Cal has ‘rosy’ goals for 2020
Bears ride QB Garbers to triumph vs. Illinois in Santa Clara
SANTA CLARA >> The two words that every Cal football fan craves hearing were spoken after the Bears’ 35-20 win over Illinois in the Redbox Bowl on Monday in front of 34,177 fans at Levi’s Stadium.
“I’m happy with eight wins — more than I’ve ever gotten in college,” said senior All-America linebacker Evan Weaver. “These guys are going to do a great job piggy-backing off that ... hopefully to the Rose Bowl next year.”
There are those two words: Rose Bowl.
Cal hasn’t played in Pasadena on
New Year’s Day since 1960, and for most of the past 60 years the Bears haven’t been able to hold a realistic conversation about getting back there.
Now, on the heels of an 8-5 season and with virtually the entire offense returning, perhaps the Bears should take aim at that elusive target.
Back to lead the Bears will be quarterback Chase Garbers, who threw four touchdowns and ran for one in the best performance of his sophomore season. The entire offensive line is scheduled to return, along with virtually every other skill position player.
Even coach Justin Wilcox, who has directed the Bears to consecutive bowl games for the first time in a decade, did not seem afraid to talk about chasing the Rose Bowl.
“That’s the reason we sign up. I mean, if we’re not trying to win every game what are we even doing here,” Wilcox said. “We can talk about it, and that’s all great. What it takes is a lot of hard work, an investment by people in the program — not just players and coaches but the institution.
“We’ll have very high expectations for ourselves going forward. Now, what those are outside of our building, we don’t really control. But there’s no reason we can’t expect more out of
ourselves and I think we’ve earned the right ... to expect more. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
Asked what the team’s ceiling is for next season on the heels of three consecutive victories to end the season, sophomore wideout Nikko Remigio said simply, “There is none.”
GARBERS ONE YEAR LATER >> As the Bears’ redshirt freshman quarterback last season, Garbers had some good moments. He also had some tough times, none more so than being pulled at halftime of the Cheez-It Bowl after throwing three interceptions.
Garbers was 22 for 31 for 272 yards and four touchdowns against the Illini. He also ran for one. Perhaps most importantly, he guided an offense that played turnover-free football against a defense that generated 28 turnovers this season.
Turnovers were the Bears’ undoing last year, when they coughed up 31. This season: Just 13 in 13 games. WEAVER’S SWAN SONG >> Weaver finished the game with nine tackles to push his FBS-leading and ongoing school-record total to 182. He fell 11 short of equaling the national record, but had no complaints.
• Wide receiver Makai Polk, a freshman from Richmond, was hardly a factor through October, catching just three passes for 19 yards.