Cal College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Cal Biggest Key: Offense
The offensive line has to improve. To be fair, the front five wasn’t healthy or quite right in the short four game season. There wasn’t any continuity, less production, and the shortcomings led to a rough run for a Cal O that finished dead last in the Pac-12.
The it-was-only-four-games caveat has to keep being thrown in there, but not hitting 125 rushing yards in three of them and averaging 3.4 yards per carry isn’t going to work. Cal doesn’t have to be Army on the ground, but as long as it’s around four yards per pop – and as long as the O line can keep Chase Garbers from getting killed – it’ll be fine.
And on the other side …
Cal Biggest Key: Defense
The run defense has to be even more of a rock. It was able to hold down Oregon last year, and it stopped Stanford’s running game because everyone stopped Stanford’s running game, but UCLA and Oregon State each tore off 200 yards and ran too easily.
With this team, this coaching staff, and this linebacking corps, be mad if the Bears allow 200 yards on the ground to anyone this season.
Cal gave up over 200 just once in 2019 – to Utah against that steamroller of a team – and now the program is 0-9 in its last nine games against teams hitting the mark since opening the season with a win over North Carolina in 2017.
Cal Key Player To A Successful Season
RB Christopher Brown, Sr.
It’s not like Cal is missing running back options, but Brown is the potential star who can solve a whole slew of problems. The big back was banged up a bit in 2019 and still ran for 914 yards and eight scores with 22 catches and four receiving touchdowns.
But last year he was never right, did what he could, and only ended up with 65 rushing yards on 21 carries. It he’s close to 100%, he’s the balance and steadying force the O needs.
Cal Key Game To The 2021 Season
Washington, Sept. 25
The meaning of this depends a bit on how good Cal is to start things off. It has to sidestep a Nevada landmine to open things up, and then it has to deal with TCU in Fort Worth. Washington is the Pac-12 opener on the road – it’s a problem with a date at Oregon two weeks later.
Lose any of those non-conference early games, and Washington might be a make-or-break moment early on. The Bears missed the Huskies last season, but they won the previous two seasons.
– Cal Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2020 Cal Fun Stats
– Cal 2nd Half Scoring: 27 points
– Average Rushing Yards Per Game: Opponents 169.3 – Cal 125.3
– Sacks in 4 Games: Opponents 15 for 81 yards – Cal 7 for 31 yards