobody in the ACC wants to see in November. Cal, at 6-5 with a coaching change and a rebuilt offensive line, is the more volatile side of this one — capable of hanging with anybody on a given Friday night, but also the program that's earned the phrase "Cal'd it up" more than once.
Whatever else changes between now and Black Friday, this is a program-direction game for both sides. Pitt is trying to prove last year's breakout wasn't a fluke; Cal is trying to show Lupoi's first season isn't just another rebuild stuck in neutral. A late-night West Coast kickoff at 11:00 PM ET only adds to the strange, appointment-viewing feel of it.