Cal Football Preview: Bears Travel to Utah; Utes Reportedly Won't Have Cam Rising

Cal travels to Salt Lake City to face 16th-ranked Utah in a Saturday afternoon game.

Redshirt freshman Fernando Mendoza is scheduled to make his second collegiate start for Cal, while Bryson Barnes is expected to be Utah's starting quarterback, according to a report by ESPN's Pete Thamel. Cameron Rising is not expected to play, but Nate Johnson, who has been the Utes starting quarterback in recent games, is likely to get playing time.

Here are the facts about Saturday's game:

CAL (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12) vs. NO. 16 UTAH (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12)

SITE: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah

WHEN: Saturday, noon Pacific time (1 p.m. Mountain time)

TV: Pac-12 Network – Roxy Bernstein (Play-ByPlay), Lincoln Kennedy (Analyst)

RADIO: 810 AM -- Justin Allegri (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Kevin Danna (sideline reporter)

BETTING LINE: Utah is favored by 9.5 points as of Saturday morning (Utah was a 13.5-point favorite at the start of the week. Apparently some gamblers found out Rising was not expected to play). Over/under is 43 points (It was 45 points earlier in the week)

WEATHER FORECAST: Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City will be mostly sunny with a high of 70 degrees and only a 2% chance of rain.

CAL-UTAH HISTORY: The alltime series is tied 6-6, but Ca; has not played Utah since 2019. Utah beat Cal 35-0 in the most recent meeting, which took place in Salt Lake City. The Bears’ last win over Utah came in 2016, a 28-23 victory in Berkeley. Cal has not defeated the Utes in Salt Lake City since 1963.

CAL STORYLINES:

--Cal is coming off a 52-40 loss to Oregon State, a game in which the Bears’ offense performed better than expected but their defense did not do as well as anticipated.

--Saturday’s game is the second of five straight games against ranked opponents for Cal. Starting with last week’s game against Oregon State, six of the Bears’ final seven games are against teams ranked among the top 20 in this week’s AP poll. The only future opponent that is unranked is Stanford.

--Redshirt freshman quarterback Fernando Mendoza will make his second collegiate start for Cal against Utah. He performed well in his college debut last week, completing 21-of-32 passes for 207 yards, two touchdowns and one interception as well as running for 41 yards while helping the Bears pile up 40 points. But that game was at home. The challenge will be greater in Saturday’s game on the road at one of the toughest sites in the West for opponents. Plus the Utes have an outstanding defense.

--Cal running back Jaydn Ott, who leads the Pac-12 in rushing at 111.6 yards per game, missed nearly the entire second half of last week’s game with an injury. He is likely to play against Utah, although that is not a certainty.

--Inside linebacker Jackson Sirmon, who was the only Cal player named to the first-team all-Pac-12 squad last season, is questionable for the game with an injury. If he does not play it could have a significant impact on the Bears’ defense.

--Cal ranks second in the Pac-12 and 11th nationally in rushing, averaging 217.3 yards per game. The Bears ran for 241 yards last week against a strong Oregon State run defense, but the Utes rank third in the country in run defense, allowing just 67.0 yards per game on the ground.

--Cal’s defense last week yielded more than 50 points for the second time in three games. The Bears rank 10th in the Pac-12 and 102nd in the country in scoring defense, allowing 30.7 points per game. Defense has been Cal’s strength the previous six seasons under Justin Wilcox. Expect some lineup changes on defense this week, especially in the secondary.

--Cal has forced opponents into 14 turnovers, which leads the Pac-12 and is tied for third in the nation.

UTAH STORYLINES:

--Utah has won 17 consecutive home games, the nation’s second longest home winning streak, behind only Georgia. The Utes have won 28 of their past 29 games at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the only loss in that span coming against USC in Utah’s 2020 season opener.

--Every Utah game since 2010 has been sold out, a streak of 79 straight sellouts at Rice-Eccles Stadium, whose capacity was expanded to 51,444 in 2021.

--Utah had a bye this past weekend and suffered its first defeat of the season the previous week, a 21-7 loss to Oregon State in Corvallis.

--The big question all week was whether Utah’s Cameron Rising, the 2021 first-team all-Pac-12 quarterback, would make his season debut on Saturday. Apparently he will not play against the Bears.

---Bryson Barnes, who was the starter in Utah's season-opening win over Florida, is expected to be the Utes' starting quarterback against Cal.

--Utah has an outstanding defense, particularly against the run. The Utes are giving up just 11.8 points per game, which ranks tied for first in the Pac-12 and fifth in the nation. They rank third in the country in rushing defense, allowing just 67.0 yards per game on the ground.

--The Utes’ offense has been poor, in large part because of the absence of Rising. Utah ranks 117th of 130 FBS teams in scoring offense, averaging 19.2 points per game. The Utes’ offense scored just seven points in each of its last two games, and Utah has not scored more than 24 points against any FBS opponent this season.

--Utah’s Kyle Whittingham is in his 19th season as Utah’s head coach, making him the longest tenured coach in the Pac-12 and the second-longest tenured coach at the same school in the FBS. The Utes have posted a winning record in nine straight seasons, dating back to 2014 and have finished with a winning season in 16 of Whittingham 18 years as head coach.

--Utah is ranked in the AP top 25 for the 28th straight week.

---Utah State beat writer answers five questions about the Utes---

CAL PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Fernando Mendoza (can he perform well on the road in a tough environment?); RB Jaydn Ott (Pac-12’s leading rusher is listed as “probable” for the game); RB Isaiah Ifanse (a lot of yards after contact); WR Jeremiah Hunter (at least four receptions in every game this season); PK Mateen Bhaghani (2-for-2 on field goals, 3-for-3 on PATs); LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr (Cal’s leading tackler will take on a bigger role if Jackson Sirmon cannot play).

UTAH PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Bryson Barnes (expected starter has completed 51.1% of his passes, 1 TD, 2 interceptions); QB Nate Johnson (dangerous runner); RB Ja’Quinden Jackson (averages 6.1 yards per carry, missed previous game with an injury); DE Jonah Elliss (7.5 sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss this season); S Cole Bishop (4.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble); S Sione Vaki (3.5 tackles for loss in most recent game, vs. Oregon State)

CAL STATISTICS: Click here

CAL NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click Here

UTAH STATISTICS: Click here

UTAH NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click here

JAKE's PICK: Utah 28, Cal 14

JEFF'S PICK: Utah 24, Cal 10

ERIC WALDEN (Salt Lake Tribune): Utah 24, Cal 14

TICKETS: Click here . StubHub: Click here . TicketMaster: Click here

Whittingham's Monday press conference:

Cover photo of Kyle Whittingham by Raymond Carlin III, USA TODAY Sports

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