Bowers re-establishes himself
Ross Bowers will start for Cal on Friday against No. 8 Washington State.
Regardless of whether he’s won over the Bears’ fans by then, the sophomore quarterback has already secured his leadership in the locker room.
“We know he is taking hits for us,” center Addison Ooms said Tuesday night. “We’re going to try to do anything possible for him.”
Bowers has been sacked 14 times the past two games and has been the target of countless figurative hits on fan message boards as Cal’s offense regressed in losses at Oregon and Washington. Though the offensive line hasn’t held up consistently, the running backs have been generally ineffective, and the receivers haven’t gotten separation, the quarterback has taken the brunt of the criticism.
The Bears’ offense has steadily declined from 35 points, 363 passing yards and 469 yards of total offense in their Week 1 upset at North Carolina to Saturday’s 38-7 loss at Washington, in which the defense scored the team’s only touchdown and the offense managed all of 93 yards.
Head coach Justin Wilcox said outside Washington’s visiting locker room Saturday night that personnel changes may be on the horizon. That seemed to point at Bowers, who was pulled with nine minutes remaining in a game in which he completed 11 of 18 passes for 80 yards.
“I think he just wants to make sure everybody knows that every job is up for grabs every game,” Bowers said. “You have to go out and produce. No one is considered this amazing, solidified player, whether you are or not.”
After throwing for an average of 275.5 yards per game during Cal’s 3-1 start — including staying even with thenNo. 5 USC for three quarters on Sept. 23 — Bowers has averaged 167.5 passing yards during the past two.
Injuries have played a role, as sophomore receivers Demetris Robertson and Melquise Stovall missed the past two games, and Kanawai Noa joined the injured list last week.
And after allowing eight sacks for 52 yards in losses in those first four games, Cal has surrendered 15 sacks for 101 yards in losses in the past two.
Instead of cataloging the problems around him, Bowers owned the blame this week. He said he’s coming off reads too quickly, making poor decision on run-pass-option plays and hesitating to throw the ball away when protection breaks down.
“I haven’t been at my best. I haven’t been doing my job to the highest of execution. That’s something I’ve got to look in the mirror and fix,” he said.
Offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin said Bowers needs to do a better job of trusting his offensive line to provide a pocket and operating in tight spaces, but Baldwin remains so sure of his quarterback that backup Chase Forrest hasn’t gotten many repetitions in practice this week.
In Week 1, Bowers bounced back from a targeting hit to throw a 67-yard touchdown pass on the next play and later rebounded from an interception with the game-winning touchdown pass on the next drive. He has responded to four interceptions and two lost fumbles in a loss to USC by playing two consecutive games without a turnover.
“That guy is fighting. He’s competing. He’s getting hit in the mouth. He’s competitive and tough,” Baldwin said of Bowers. “I have nothing but respect for how he plays the game. We just have to get him to a level to where he’s growing every week and continuously getting better.”