# 2025 California Golden Bears football team
The 2025 [California Golden Bears football](https://www.edgepedia.org/california-golden-bears-football) team represented the [University of California](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-california), Berkeley in the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season, its second season as a member of the [Atlantic Coast Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-coast-conference) (ACC). The Bears finished 7-6 overall and 4-4 in conference play, lost the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl to Hawai'i 31-35, and ended the season with a coaching change: Justin Wilcox, head coach for the first eleven games, saw his tenure end in November, and Tosh Lupoi was appointed as his successor in late December.[1](https://calbears.com/sports/football/schedule/2025) • [2](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/california/2025-schedule.html) • [3](https://calbears.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/justin-wilcox/1417) • [4](https://calbears.com/news/2025/12/28/football-lupoi-brings-three-oregon-staffers-to-berkeley)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Final record | 7-6 overall (.538), 4-4 in ACC play; 4-2 at home, 3-3 away, 0-1 neutral[1](https://calbears.com/sports/football/schedule/2025) |
| Head coaches | Justin Wilcox (6-5), whose tenure ended in November; Nick Rolovich (1-1) for the final two games[2](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/california/2025-schedule.html) |
| Bowl game | Lost the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl to Hawai'i, 31-35, on December 24, 2025[1](https://calbears.com/sports/football/schedule/2025) |
| Milestone | First winning season since going 8-5 in 2019, and a bowl appearance in each of the past three seasons[5](https://calbears.com/news/2025/12/25/football-postgame-notes-hawai-i-35-california-31.aspx) |
| Signature win | 29-26 overtime victory at #14 Louisville on November 8[1](https://calbears.com/sports/football/schedule/2025) |
| Wilcox's program record | 42-50 over nine seasons, the sixth-most wins by a head coach in California history[3](https://calbears.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/justin-wilcox/1417) • [6](https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/acc.sidearmsports.com/documents/2025/8/16/2025_ACC_Football_Information_Guide.pdf) |
| Aftermath | Tosh Lupoi named Travers Family Head Football Coach; three Oregon staffers added to the staff in December 2025[4](https://calbears.com/news/2025/12/28/football-lupoi-brings-three-oregon-staffers-to-berkeley) |
## Context entering the season
Cal's first season as an ACC member in 2024 had mirrored its final year in the Pac-12: a 6-7 record with a bowl loss.[7](https://www.pff.com/news/college-football-preview-2025-california-golden-bears) The program had joined the conference in 2024 alongside Stanford and SMU as the ACC expanded cross-country to at least 16 football-playing members.[8](https://apnews.com/article/95e7d6f990dd35a638f9bef72fe96ee7)
**Roster turnover shaped the preseason outlook.** The 2025 recruiting class announced in December 2024 included 37 high school signees and 18 transfer-portal additions.[9](https://calbears.com/news/2024/12/4/football-early-signing-period-opens-wednesday) Preseason commentary noted heavy departures, with the starting quarterback and both starting running backs gone and an entirely new offensive line projected.[10](https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/cal-football-preview-2025-can-the-golden-bears-be-this-years-smu) The defense was the more settled unit: Cal had ranked 33rd in yards per play allowed (5.33) in 2024 and returned eight starters from that group.[11](https://vsin.com/college-football/acc-college-football-team-previews-2025/) Athlon's preseason guide was pessimistic, quoting an anonymous ACC assistant coach critical of the program, though the magazine's own analysis saw grounds for improvement.[12](https://www.si.com/college/cal/football/athlon-preview-not-optimistic-about-cal-s-2025-football-season-01jx5qaxgys5)
Wilcox entered his ninth season as head coach.[13](https://goheels.com/documents/download/2025/10/15/UNCFBNotes2025-CalGame.pdf) In January 2025 he completed his staff by adding Julian Griffin as running backs coach and Allen Brown as co-defensive backs coach.[14](https://calbears.com/news/2025/1/28/football-cal-rounds-out-2025-coaching-staff) The roster included freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele of Ewa Beach, Hawai'i, and transfer quarterback Devin Brown, formerly of Ohio State.[15](https://calbears.com/sports/football/roster/2025)
## Regular season
The Bears opened with a road win at Oregon State, 34-15 on August 30, then beat Texas Southern 35-3 and Minnesota 27-14 at Databricks Field at [California Memorial Stadium](https://www.edgepedia.org/california-memorial-stadium) to start 3-0.[1](https://calbears.com/sports/football/schedule/2025) The first loss was severe: a 0-34 defeat at San Diego State on September 20.[1](https://calbears.com/sports/football/schedule/2025) Cal recovered with a 28-24 ACC road win at [Boston College](https://www.edgepedia.org/boston-college) on September 27, a game in which the team passed for 254 yards on 22-of-34 passing.[1](https://calbears.com/sports/football/schedule/2025) • [16](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/calberk.sidearmsports.com/documents/2025/9/14/2025_Cal_Football_Cumulative_Stats.pdf)
Conference play defined the middle of the season. Cal lost its homecoming game to Duke 21-45 on October 4, then beat North Carolina 21-18 on October 17 and lost a two-overtime game at [Virginia Tech](https://www.edgepedia.org/virginia-tech) 34-42 on October 24.[1](https://calbears.com/sports/football/schedule/2025) A 21-31 home loss to Virginia on November 1 dropped the Bears to 4-4 in the league race before the upset at #14 Louisville, won 29-26 in overtime on November 8.[1](https://calbears.com/sports/football/schedule/2025)
The season closed with two decisive results. Cal lost the 128th Big Game at Stanford 10-31 on November 22, then beat SMU 38-35 at home on November 29 in the regular-season finale.[1](https://calbears.com/sports/football/schedule/2025)
## Coaching change and bowl game
Wilcox's tenure ended in November 2025, after eight-plus seasons in which he compiled 42 wins, the sixth-most by a head coach in California football history, and produced four NFL Draft selections in 2025, the program's most since 2016.[3](https://calbears.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/justin-wilcox/1417) Sports-[Reference](https://www.edgepedia.org/reference) credits him with a 6-5 record for the season and interim coach Nick Rolovich with 1-1.[2](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/california/2025-schedule.html)
Cal accepted a bid to the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl and faced Hawai'i at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in Honolulu on December 24, losing 31-35.[1](https://calbears.com/sports/football/schedule/2025) The loss left the Bears at 7-6, still a winning record for the first time since 2019 and the program's third consecutive bowl appearance.[5](https://calbears.com/news/2025/12/25/football-postgame-notes-hawai-i-35-california-31.aspx)
Four days after the bowl, on December 28, the program announced Tosh Lupoi as Travers Family Head Football Coach and the additions of three Oregon staffers: Connor Boyd as safeties coach, Darrion Daniels as defensive line coach and pass rush specialist, and Steve Haunga as tight ends coach and run game coordinator.[4](https://calbears.com/news/2025/12/28/football-lupoi-brings-three-oregon-staffers-to-berkeley)
## Conference landscape
The 2025 season was Cal's last in the ACC's eight-game conference schedule format. In September 2025 the conference announced a move to a nine-game league schedule starting the following year, the "9+1 model" that aligns the ACC with the Big 12, Big Ten, and Southeastern conferences and guarantees at least 10 games against power-conference opponents.[17](https://apnews.com/article/c7d3c5980a052051bf805808e353f24e)
## References
1. [2025 Football Schedule, California Golden Bears Athletics](https://calbears.com/sports/football/schedule/2025)
2. [2025 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/california/2025-schedule.html)
3. [Justin Wilcox - Football Coach, California Golden Bears Athletics](https://calbears.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/justin-wilcox/1417)
4. [Lupoi Brings Three Oregon Staffers To Berkeley, California Golden Bears Athletics](https://calbears.com/news/2025/12/28/football-lupoi-brings-three-oregon-staffers-to-berkeley)
5. [Postgame Notes: Hawai'i 35, California 31, California Golden Bears Athletics](https://calbears.com/news/2025/12/25/football-postgame-notes-hawai-i-35-california-31.aspx)
6. [2025 ACC Football Information Guide, California Golden Bears](https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/acc.sidearmsports.com/documents/2025/8/16/2025_ACC_Football_Information_Guide.pdf)
7. [College Football Preview 2025: California Golden Bears, PFF](https://www.pff.com/news/college-football-preview-2025-california-golden-bears)
8. [ACC becomes latest super conference, adding Stanford, Cal and SMU, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/95e7d6f990dd35a638f9bef72fe96ee7)
9. [Football Signs First Members Of 2025 Recruiting Class, California Golden Bears Athletics](https://calbears.com/news/2024/12/4/football-early-signing-period-opens-wednesday)
10. [Cal Football Preview 2025: Can the Golden Bears Be This Year's SMU?, College Football News](https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/cal-football-preview-2025-can-the-golden-bears-be-this-years-smu)
11. [ACC College Football Team Previews 2025, VSiN](https://vsin.com/college-football/acc-college-football-team-previews-2025/)
12. [Athlon Preview Not Optimistic About Cal's 2025 Football Season, SI](https://www.si.com/college/cal/football/athlon-preview-not-optimistic-about-cal-s-2025-football-season-01jx5qaxgys5)
13. [Opponent Breakdown, North Carolina game notes](https://goheels.com/documents/download/2025/10/15/UNCFBNotes2025-CalGame.pdf)
14. [Cal Rounds Out 2025 Coaching Staff, California Golden Bears Athletics](https://calbears.com/news/2025/1/28/football-cal-rounds-out-2025-coaching-staff)
15. [2025 Football Roster, California Golden Bears Athletics](https://calbears.com/sports/football/roster/2025)
16. [2025-26 California Football Cumulative Stats](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/calberk.sidearmsports.com/documents/2025/9/14/2025_Cal_Football_Cumulative_Stats.pdf)
17. [ACC moving to 9-game football schedule starting next year, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/c7d3c5980a052051bf805808e353f24e)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › College, minor, and international American football › College football programs › 2025 season articles*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license