Cross-country travel and a chance for 6-0 at stake as No. 8 Hurricanes head to Cal
Cam Ward enjoys playing at California Memorial Stadium, home of the Cal Golden Bears. The atmosphere and the scenery surrounding the stadium in Berkeley, California, is something Ward hasn’t forgotten.
“It’s deep into the ground,” Ward said. “It’s just like a bowl. You can see everything around it. There are mountains on the outside of it. It’s a good feeling to go there.”
Ward was there just a year ago during his final season at Washington State. He completed 34 of 59 passes for 354 yards and three touchdowns with an interception in that game, an eventual Cougars loss to Cal.
When he returns on Saturday as the No. 8 Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) make the cross-country trip face the Golden Bears (3-1, 0-1 ACC) at 10:30 p.m., Ward is hoping for a different outcome than the time he played there at Washington State. Miami is undefeated, 5-0 for the first time since 2017 when they started the season 10-0 in Mark Richt’s second season before losing their final three games of the year. The team has College Football Playoff aspirations and needs to continue its winning ways to get it done.
Even more: All eyes will be on this game as it’s the site of ESPN’s “College GameDay” this week, with the pregame show making its first ever trip to Berkeley.
“It’s pretty cool,” linebacker Francisco Mauigoa said. “You know, good team as Cal and a really good team in the Hurricanes. It’s going to be a good environment. I think it’s going to be a really good atmosphere to play. And I’m excited. I think everybody is excited. So it’s a fun experience.”
Preparing for the long trip
The Hurricanes face a logistical challenge in the cross-country travel, with a six-hour flight ahead of them to play the game and having to play a night game three time zones away.
But they’re not looking at that as an obstacle.
“It can only be a factor if you let it be,” offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa said. “Our preparation and our standard will never change.
In order to be best situated for the game on Saturday, the Hurricanes have adjusted their weekly schedule to make sure players’ body clocks are best situated for a West Coast night game.
First and foremost, they traveled to California on Thursday instead of leaving on Friday like they do for most road games.
Secondly, they have gradually started practices about an hour or and hour-and-a-half later to help offset the three-hour time difference “so that your body feels like you’re playing at a normal night game here on the East Coast,” coach Mario Cristobal said.
As for individual players, specifics to how they change their day-to-day routine vary.
For kicker Andres Borregales, his plan is to take advantage of the extra opportunities to sleep.
“I know I’ll probably lose sleep just because of the time difference,” Borregales said, “but just going to sleep, honestly. Recover as much as possible because it is a long flight, but at the end of the day, it’s a business trip. We’re just going over there to be able to come back 1-0.”
Preparing to correct mistakes
When they get on the field Saturday night, the Hurricanes will have to play much better than they did a week earlier against Virginia Tech, when they had to rally from multiple 10-point deficits and come out on the winning end of a review on the final play to sneak away with a 38-34 win.
They have to play cleaner on offense. Miami turned the ball over three times against the Hokies and are now going against a Cal defense that leads the nation with 10 interceptions and has 11 turnovers overall.
And they need to play cleaner on defense after missing a slew of tackles that led to several of Virginia Tech’s big plays.
“The coaches put us in great positions to make plays last game,” safety Mishael Powell said. “We just didn’t make those plays. We definitely have got a little chip on our shoulder when it comes to tackling. But we know we’re a physical defense. We’ve shown physicality and tackling that for four games. … One game doesn’t define us.”
Yet one game can humble a team enough to understand what it needs to do in order to reach its potential. For the Hurricanes, they’re hoping it was the game against Virginia Tech.
“I think everybody feels the same way,” Francisco Mauigoa said. “We were expected to dominate, and we expect to do certain things the right way. So I think for us, that was a good wake-up call. And I’m pretty sure everybody’s handling it good and using it as effective motivation to do better and focus on the little details to put the team in the right spot.”
Preparing for the Golden Bears
Saturday will be the fifth all-time meeting between Miami and Cal. The Hurricanes are 2-2 in the series, including winning the only other meeting in Berkeley 52-24 on Sept. 15, 1990. Miami and Cal most recently met in the Emerald Bowl to cap the 2008 season. Cal won that game 24-17.
This year’s Golden Bears team is led by a ballhawking defense, with fifth-year senior Nohl Williams (four interceptions, three pass breakups) pacing the group.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Fernando Mendoza, a Miami native and Columbus High alumnus who grew up a Hurricanes fan, leads the Cal offense which has an effective ground game as well.
“We’re ready for the challenges,” Francisco Mauigoa said.
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