Bears aim to keep rolling against tougher foe
BERKELEY >> A week after having their way with one of the nation’s weakest offenses, Cal tries to step up against one of the best.
The Bears (2-5, 1-3) finally earned their first Pac-12 Conference victory with a 26-3 squashing of Colorado, which has averaged just 7.4 points in its five defeats.
This is not that.
Oregon State (5-2, 3-1) sits tied with rival Oregon atop the Pac-12 North standings, the most surprising team in the conference this season. The Beavers are seventh nationally in rushing yards per game (245.0) and lead the Pac-12 in scoring (35.1).
When the teams kick off today at 4 p.m. at Memorial Stadium, the Bears will need to deal with an OSU attack that begins up front.
The Beavers’ offensive line features five starters back from a year ago, three of whom earned some sort of all-conference recognition.
“They’re a very physical bunch. They come off the ball and move the line of scrimmage consistently,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. “Technically sound, they know who they’re blocking. And then they have some talented players.”
Running behind that line is junior
B.J. Baylor, who leads the Pac-12 with 830 rushing yards and has topped 100 in five of seven games.
Oregon State has rushed for at least 200 yards in the past six games. They ran for 322 yards against USC — 199 more than the Trojans have allowed on average in their other six games.
Cal quarterback Chase Garbers says it’s on the offense to maintain drives in order to give its defense a break by limiting their time on the field. “Ball control is going to be a big factor in this game,” he said. “Our offenses are pretty similar to where we could go on 12-play-plus drives.”
Being able to convert third downs will be big, Garbers says. But that’s a statistic the Beavers have dominated as they rank fourth nationally at 53 percent.
A few keys to the game:
A YEAR LATER >> Cal played Oregon State a year ago with just two starting offensive lineman available because of COVID-19 protocols. Center Michael Saffell and right guard McKade Mettauer played, but Will Craig, Jake Curhan and Valentino Daltoso were on the shelf for the Bears’ 3127 loss
The Bears’ O-line is intact this year and Garbers expects that to make a difference. “It’ll be interesting to see what our guys, who have been playing a lot of football this year, can do.” BE EFFICIENT >> The Bears need another performance from Garbers like he delivered last week against Colorado. He was 22-for-29 for 225 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, good for an efficiency rating of 163.8. Garbers also rushed for a career-high 96 yards.
But while Garbers leads the Pac-12 in total offense (283 yards per game), his passer rating of 133.6 is just ninth in the conference. Oregon State’s Chance Nolan leads the conference in pass efficiency at 157.9.
FINDING A WEAKNESS >> Oregon State has more going for it than a high-powered offense. The defense has 12 takeaways, including 10 interceptions to share the Pac-12 lead, and the special teams have shined.
Tight end Luke Musgrave — the nephew of Cal offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave — blocked a punt and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown last week against Utah. The Beavers have punted just 16 times in seven games — tied for the second-fewest in the country — and Luke Loecher averages 48 yards per punt.
“There’s really no weakness in their game,” Wilcox said.