A final look at key points prior to Cal taking on Nevada Saturday night.
Time: 7:30 PM
TV: Fox Sports One (Alex Faust and Petros Papadakis)
Radio: KGO 810 (Joe Starkey, Mike Pawlawski, and Todd McKim)
Line: Cal -3.5, O/U 52.5
Other Notes: Gold Out game
Injuries:
Out for the Year: OLB Patrick Hisatake (Lower body), OLB Kaleb Elarms-Orr (Lower body), DL Brett Johnson (hip), ILB Blake Antzoulatos (lower body), S Craig Woodson (Lower body), OL Dylan Jemtegaard (lower body)
Out: Aaron Maldonado (lower body) - Cal head coach Justin Wilcox noted earlier this week that Maldonado, not on the depth chart
Doubtful: ILB Ryan Puskas, ILB Andy Alfieri, TE Jake Muller - All three had been out through fall camp during the time where media was allowed to watch, and none were on the depth chart, which doesn't preclude them from playing, but it makes all three unlikely to play Saturday
Key Points
A Revamped Cal Offense:
Cal had a full offseason to put in Bill Musgrave's offense, as the Bears move toward more pro-style sets. What that means for Cal fans watching is that the Bears will line up in plenty of formations, using more pre-snap motion, and with a greater comfort level than in 2020. Cal will go under center, drop into the shotgun, go five-wide with tight ends on the outside, run three tight end sets, and run a whole handful of things they didn't have in the playbook a year ago.
How well the Bears utilize their offense against a veteran Nevada defense (all but one of the projected starters is a senior or 5th year player) will be worth watching.
Carson Strong Revenge Factor
Carson Strong grew up a Cal fan. Cal, like many other schools, missed out on a first round draft pick, as they never offered. It's an opportunity for the Nevada quarterback to play closer to home (50 minutes from Vacaville, his hometown) and to get a bit of revenge on his childhood team.
Strong, along with a talented group of skill players, will compete against a senior laden Cal defense, one that has had success in the past against Air Raid style attacks, namely that of Washington State. Matt Mumme, son of Air Raid creator Hal Mumme, is Nevada's offensive coordinator. The Bears have faced a Mumme offense before, in 2005 when the Bears (with Justin Wilcox as their linebackers coach), took on New Mexico State (where Mumme was the co-offensive coordinator)
First Game With Fans in Memorial Since November 2019
For 22 months, the stands at Memorial Stadium have been empty. That will no longer be the case Saturday, with the Bears welcoming back fans to the stadium. All week, players and coaches have talked about feeling the buzz around the stadium, with the area coming to life.
The game is not sold out, but having any noise that hasn't been artificial will be welcomed by the Bears.
Players to Watch
Cal:
QB Chase Garbers - A lot of reliance on Garbers, as the Bears' ceiling is reliant on how well Garber adjusts to a new offense with a full offseason of preparation.
RB Damien Moore/Christopher Brooks - Cal expects to be able to run the ball, and Moore and Brooks are the first two up to do that. Brooks is the bigger runner at a listed 235 lbs, while Moore has evoked comparisons to CJ Anderson.
DL Luc Bequette - A player who is in his seventh year of school, yet isn't going to be called 'doctor,' Bequette brings a much needed veteran presence to the Bears' defensive line, and will be in to help slow Nevada's run game while the Bears play a lot of nickel defense.
OLB Cameron Goode - The Bears' top pass rusher in a game where the Bears need to get pressure on Strong, Goode has 14 career sacks, with eight of those coming in his last eight games.
CB Chigozie Anusiem - Anusiem will be tasked with guarding either Romeo Doubs or Elijah Cooks, both big threats for Nevada, as Anusiem is the Bears' biggest corner.
Nevada
QB Carson Strong - Strong completed over 70% of his passes in 2020 and is extremely accurate on passes under 15 yards. He also has the tools to throw downfield, with a completion of 44 yards or longer in all but two games (both losses)
WR Romeo Doubs - a 1000 yard receiver in only nine games a year ago, Doubs is an NFL wideout who averaged 17.3 yards per catch in 2020
TE Cole Turner - a big redzone threat who will mostly split out from the TE position, Turner is 6'6" and is capable of creating some matchup nightmares with DBs and linebackers
DL Dom Peterson - A relatively undersized defensive tackle who has been extremely productive at getting into the backfield. Close to the top 10 at Nevada in TFLs and sacks all-time
ILB Lawson Hall - Leading tackler from a year ago, with 65, along with 8 TFLs. Rangy player in Nevada's 4-2-5 scheme.
Score Prediction
This is a matchup of two senior laden teams. Nevada has been moving around for much of the last week due to smoke, which may play a factor as well. Cal is 9-0 in regular season non-conference games under Justin Wilcox, and they have a tendency of making games closer than expected with late touchdowns. I'm predicting just that:
Cal 28, Nevada 24.
