Cal Football Preview Box: Bears Play UCLA on Sunday Morning
Cal finally opens its 2020 season with a road game against UCLA on Sunday morning -- assuming there are no last-minute virus issues. This is the first of what will now be a six-game regular season for the Bears, with the first five games determining whether Cal can play in the Pac-12 title game.
Cal was originally scheduled to play Arizona State Saturday night, and UCLA was scheduled to face Utah on Saturday. Both games were canceled because of virus-related issues at Arizona State and Utah.
The teams have had only a day and half to prepare for each other, so there is likely to be a lot of adjustments on the fly. UCLA has already played a game, which will be an advantage for the Bruins
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox comments on the progress of the Cal's new offense in the video above.
Here are the important facts for Sunday’s contest:
CAL (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12) vs. UCLA (0-1, 0-1 Pac-12)
SITE: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
WHEN: Sunday, 9 a.m.
TV: FS1 - Aaron Goldsmith (Play-by-Play), Brady Quinn (Analyst)
RADIO: KGO 810 AM - Joe Starkey (Play-By-Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst). They will broadcast remotely from Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.
BETTING LINE: Cal is favored by 3½ points (as of Saturday night); Over/Under – 55½ points
WEATHER FORECAST: It will be mostly sunny in Pasadena Sunday morning, with temperatures reaching the low 80s in the afternoon. Temperature at game time is expected to be in the mid-60s with no chance of rain.
CAL-UCLA HISTORY: UCLA leads the alltime series 55-34-1. Cal won 28-18 last year when Bears running back Christopher Brown Jr. rushed for 111 yards and the Bears’ defense recorded six sacks. Nonetheless, UCLA has defeated Cal in five of their past seven meetings, including a 37-7 victory over the Bears the last time the teams met in Berkeley in 2018.
CAL STORYLINES: Cal was picked to finish second in the Pac-12 North by the media, and expectations are high – a pressure these players have not experienced. . . . This will be Cal’s season opener, while UCLA has already played a game . . . Cal’s scheduled opener against Washington on Nov. 7 was canceled because of contact tracing protocol following a positive COVID-19 test by one Cal player. The Bears’ defensive line was put into quarantine, but it assumed that most, if not all, those defensive linemen will be available Sunday . . . The Bears are coming off an 8-5 season in which they won their final three games . . . This game will mark the debut of the Bill Musgrave offense, an NFL-style attack that hopes to provide more variety than past Cal offenses, which have finished last in the Pac-12 in scoring the past two years. . . . Cal returns nearly all their starters from its offense. Chase Garbers, with 19 career starts and playing time in several others, is the most experienced quarterback in the Pac-12. . . The Bears will have new starters at a number of defensive positions. Starting defensive end Luc Bequette transferred to Boston College before the season, and returning outside linebacker starter Tevin Paul opted out of the season.
**Cal linebacker Kuony Deng talks about Cal's new offense:
UCLA STORYLINES: UCLA was picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12 South in the preseason media poll . . . UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, who was 46-7 in his four seasons as head coach of Oregon, is 7-18 at UCLA following the Bruins’ 48-42 loss to Colorado in their 2020 opener last week. . . , The Bruins rallied from a 35-7 deficit against the Buffaloes but could not take the lead. . . The Bruins have had four straight losing seasons, the first time that has happened in the history of UCLA football, which began competition in 1928. . . . UCLA has not won a conference championship since 1998 . . . Bruins QB Thompson-Robinson and RB-WR Demetric Felton give UCLA two big-play weapons on offense, although Cal prevented Thompson-Robinson from having a big day against Cal last season, sacking him six times. . . . Colorado cranked out 525 yards of total offense on UCLA, which has strength at the safety position but may be weak on the defensive line . . . UCLA committed four turnovers against Colorado, which had nearly twice as much time of possession as UCLA.
CAL PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Chase Garbers (Cal was 7-0 last year when he played more than one half); RB Christopher Brown Jr. (rushed for 913 yards in 2019, more than 100 yards in each of the last two games); CB Camryn Bynum (fourth season as a starting cornerback); LB Kuony Deng (fourth in Pac-12 in tackles in 2019 at 9.2 per game); OLB Cameron Goode (third in Pac-12 in sacks in 2019 with 9.5, third in tackles for loss with 14); WR Kekoa Crawford (limited to 6 games last season because of injury, averaged 17.0 yards per catch).
UCLA PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (4 TD passes, 1 interception, 109 rushing yards vs. Colorado); RB/WR Demetric Felton (57 rushing yards, 7 receptions, 46 receiving yards vs. Colorado); TE Greg Dulcich (4 receptions, 126 receiving yards, 1 TD vs. Colorado); S Stephan Blalock (team-leading 86 tackles last season, 11 tackles vs. Colorado); WR Kyle Philips (3 receptions, 46 yards vs. Colorado; 5 receptions, 68 yards vs. Cal last season); DL Osa Odighizuwa (10.0 tackles for loss last season, 1.0 tackle for loss vs. Colorado).
CAL NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click Here
UCLA NOTES FOR CAL GAME: Click Here
JAKE'S PICK: Cal 31, UCLA 24
JEFF’s PICK: Cal 28, UCLA 21
Cover photo of UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson by John Hefti, USA TODAY Sports
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