Five Questions With a Cal Writer Ahead of No. 8 Oregon vs. Cal

The Ducks can't let their foot off the gas against a struggling Cal team.

Oregon hits the road this week to head to the Bay Area where the California Golden Bears await on Saturday at 12:35 pm PT.

The Ducks are riding a six-game winning streak and are coming off a big win over UCLA, while Cal's comeback efforts came up just short against Washington last week.

To get ready for this matchup we asked Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report five questions about this Bears team.

1. What's the mood of the fan base in Berkeley? How much faith is there in Justin Wilcox's vision for the program?

There is not a cry to fire Wilcox, especially after he turned down the Oregon offer to stay at Cal last year. However, there is not a general feeling that Wilcox will turn Cal into a Pac-12 title contender either. The more significant issue is offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. When he was hired prior to the 2020 season following his years as an offensive coordinator in the NFL, there was a feeling that Cal’s poor offense would finally be productive. It hasn’t happened, and a lot of Cal fans would like to see Musgrave go. Wilcox has always been reluctant to fire assistant coaches, but he may have to fire Musgrave if the offense does not improve soon.

2. What are Cal's biggest strengths on both sides of the ball?

On offense, Cal’s biggest strengths are freshman running back Jaydn Ott and wide receivers Jeremiah Hunter and J.Michael Sturdivant, the latter a redshirt freshman. They are improvements over what Cal has had in recent years. Cal is passing the ball better than it is running it, but neither is great. Opposing defenses are stacking the box to stop Ott, believing Cal’s passing game is not good enough to win the game. The offensive line has shortcomings that adversely affect both facets. On defense, the strengths are inside linebacker Jackson Sirmon and safeties.

3. How is this year's Bears team different from last year? Is it better in your opinion?

Ott gives Cal a game-breaking back it did not have last season, and the wide receivers are better. However, the offensive line is worse. Quarterback Jack Plummer is probably a better passer than Chase Garbers was, but he is not as capable as making plays with his feet as Garbers was. Defensively, the Bears had more good players last year with outside linebacker Cameron Goode, defensive lineman Luc Bequette and safety Elijah Hicks, who are now gone. 

This year, the Cal defense gives up a lot of yards, but it has been good in the red zone, forcing teams to kick field goals instead of scoring touchdowns. The Bears are better against the run than against the pass, and that’s primarily because the Bears have not been able to mount a consistent pass rush. Overall, I’d say this year’s team is about on the same level as last year’s team, which finished 5-7, although I don’t think last year’s team would have lost to this year’s Colorado squad.

4. What do you think Cal needs to do to keep this game competitive?

It needs to make Oregon go the length of the field and avoid big plays to eat up time. The Bears did that effectively while holding Washington to its lowest scoring output of the season (28 points) despite yielding a lot of yardage. On offense, the Bears must avoid three-and-outs and turnovers. 

Again they must demonstrate ball control to take up time and shorten the game, which would help keep the score down. If Jack Plummer can get adequate time to throw and complete short passes (which he is capable of doing), Cal can stay close at home, where the Bears’ offense has been much more productive than it has been on the road.

5. Where do you think Cal fits into and/or ends up with all the conference realignment talk?

I think they’ll be in the Pac-10 for the next five years or so. Cal will join Oregon, Washington and Stanford as a group if and when the Big Ten makes that expansion move, because Cal will have no choice. But I don’t see that happening for another seven to 10 years. I think the most likely scenario is that Cal will remain in a Pac-12 that will add a school or two in four to six years.

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