Cal completes 2027 nonconference schedule with Sacramento State, Old Dominion add-ons

California filled its 2027 nonconference calendar by adding Sacramento State and Old Dominion, locking in a three-game slate that opens with the Hornets in Berkeley on Aug. 28, 2027. The matchup gives Sacramento State a place on an FBS schedule as it settles into its move to the Mid-American Conference, and it gives Cal a local game with more meaning than a routine late-summer opener.

Cal said the additions, together with the already scheduled trip to UCLA, complete its 2027 nonconference schedule. The Bears will play at UCLA on Sept. 4, 2027, then host Old Dominion on Sept. 11, 2027, after opening with Sacramento State in Week Zero. That Aug. 28 date fits the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee’s recommendation for a 14-week, 12-game model beginning in 2027, which would make the late-August opening part of the standard calendar rather than a scheduling exception.

For Sacramento State, the Cal game is more than a regional crossover. The Hornets are entering their first year in the Football Bowl Subdivision and the MAC in 2026 after the conference announced they would join as a football-only member beginning July 1, 2026. Cal already leads the all-time series 3-0, and the teams last met on Sept. 18, 2021, when the Bears won 42-30 at California Memorial Stadium. The 2027 meeting will send Sacramento State back to Berkeley for the first time since that game, with a familiar opponent now serving as a marker for how far the Hornets have climbed.

Sacramento State’s 2027 nonconference slate already includes a road trip to North Dakota State on Sept. 11 and a home game against San Diego on a date still to be determined. That gives the Hornets another high-profile road test against one of FCS football’s standard-setters and adds Cal as another recognizable name on a schedule that is starting to look built for visibility as much as wins.

Old Dominion brings a different kind of measure. Cal’s 2027 meeting with the Monarchs will be the first between the schools, and Old Dominion enters 2026 off a 10-3 season capped by a 24-10 win over South Florida in the StaffDNA Cure Bowl. The Monarchs’ 2027 nonconference schedule also includes Norfolk State, Central Michigan and Charlotte, with a road game at Central Michigan on Sept. 18 and a home date with Charlotte on Sept. 25.