Bears are missing ‘multiple’ players to COVID protocols
Just as the Cal football team seemed to be finding its way late this season, the Bears must try to avoid falling back into the mire of 2020.
News on Thursday that “multiple” Cal players entered COVID-19 protocols and will be unavailable for today’s game at Arizona was an unwelcome flashback to last season.
The Bears (3-5, 2-3 Pac12) have won two in a row and were preparing for Arizona with momentum they haven’t enjoyed since 2019. The Wildcats (0-8, 0-5) played better the past two weeks against Washington and USC but still are riding a 20-game losing streak, longest in conference history.
The game itself, at least, does not appear to be in jeopardy. Cal planned to test its entire travel party Friday afternoon before leaving the Bay Area, and the Bears’ plane departed at 2 p.m.
The extent to which Cal will be physically compromised for its noon kickoff is unclear. The Bears might be without just a couple players of minimal consequence, but both the number of absent players and their significance could be far greater.
Cal has not identified which players or how many will be out, citing privacy laws.
A year ago, the Pac-12 initially canceled the season, then reinstated a reduced schedule of conference-only games. Cal managed to get just four of those in, including an opener at UCLA that was supposed to be against Arizona State until virtually the 11th hour.
In two other games, the Bears played without most of either their front-line offensive or defensive linemen, and the resulting personnel changes contributed to massive special teams malfunctions that led directly to defeats.
Cal wasn’t fully intact until its 2020 finale, when the Bears beat eventual Pac12 champion Oregon, 21-17.
This season began with a series of single-digit defeats that left the Bears at 1-5, but wins at home 26-3 over Colorado and 39-25 over Oregon State kept alive Cal’s flickering hopes of a bowl game.
Here are keys to today’s game:
AVOID THE LETDOWN >> Arizona hasn’t won a game since Oct. 5, 2019 against Colorado, but the Wildcats led 13-0 against Washington before losing two weeks ago and rallied from a three-touchdown deficit before falling 41-34 at USC last week.
RUN THE BALL >> The Bears gouged Oregon State for 255 rushing yards last week and stopping the run is not a strength for the Arizona defense. The Wildcats rank 108th nationally and 11th in the Pac-12, allowing more than 180 rushing yards per game.
WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE >> Cal enters the game with a substantial edge here. The Bears haven’t given the ball away the past three games and boast a plus-6 turnover ratio for the season. Arizona is at minus-11.