Scouting the California Golden Bears

Offense

In 2022, the Cal offense improved drastically with Purdue transfer QB Jack Plummer leading the offense. In just eight games, Plummer racked up 3,095 yards passing, 21 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. However, he was also sacked 31 times, an average of 4 times per game, and ultimately, he elected to transfer to Louisville after just one season with the Golden Bears.

In 2023, Cal had to find a way to fill in the void left behind by Plummer,and to keep their quarterbacks from taking hits. The Golden Bears brought in TCU QB Sam Jackson V and NC State QB Ben Finley, but both have been hampered by injury and haven’t had great results on the field.

Jackson V has started three games and is 51-96 for 556 yards with 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. That gives him a 32.8 QBR, which is 120th in the nation.

Finley has started two games, and is 49-79 for 533 yards with 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, and while his completion percentage is better than Jackson V’s, his interceptions have been costly to Cal.

Finally, in last week’s game, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox decided to go with redshirt freshman Fernando Mendoza. Making his first career start vs Oregon St, Mendoza went 21 of 32 for 207 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. He also brough a running element to the game with 4 carries for 41 yards. Following his productive game, Wilcox once again named Mendoza the starter for this week’s game against Utah.

The Golden Bears rush attack has been led by Jaydn Ott, who has 96 carries for 556 yards and 5 touchdowns this season. However, he reaggravated an injury Saturday against the Beavers, so he may not play against the Utes.

This means that Cal will likely have to rely on Montana State transfer Isaiah Ifanse to carry the full rushing load. This may not be a problem for them. On the season, he has 61 carries for 348 yards and 7 touchdowns. In 2021, he rushed for 1,623 yards for the Bobcats, so he has shown the ability to handle a high volume of reps.

As for receivers, Mendoza’s favorite weapon against Oregon State was freshman tight end Jack Endries, who had 4 catches for 66 yards and a touchdown against the Beavers. WR Jeremiah Hunter, who leads the Golden Bears in catches (31) and receiving yards (339), is another name to watch this week.

Up to this point, the offensive line seems to have improved from last season. Through six games, only 7 sacks have been surrendered. Much of that can be attributed to the transfer portal. Starting LT Barrett Miller transferred from Stanford, where he had multiple starts, LG Matthew Wycoff transferred from Texas A&M and he also had starting experience prior to coming to Cal. C Brian Driscoll started every game last season for the Golden Bears and has been an anchor to the line this season. RG Sioape Vatikani started the last 14 games for Cal, but he was carted out of the Oregon State game with a leg injury, and it’s unlikely that he’ll play this Saturday. RT TJ Session started 7 games last season.

Defense

The defense is led by a strong linebacker group, but that position group also suffered a key injury against the Beavers last week. First-team All-Pac-12 Senior LB Jackson Sirmon led the team in tackles last season and already has 46 this season, but he left last Saturday’s game with an injury, and his status is in doubt. Sophomore LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr leads the team with 54 tackles, and former Ute Xavier Carlton leads the Bears with 2 sacks. Both Elarms-Orr and Carlton often line up at defensive end as well.

The defensive line has been pieced together this season. Redshirt junior DT Brett Johnson missed all of the 2021 and 2022 seasons with injuries, but he has started each game this season, logging 7 tackles. Sophomore DT Nate Burrell has been the main starter opposite Johnson in the interior, and he has 11 tackles on the year.

As for the secondary, they have struggled this season, giving up 263 yards passing per game, which is 10th in the Pac-12. The group is made up of several transfer players, SDSU transfer S Patrick McMorris, UNLV transfer CB Nohl Williams, who leads the team with 2 interceptions, and Colorado transfer NB Kaylin Moore. Returning starters S Craig Woodson and CB Lu-Magia Hearns III are the only returning starters from last season’s Golden Bear squad.

Summary

Historically, freshman quarterbacks do not fare well playing at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Since 2018, they average being sacked 3 times, and go 12/26 for only 125 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Losing a returning starter on the offensive line will be even more impactful, considering that Utah is 12th in the nation with 17 sacks, and the last time a freshman quarterback made his first P5 road start against the Utes he got sacked seven times. It will be tough sledding for Mendoza.

If Jaydn Ott is out, that puts a lot of pressure on Ifanse to find a way to run against Utah on their home field. So far, two solid rushing offenses weren’t able to figure that out, and it would be hard to expect anything to change for Cal. UCLA came in with the nation’s #1 rushing offense two weeks ago and were held to 9 yards. Florida had one of the best rushing attacks in 2022, and they were held to 13. It’s hard to imagine the Golden Bears running for any more than 50 yards Saturday.

The Utes should get some key players back this Saturday, and if that’s the case, the revamped Cal defense might be just what Utah needs to get the offense back on track. It wouldn’t be a stretch to see the Utes reach a new scoring high for the season, and this might be the game that gives Utah the confidence it will need before hitting the hardest part of the schedule over the next few weeks.

Just a reminder, excluding the COVID 2020 season, Utah has now won 26 straight home games.