Cal Football: Clay Helton, USC QB Kedon Slovis Discuss Facing the Bears
USC has been virtually dismissed as a contender for a Pac-12 title, but Trojans coach Clay Helton reminded the media on Tuesday that USC is just a game behind Utah heading into Saturday night's game at Cal.
The Trojans (6-4, 5-2 Pac-12) are just one game behind Utah in the loss column in the South Division standings, and if USC should beat Cal and UCLA while Utah loses any one of its remaining games against UCLA, Arizona and Colorado, the Trojans would get the berth in the conference title game by virtue of its head-to-head win over the Utes.
But the Trojans must get by Cal first, and head coach Clay Helton notes the problems Cal causes in the video below.
The key news in the video is that running backs Stephen Carr and Vavae Malepeai are practicing this week and may be ready to play against Cal after missing the past three games with injuries.
Helton complimented Cal's performance in its 33-20 win over Washington State
"Kind of changed their M.O. in that game offensively," Helton said, noting that Cal uses two and three tight ends in many instances against the Cougars. "Anytime you play a Justin Wilcox team, you know the defense is going to be extremely well coached, and it's evident on tape all the way through the year. That's been the rock of their team."
The Bears' defense will have to deal with the Trojans' passing attack and freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis, who was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, after throwing for 432 yards and four touchdown passes in Saturday's 31-26 win over Arizona State.
He noted his concerns about Cal in a video interview from Tuesday.,
"They're an execution-based defense," Slovis said of Cal. "They're going to do what they do and we're going to do what we do, and we just have to execute better than they do."
Slovis is well aware of the reputation of Cal's secondary.
"They're disciplined," he said. They're good at disguising things."
The task of developing a game plan against the Cal defense belongs to Trojans offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, who has installed an Air Raid passing attack at USC.
He expresses his thoughts on the Cal defense late in the video below.
"As a defense as a whole, the most impressive thing about them is they're always on the same page and where they're supposed to be," Harrell said of Cal. "A lot of times with defenses you can get something big just because someone's out of place, and you don't ever see that with these guys.
"They kind of move as one piece. That's what makes them good."
