Cal Football: QB Chase Garbers Named Starter for USC Game
Cal quarterback Chase Garbers will make his first start since Sept. 27 in Saturday night’s home game against USC (6-4, 5-2 Pac-12).
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox made the announcement of Garbers’ starting assignment on Friday afternoon. Garbers was chosen over Devon Modster, who started last Saturday's win over Washington State.
Garbers led Cal to a 4-0 start and a No. 15 national ranking before he injured his right shoulder in the second quarter of the fifth game, which was against Arizona State, on Sept. 27. He then missed the next four games, with Cal going 1-3 in those contests. The Bears (5-4, 2-4 Pac-12) also lost the game against the Sun Devils, starting the Bears’ four-game losing streak.
Cal is 4-0 in games in which Garbers played more than one half and 1-4 in the games he did not.
Modster started three of the games in Garbers’ absence and went 1-2. Freshman Spencer Brasch started the other game, which Cal lost 35-0 to Utah.
Modster played his best game in last week’s 33-20 victory over Washington State, which ended Cal’s four-game slide. Modster went 16-for-24 with three touchdown passes and no interceptions in that game and also ran 13 yards for a touchdown.
On Monday, Garbers was cleared to practice fully and to play in a game, but Wilcox withheld the announcement of a starter until Friday.
Rust could be an issue for Garbers on Saturday because of his inactivity, but he was playing at a high level at the time of his injury.
In the six quarters covering the September 21 win over Mississippi and the first half against Arizona State, he completed 68.1 percent of his passes (32-for-47) for 474 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. He also adds a running dimension that brings the option back into play.
Garbers was the quarterback last season when Cal ended its 14-game losing streak to USC with a 15-14 victory in Los Angeles.
