Cal Preview Box: Bears Open Against UC Davis

Aggies coach Dan Hawkins thinks this is the best UC Davis team in history

Cal opens its 2022 season with a home game against UC Davis on Saturday, and although the Bears are three-touchdown favorites against this FCS opponent, Aggies coach Dan Hawkins said this week that this is the best UC Davis football team ever.

“With all due respect to Aggies teams of the past, of which I was on a great one, I still say this: I think this is the best Aggie football team in the history of Aggie football,” Hawkins said this week.

This is quite a statement considering UC Davis has had four undefeated regular seasons, including 1982, when it got to the Division II national championship game.

Cal struggled against UC Davis in 2019, when the Bears won 27-13, and Montana, a Big Sky Conference member like UC Davis, upset Washington in a season-opener last season 

Here are the important facts of Saturday’s game

CAL (0-0) vs. UC DAVIS (0-0)

SITE: Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, Calif.

WHEN: Saturday, 1 p.m.

TV: Pac-12 Bay Area: Guy Haberman (Play-By-Play), Shane Vereen (Analyst).

RADIO: KGO 810 AM -- Joe Starkey (Play-By-Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Todd McKim (sideline reporter).

BETTING LINE: Cal is favored by 21½ points. Over/under is 44 points.

BETTING ODDS TO WIN (from SI Sportsbook): Cal: -1613 or approximately 1-to-16; UC Davis: +800 or 8-to-1.

WEATHER FORECAST: Saturday afternoon will be mostly sunny with a high of about 81 degrees. There is only a 7 percent chance of rain in the afternoon.

CAL-UC DAVIS HISTORY: The Golden Bears are 10-0 alltime against UC Davis and have outscored the Aggies by a combined margin of 378-36. All 10 of those games were played on Cal’s home field. Their most recent meeting was in 2019, and that was also the closest of the 10 matchups. UC Davis took an early 10-0 lead in that game before Cal rallied to win 27-13.

INJURIES: Cal: Bears defensive lineman Brett Johnson, expected to be one of the top defensive lineman in the Pac-12, is out for the season after suffering a lower-body injury in preseason camp.

CAL STORYLINES: Because Cal has so few returning starters, it has a lot of questions entering the 2022 season. This game may begin to provide some answers. Only five players who were Cal starters last season are back this year. . . . Saturday will be the Cal debut of quarterback Jack Plummer, who transferred from Purdue, where he was 3-1 as a starter last season before being replaced as the starter. He will be the focus of the Cal offense, which needs to produce more explosive plays and more points than it has in previous seasons under Justin Wilcox. Cal finished eighth in the Pac-12 in scoring offense last year, and that was the only time in Wilcox’s five seasons that the Bears finished better than 10th in that category. Bill Musgrave begins his third season as the Bears' offensive coordinator . . . Cal has a wide array of talented but inexperienced wide receivers who will play a major role, and Saturday may indicate whether any might emerge as a star. . . . Cal has only three defensive players who were Cal starters last year, but the Bears added inside linebacker Jackson Sirmon, a transfer from Washington who was a preseason all-Pac-12 selection and will make his Cal debut Saturday . . . The loss of Brett Johnson could have a crippling effect on the Bears’ defensive front three, and Saturday’s game may indicate whether it can hold up.

UC DAVIS STORYLINES: The Aggies are ranked No. 22 in the preseason Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) coaches poll . . . They were 8-4 last year, when they beat FBS team Tulsa and received a berth in the FCS playoffs. Many of those starters are back this season. . . . Three former Cal players – tight end McCallan Castles, linebacker Evan Tattersall and quarterback Jack Newman – had been members of Cal’s football team before moving on to UC Davis, and Castles and Tattersall are expected to be starters for the Aggies on Saturday. Newman looks like the backup quarterback  . . . Davis’ head coach is Dan Hawkins, who had success as Boise State’s head coach but struggled as Colorado’s head coach. He is in his sixth season at Davis and claims this might be the best UC Davis team in history. . . The Aggies star is running back Ulonzo Gilliam Jr., who rushed for 901 yards and caught 43 passes last year and is the preseason Big Sky Conference offensive plyer of the year. He had 89 yards rushing against Cal in 2019 as a sophomore. . . . Hawkins has not revealed who his starting quarterback will be, but apparently it will be Miles Hastings, who started the final five games last season as a redshirt freshman.  . . . . Davis had two offensive lineman on the preseason all-conference squad -- center Connor Pettek and guard Jake Parks -- so it will provide a test for Cal's defensive front . . . Hawkins has a penchant for trick plays and his offense typically has a lot of whistles and bells, so Cal’s defense needs to be ready for a variety offensive looks.

CAL PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Jack Plummer (first start for Cal after transferring from Purdue); ILB Jackson Sirmon (transfer from Washington, preseason all-Pac-12); S Daniel Scott (preseason all-Pac-12); WR Jeremiah Hunter (averaged 18.5 yard per reception last year); RB Damien Moore (averaged 5.2 yards per carry last season); RB Jaydn Ott (true freshman expected to receive significant playing time); WR J.Michael Studivant (redshirt freshman was Cal’s top-rated recruit in the 2021 class and one of several inexperienced wide receivers expected to make an impact).

UC DAVIS PLAYERS TO WATCH: RB Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. (preseason Big Sky Conference offensive player of the year); TE McCallan Castles (former Cal player, Phil Steele preseason third-team FCS All-American); QB Trent Tompkins (all-around offensive weapon who last year had 448 yards rushing, 12 receptions, 10 completions in 18 pass attempts, and two punt returns for 86 yards); LB Teddye Buchanan (team leader in tackles in 2021); LB Cam Trimble (9.5 tackles for loss in 2021); LB Evan Tattersall (started five games for Cal in 2021); QB Miles Hastings (started the final five games last year as a redshirt freshman).

CAL NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click Here

UC DAVIS NOTES: Click here

JAKE'S PICK: Cal 30, UC Davis 17

JEFF’S PICK: Cal 41, UC Davis 10

BOB DUNNING’S PICK (Davis Enterprise): Cal 35, UC Davis 14

TICKETS: Click Here

PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION: Click Here

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Cover photo by Kelley L Cox, USA TODAY Sports

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