A Week to Correct, Rest, and Refocus

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox is aware of the growing fan tumult around his tenure, as the Bears are 2-7 over his last nine games, following two straight winning seasons.

"When you're not winning, fans are upset," Wilcox said, "frustrated and I don't blame them. They want to win too, I expect that, and that's part of the role that I'm in. I accept the fact that they're upset and frustrated and our role is to win games, so the fans and people can be proud of the product on the field, and myself, the coaches and our players take ownership of that and we have the responsibility to do that."

Now, Cal has a 1-4 record, a bye week, and their most difficult road trip of the year upcoming. When Cal has had their worst losses in the Wilcox era, from the 2017 loss to Washington, the 2018 loss to UCLA, the 2019 loss to Utah, the 2020 Big Game loss, they've come back with a much needed win each time. Winning is what Cal needs moving forward, something Wilcox knows.

"The best response is winning games," Wilcox noted, "that's the ultimate that we can do for our fans."

How does winning start for the Bears again? There's a handful of obvious and not so obvious areas

The PAT Snap/Hold Exchange

Three times this season, the snap/hold exchange has cost Cal points. In two out of the three occasions, it could have led to a different outcome against TCU and Washington. Against Washington State, it deflated the Bears, and it's something for Slater Zellers and Jamieson Sheahan to fix, as Zellers has been fine on long snaps to the punter so far.

Early OL success to Conference Struggles

Cal allowed four sacks in their first three games, and that number has expanded to 11 thanks to seven sacks facing the Washington teams. The tackles in particular have struggled, with Valentino Daltoso (19 pressures allowed in 209 pass blocking snaps) and Will Craig (13 pressures allowed in 181 pass blocking snaps) struggling at points, though Daltoso has often been Cal's top run blocking offensive lineman. Cal may have to look at shifting around some of their linemen if problems continue.

Different Teams at Home and on the Road

In one of the more interesting stats brought to light by Avinash Kunnath of Write for California, Cal is a different team on the road than they what they've been at home.

Finishing drives has been an issue for Cal regardless of where they've played, but they've excelled on the road offensively, without similar success at home. It's admittedly a small sample size with three games at home, two on the road, but it's a noticeable disparity.

Growing at Corner

Cal's safety play has been solid this year, as Daniel Scott is the highest graded safety in the Pac-12 per PFF, along with the 4th highest graded safety in the country, among DBs with 100+ snaps. It is the corner play where the Bears have struggled, with both pass interference calls, holding calls, and struggling in man coverage. Chigozie Anusiem has been pushed down the depth as Lu-Magia Hearns has risen, giving the Bears two first-year starters on the outside (Josh Drayden has been mainly on the inside). That has made for some rude awakenings for the Bears early in the season.

There is the potential for more DBs to play this year. If Femi Oladejo and Nate Rutchena are any indication, younger players do have a path to the field, but that time, where the Bears need more effective players, is soon.

Garbers Form

The Cal QB has had his moments this year of success, but he has also struggled in one particular area, in setting his feet while throwing on the run. Garbers has mentioned it during one of his press conferences, as he has had open receivers that he's thrown low to because of bad form on off-platform throws.

If 2019 proved anything, it's that Garbers can win games, but as a fourth year starter, the burden falls on him to grow and make more plays, whether it's in the downfield passing game or with his legs extending plays.

Tackling

The tackling piece has improved somewhat for Cal over the past two games, but the Bears have not had the same success tackling the football this season as they have in other seasons. The form they practice hasn't changed, but there have been issues, with Pro Football Focus tagging the Bears with 66 total missed tackles through five games.

Margins

This year, Cal is:

- Averaging 59.8 penalty yards per game, up from 35 in 2020 and 42 in 2019

- Allowing conversions on nearly 47% of 3rd downs

While the Bears have an even turnover margin, these two stats have helped to keep the Bears from being successful. They've already allowed 13 first downs on penalties in 2021, after allowing 15 in 2019.

Pass Rush

Cal's pass rush hasn't gotten home, with only eight total sacks on the year through five games. While the Bears haven't been helped by the absence of Kuony Deng, Cam Goode only has two sacks (both against TCU), and the Bears' lack of pressure (only 7 pressures on Jayden de Laura against Washington State), has led to breakdowns in the secondary.

Winning Close Games

When Cal has been a winning team, they've won close games, within a single score:

2017: 1-3

2018: 4-3

2019: 4-2

2020: 1-2

2021: 0-3

Cal has lost their four games by an average of just over 7 points. The Bears, while the record is poor, aren't as far away as their performance against Washington State would have most assuming. That said, this is an absolutely pivotal time for the Bears moving forward, as fan dissatisfaction is growning, and the team has to figure it out.

"Moments like this," Wilcox said, "you've got to figure out what you're about as an individual, what you're about as a team"