Last year's Washington State game may have been the strangest game a lot of people have seen. A 3-3 Cal team, physically destroyed the week prior in Seattle, comes home for a short week, with smoke from the North Bay fires pouring into the East Bay.

Amid calls for the game to be cancelled, and with a number eight Washington State squad coming in, the Bears unleashed what can only be described as 'unholy hell' upon the Luke Falk-led Cougars. Five interceptions. Seven total turnovers. Nine sacks. A front flip touchdown. An anti-meat protester giving the Bears essentially a fourth timeout in the first half while security dragged her off. Cal losing Devante Downs mid-way through the contest and not missing a step. The smallest crowd in Memorial Stadium in 15 years witnessed a 37-3 massacre that no one saw coming.

Many things are the same as Justin Wilcox's squad makes the trip up to Pullman. The helmet decals are the same. Mike Leach is still in Pullman and irreverent as ever. Washington State is again ranked eighth, this time by the CFP rankings. The Air Raid is still in effect, as the Cougars are leading the country in passing, and are last in rushing.

Yet despite a number of losses for this Washington State team, including defensive coordinator Alex Grinch heading to Columbus, this Cougar team may be better than last year's incarnation, and the reason for that is everyone's favorite mustachioed quarterback, Gardner Minshew.

"He's playing as well, I don't watch the rest of the country, but watching him on tape, I can't imagine there's a quarterback playing better than him," Wilcox said, "makes good decisions, when he's pressured and needs to get the ball out, he gets it out, and when he's not pressure and people max-drop him, he'll hold it and people get open. The O-Line is playing at a high level, running backs can run the ball and catch it out of the backfield, and their receivers are very talented. There's a reason why they're scoring 40 a game and leading the country and passing."

Part of what stands out with Minshew is, unlike his predecessor Falk, will get the ball out quicker and is willing to fit the ball into smaller spaces. His mobility is somewhat underated, as he scrambles enough to get receivers open, something that helped against Stanford last week.

"Definitely fair to say," Wilcox said about whether Minshew is more mobile than Falk, "he can make plays with his feet, keeps things alive, slides well in the pocket. He's playing really well, I can't imagine there's a guy playing more efficiently than him."

While Washington State's offense is designed to put up numbers, Minshew has been accurate, completing 71% of his passes, with 26 touchdowns to 6 interceptions (3183 yards and 7.6 yards per attempt).

The RBs (James Williams and Max Borghi)

Tim Deruyter had this to say about the Wazzu running backs, as Williams has 48 receptions and Borghi has 28 receptions on the season.

"They're tremendous catching the ball, they're a threat out in the perimeter," DeRuyter said, "Their outside rr=un game is getting the ball out to those guys, they get matched up in space on linebackers a bunch, so we're going to have to do a really nice job of tackling on the perimeter, that's where they've made some hay, attacking on the perimeter with matchups."

Tackling has to be a main priority against these two, especially Williams, who broke what seemed like an endless amount of tackles on one play against Oregon. Lots of swings out of the backfield with these two, as Borghi may be a lost McCaffrey sibling.

WRs Tay Martin and Dezmon Patmon

Two big wideouts on the outside, both with over 40 receptions, as they've been some of Minshew's biggest targets when he wants to throw into tight spaces. With both being 6'3 and 6'4" respectively, it falls on Cam Bynum and Elijah Hicks to play with great technique and for the Bears to disguise coverage like they did a year ago.

OL Andre Dillard

The big left tackle is part of a line that has allowed only 6 total sacks in 465 passing dropbacks. He's helped by Minshew getting the ball out quick, but he's their highest graded lineman per PFF, with 11 total pressures allowed in those 465 passing reps

LB Peyton Pelluer

Another one in a string of solid middle linebackers, and Pelluer is capable of dropping into coverage as much as he is with rushing the quarterback. He's similar to Jordan Kunaszyk in that sense, a smart player at the position who knows where to be in his drops

S Jalen Thompson

Rangy safety who has gotten in on a lot of tackles, gotten his hands on the ball with 6 PBUs and an interception, and doesn't have a hole in his game. He's had 22 of 42 passes against him completed when targeted, pretty solid numbers for a safety.

Traveon Beck/Josh Drayden vs. Kyle Sweet/Jamire Calvin/Renard Bell

The slot will see some man D, especially with the Bears likely to play a bunch of nickel against the spread, with Beck the likeliest to see time there, but Calvin is a tough cover, and Sweet and Bell have been at Wazzu for a while and know the system. It's important for the Bears to limit the yards after catch, as these three are good in space.

Luc Bequette/Rusty Becker/Zeandae Johnson vs. Liam Ryan/Frederick Mauigoa/Josh Watson

There's no massive O-lineman like the Continent, Cody O'Connell, as this line group appears to be way more mobile, That means the Bears defensive ends/tackles, will have to get some interior pressure to keep Minshew honest. They've done a solid job of that the past couple of weeks.

Vic Wharton/Moe Ways vs. Darrien Moulton/Marcus Strong

On the outside, while not confirmed, top Wazzu corner Sean Harper may not play, which means the Bears have to use their outside receivers well against a couple of smaller corners. Size helped Cal win last year, and this would be the time for the Bears to have a big game from Wharton.

Follow Proper Procedure

Cal had some trouble in the desert with procedural penalties, with 9 of them, as this is bound to be a louder environment than Tucson. With a couple relative new starters/rotation guys in Ryan Gibson and Will Craig, the Bears have to figure out their silent count early.

Prevent the Scramble Drill

Minshew can extend plays with his legs, and the Bears have to find a way to get to the quarterback and contain him through his progressions. They won't always get there right away, but they have to keep him from improvising.

Use Size

One of the biggest things Cal did a year ago to Washington State's defense was to exploit the size advantage. The Wazzu defense is a fast group, but not the most physically large. They can keep up with bigger teams, but using personnel that can grind away and steadily move down the field, with multiple TEs and a strong run game, should make a big difference for the group.