Cal Football: Bears' Flaws Surfacing as They Navigate Heart of Their Schedule
Reflections on Cal’s (last?) visit to Salt Lake City:
There were 52,000-plus at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday afternoon to watch No. 16 Utah beat the Bears 34-14, and my guess is only a handful of them were on hand the last time Cal won a game in the 801 area code.
That was back in 1963 — a week before JFK’s assassination — and since the two schools are headed to new conferences next fall, we have no idea if or when they will ever play again.
It’s a given that the Utes were going to be a tough out. They have now won 18 home games in a row and have played in front of 80 consecutive sellouts. Almost no one beat them at their place.
But Cal’s second game in a series of five straight against Top-25 opponents brought into clearer focus the gap between the Bears (3-4,1-3 Pac-12) and elite-level teams.
A week after the Bears lost 52-40 at home to Oregon State, their defense held the Utes to seven points through the first 29 minutes of the game. Yet Utah wound up with 34 points after consecutive games in which they scored just one offensive touchdown.
The Utes rushed for 317 yards after coach Kyle Whttingham complained this week about their meager run game production.
And Cal, which was averaging 217 rushing yards per game, netted just 66 yards on the ground (although that total included losses from five sacks). The Bears knew the Utes would stack the box to take away the run, and there was nothing they could do about it.
Fernando Mendoza looks for a receiver.
Photo by Rob Gray, USA Today
“Not all teams are the same,” coach Justin Wilcox said when asked why the production dropped against the Utes. “The team we played today is not some of the teams we played earlier. They’re big and physical and played what we thought they would play.
“We had a harder time moving them than they did moving us.”
Bottom line: What works for Cal against middling teams still doesn’t cut it against the big boys. And that's a problem in a Pac-12 with so many good teams.
“It’s alarming in that we need to play better football all around,” Wilcox said. “We need to play better everywhere. Obviously, this is not good enough.”
Cal has a bye next week before USC visits. In the meantime, the Trojans (6-1, 4-0) are home against these same Utes.
Maybe USC’s defense — which has allowed at least 40 points three weeks in a row — will help keep things close on Oct. 27 at Memorial Stadium.
Then again, the 10th-ranked Trojans’ 48-20 loss at Notre Dame was the result mostly of five USC turnovers.
Where is the evidence the Bears can exploit that? The defense still has just one interception through four conference games . . . and no sacks.
Cal took a step back on offense, scoring just two touchdowns after putting up 40 points the week before, when redshirt freshman Fernando Mendoza made his starting debut.
The Bears also are showing an annoying habit of self-destructing, or at least failing to make plays in the pivotal moments:
— Cal turned the ball over twice and Utah answered with touchdowns on drives covering just 48 and 13 yards.
— The Bears were flagged for seven penalties, including holding on the opening kickoff return and a delay of game and a false start on the same first offense series.
Mavin Anderson can't get a grip on this long pass from Fernando Mendoza.
Photo by Rob Gray, USA Today
— Mendoza, who threw a pair of touchdown passes for the second straight week in his second starting assignment, might have had a third one except that Mavin Anderson couldn’t haul in what appeared to be a well-thrown deep ball down the left sideline with the score 7-7 in the second quarter.
— Freshman Mateen Bhaghani, who took over the placekicking duties two weeks ago, misfired on a 30-yard field goal attempt that would have pulled the Bears within one touchdown with 7:49 to play.
— How did Cal’s defense respond? The Bears gave up a 72-yard TD run to safety-turned running back Sione Vaki, who had just one carry all season before carving up the Bears for 158 yards and two TDs. That made it 31-14 and the outcome was no longer up for grabs.
“The entire complexion of the game changes,” Wilcox said of those two plays. “If we can find a way to get points on that drive, kick the ball off and get a stop, then we’ve got the ball back at the end of the game with a chance to tie.
“So there’s four or five plays in this game that just totally swing it. And we haven’t capitalized on momentum well enough and we didn’t play through the hard times in those moments that’s needed. That’s how you win.”
Wilcox has said since training camp that this team must continue to improve throughout the season. We're not seeing that right now, and that falls on the players and the coaching staff.
The Bears have struggled to win close games for three seasons. And while this one wasn’t close at the finish, it could have been.
Cover photo of Cal's defense chasing Utah running back Sione Vaki by Rob Gray, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
