Cal Football: Can Bears Win If Freshman Spencer Brasch Is Their Quarterback?
Can Cal win with freshman Spencer Brash as its quarterback?
It’s too soon to say whether Devon Modster will be able to play against nationally-ranked Utah next Saturday night in Salt Lake City. But anytime a quarterback leaves a game and doesn’t return, which was the case for Modster in Cal’s 21-17 loss to Oregon State Saturday, there is a chance he will be sidelined for the next game.
Chase Garbers is unlikely to return this week, so if Modster can’t go, the Bears will be down to their third-string quarterback.
And how would an 18-year-old kid who has played nine college snaps, getting sacked on two of them, do on the road at night against a Utah team that ranks fourth in the country in total defense and has yielded just 10 points in its past two games combined?
“That’s a team that destroyed Oregon State,” Cal linebacker Evan Weaver said of Utah.
Indeed, the only touchdown the Utes yielded to Oregon State came with less than a minute left with Utah holding a 52-0 lead. The Utes did not allow any touchdowns Saturday in their 21-3 win over Arizona State, and Sun Devils freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels was 4-for-18 for 25 yards with an interception and three sacks
Utes quarterback Tyler Huntley was injured in that game, and it’s unclear whether he’ll be ready for the game against Cal. But Utah can rely on its conference-leading defense to win games.
So how will Brasch do against that? Or against Washington State in the next game if he is still the quarterback? Or against USC, Stanford and UCLA in the final three games?
Brasch seemed poised to teammates when he entered Saturday’s game with 4:35 remaining.
“Fearless,” said receiver Jordan Duncan of Brasch’s on-field demeanor. “I looked in his eyes. He came out ready; he came out confident. The No. 1 thing I can describe, he was just fearless. He didn’t come out hesitant. He was just letting it ride.”
Brasch’s very first pass was a perfectly-thrown 17-yard completion to Nikko Remigio. However, his other five passes did not go so well.
Freshman quarterbacks Jayden Daniels of Arizona State and Kedon Slovis of USC have performed well in the Pac-12 this season, so being a first-year player at that crucial position does not preclude success. But it’s rare.
Or how would Modster do against Utah and any subsequent games if he recovers from his unspecified injury? Or would Garbers be able to regain the rhythm he had earlier in the season if he returns after being sidelined for several weeks?
Cal scored just 17 points against an Oregon State team that had allowed more than 30 points to all five of its FBS opponents this season before facing Cal. Bears quarterbacks were sacked nine times. Cal running backs Christopher Brown Jr. and Marcel Dancy combined to average 2.27 yards per carry behind a banged-up offensive line on Saturday, and they will face a Utah team that ranks second in the country in rushing defense.
Asked how he thought Modster performed, Cal coach Justin Wilcox said, “OK.”
Modster did an excellent job of scrambling, rushing for a team-high 76 yards, but quarterbacks must pass well to win in the Pac-12. Modster was just 12-for-27 against Oregon State and has not completed more than half his passes in any of the three games he has played, all of which Cal lost.
On September 22, Cal was 4-0, ranked 15th in the country and feeling good about its quarterback situation as Garbers played the best game of his career in a road win against Mississippi.
A bowl berth seemed to be in the bag.
Today, the Bears are coming off their third straight loss, are 1-3 in the Pac-12 after losing at home to the team picked to finish last in the Pac-12 North and have quarterback issues.
It’s hard to find the two more wins Cal needs to become bowl eligible in a remaining schedule that includes Utah (5-1 and coming off two convincing wins), Washington State (4-3, including a 41-10 blowout of Colorado Saturday), USC (4-3 after a 41-14 pummeling of Arizona on Saturday), Stanford (which has beaten Cal nine times in a row) and UCLA (which handed Stanford a 36-16 loss on Thursday).
The Bears’ road win over Washington seems like a long time ago.
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