Cal Football: First Look, Washington

The first game of the Pac-12 schedule comes early for Justin Wilcox and the California Golden Bears, as we take our first glance at the Huskies, who are coming off a season opening 47-14 win over Eastern Washington.

Date: September 7th, 2019

Location: Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA

Time: 7:30 PM

TV: Fox Sports 1

Radio: Cal Bears Sports Network (KGO 810 AM locally), TuneIn Channel, KALX 90.7 FM

All-time series record: Washington leads 54-40-4

Last Time: Cal beat #15 Washington 12-10 in Berkeley in 2018, with Evan Weaver's pick-six making the difference for the Bears. It marked the second consecutive year that Cal had beaten a top 15 team.

Names to Watch:

QB Jacob Eason: The Georgia transfer threw for 347 yards and 4 TDs in the opener, the most yards by a UW quarterback in their debut. Eason has arm talent that surpasses previous QB Jake Browning.

TE Hunter Bryant: Killed Cal's defense in 2017 to the tune of 9 receptions for 121 yards and a score, missed a big chunk of 2019

The WR group: Trey Jones is the biggest at 6'4", but the perceived starters are all under 6' and each of them had five receptions a week ago. Jones caught the sole TD against Cal a year ago

RB: Ahmed will start, but look out for Richard Newton, who Cal recruited in the 2018 class. He led the Huskies with 12 carries for 91 yards and a score in week one.

OL: Nick Harris is a reported question mark for the Huskies at center, if he can't go, look for Matteo Mele to take his spot

DL Benning Potoa'e had two sacks and three TFLs overall against Eastern

DB Myles Bryant led UW in tackles in week 1 with 8, LB Kyler Manu had 7

Sirmons: Jacob is the nephew of Cal ILB coach/co-defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon, Jackson is his son.

Overall Production from game one:

- 47 points/14 points allowed

- 0 turnovers forced or allowed

- 370 passing yards/211 passing yards allowed

- 200 rushing yards/63 rushing yards allowed

- 38 pass plays/43 run plays

- 34:17 time of possession

Week one saw Washington ride a balanced attack to a win over Eastern Washington, with Eason earning the credit for the offense playing well, while Potoa'e, Elijah Molden, and Manu were the three highest graded starters, per PFF.

Evan Weaver vs. Washington's offensive front

- Weaver made waves Saturday with one of his postgame quotes:

"We will be ready next Saturday, you can believe that. We’ll fly up there and we’ll beat them Saturday. That’s what we do. We win games. We figure it out."

This means a ton for Weaver, who through his senior year of high school, made the trek to every Husky home game. It'll be Weaver's final trek to his home state, and while he's a pivotal piece for the defense, his use in the pass rush could be key for the Bears.

Jacob Eason looked somewhat mortal last Saturday when blitzed, completing only 3 of 7 passes when blitzed (1 of 4 when pressured). Getting Weaver loose inside, especially if Nick Harris is out, could provide a spark for the Cal defense. (Weaver rushed the passer four times against UC Davis, coming away with QB pressures on three of those)

Chris Brown vs. UW's front seven

Brown, once upon a time, was recruited by the Huskies as a linebacker. Now, after a near-200 yard performance, he's going to try to beat up their linebackers. The Cal line had a solid day a week ago, but Brown's going to have continue to rack up yards after contact, against a very talented UW front seven which has reloaded well over the past two years in recruiting.