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California

Golden Bears · ACC

Head coach Tosh Lupoi Year 1 with California

Year-1 HCs (2015-2024) averaged -0.19 W vs. preseason expectation

Season Projection · 2026 W5

10,000 sims
6.1
Expected wins
6-5
Proj record
3 to 9
Win range (90%)
#82 (45–119)
Final rank (90%)
0%
Make playoff
1%
Win conference

Path to Glory

Tap a win or a loss on each pivotal game to see how the playoff probability shifts. Leave any game unset to average across both outcomes.

Make the playoff

0%

Baseline projection.

  • at NC State
    Away · Oct 31
  • at NC State
    Away · Oct 31
  • at NC State
    Away · Oct 31
  • at NC State
    Away · Oct 31
  • at NC State
    Away · Oct 31

Pivotal games are the 5 with the largest playoff-probability swing, ranked by the model. Math: chained Bayesian log-odds update from the conditional simulation set; gets the directionally right answer but won't perfectly capture cross-game correlations until the full Monte Carlo pipeline lands.

Returning production · 2026

53 score
  • Quarterback 99% (4/6 )
  • Offensive line 50% (10/20 players)
  • Skill (RB/WR/TE) 27% (13/28 )
  • Front 7 (DL/LB) 24% (17/32 )
  • Secondary 38% (14/19 )
  • Special teams 14% (4/9 )

Share of last season's production each unit returns. Higher means more continuity: 70%+ is healthy, 45–70% a normal rebuild, under 45% a major turnover.

Portal additions · 2026

+1.0 rating

32 proven transfers in, carrying the production below from their prior school.

  • Dorian Thomas TE ← New Mexico 220 impact
  • Chase Hendricks WR ← Ohio 189 impact
  • Ian Strong WR ← Rutgers 139 impact
  • Ashten Emory RB ← UTEP 94 impact
  • Adam Mohammed RB ← Washington 92 impact
  • Jackson Brousseau QB ← Colorado State 57 impact

Impact scores offensive skill additions (QB/RB/WR/TE) — prior-season production normalized within position (100 ≈ a 90th-percentile producer at that spot) and discounted for non-FBS competition, so a top back counts alongside a top quarterback. Defensive and O-line additions count as transfers but aren't box-score measurable, so they carry no impact score. The rating figure is this class's portal contribution vs. the FBS average, capped at ±2.5.

Situational efficiency · 2025

FBS percentile rank
  • 3rd-down conversion 37.7% 57th — average
  • Red-zone TD rate 14.3% 45th — average
  • 4th-down aggression 37.3% 56th — average
  • Late & close 4.9 yds/play 45th — average

Percentile is across all FBS teams with play-by-play data for the season. "Late & close" is yards per play in Q4+ with a one-score margin — a proxy for clutch offensive performance.

Schedule

Full 2026 slate. Tap a row for the matchup breakdown.

Latest Stories

  • Recap

    California: 2026 Week 3 recap

    California sits at 59th overall after dropping its season opener to UCLA 45–24 at home in Week 1. The rating held steady week-over-week, suggesting GIE saw little to adjust: the loss itself was the story, not a surprise. Red-zone…

  • Recap

    California: 2025 Week 16 recap

    California sits at 80th overall with a 7–6 record after a 38–35 home win over SMU in Week 14. The victory showed resilience in a tight contest, though the narrow margin underscores the team's inconsistency this season. At a GIE rating of…

More coming

Per-team pages get the full treatment in Phase 3: current rating, season projection histogram, schedule with win probabilities, and live overlays on Pylon stream days. For now, this page exists so stories and news have a permanent home as content rolls in.