Early Pac-12 game and in-state end are the highlights

The Pac-12 announced Cal’s 2019 football schedule Tuesday morning, a slate that sends the Bears into conference play in Week 2 and keeps them in the state for the entire month of November.

Coming off its second bowl berth in seven seasons, Cal will open the year at home against UC Davis. The rest of the home schedule includes a first-ever meeting with North Texas on Sept. 14 and Pac-12 games against Arizona State, Oregon State, Washington State and USC.

The Bears will play at Washington on Sept. 7, marking their earliest conference opener since Sept. 6, 2008, at Washington State. Cal also will play at Mississippi on Sept. 21, the program’s first road game against an SEC school since playing at Tennessee in 2006.

The rest of the road slate has trips to Oregon on Oct. 5, Utah on Oct. 26, Stanford on Nov. 23 and UCLA on Nov. 30. With home games Washington State (on Nov. 9) and USC (on Nov. 16), and by closing out the regular season at Stanford and UCLA, the Bears will spend all of November in the state.

The Pac-12 stuck with a nine-game conference schedule — something that has been blamed for the Pac-12 being left out of the College Football Playoff three of the past four years — but it added a bye week.

The teams will have two byes during the 14week schedule, with both Cal and Stanford scheduled to get rest and recovery during Weeks 7 and 10.