Bears need improved passing game against No. 8WSU
Cal’s offensive output has declined in three straight losses since starting season 3-0
BERKELEY » From the outside, Cal’s recent unraveling after a 3- 0 start was predictable, if not inevitable. Simply put, the schedule got tough. Very tough.
But the Bears won’t lay the blame for three straight defeats and declining offensive output on successive games against USC, Oregon and Washington, the latter two in loud stadiums on the road.
They cannot afford to take that approach, not with No. 8 Washington State visiting Friday night. That would be giving themselves an escape hatch in the event of another defeat.
From first-year coach Justin Wilcox to the players, the Bears point the finger at themselves.
“We’re just trying to come back,” quarterback Ross Bowers said. “Whatever bad habits we’ve formed these last three weeks, we’re trying to get out of them.”
It’s all about execution, they say. Clean that up, and the outcome can be different. Well, maybe.
This four-game stretch loomed as a minefield months ago. Coleader with rival Washington in the Pac-12 North, Washington State (6- 0, 3- 0 Pac-12) is better
than expected, especially on defense. It adds up to a quartet of opponents with a combined record so far of 21-3.
The Bears (3-3, 0-3) have made strides on defense after four porous seasons under Sonny Dykes. But the offense has regressed since the start of Pac-12 play.
Cal failed to score an offensive touchdown in its 38-7 loss at Washington, where Bowers passed for only 80 yards and absorbed seven of the eight sacks the Huskies accumulated.
Wilcox — after initially hinting at changes in personnel, and specifically at quarterback — has since said Bowers remains the starter. Instead, the emphasis this week was finding improvement.
“I haven’t been my best,” said Bowers, who has completed only 51 percent of his passes the past four games. “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, and I think all the other 10 guys do, too.”
It hasn’t helped that the run game has skidded to a halt. In college football, sacks count toward net rushing totals, but the Bears have totaled81 rushingyards in three Pac-12 games. That’s less than half of Patrick Laird’s total of 191 yards againstWeber State last month.
Now Laird apparently is banged up. He carried the ball twice at Washington and barely played in the second half. The Bears already are without senior running back Tre Watson, and productive Kanawai Noa last week joined fellow wideout Demetris Robertson on the injury shelf.
Using any of that as an excuse misses the larger point, Baldwin said. “We have to find different ways to put a defense on their heels.”
• Cal is closely tracking the air quality in Berkeley ahead of Friday night’s game, an athletic department spokesperson noted in a Thursday afternoon news release. Wildfires have devastated parts of the North Bay, but Cal has practiced throughout the week.
“We are working through a unique situation, and the health and safety of our student-athletes, fans, coaches and all thosewhowork home football games is of utmost concern,” the statement said. “As of the time of this release, we do not anticipate any changes to our scheduled gamewithWashingtonState.”
The NCAA has a set of parameters for competition in dangerous air on its website: “Specifically, schools should consider removing sensitive athletes from outdoor practice or competition venues at an AQI over 100. At AQIs of over 150, all athletes should be closely monitored. All athletes should be removed fromoutdoor practice or competition venues at AQIs of 200 or above.”
The air quality in Berkeley on Wednesday was 187. The spokesperson said Cal is in contact with the Pac-12 about the situation.