This is a part of a continuing series, taking a look ahead to Cal's opponents during the 2021 season.

Previous Installments: Nevada | TCU | Sacramento State | Washington

Cal was set to have their regular season finale against Washington State in 2020, but as things often did in 2020, plans changed. Cal got word of a positive COVID-19 result on the bus ride to the stadium, which led to the Bears not having enough defensive linemen for the game due to contact tracing, which led to a cancelation and an impromptu afternoon of sledding that befuddled the denizens of Moscow, Idaho.

That cancelation robbed the Bears of a chance to play against a different Washington State outfit, as Mike Leach took his pirate ship to Starkville, Mississippi, while Nick Rolovich made his way from Hawaii to the Palouse, and the Bay Area native implemented a run-and-shoot style offense, getting away from the Air Raid that defined the program from 2012 to 2019.

2021 will end up being the first time Cal sees the Wazzu run and shoot, with a homecoming for Rolovich when the Cougs come to town.

Head Coach: Nick Rolovich (1-3 at Wazzu, 29-30 overall)

2020 Record: 1-3

Last Time These Teams Played: Cal took down Washington State in a 33-21 win in 2019, where Devon Modster threw for three touchdown passes and rushed for another.

There were some flashes for Rolovich and company in 2020, starting with a season opening win against Oregon State, but they ended up with a 1-3 record, identical to Cal amid the struggles of 2020. They found a couple productive players in Deon McIntosh and Jayden de Laura, with McIntosh playing in Max Borghi's place (Borghi will be back with Wazzu after playing in only one game a year ago) and de Laura taking over as a true freshman.

Due to a DUI arrest, de Laura wasn't with the Cougars in spring football (he has since been reinstated, which led to a QB battle including Tennessee transfer Jared Guarantano, redshirt junior Cammon Cooper, and walk-on Victor Gabalis. Guarantano left the spring game due to injury after one pass, which resulted in an interception, while Cooper has been at Wazzu since coming in with the class of 2018. Guarantano has plenty of starting experience, and should compete with de Laura into the fall.

In general, the Cougars do return quite a bit on offense, four offensive line starters, a couple of key playmakers at wideout in Renard Bell and Travell Harris, the aforementioned McIntosh/Borghi duo at running back. On defense, Wazzu struggled in 2020, allowing over 450 yards per game and at least 38 points to every opponent, but there are some key returners among the group.

Jahad Woods and Justus Rodgers make for one of the better linebacker cores in the conference, while the Cougars have some strong edge players in Brennan Jackson and Ron Stone. There are multiple seniors in the defensive backfield as well, with Armani Marsh (nickel), Jaylen Watson (corner), Derrick Langford (corner), and Daniel Isom (safety) all listed as seniors or graduate students. There's still a need for the Cougars to improve on defense to make a leap up in the conference, but Jake Dickert's unit was the better one in the spring game, despite sitting a handful of front seven players.

- McIntosh/Borghi, two players that can be effective for the Cougars in the run and shoot, with Borghi being one of the highest regarded running backs in the conferece prior to the 2020 season, while McIntosh averaged 6.2 yards per carry over the four game slate. Both backs have speed and will be called upon to catch passes out of the backfield, getting more use in Rolovich's offense

- CJ Moore, a transfer from Oklahoma State, Moore is a bigger framed complement to the smaller wideouts in Renard Bell and Travell Harris, something that Washington State had a bunch of under Leach, but saw a handful of players at wideout transfer out with Rolovich in charge. Moore is a fluid wideout at 6'4" and 180 lbs and a former four-star recruit.

- Jaylen Watson, a 6'3" corner with NFL potential, who was targeted 17 times in 2020, allowing 7 receptions for 41 yards and two pass breakups. Watson should start at one of the corner positions, and it'll be worth watching to see how much teams throw his direction moving forward.

- Brennan Jackson, Jackson struggled with injury during spring ball, but he played more than any other edge player in 2020. He was second among Wazzu defensive players in tackles for loss (3.5) and tied for the team lead in sacks (1.5), along with forcing a fumble. At 6'4" and 257, Jackson has grown into the edge role.

- Woods, a graduate student now, Woods led the Cougars in defensive stops (per PFF), is an effective pass rusher from the interior, and a reliable player as a whole. He's a solid tackler and one of the better 'super-seniors' returning in the Pac-12

- Bell/Harris, the two slot wideouts combined for 62 receptions in four games, and will aim to be as productive over a full season as they were over the four games in 2020. They'll be helped with Moore and a healthy Calvin Jackson, along with Joey Hobert

- Abe Lucas, another potential NFL tackle, Lucas is one of four returners on the offensive line, and a big one at 6'7" and 319 lbs. Lucas has consistently graded highly on Pro Football Focus, both as a run and pass blocker

There's enough returning players for Washington State on both sides of the ball for improvement to be possible. Rolovich turned around Hawaii prior to getting the Wazzu job, and he's about as perfect of a fit for Pullman as you're going to get.

There are a few areas that Wazzu has to focus on prior to the fall. The big one is the quarterback position, as de Laura impressed as a true freshman, but off-field problems had him missing the spring and Guarantano has plenty of starting experience, experience that could make him the starter by game one. There are plenty of weapons, especially in the run game, for either of those two to work with.

The second piece comes on defense, where teams averaged over 300 yards passing on the Cougars a year ago, a year where the Cougar defense forced two interceptions over the four games. It's a unit that has to be more productive in stopping the passing game, though they showed flashes of it in the spring game.

Cal has generally matched up well with Air Raid teams in the Wilcox era, but they haven't faced a run and shoot offense quite like what Rolovich runs. There will be similar structures, with 2 by 2 and trips sets, with some pistol runs thrown in, and that's a piece the Bears will have to handle, along with the thread of QB runs with de Laura in. Offensively, Cal will face what appears to be a 4-2-5 base, and while Washington State has added some size, Cal has had success with bigger wideouts and tight ends against the Cougar units in years past.