2020 Way-Too-Early Preview: Washington State

With shelter-in-place still in effect, we're taking a look at the nine opponents the Bears will face in 2020 that they faced in 2019.

Today continues with Washington State, who Cal will head up to Pullman and play on October 3rd

Previous Installments: Utah

Cal took down Washington State in Berkeley last November, a 33-20 victory for the Bears that snapped a four game losing streak for the Bears. It was Devon Modster's top performance in blue and gold, as the redshirt junior threw for four touchdowns and ran for another. The win was capped by Makai Polk's 52-yard tunnel screen touchdown, something set up by a 26 yard scramble by Modster.

Washington State will have a different look in 2020, as Mike Leach took his pirate ship down to Starkville and Nick Rolovich came back to the mainland from Hawaii. Rolovich, a Bay Area native, took the Rainbow Warriors to their first 10 win season in a decade in 2019, playing an entertaining spread offense that has made Cole McDonald a potential NFL quarterback. Now, he'll get a Washington State group that appears to be a solid fit for his offense.

Unlike a number of teams on Cal's schedule, Washington State hadn't started their spring practices before everything was shut down. Rolovich has ingratiated himself with the community in Pullman, buying large quantities of takeout meals from local restaurants during this time for fans, but he hasn't gotten his team on the field. Any projection on replacements for the Cougars is just that, a projection.

Rolovich will still run a relatively pass-heavy offense, with the run-and-shoot concepts of June Jones and Mouse Davis influencing the Washington State offense. Hawaii passed 63% of the time in 2019, and with a lot of the Cougars' strength being with their passing game, it'll stay that way.

Key Players to Replace

Cal: WR Jordan Duncan

Washington State: DB Bryce Beekman, DL Nnamdi Oquayo, DL Tristan Brock, DB Marcus Strong

It's not entirely fitting to list Beekman here, who passed away last week at the age of 22. Beekman was a junior college transfer entering his final year at Washington State, and had started every game in 2019.

Washington State does have to replace some experience on the defensive line, with Oquayo and Brock graduating. Oquayo was the Cougars' highest graded regular starter, per Pro Football Focus. Brock rotated more with a handful of other defensive linemen, including Lamonte McDougal. Dallas Hobbs, who played at the other spot on the defensive line, should help pick up the slack, along with sophomore Cosmas Kwete and senior Will Rodgers

In Strong, Wazzu lost their player who had taken the most reps on defense in 2019 (863). Derrick Langford, Armani Marsh, and Armauni Archie could fill that void.

Differences in the 2020 Matchup

Two big ones, Cal will have Chase Garbers and the entirety of the offense back. While Modster had his best performance, Garbers was the more consistent quarterback thoughout the year and got his starting job back the next week.

The second big thing is a new defensive coordinator in Jake Dickert for Washington State. Dickert comes over from Wyoming, where he had success against the run, an area where the Cougs have struggled over the last few years.

Expectations for 2020

One thing Cal has done well, at least in the home matchups against Washington State, is utilizing bigger personnel against Washington State, who has generally had a physically smaller defense than their Pac-12 counterparts. Cal's bound to go with more big personnel with Bill Musgrave in charge, and one recruiting class can't completely overhaul personnel in Pullman on defense. How Dickert and the Cougs manage that will be important.

Key Players to Replace

Washington State: QB Anthony Gordon, WR Brandon Arconado, WR Easop Winston Jr., C Frederick Mauigoa, LG Robert Valencia, WR Dezmon Patmon

Cal: ILB Evan Weaver, S Ashtyn Davis, S Jaylinn Hawkins, DL Lone Toailoa

Washington State will have a different QB facing Cal for the fourth consecutive year, as Gordon graduated. Gordon did throw for over 400 yards in the matchup a year ago, with one stretch of 19 straight completions. Gordon did throw an interception on his first pass, which Cal scored on the play after. The race to replace Gordon should include Cammon Cooper, Gunnar Cruz, and incoming freshman Jayden De Laura. De Laura could be the most intriguing of them, a true dual-threat with a great arm, one who turned down a late Ohio State offer to stick with the Cougs.

Arconado was one of the beneficiaries of Gordon's 19 straight completions against the Bears a year ago, and Winston became one of the most prolific pass-catchers in the conference as well. Dezmon Patmon is also gone, but Washington State has a hanful of guys to pick up the slack, including the returning Tay Martin, Renard Bell, Jamire Calvin, Travelle Harris, and Calvin Jackson Jr.

On the offensive line, two guys who played over 900 reps are gone for the Cougars in Mauigoa and Valencia, but there's a handful of younger players waiting in the wings. Primary backups included Brian Greene and Jarrett Kingston, and Hunter Mayginnes could force his way in as well.

Differences in the 2020 Matchup

The biggest thing here is that the offense is going to be somewhat different under Rolovich, but it'll still involve a lot of passing. Cal, especially Josh Drayden, feasted on Washington State's myriad of swing routes in 2019. Drayden had his best game at Cal, with 3 tackles for loss among 6 total tackles, taking out running back Max Borghi's knees on a number of impressive tackles.

How much the Cougs run Borghi, who is probably the top running back returning in the conference at the moment, will be interesting, since the junior has been underutilized in the Air Raid. Cal also will have a relatively newer back-end, with Hawkins and Davis both NFL bound.

Expectations for 2020

Cal's defense has done well against the Cougs, allowing 42 total points over their three matchups in the Justin Wilcox era so far. Cal's defense returns a lot of pieces that have had success against Washington State in the past, while the Cougs still have a lot of pieces of the puzzle to figure out, especially at quarterback. Either way, they'll be starting a new quarterback in a system that isn't quite as plug and play as Leach's air raid.

The big thing going forward for Washington State is practice, and with the current halt on any organized team activity until at least June, they will be mystery likely until the first game of the season.