Tosh Lupoi begging for student population to show up for Clemson-Cal is a tough scene

Tosh Lupoi is starting to realize that he is not in Eugene anymore. Although he may have tremendous success leading his alma mater of Cal, there is so much red tape and perpetual nonsense he will have to overcome in Berkeley. His predecessor Justin Wilcox never got the credit he deserved, and Cal still ran him out of town. Now, Lupoi is begging for the student population to come see Cal host Clemson.

It is a primetime 7:30 p.m. PT kickoff at California Memorial Stadium. Cal and Clemson are a pair of 2-1 teams who are also unblemished in ACC play. Clemson got the best of North Carolina last weekend, while Cal took care of business versus Syracuse two weeks prior. Lupoi may be well-respected in the coaching profession, but he is clearly up against it trying to derive enthusiasm out of the undergrads.

To make matters even worse, Lupoi apparently has not even finalized his contract with Cal. He was hired by his alma mater to become the Golden Bears' new football coach on Dec. 4, 2025. Almost 10 months later, the UC system is still dragging its feet in paying him what he is worth. This just goes to show that not every Power Four team treats football the same as Clemson. Be grateful for passion.

Tosh Lupoi may love Cal, but Cal might not love him back like he deserves

Not to be mean, but let's flip the scenario around. Imagine if Dabo Swinney had to beg the Clemson fans to show up to Death Valley for a Friday night game versus Cal. Memorial Stadium holds 81,500, while California Memorial Stadium only holds about 62,500. Even in down years for the Tigers, their fans still puts butts in seats. Clemson is every bit a football school, while Cal is an academic power.

In a weird way, this may be one of those underrated factors why Clemson went from the underdog to the favorite in a matter of days. A three-point shift is nothing to sneeze at, but maybe Cal's passion for football is? This is not to say that Cal cannot or will not win on Friday night. The Golden Bears may have the more talented team. However, the home crowd can impact games in a multitude of ways.

Right now, Clemson needs to focus and control what it can control to win this game. That being said, if Cal does not pack the stadium like Lupoi is hoping for, that could play into Clemson's advantage. The Tigers are used to playing super late at night. After all, their first three games of the season were all delayed by two-plus hour lightning delays. The first two were supposed to be primetime kickoffs.

So even if it is a super late start for Clemson, what else are you going to do on a Friday night? This is Clemson's first-ever game in Berkeley, as the Tigers and Golden Bears have only played each other once before in a bowl game some 34 years ago. This game should be billed at Tait Reynolds versus Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, but it might unfortunately be more about the late kickoff being at Cal.

Lupoi ran through a brickwall to become Cal's coach, but we wish the university would do the same.

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