Saturday’s matchup against Colorado looked a lot better for Cal a week ago than it does now. The Buffaloes had lost four straight games since a season-opening victory over FCS Northern Colorado. They had been outscored 112-34 in that stretch and demonstrated zero skill at executing the forward pass.
But given a bye the same week the Bears were off, Colorado (2-4, 1-2 Pac-12) came back and overwhelmed Arizona, 34-0, last Saturday, rediscovering how to pass in the process. Granted Arizona (0-6) appears to be the worst team in the Pac-12 and maybe the country, but it’s still a Pac-12 win, something the Bears do not have.
Against the Wildcats, Colorado did not go crazy throwing the ball, but quarterback Brendon Lewis was more effective than he had been all season, completing 12-of-19 passes for 248 yards. Even with that effort, the Buffs are still last in the Pac-12 in passing yardage per game, averaging just 125.0, which shows how far they had to come.
"Before the USC game (a loss Oct. 2) Brendon had a great week leading up to it, it just didn't materialize in his favor for a number of different reasons," coach Karl Dorrell said. "Then we had the two weeks, with the bye, and he made a tremendous jump of progress again. I was very confident he would play well. And when he started playing well, I just wanted to keep him in there and let him feel it and get seasoned up. Hopefully, his progress continues this week and on throughout the season.”
The Bears (1-5, 0-3) are thus preparing for an efficient quarterback.
“He is doing a good job of distributing the ball,” Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon said this week. “He can throw the ball effectively, he’s athletic when he wants to break the pocket. I like how he throws the ball on the perimeter. He’ll move the pocket. They design some pocket moves and some of what we call sprint or dash. He does a nice job of delivering strikes to the sideline.”
His primary receiver has a last name familiar to Bay Area football fans. Brenden Rice, whose father Jerry made quite a name for himself with the 49ers a few years back, has 11 catches for 177 yards, both tops on the team.
“I think he is getting more confident and he is getting opportunities to make some plays,” Dorrell said. “We made some adjustments in our offense that utilizes and fits his skill set.”
Sirmon said that all the Colorado receivers can be dangerous. “They all do a nice job. They are taking shots down the field,” Sirmon said. “You have seen several of their guys, including Rice on a fly sweep. Some on the perimeter, you can call it a pass you can call it a run, however the ball gets to him. They try to leverage the defense to their speed and get some yards that way.”
Before last week opposing teams virtually ignored the Buffs passing attack and tried to stop what Colorado does best, run the football.
"It is one of those things when you have hung your hat on running the football so much, there is a lot of dedication from (the other) defense to stop the run," Dorrell said. "And until last week, we haven't passed as efficiently. A lot of teams were really geared up to stop the run. Sometimes it is a matter of not having enough people to block when they have as many people that are in the front.
"So we've been dealing with that, knowing that in most opponent's minds, they're thinking if you stop CU's run game, they have the best chance of having success. The last three or four weeks, that's what they've been doing. They've been trying to put the game in Brendon's hands. That's why we had to get our passing game some relevance. We had to start to show some signs of life so that we can create balance and not play with such a hard box to run against."
The Buffaloes primary ball carrier is sophomore Jarek Broussard, but last year’s conference Offensive Player of the Year who averaged 149.2 yards per game last year, has not been used as much this season. He has been sharing duties with Alex Fontenot. Broussard has 309 net yards on 73 carries, while Fontenot’s numbers are 54 and 179.
“I would love to get the ball more and get the ball in space, but, it’s an up top thing,” Broussard said during the bye week referring to coaches making decisions on playing time. “I’m good (physically). I’m a hundred percent. I’m ready to do what I do, it’s just … it’s up top.”
Defense is the team’s strong suit, ranking third in the conference in both total defense (2198 ypg) and pass defense (1292). “
“I think they are a really talented group,” Cal quarterback Chase Garbers said., “They play really well together, probably one of the more talented groups we’ve seen this year.”
Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave agrees. “Their defense is good,” Musgrave said. “There is no rest for the weary. We have faced some good defenses already. This is probably the best group we’ve seen to date. Their front seven is acid. They hammered Texas A&M. They are straightforward. They seem to know exactly what they’re doing and they do it well.”
Their two primary players are linebacker Nate Landman and defensive end Carson Wells. Landman (6-3, 235) is from Danville, has been in the CU program since 2017 and is trying to be the first player in Colorado history to lead the team in tackles for four straight years. He currently has 61 tackles including 13 for loss.
“He has had an amazing career,” Musgrave said. “You have to account for him on every play.”
Wells (6-4, 235) led the country in tackles for loss last year, but he had been off to a slow start in 2021. He came to life against Arizona, with five tackles and an interception he returned 50 yards for a touchdown.
“I think he was more deserving of recognition of what last season provided for him and this season he hasn’t had quite that kind of start he had last season,” Dorrell said. “But he looks like his game is picking up. He is getting into rhythm being that type of player he was last year. It was fun to see him having some fun.”
The Buffs have some notable players on special teams. Defensive back Trevor Woods was the conference special teams Player of the Week. The award was for one play, but what a play it was. With the Buffs ahead just 6-0 midway through the third quarter, Woods got into the Arizona backfield to block a punt, then returned it 36 yards for a touchdown. Cal’s punt protection had better be solid.
And Colorado’s punter Josh Watts is leading the conference with an average of 48.7 yards (net 42.0, sixth-best in NCAA). Or course, it helps that Watts is kicking in the thin mountain air of Boulder for his home games.
Notes
Related:
Wednesday Report: Rush to Improve Ground Game
Tuesday Report: Wilcox, Oladejo and Tonges on the Mic
