How Much Did Six Departures at Running Back Actually Harm Cal?

Trailing Minnesota 14-10 late in the third quarter on Saturday night, Cal had yet to mount anything resembling a ground game.

Because the Golden Gophers field a physical run defense, the Bears called pass plays on 34 of 37 snaps in the first half. Including a couple sacks, Cal had minus-13 rushing yards until running back Brandon High Jr. gave them a jolt of energy on a 75-yard drive that boosted the Bears into the lead they did not surrender in an eventual 27-14 victory.

High had dashes of 18 and 13 yards on that drive and Cal wound up on the plus side of ledger with 61 net rushing yards, still a modest total.

High finished with 34 yards on three carries and Kendrick Raphael, who gained a career-high 122 yards the week before, rushed 13 times for 42 yards against Minnesota

“We wanted to run it better,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox conceded. “We got it going a little bit better later in the game on a key drive. But we didn’t run it early as well as want to or believe we can. So we were throwing it a bunch and were having a lot of success.”

A lot goes into success in the running game, starting with blocking at the line of scrimmage. But Cal suffered huge losses at running back during the spring transfer portal and was to rebuild the position nearly from scratch.

The transfer trio of High (UTSA), Raphael (NC State) and LJ Johnson Jr. (SMU) has shared the workload, totaling 328 rushing yards in three games. That per-game average of 109.3 yards is a bit misleading because Cal ran for 150 yards in its win over FCS-level Texas Southern.

Against Oregon State and Minnesota, their two FBS foes, the Bears threesome has produced an average of just 89 yards on the ground.

Cal is averaging 32 points through three games, but the weak link in their offense clearly has been the running attack. They know it has to be better.

We have no way of knowing how the equation might be changed if the six who left had instead remained at Cal.

But the fact is they haven’t done much more, if at all, at their new football addresses than the Bears’ current three-headed running back group.

Here’s a look:

— JAYDN OTT, Oklahoma: A 1,300-yard rusher for the Bears two seasons ago during an All-Pac-12 campaign, Ott was limited by an ankle injury last season and has hardly played for the 11th-ranked Sooners. They are 3-0 but Ott has been limited by a fall camp shoulder injury to nine rushes for 17 yards and no touchdowns.

— JAIVIAN THOMAS, UCLA: Cal’s most productive back last season with 626 yards, the “Jet” has rushed 16 times for 74 yards without a touchdown in three UCLA losses that led to coach DeShaun Foster's firing on Sunday.

— BYRON CARDWELL, San Diego State: Cardwell, used sparingly in his one season at Berkeley, rushed seven times for 29 yards in SDSU’s 42-0 season-opening win over Stony Brook. He did not carry the ball a week later in a loss to Washington State, but the Bears could see him Saturday when they visit the Aztecs.

— KADARIUS CALLOWAY, New Mexico State: At his third school in three years, Calloway had a team-best 50 yards and touchdown in the Aggies’ 19-3 win over Bryant, but has just 8 net rushing yards in two games since.

— JUSTIN WILLIAMS-THOMAS, Marshall: After two quiet seasons in Berkeley, Williams-Thomas has rushed for 100 yards and three touchdowns in three games for the Thundering Herd.

— JAMAAL WILEY, College of San Mateo: Wiley got just six carries in his freshman season at Cal last fall and retained his year of eligibility. He’s playing this season for College of San Mateo — the state’s top-ranked JC team — and totaled 130 rushing yards and two TDs in the team’s first two games. He did not carry the ball this past weekend.

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