After both teams “enjoyed” a bye week (with both coming off stinging defeats), Cal and its fans must now face reality: at 3-2, the Golden Bears are staring at a must-win game against the Buffaloes.
As we all know, it takes 6 wins to be bowl-eligible, and a dispassionate observer who has watched the college season to this point would have to conclude it is unlikely, (but far from unheard of), that Cal will roll to victories over USC, Oregon or UCLA. Together, those schools are currently 17-1, with the only blemish being Oregon’s opening-day beatdown by Georgia. Excluding those three opponents, Cal has Oregon State, Stanford, Washington, and Colorado as its hunting grounds while it seeks three more wins. That makes the Buffaloes a prime “get-well” target.
And, to look at just the numbers, that doesn’t seem at all far-fetched. Colorado has held the lead for just over 5 minutes all season. They have 35 freshmen (22 recruited, 13 walk-ons) and 27 sophomores (16 recruited), not counting JuCo transfers. They started a true freshman at quarterback and at center against Arizona in their last game, the only team in the nation to do so thus far this year.
And then there is the coaching situation. After the drubbing by Arizona in their last game, the school decided to part ways with Karl Dorrell, who was on his third stint with the Buffaloes coaching staff. Dorrell, who as recently as 2020 was voted the “Best First-Year Head Coach” at a program in the nation, was shown the door as the Buffs have gotten off to an 0-5 start, among the worst in the program’s 130+ history (they are one of just over two-dozen programs to have racked up 700 total victories, so their recent ineptitude while in the Pac-12 is an aberration).
In stepped Mike Sanford, who will, assuming he finishes the season with the “interim” head coach tag, coach more games as an interim coach than all other interim coaches in Colorado history, combined. Talk about your low-hanging fruit….
The freshman quarterback is left-hander Owen McCown. If the name seems familiar, it is. McCown is the son of former NFL signal-caller Josh McCown. A three-star prospect out of Rusk, Texas, McCown started against UCLA, and he is 40-for-72 for 444 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception (and a 113.7 rating) in conference play. He’s ranked 126th in passing yards and 123rd in touchdowns nationally.
One of his targets will be Caleb Fauria, and if THAT name sounds familiar, it’s by its scarcity. Only 279 people in the country have that surname, and perhaps the most famous is Caleb’s father, former 13-year NFL tight end and Colorado Buffalo alumnus Christian Fauria. Caleb Fauria has only two catches for 20 yards this season, but prior performances kind of go out the window after a coaching change.
A team with its back to the wall often feels like there’s nothing to lose. Saturday’s game at historic Folsom Field (older than Memorial Stadium) is on Family Weekend and a sellout is anticipated. Expect Sanford, who has a lengthy coaching resume that includes time at Stanford, where he coached running backs and, presumably, helped recruit Christian McCaffrey, who entered Stanford the same season Sanford left to be the offensive coordinator for Boise State. The Broncos were known for having a bevy of trick plays, and Cal should prepare their defense to face one or more “Boulder Special” plays this weekend.
The tale of the tape is very encouraging for the Golden Bears. Total offense favors Cal, 398 yards per game to 277. Passing efficiency: Cal, 134.5 to 100.7. Average yards per rush: 4.6 for Cal, 3.5 for the Buffs. Colorado is giving up 8.5 yards per pass attempt, and is allowing over 500 yards per game on defense. Colorado is minus-4 in turnovers, while Cal, at +6, sits at #2 in the nation with only 3 giveaways this year.
The biggest question mark on the Golden Bears’ side of the field is, will Jack Plummer be able to start, and play, the bulk of the game? If not, it will fall to Kai Millner, who had to finish the game in Pullman, going 1-for-4 for a 39.7 rating in the game’s final 4 minutes. Millner has looked good in practice, but still struggles with progressions, all-too-often fixing on a receiver. That won’t lead to success, even against an 0-5 team that has rarely had a lead to protect this year.
Kickoff Saturday from Boulder is at 11:00 am, televised on Pac-12 networks with J.B. Long and Max Browne on the call.
