A once-promising season for Cal is quickly slipping away with three straight losses and counting for the Golden Bears.
They're 3-4 and facing an uphill climb for bowl eligibility, as the schedule doesn't get any easier with No. 8 Oregon, No. 10 USC, a feisty Oregon State team, rival Stanford and No. 12 UCLA remaining.
First up is the matchup Saturday at home vs. the surging Ducks (6-1, 4-0 Pac-12), who rolled over UCLA, 45-30, last week in a top-10 matchup and who seemingly have gotten better and better each week during their six-game winning streak.
Oregon hasn't scored less than 41 points in any of those wins while the Golden Bears have mustered just 43 points combined over the last three games.
Simply put, this does not project as a the week the Bears are going to turn their season around, but stranger things have happened in college football.
Meanwhile, we have five final thoughts to set the stage for the matchup as Cal hosts Oregon at 12:30 p.m. PT inside California Memorial Stadium (on FS1) ...
1. Cal ought to get Ott going
It's hard to believe, but since that 354-yard rushing showcase vs. Arizona -- the last time Cal won a game -- the Bears have mustered just 128 rushing yards combined over the last three games.
Now, that factors in the lost yardage from all those sacks the porous offensive line has subjected QB Jack Plummer to, but the reality is star freshman running back Jaydn Ott has been largely bottled up since his 274-yard, 3-TD rushing display vs. the Wildcats.
Ott was good that following week vs. Washington State with 110 combined rushing/receiving yards and a TD, but he has been held under 3 yards a carry the last two games without a score.
If Cal is going to get its season back on track it needs to start by getting its impressive freshman running back going again.
"We have to do a great job of getting our best players the ball in advantageous situations. That's our job as coaches," head coach Justin Wilcox said. "Jaydn's a very talented guy -- his best football's in front of him and I think he's competing like crazy, running, pass game and also in pass protection. I think he's doing a good job -- we've just got to be more consistent as an offense.
"We're always looking at different ways, whether its schematics, formations, we're constantly studying and taking the schemes we see on tape from the opponents and trying to marry those with schemes that we can implement and creating good situations for our players and getting those guys in as many one-on-ones as we possibly can."
Cal's collective offensive malaise and the struggles of the offensive line have done Ott no favors, but he also has forced just 2 missed tackles over the last two games, per PFF, after forcing 26 over the first five games (albeit 13 came in that breakout performance vs. Arizona).
"We're working on getting Jaydn more and more touches. He's definitely earned those and deserves, as we've talked about, as many touches as he can tolerate health-wise," offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said. "So we want to get it to him both through the air and also handing it to him in creative ways so we can create some space for him to do his thing."
Ott has only had more than 3 catches in a game only once this season, but with the offensive line's struggles in creating rushing lanes or even giving him time to get going in the backfield, one solution for Cal could be to try getting the ball to Ott on quick passes that might allow him the space to do what he does best.
"He's talented in that department as well. He can track the ball down the field, but also, we're excited about his choice routes, his swings and his short to intermediate running back routes as well," Musgrave said.
One thing Musgrave made clear is that Ott's diminished production of late has nothing to do with the freshman wearing down in the starting role.
"I think he's holding up well. He only knows one speed. When he practices he's all out, even in walkthroughs he's going and he brings it out onto the field each and every day," Musgrave said.
2. Bo Nix is one of the biggest surprises in college football
To be honest, when quarterback Bo Nix transferred from Auburn to Oregon this offseason, to reunite with his former Tigers offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, it didn't exactly move the radar nationally.
The former top prospect was just average in his three seasons at Auburn, peaking as a freshman with 2,542 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Oregon coach Dan Lanning didn't even ever formally name Nix the starting quarterback, maintaining a competition with Ty Thompson through the spring and summer.
