Three weeks in, Cal is sitting at 1-2 heading into conference play, and already, this Cal team doesn't resemble the predictions of many heading into the season. The offense has been productive in certain aspects, while the defense has not lived up to the reputation of Cal teams in the Justin Wilcox era. The Bears have had some struggles with special teams and game management, though they have had a couple successes in those areas.

If, prior to the season, one was told that Cal was averaging 7 yards per play through three games, with 6.1 yards per carry and 7.8 yards per passing attempt, they might be ecstatic. That rushing number in particular hasn't been met at any point of the Wilcox era, and Cal hasn't averaged that over a single season since 2004. There may be a decline, as Cal will see physically bigger defenses going forward, but there have been some positive signs about the offense over the early schedule:

- Four sacks allowed through three games, as different players on the line in new positions (Valentino Daltoso at right tackle, Matt Cindric at center) or new guys in the rotation (Ben Coleman starting at left guard, Brian Driscoll at both guard spots) have meshed well with the returning Will Craig and McKade Mettauer.

- More backs and wideouts in the rotation. Damien Moore has claimed the starting role at running back, but Chris Brooks and DeCarlos Brooks have had their moments in relief of Moore, who has already outdone his 2020 numbers while also rushing for 5 TDs. At receiver, Trevon Clark has excelled out of the gate, and even with Kekoa Crawford hurt, Jeremiah Hunter has stepped in as a deep ball threat. Nikko Remigio has been steady, while Jake Tonges has been good (on only a few targets thus far) in the intermediate range.

Where Cal has struggled is in some of the 'all or nothing' areas on offense. Cal has had a few occasions already where the offense gets penalized on their own end on first or second down, which backs them up to where they go three and out, which, if a punt isn't good, can lead to better field position for a defense.

In addition, Cal has, at times, gone away from what worked, such as the run game against Nevada. The past two games, Cal has been able to throw over the top to open up the run game in the second half, and they'll need to continue to be successful in the run in closing out games.

In a role reversal from past years, Cal hasn't been the fundamental outfit they've been on defense. While Cal opponents are right around 54.5% completion passing the ball, the completions have come on deep shots on the outside or exploiting holes in a zone to tight ends. Cal's pass rush has produced five sacks, but none against Sacramento State, as the Bears are giving up 318 yards per game through the air.

Without the same experience at inside linebacker and in the defensive backfield, Cal hasn't tackled well, leading to breakdowns in the run game at TCU and against some of Nevada's receivers. Cal tackled better against Sacramento State, but committed four pass interference penalties that led to points for the Hornets.

The reality, behind Cal's tenured players, is that this Cal defense is very young. They lost nearly a year of development because of the pandemic, and a number of guys playing key reps are in their first real year of playing full-time (Gamble, Hearns, Iosefa, Saunders, McKenzie, Roberts, Correia, Mi. Williams, Oladejo, Paster). To a certain extent, JH Tevis, Evan Tattersall, Braxten Croteau and Chigozie Anusiem are young in terms of reps taken, from being backups in 2019, to starters in 2020 for a shortened season, then to 2021, where it's their first full development cycle.

Wilcox, as a defensive minded head coach, has prided himself on defensive development, and has taken the tackling woes and coverage lapses hard in postgame press conferences. It's up to the Cal staff, being what Wilcox termed a 'developmental staff' (as in being able to develop younger players), to get them up to speed quickly.

In addition, Cal is giving up a high number of 3rd down conversions (25-52), as the Bears defense hasn't done a great job at getting off the field. This sunk the Bears in particular against TCU, who rode the 3rd down conversions to a key second half score.

Without Brett Johnson (hip) and Mike Saffell (medical retirement), Cal had to deal with the loss of two of their best linemen before the season started. Right now, the offensive line has handled that loss a bit better, with the line blocking as well as they have in the Wilcox era. The defensive line has been utilizing a bit more of their depth, but they haven't found a disruptor quite like Johnson yet. There have been flashes, as Jaedon Roberts had a nice sack against TCU, along with JH Tevis providing solid pressure as a pass rusher, but Cal needs more from the spot.

Blake Antzoulatos and Craig Woodson also both went down during fall camp, and with the Bears' struggling at tackling during the early part of the year, they would've seen plenty of time. Woodson could've been a third safety/nickel type this year, while Antzoulatos would've been firmly in the ILB rotation. In addition, Kuony Deng was out for most of the last two games, and while he struggled in the opener against Nevada, Cal could use his presence moving into conference play.

After struggling to throw downfield against Nevada, Chase Garbers has let loose. Cal's blocking has been better, which has allowed Garbers to sit in the pocket and throw downfield. He hasn't been perfect, missing a couple open receivers on third downs and bouncing a couple throws, but he's more confident in throwing downfield after a bad week one performance.

Those deep balls and being able to throw in the intermediate range has led to more open running lanes for Garbers, who had four carries for 68 yards and a score against Sac State, leading to former Notre Dame head coach Bob Davie referring to Garbers as 'Thick' on the Pac-12 Network broadcast.

Garbers has to continue his high level of play moving forward, and he's continued to avoid turnovers for the most part while still taking downfield shots.

Cal has had a handful of special teams issues early in the year, with a missed field goal, a bad PAT snap and a long Nevada punt return, but they've cleaned things up in the meantime, with no other missed extra points and a 99 yard kick return by Nikko Remigio against Sacramento State. Remigio has had a bad habit of fair catching punts inside his own 10, something that does need correcting.

Special teams hasn't been the deciding factor as it was in 2020, but some coaching decisions, borne out of analytics but not getting the desired results, have been reasons for Cal sitting at 1-2. The Bears declined a holding call against Nevada, which would've have brought up a 3rd and 20, where Nevada had a long field goal attempt, as Justin Wilcox wanted to avoid a potential pass interference on a deep ball and was willing to let a college kicker take a 40+ yard field goal. Nevada's kicker nailed it, and along with the Bears not running the ball for a good chunk of the 2nd and 3rd quarters, it led to a loss.

Against TCU, an early decision not to kick a field goal on 4th and 1 from the 7, along with chasing the points after a missed PAT, led to the Bears losing by two. The 4th and 1 attempt wasn't bad process at work, as a double digit underdog on the road an early touchdown would be big, but Chris Brooks was stopped short. Part of that is execution based, and aggression in going after points has been something Wilcox and company haven't always done. That said, it needs to work for the Bears to make their season turnaround.

The Cal staff now has a little more information on what they have, now they have to utilize it against a conference that aside from Oregon, is wide open.