Unbeaten Cal must face off with Ole Miss on the road with an injury-depleted roster

Ranked No. 23 in the AP Top 25, the unbeaten Cal football team has held 10 straight opponents under 25 points and goes for its fourth victory this season today against an Ole Miss team it beat just two years ago. What could go wrong?

In fact, the Bears’ trek to Oxford is fraught with potential obstacles.

Cal is off to its third straight 3-0 start under coach Justin Wilcox, who is 8-0 in nonconference games since taking the reins in 2017. One of those victories was a 27-16 conquest of the Rebels at Berkeley in Wilcox’s third game in charge.

Although the Bears remain a work in progress on offense, they have become an elite defensive team, and defense traditionally travels well. Crowd noise in a hostile environment may hinder a visiting offense, but generally has limited impact on defenses.

The game opened as a pick-em, but odd

smakers have moved the line to favor Ole Miss (2-1) by 21/2 points. These may be some of the reasons:

Injuries: Cal played North Texas last week without a third ailing offensive lineman, junior Valentino Daltoso, who was nursing an ankle injury. Then running back Christopher Brown Jr., and outside linebackers Cameron Goode, Tevin Paul and Ben Hawk Schrider all were sidelined during the game due to undisclosed injuries.

Wilcox said Wednesday he was “hopeful” the players will return today.

Beating Ole Miss on the road without those players figures to be tougher than getting past North Texas, whom the Bears squeaked past by six points at home. So stay tuned.

History: Cal is a respectable 1011-1 all-time against teams currently in the Southeastern Conference, and 3-1 over the past 30 years against that same group.

But the Bears’ fortunes have been far different when playing on the road against teams that were members of the SEC at the time they met. Cal is just 1-8 in those games.

That ledger includes a 66-0 loss at Alabama in 1973, although this Ole Miss team — picked to finish last in the SEC West — will not be confused with the Crimson Tide, then or now. The one historical bright spot: A 27-17 win at Tennessee in 1977 — when Wilcox was 10 months old.

National ranking: A good thing, right? Actually, it hasn’t had much currency for Cal in recent years. The Bears lost 42-24 at home to Oregon last year after being elevated to No. 24 in the rankings, and they have won just once in their past seven games as a Top 25 team dating back to 2009.

Time and temperature: The game kicks off at 9 a.m., and the Bears will be welcomed by a warm day in the South. The forecast calls for a high of 89 degrees, although humidity levels will be modest by standards for the region.

Cal traveled to Mississippi on Thursday — a day earlier than usual — to adjust to the time and elements.