Beau Baldwin was frank when asked whether Devon Modster would have a better game Saturday after a rough performance Friday.
"Yes," Cal's offensive coordinator and QB coach said.
As for why, it's because, much like what was said about Chase Garbers over the past two weeks, he's done it in practice.
"He's better than what he did on Saturday, and I've seen it in practice," Baldwin said, "I've seen it in games in the Pac-12. I have no doubt in my mind that he's going to do very well."
"We're 100 percent behind Devon," offensive lineman Valentino Daltoso added, "he's showed us throughout fall camp and practice what he can do. We believe in him, but to be honest, everybody has a job to do too. If everybody executes their job the right way, we're going to be fine."
Modster has been getting the majority of the practice reps now, as Spencer Brasch will be his primary backup. Per Baldwin, he's getting 80% of the available reps right now, more than what he was getting as Chase Garbers' backup throughout fall camp. Modster's going to be the guy for the Bears right now, as they have one of the biggest tests left on their schedule.
About Oregon
Oregon's defense is one of the strongest in the conference, as after an opening day loss to Auburn, the Ducks have allowed all of 15 points to Nevada, Stanford and Montana combined.
"They're playing really well this year up to this point," Daltoso said. "Watching them on film, they've got speed and stuff, and I think they run a lot of the same stuff that we've seen, it's nothing new, but how they execute. For us, it's going to come down to how we do our jobs. We're not going to be facing unfamiliar looks on Saturday. It's gonna be stuff we've seen and know how to block, it's just going to be getting stuff done on our part."
Offensive line coach Steve Greatwood had plenty of good things to say about the Ducks, as new defensive coordinator Andy Avalos has the Ducks playing well, with 33 tackles for loss in four games and an aggressive front to boot.
"Their scheme is really good," Greatwood said, "(Avalos) is going to play single high and get that extra guy in the box as much as possible. Their defensive line is quick and agile, there's a lot of movement with them as well. We've just been grinding on the fundamentals and technique, pad level and footwork, hand placement, that's what's going to make the difference here, can we get our pads low enough to move them and do we have our feet right when they're slanting and moving, to adjust to that."
The big threats so far on the year have been nose guard Jordon Scott, OLB Mase Funa (with 3 sacks in four games) and top tackler, ILB Troy Dye, as the Bears will look to deal with them with an offensive line that had all five guys playing every play in Friday's contest.
Daltoso
Daltoso returned for the Arizona State game for the first action for him since the Washington game.
"I think personally, there's a couple things in the run game, coming back there's one or two plays that you wish you could get back," Daltoso said, "but it's good working back into everything, playing more left tackle. It felt great today, and it comes with (time), but I feel good."
Greatwood mostly agreed with that assessment.
"He looked rusty, his timing on his punches wasn't as crisp as I would like to see," Greatwood said, "not as good on his footwork as I would like, but just having another week of practice for rhythm, I think his ankle's feeling a lot better, he's looked more confident on it, I don't think he was totally confident on it Friday night. He seems to be a lot more comfortable right now, hopefully that translates to the game."
Daltoso and Greatwood have plenty of history with Oregon (Daltoso walked on there, Greatwood played for and coached at Oregon for most of his career), both have numerous tickets to wrangle for family for the contest, and Greatwood recalled how Daltoso ended up in Berkeley.
"I knew he had some talent, he walked on there," Greatwood noted, "his high school coach reached out to me, he saw an opportunity to get his education here and I'm really happy that he made that decision to transfer down here, he's been a great asset for us."
More from Beau Baldwin below.