Five Things: North Texas
*mystical harp noise to indicate we are in the past*
"The Bears are nearly two touchdown underdogs to Washington, and duplicating the upset from last year will require traveling on the road, versus a much more talented quarterback. Any path to victory exists will involve doing a majority of the below:"
1) Pressure Jacob Eason - WIN. Pressure arrived in the form of exotic looks, not always heavy rushes, and Evan Weaver. Eason threw for not even 200 yards.
2) Cal OL vs UW DL - WIN. Despite massive pressure put onto Chase Garbers in the first half, they finished with no TFLs in the second half, when Dancy and Brown continued to run wild. I'll score this one as a win.
3) Turnovers - WIN. 2-0.
4) Finishing Drives - WIN. UW kicked a bunch of field goals. Once again, Cal did not. That's not in their culture.
5) Cal WRs vs UW DBs - DRAW. Or possibly even a loss, since they did not have too much success out of the final drive, but since that's all that was needed, let's call it go ahead and call this one even.
4-0-1.
SEASON: 7-0-3 (2-0 when they Win Five Things)
With the Bears heavy favorites to emerge victorious this week, below are not so much things that are required for them to win the game, per se -- instead, we've chosen some trends worth looking for as the team gets into their "B" out of conference opponent, and their likeliest win remaining.
1. The LT position
This is not an ideal situation to put either of the still-injured Daltoso or walk-on Bazakas into, but it's one that we might have to just deal with. The Bears will continue to shade some help their way, but whoever's here will continue to be tested by opposing defenses, even if most of the worst has already passed. Our expectations for production here must be adjusted accordingly both this week and going forward -- I personally think it's fair to peg success here as just making sure that there isn't consistent heat coming from Garbers' blindside (like, less than two recorded pressures), one penalty tops, and that there is the option of running in this direction successfully from time to time (say, 4.0 YPC, for example).
Would be a big confidence builder this week to simply dominate North Texas in all phases, for Daltoso (if healthy) , Bazakas, and also McKade Mettauer too.
2. Trap Game
I feel like I'm always writing this when Cal plays non-Power Five opponents, and this week, with their normal routines disrupted somewhat, the possibility of an upcoming AP poll ranking or -- even more, there's as high of a risk as ever. Beating UW is the first crack in raising the season ceiling, but continuing to pick up wins in games they should win is what keeps that crack from closing. Falter here, and all the hard work of upsetting the Huskies is undone. Can't get to 5-0 (or better) without getting to 3-0!
3. Deng
While Deng has flashed on occasion through two weeks, the super-recruit has shown that it'll take some time before he's fully up to speed, both in the strength and conditioning sense, and the mental one. Of the games remaining, this is the one where Evan Tattersall has the best chance of getting reps, but if the staff sticks to their usual plan of keeping both middle linebackers together -- as they did with Weaver and Kunaszyk -- then we'd like to see him provide a bit steadier play against the run, or more disruptiveness on passing downs.
It is not necessary that they get production from Deng to win versus North Texas, but it'd allay a lot of fears in the fanbase with some improved play.
4. Receivers
Through two weeks, this group has had one decent game, and one game where they did just enough. Against a defense that was just shredded for 49 points and nearly 300 yards through the air, it'd be nice to get them some momentum going for these wideouts, especially some of the guys who haven't been involved as much yet. Jeremiah Hawkins and Ricky Walker, I'm looking at you.
5. Special Teams
Punting's been an issue at times, with no timetable for the full return of Steven Coutts. Both games have seen struggles in punt and kickoff coverage, so while I'm including this as a Five Thing for the week, a touchdown return is not necessary from Davis or Remigio. Just no glaring errors. That's surely not too much to ask! (Greg Thomas, not you. You've been excellent.)