Cal Football: Bears and Oregon State Depth Charts for Saturday's Game

Cal has a lot of "or" designations, which means those players may or may not play against the Beavers

Cal (4-2) and Oregon State (2-4) released their depth charts earlier this week in preparation for the Beavers' visit to Berkeley for an 11:30 a.m. game on Saturday against Cal.

The most intriguing designation on the Oregon State depth chart is that Jermar Jefferson is listed as the starter at the running back spot. He has missed the past two games with an ankle injury, and coach Jonathan Smith said on Monday he would make a decision later this week on Jefferson's statius for Saturday's game.

Being listed as a starter on the dpeth chart suggests he will play, but it is by no means a guarantee. Cal's depth chart is proof of that.

As usual the Cal depth chart includes a lot of "or" designations. Cal does this to acknowledge that a player might be held out for health reasons while not revealing to the opposition which players definitely will or won't play.

I can see why coaches do it, but as a journalist I can't say I like it. I wish there was some method of forcing coaches to provide the most up-to-date information about a player' status, but then we get into betting issues.

Anyway, three key Cal players are listed on the depth chart with the "or" designation, leaving us in the dark as to whether they will play against the Beavers.

Kekoa Crawford has missed the past two games with unspecified injuries, and he is listed as a possible starter along with Trevon Clark at a wideout spot. There is an "or" between them to indicate Crawford might miss his third straight game. Clark is healthy.

Valentino Daltoso is listed as a possible starter at left tackle and as a ;possible starter at center. It suggests Daltoso might start somewhere after missing the latter stages of the Oregon game with an injury.

The third Cal starter who may or may not play Saturday is center Michael Saffell. The "or" designation there means either Saffell or Matthew Cindric will start at center after Saffell missed most of the Oregon game with an injury.

Otherwise, there are no surprises, as Devon Modster is again listed as the starting quarterback, with freshman Spencer Brasch as his backup.

Cal depth chart vs. Oregon State

Below is the Oregon State depth chart released this week, with Jefferson listed as the running back starter:

Oregon State depth chart vs. Cal