Five Things: USC
A heartbreaker in Pullman last week, and a first ever -- the Bears won the Five Things, but lost the game on (essentially) the decision to throw with three minutes left, and by way of substituting in the wrong quarterback in the red zone. Let's break it down as quickly as possible, so we can never speak of such a disaster again:
Gardner Minshew - win
He got his yards, but he only threw for one touchdown and one interception. Missed a bunch of convertibles. I'll take it.
Our Pace - win
This game was an ugly, grindy mess that held WSU to below their season average in points. Had we run the ball a little better, we probably win. Still, the style of the game was in our favor.
James Williams - draw
While Williams did do damage, he had a very mortal 93 all purpose yards on 15 touches, with Borghi (9 touches, 66 yards) taking the work into the end zone. 6.625 yards per touch to both guys is manageable.
Third and long - win
Cal forced WSU to go 4 of 12 on third down, and 0 of 2 + one turnover on downs in long situations. That's a big W.
Pelluer vs Laird - loss
Laird never got free versus Pelleur the way we hoped, outside of that one dumpoff pass he took for 20 yards.
Record: 3-1-1
Season: 23-17-5 (5-1 in Five Things)
1. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Michael Pittman vs Cam Bynum and Elijah Hicks
Doing a dive into the PFF numbers this week gave a lot of credence to the idea that Bynum and Hicks are collectively one of the conference's top CB pairings, ranking near the top in every measure. This is also the first week where Cal will face legitimate athletes at both WR positions -- Mitchell was the real threat for Oregon, but WSU's guys are collectively good more than individually, while UW and Arizona were not fear-inducing in any sense.
Well, this week, they have two to matchup with two, with a thousand yards and 8 TDs amassed between them. Amon-Ra should be around to terrorize the conference for a few more years, and the rumors that he would be the best of the brothers seem to be true.
Gotta feel good about getting a draw out of that matchup, though. The two of them are a bit less scary than, say, JuJu Smith-Schuester.
(Pittman might also be out, which would make this Tyler Vaughns.)
2. Tackling in space
In general, the team speed of USC is going to be higher than it is against most others. They won't be perfect every time, but they've got to limit those yards after catch from all comers. (No real Tight End threat to speak of, though! So there's that. They'll probably try Malepeai on the linebackers instead.)
3. Run ball please
USC allows big runs slightly more often than other teams, ranking 109th in Marginal Explosiveness, per Bill Connelly's metrics.
They gave up 185 to Eno Benjamin from ASU two weeks ago, in a loss.
They gave up 136 to Zach Moss the week before that, also in a loss.
The opportunities can be there, if we run with intention, although they're a top third of the country in almost every other run metric.
Also, all the standard caveats about running the ball to keep from turning the ball over and what not apply once again. (Laird was 15 for 82 last year, for comparison. This was around the time when we were getting ready to accept him as the lead back.)
4. Cero Miedo
In the words of one of my favorite pro wrestlers, it is as always, imperative that we play against USC without the expectation of losing. 14 years of losses, while largely unconnected to some of the guys on the field, can weigh on you. So too, does the fact that it's USC, a mystique that can sometimes rattle teams even before they get there. Wilcox played to win last year, and he got damn close before Bowers self-destructed in the fourth quarter.
This means continuing to be aggressive on manageable fourth downs. Trickeration as necessary. Generating extra possessions. Play like an underdog. Too many times, we watch Cal teams be too conservative, then manage the deficit so it looks close. (I think, of course, back to my last trip to the Coliseum, when Sonny kept the starters in until the very, very end.)
5. McMinimum
If you're going to keep playing McIlwain -- which I assume they will, since the last month before WSU wasn't enough to bench him -- please, please help him out by using him more intelligently. This can mean calling different looks with him, since we know they love the draw or dive out of the shotgun, but maybe some option looks or misdirection can at least get him going again.
They'll also have to attempt a pass every once in awhile, obviously. Not passing with him as a tendency breaker is also foolish. The rest...well..he has to know better than to try to make that play.