Cal is moving on into the second half of the season following their third consecutive loss over the weekend. Now the Bears must regroup and welcome in a new face to Berkeley as NC State travels across the country to square off with Cal after dropping its last two matchups this season.

Eight points are all that separate Cal from a 6-0 record this season, and that has given the team reason for optimism that the second half of the schedule will look different than the first six games.

Tuesday, coordinators Mike Bloesch and Peter Sirmon spoke with reporters about where things stand on their respective sides of the ball entering this week's matchup with the Wolfpack.

In addition to hearing from the Cal staff, the media was also able to speak with Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza to get his insight into what stood out in last week's loss to Pitt plus what he's focused on this week ahead of the matchup with NC State.

Coastal Carolina transfer offensive lineman Will McDonald has roots in ACC land, and grew up less than 200 miles from the NC State campus. He spoke Tuesday about his connections to the school in addition to his thoughts on how things are coming together with the offensive line this season.

Newcomer Cheikh Fall has developed into a key member of the rotation at outside linebacker for Cal this season, and he spoke with reporters Tuesday about his development and stepping into action with so many injuries at his position.