Saturday’s game
Who: Cal (0-1) at TCU (1-0)
When: 12:30 p.m.
Where: Fort Worth, Texas
TV/Radio: ESPNU / 810
Story line: The last time Cal played TCU, then-redshirt freshman quarterback Chase Garbers got yanked at halftime after three interceptions and four sacks in the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl. Three years later, Garbers is one of the nation’s most experienced quarterbacks and is 14-6 when leading the Bears for more than a half.
“I think it’s disappointing, because you want to finish what you start,” Cal offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said of Garbers’ reaction to being pulled for the second half of the bowl game. “But, at times, football games can go in all different directions. Chase is a teamoriented player. He’s about the team, and he’ll do whatever it takes for the team. There’s no moping or anything like that. He’s always motivated, whether he’s on the field or whatever role he takes. He’s handled it like the mature fellow that he is.”
WHAT TO WATCH
Dangerous QB: Quarterback Max Duggan played only half of TCU’s season-opening 45-3 victory over Duquesne — a game so one-sided that the teams agreed to play 12-minute quarters in the second half. Duggan completed 14 of 19 passes for 207 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but that was enough to impress Cal head coach Justin Wilcox.
“He’s a very good player,” Wilcox said. “He makes plays with his arm and his feet. He can throw the ball quickly and get it out his hand to the perimeter with some of the (run-pass-option) game, and then, he launches it down the field. He’s really a complete player.”
Heart of Texas: Cal has 11 players from Texas, including six from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Senior cornerback Josh Drayden went to high school at Bishop Dunne-DeSoto, which is about 40 miles east of TCU’s campus.
“We’re going down there to win,” Drayden said. “Our families are there, which is nice. But it’s like Christmas. You want to give them a present. That would be a win. You don’t want to go all that way just to lose.”
Remembering 9/11: On the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Cal will honor two alumni.
Brent Woodall, a former tight end for the Bears, was working as a stock trader on the 89th floor of the South Tower when the building was hit. He earned four letters in football (1988-91) and was a key member of the 1991 squad that finished ranked No. 8 in the nation. Mark Bingham, a member of the 1991 national championship rugby team, was on United Airlines flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania.