Oddly enough Norvell ran a run heavy offense against Rice, mainly due to getting a lot of help from special teams and an opportunistic defense. The outcome of the game was similar to the one played in Austin two years prior, with the Longhorns running wild on the Golden Bears.
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Six Cal players born in Texas understand that a win over the Longhorns would be significant, no matter what the state of the program.
And Cal should win this game, if it plays well.
As noted before, Jerrod Heard has ascended to the starting quarterback position over Tyrone Swoopes. There’s a small sample size for this season, but it’s surprising to see that Goff threw two interceptions against San Diego State last week because last season he only threw seven despite attempting 509 passes, a remarkable interception rate of 1.4 percent. Lasco finished with 123 yards on 19 carries.
Johnathan Gray is one of his running mates in the backfield. Enwere has 52 yards on 10 carries this season. He has a solid burst when hitting the hole, and will probably be next to Heard for the majority of their zone read plays.
For more on Cal sports, see the Bear Talk blog at. “This is definitely our first big game of the season”. One was a 69 yard touchdown against Rice, the other was a 48 yarder that set up the sole field goal against Notre Dame. John Burt and Daje Johnson have combined for more than 160 receiving yards and one touchdown while sophomore Armanti Foreman has two receptions. Rene Ramirez led the Longhorns with 95 rushing yards and a touchdown.
For Texas Longhorns defensive coordinator Vance Bedford, the lofty comparisons happen every week.
Not every matchup is going to have Cal opposite a conservative offense with an unstable quarterback situation, particularly once Pac-12 play starts.
The Golden Bears are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games.
“Plus, they’ve got the advantage of still thinking it’s a feather in their cap to beat Texas”.
In this formation, they have an unbalanced set, with two receivers on the line on the left side, essentially telegraphing a run in that direction. San Diego State went 71 yards in eight plays for a touchdown on its first possession. The team understands this and the players and staff know that each week will only get harder. The trick of stopping this is in filling gaps, getting off blocks, and staying disciplined in assignments. He was chased out of the pocket by a heavy pass rush for much of the first half and made an awful throw that was intercepted by J.J. Whitaker.
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Week three might not be as simple for the Bears with Heard calling the signals. This can be a great moment for the Cal secondary. The Bears receivers are among the best in the country. “With the last two games, especially how our defense is playing, that’s a huge confidence booster going in”.
