Cal Football Video: Justin Wilcox Evaluates Bears' Offense After Six Games
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox has seen aspects of the Bears’ offense perform well at times and other aspects perform well at other times. But the key, he says, is to put it all together.
Wilcox notes that Cal’s running game was impressive early in the season. Sophomore running back Christopher Brown Jr. ran the ball 36 times for 197 yards in the season-opening win over UC Davis, and Marcel Dancy came off the bench to rush for 72 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries, all in the second half, in the Game Two victory over Washington.
Then, in the Game Four victory over Mississippi, quarterback Chase Garbers and the Bears’ passing game came alive. Garbers had by far the best game of his career, completing 23-of-35 passes for a career-high 357 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
“The passing game really started to take off, I thought,” Wilcox said. “Protection and guys making plays down the field. Now it’s about putting it all together.”
(Click here for a story that analyzes whether the Cal offense is better than it was last year.)
The injury that sidelined Garbers indefinitely as well as injuries to the offensive line have slowed the progress of Cal’s offense. Devon Modster has completed just 46.9 percent of his passes with three interceptions and one touchdown pass, but he did demonstrate improvement in the loss to Oregon. Cal is hoping he can recapture the production he had while playing five games for UCLA in 2017.
The Bears have a bye this weekend, giving Modster an additional week to get comfortable in the offense before Cal hosts Oregon State in an 11:30 a.m. game on October 19.
