Heading south to the California Memorial Stadium, Oregon will look to bounce back after a tough first loss in the calendar year against Oregon State last Saturday.
Awaiting their arrival are the Cal Golden Bears, who are also looking to rebound after their third demoralizing loss of the season. The Golden Bears were ranked second in the Pac-12 North in the preseason polls behind the Ducks after coming off an 8-5 campaign in 2019. Last season’s second place finish in the Pac-12 North was the highest in program history, and they finished strong, winning four out of their five last games.
All of the Bear’s expectations have fallen short thus far in 2020, as the team looks to salvage a 0-3 record with two games left in the season.
Quarterback Chase Garbers had a mediocre redshirt freshman season, but dramatically improved in 2019. Despite a shoulder injury that sidelined him for four full games, Garber threw for 1,772 yards for 14 touchdowns for a career-high 148.86 passer efficiency that ranked fifth all-time for the Bears. Cal also went undefeated in games Garber started last year, ending with a 7-2 record.
Alongside Garbers, Cal returns an offensive duo in wide receivers Makai Polk and Kekoa Crawford. They both lead the team in receptions and receiving yards, totalling 349 yards combined through the first three games. Crawford leads the team with 16 receptions and 203 yards receiving.
Just like Oregon’s Tyler Shough, Chase Garbers is also being tested by a new offensive system under Bill Musgrave, who has more than two decades of coaching in the NFL under his belt. Musgrave is looking for his new team to master and embrace the pro-style of play he installed this season.
On defense, the Bears have been led by safety Elijah Hicks and cornerback Camryn Bynum, who were both predicted to spearhead the defense after losing their top three defensive starters this season. Bynum, opting back in for the 2020 season, has started each of Cal’s 39 games since the beginning of his freshman season in 2017. He has led Cal in both passes defended and pass breakups for the past three years and is one of the country’s top defensive backs.
The Bears have the pieces in place — an experienced quarterback, an NFL-tier offensive mind in Musgrave, players on both sides of the ball stepping up into their roles; it’s a matter of time before Cal puts it all together and secures their first victory of the season.
“They do a great job using their tight ends with pin and pull schemes, with zone schemes,” said Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal. “[Cal] did a great job running the ball this past week and they are a tough, physical bunch. Our improvement has got to be real and it’s got to show up on Saturday for us to be successful.”
The all-time series between these two programs is tied at 40 games apiece, and both will be hungry for redemption under the primetime lights on Saturday.