Golden Bears vs. Ducks Through a New Lens; Our Conversation with Cal Maven

While the two weeks Oregon has spent preparing for California have almost passed, we decided to hold a conversation with Cal Maven, the Sports Illustrated hub for everything Golden Bears.

While most of the conversation was regarding Cal's offense, and what they would do in the wake of QB Chase Garbers injury, we also got into the possibility that Oregon could struggle at times against the California defense, and we gave our score predictions as well. Take a look...

Zachary Neel | Ducks Maven

Cal was the surprise of the Pac-12 early on this season, jumping out to a 4-0 record and a No. 15 ranking before Garbers went down with an injury last week against Arizona State. I can speak from an outside perspective that Cal’s success came as a surprise. So how was it viewed from around the program? Was the team expected to be this good this year?

Jake Curtis | Cal Maven

Really, the only surprise was the road win against Washington. That victory was impressive, and the way Garbers guided the team down the field for the game-winning field goal in the final moments was surprising. The other three games were games you would expect Cal to win — the Mississippi game may have been a tossup, but it was certainly a winnable game. I think people were generally surprised that Cal was ranked No. 15, and to be honest I don’t think Cal deserved to be ranked that high.

Curtis | Cal Maven

Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert was considered a first-round NFL draft choice last season and is projected as such again this year. Has he played like a first-round draft pick this season?

Neel | Ducks Maven

This is a tough answer because he has, and he hasn’t. If you look at just the stat sheet, Herbert has excelled consistently through four games, and his 14 TD and 0 INT show that he has been at the top of his game while leading the Ducks to a 3-1 record. However, if you were to watch the games, you’d notice that this Oregon offense just seems out of sync. Whether it’s the play-calling or the execution, the Ducks have struggled to look as dynamic on that side of the ball as they have in years past, and it has been the defense, rather, that has been dominant. While much of this is probably not completely Herbert’s fault, he has had a hand in the frustrations, materializing in a few overthrown passes and his refusal to keep the ball on a zone-read. His performance so far is still good enough to keep his draft grade high going into next year, but it’s understandable for fans to be wanting a little bit more from their senior quarterback.

Neel | Ducks Maven

Obviously, the injury to Garbers is very unfortunate, and Devon Modster struggled greatly in relief last week. Is the season over for the Golden Bears? Do you expect Garbers to come back any time soon, and do you believe that Modster can step up in his absence?

Curtis | Cal Maven

Garbers is out “long term” but is expected to return to action sometime this season. He will miss the next several games, though, and that could be enough to destroy the season. He played the best football of his career in the preceding game against Mississippi and the first half against Arizona State. Suddenly the Bears had a passing threat that had been lacking previously. Modster presumably will improve somewhat after having a full week of practice as the starter. But it is hard to imagine that he will improve enough. He was just 5 for 14 for 23 yards and an interception against Arizona State. The Bears hope he can play as well as he did against Cal while he was at UCLA in 2017. In that game, he replaced an injured Josh Rosen and completed 14 of 18 passes for 191 yards in the Bruins’ 30-27 victory.

Curtis | Cal Maven

The Ducks rank first in the Pac-12 in total defense. What makes their defense so good and who are the stars on that side of the ball?

Neel | Ducks Maven

The Ducks’ defense is by far the most welcome surprise in Eugene this year, as they have been lights out and have gone three-straight games without allowing a touchdown. The secondary will get most of the credit, led by Jevon Holland, Deommodore Lenoir, and Nick Pickett. Don’t let that overshadow the work being done upfront though. Linebacker Troy Dye has led the team in tackles, and DL Jordon Scott has been a beast on the front line. When you put all of these pieces together, they form a devastating unit that will have opposing coaches furiously game-planning ahead of kick-off, and scratching their heads soon thereafter.

Neel | Ducks Maven

Oregon fans are very fond of Justin Wilcox, as he has been close to QB Justin Herbert and the Oregon program in the past. What’s the word on him in the Cal fanbase? Do you see him sticking around for a while? What do you see as his ceiling?

Curtis | Cal Maven

Cal fans love Wilcox, but they are always afraid they are going to lose a successful coach to a higher-level program that will offer more money. He signed a contract extension after last season, so I think he will stick around for a while unless something really attractive emerges. He doesn’t strike me as a guy who is merely looking to climb the coaching ladder. That said, Cal still does not pay Wilcox a lot relative to other Power Five programs, so too much success at Cal could lead to some tempting offers elsewhere. As far as a ceiling, I don’t think a Pac-12 championship is out of the question at some point. There is no Alabama or Clemson in the Pac-12, which has a lot of good teams but no outstanding teams.

Curtis | Cal Maven

Why are the rushing and receiving numbers down this year for Oregon running back CJ Verdell, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last year?

Neel | Ducks Maven

If the Ducks had a single problem so far this year, it’s their lack of a run game. It’s the reason why their offense has looked out of sync, and it’s been frustrating to watch for fans. While the offensive line is one of the best in the nation, the rushing-attack has rarely been able to benefit, which leads me to think that the problem is equal parts talent and coaching. The play-calling has been questionable so far, and Oregon’s refusal to run the ball outside of the tackles is one of the main problems. Verdell is not the only victim of this, as RBs Travis Dye and Darrian Felix have struggled as well. Hopefully, they will figure something out soon, because the offense as a whole will begin to struggle more if defenses can key on the pass exclusively.

Neel | Ducks Maven

The defensive unit has started to soar under Wilcox this season, which can be largely accredited for its success. What is one of the major things you’ve seen on that side of the ball?

Curtis | Cal Maven

The defense has played well, although Wilcox, a defensive guy, was disappointed in the Bears’ defensive showing against Arizona State and did not hide his disappointment in the postgame interviews. The heart of the defense is linebacker Evan Weaver, who leads the nation in tackles per game, but the strength is the secondary. All five defensive backs (if they play nickel, as the often do) are talented, especially safety Ashtyn Davis and cornerback Cam Bynum. Along the defensive line, defensive end Luc Bequette is a standout.

Curtis | Cal Maven

What has Mario Cristobal said, if anything, about the possibility of facing Cal without Chase Garbers?

Neel | Ducks Maven

For Cristobal, there is little to change in the gameplan when looking to play Garbers or Devon Modster. Oregon knows that Garbers had a higher upside, but the offense still has a chance to hurt you with Modster under center, and they plan to prepare for that.