Cal Football: QB Devon Modster Was Not Great But He May Be Good Enough

In his first Cal start, Modster keeps the Bears in the game, but Cal loses to No. 13 Oregon 17-7. A bigger issue may be Cal's decimated offensive line

No, Devon Modster was not great. Yes, the Bears would have had a better chance against Oregon on Saturday with Chase Garbers in there.

But Modster was not awful, and he was considerably better than he was last week against Arizona State.

It's true the Bears only scored seven points in its 17-7 loss to the No. 13 Ducks (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12), and it was Oregon's three first-half turnovers that allowed Cal (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) to stay in the game.

But you have to consider four things:

---Modster was playing at one of the toughest places to play (Autzen Stradium in Eugene, Ore.).

---He was going against an Oregon team that leads the Pac-12 in total defense, passing defense and scoring defense. 

---Cal lost two more offensive linemen (center Michael Saffell and offensive tackle Valentino Daltoso), leaving Jake Curhan as the only projected starter left on the offensive line. So Modster had little running game to work with and a limited amount of time to pass. (All things considered, Cal's offensive line actually performed OK.)

---Modster kept Cal in the game into the fourth quarter, which most prognosticators believed was virtually impossible. He even had a touchdown pass in the first quarter, the first first-half touchdown Oregon has given up this season. If usually reliable Cal kicker Greg Thomas had not missed field-goal attempts of 46 and 32 yards, the Bears might have been in position to steal a win in the final minutes.

The bottom line, Cal can win with Modster as its quarterback.

(Click here for a rundown of the Bears' loss to Oregon.)

Sure, it would require the Cal defense to continue to play outstanding football. For the 13th straight game Cal held its opponent to fewer than 25 points, and it limited an Oregon team that put up 77 points on Nevada to just 17 points, including none in the first half. Cal also forced three turnovers from an Oregon  team that had turned ball over just twice over the first four games.

Oregon had scored more than 40 points in each of its last eight games against Cal (that is not a misprint), and although Oregon beat Cal for the 11th time in their past 12 meetings, the Ducks certainly did not run up the score like they had in previous seasons. Even last year Oregon scored 42 points on the Bears and their stout defense. 

So the Bears' defense must continue to be outstanding.

But winning some games now seems doable with Modster playing quarterback until (or if) Garbers comes back late in the season. Cal has a bye next week, so Modster will have two weeks to prepare for the home game against Oregon State, which looks like a must-win game for Cal's bowl hopes.

That optimistic outlook did not seem possible after Modster's poor game against Arizona State, when he was 5-for-14 for 23 yards and an interception in a 24-17 loss.

On Saturday, Modster was 17-of-34 for 190 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. And one of those picks was a Hail Mary pass on the final play of the first half. Not great. Not horrible.

"I thought he handled himself real well," Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. "There's a couple throws in there he can make that he didn't quite connect on. But I thought he was calm. I thought his demeanor was good. I think he'll keep improving the more he plays."

Modster also added 30 rushing yards, including a run of 21 yards, showing an ability to scramble out of the pocket. He can't run like Garbers, and the option play as well as run-pass options probably have been been erased from the play book with Modster in charge.

But he's not a sitting duck back there, and he can throw the long ball. His 36-yard pass to Jordan Duncan was a thing of beauty, and his 22-yard touchdown pass to Chris Brown Jr for the game's first score looked pretty good too. Modster had four completions of 20 yards or more, which is not a lot, but enough to make defenses play honest.

"He threw some good balls," Wilcox said. "Did some good things with his feet. He can throw the ball and there was a few in there he didn't quite connect on.

"We knew we would have to take some shots, test them down the field in order to move the ball in this game."

Modster and the Bears' offense were far from perfect, especially in the third quarter, when Cal went three-and-out on all four possessions in the quarter. 

Cal went scoreless in the second half, preventing the Bears from saving the game with a late score.

"Lack of execution, and it starts with me," Modster said.

However, Modster is not the biggest concern now, because the Bears' offensive line is a mess. Cal finished the game with just one projected offensive-line starter (Curhan) still available.  And the loss of Saffell at the center position is particularly damaging. If Saffell and Daltoso cannot return for the next game in two weeks, the Bears will have a lot of trouble moving the ball, no matter who the quarterback is.

STAT OF THE GAME: Cal linebacker Evan Weaver was limited to a season-low six tackles, ending his streak of 10 straight games with at least 10 tackles.