The University of Utah welcomes in the Cal-Berkeley Golden Bears on Saturday night as they look to remain unbeaten at home. Coming off a 21-3 victory against Arizona State, Utah is looking to stay at first place in the Pac-12 South. The Cal Bears are winless in their last three matchups losing to Arizona State, Oregon, and Oregon State. Cal started their season winning their first four games of the season and were ranked after a road victory against Ole Miss. Both Utah and Cal have stout defenses that have not given up many points up to this point in the year. It looks to be a low-scoring, physical matchup on Saturday, but let’s take a look at the position battles.

Quarterbacks

One of the biggest storylines in this game is that Cal will be starting their true freshman quarterback, Spencer Barsch, who has attempted just six passes on the year. He started the season as the third-string quarterback and will now start for Cal after injuries to their two quarterbacks ahead of him. Freshmanquarterbacks have struggled against the Utes in recent history and it is sure that Morgan Scalley will bring the pressure. For the Utes, it is uncertain if Tyler Huntley will be at 100% on Saturday night. But, both of Utah’s backup quarterbacks are preferred over a true freshman in this matchup.

Running Backs

Zack Moss broke the Utah all-time rushing yards record after his 99-yard, two touchdown performance last week. He has a strong case for the best running back in the conference and even had 78 yards through the air last week as well. He is still record chasing this week and could break the touchdown record against Cal with just one more touchdown. Cal has relied on Christopher Brown Jr. for the majority of their rushing attack and has 480 yards on the year but is only averaging 4 yards per carry. Rushing against Utah will be tough a tough task.

Wide Receivers

Nikki Remigio and Jordan Duncan are the leading receivers for Cal and are both averaging close to 15 yards per catch. However, Cal has struggled to attack opposing defenses through the air and with a true freshman at quarterback, this will become an even tougher task. In the rain last week, the Utes struggled passing the ball but the pass game has been improving each week. The Utes have yet to establish a true “#1” receiver this year. Nevertheless, they have been efficient as a committee through the air averaging 231 yards per game and only have one interception.

Tight Ends

One of the brighter spots for the Cal offense has been the performance of Jake Tonges who averages 24 yards per catch. However, the Utah tight ends have been performing as well as any team in the conference and have been featured in many different looks for the Utah offense. Brant Kuithe has 236 yards through the air.

Offensive Line

Last week against the Oregon State Beavers, the Cal offense allowed nine sacks and have struggled all year to protect the quarterback. This is a tough matchup for them, considering their competition for Saturday night. They are starting two freshmanat the guard position and will have their hands full. For the Utes, the offensive line play has boosted this offense but have struggled to be consistent throughout the year. This could be one of their toughest matchups of the year as the Cal defensive line has 19 sacks so far this year.

Defensive Line

Defensive End Bradlee Anae tallied three sacks against Arizona State and the whole defensive caused havoc for another true freshman quarterback last week. Multiple players had pass breakups and had the whole Arizona State offense on their heels all game. Look for this group to bring the pressure once again. For the Bears, this group has played well for them all year and have had success getting to the quarterback all year. 19 sacks on the year is good enough for 4th in the conference and could have success against an inconsistent Utah offensive line.

Linebackers

In the running for Pac-12 defensive player of the year is Evan Weaver. He is one of the nation’s leaders in tackles and already has 104 on the year. He is great in space and needs to have another stellar game to keep his team in the game. He will be the best linebacker on the field for both teams but, the Utes have more depth at the position. Devin Lloyd and Francis Bernard do not have the stats that Weaver have but have benefitted greatly from the players around them and have built great chemistry in their few games they have played together.

Secondary

The Utah secondary had one of their best games of the year against Arizona State, just allowing 25 yards through the air and forcing an interception. They are second in the conference with nine interceptions and will have another favorable matchup with a true freshman throwing passes for the Bears. The Cal secondary has also been stout for Cal and only allow just over 200 yards through the air. The Utes will not get anything easy through the air against the Bears.

Special Teams

Cal kicker Greg Thomas is 9 of 13 on the year with a long of 47 on the year and has also a year of experience under his belt. This separates him from the Utah kicker. Jason Redding has not been terrible on the year but has yet to be truly tested. Cal has better results in the return game so far this year, even though both teams have yet to do anything game-changing.