Cal fans couldn’t contain their excitement for the first-ever visit of ESPN’s “College GameDay” ahead of the Golden Bears’ first home ACC clash, breaking through the gates around Memorial Glade on campus before the official opening.
Video shared on social media showed the chaos that ensued early Saturday morning.
Desmond Howard, left, Rece Davis, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit live broadcast during ESPN Gameday near Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. (IMAGN)
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“The Cal crowd waiting in line for College GameDay has broken through the gates before the official opening,” Avinash Kunnath of “Write For California” wrote in a post on X.
“Complete chaos in Berkeley. There is not enough security to organize the crowd.”
Kunnath shared a second video showing a “second wave” of fans breaking through the fences, estimating the crowd size to be in the “thousands” at around midnight.
The California Golden Bears student section prior to a game between the UC Davis Aggies and the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium on August 31, 2024, in Berkeley, California. (Thien-An Truong/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
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The Bears will host No. 8-ranked Miami in a rare trip for the Hurricanes. In their only previous visit to Berkeley in 1990, Miami won 52-24. They beat Nebraska in the Rose Bowl to claim the 2001 national championship and are 2-1 in road games against San Diego State.
“This is an amazing opportunity,” Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza said. “Opportunities like this don’t come often, especially with all the bells and whistles of ‘GameDay’ coming and Miami being a top-10 team in the nation.”
California Golden Bears running back Jaydn Ott (1) is tackled by Auburn Tigers safety Sylvester Smith (19) during the second quarter at Jordan-Hare Stadium. (John Reed-Imagn Images)
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A win for Cal would mark the team’s first ACC win in their first home game in their new conference. Cal also seeks its first win against a ranked team since beating No. 21 Oregon in 2020.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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