California-Utah Preview Capsule

California holds a 15-2-1 series advantage against the Ducks, but the Bears have never lost to Oregon in Berkeley with an 8-0-1 record at Edwards Stadium. As a team, the Golden Bears are tied for ninth in the nation in total yards of offense with 2,639.

Cal (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) was trying to reach 6-0 for the first time since 1950.

“Travis Wilson is much improved”, Cal coach Sonny Dykes said.

“It took me years to learn it’s just a ballgame”, he said. The Utah football team is ranked No. 5 for just the third time in school history.

Since the dominating win against Oregon less than two weeks ago, the Utes have added commitments from wide receiver R.J. The Utes, who moved up five spots in this week’s Associated Press poll, also have wins over Michigan, Utah State and Fresno State.

One thing Cal doesn’t need to discuss is the high expectations for this team, with the national spotlight already on the Bears and their star-studded freshmen.

Yes, I said that before the season. This was the kind of gaffe that simply can’t happen in a game of this magnitude. Try losing one and you realize how big it is. The bears defense must bring their A game again this week against a stingy offense that doesn’t have the firepower the bears have on the offensive side of the ball, but they do play sound football and will convert on an opposing teams mistakes. Our guys are really excited about going against them. Their offense is a far cry from the explosive juggernaut it was in recent years, and it probably won’t resemble that at any point this year. Utah won’t make that easy. They are if Wilson can consistently play at that level.

Secondly, and this is really what got me interested in this game when the number went above a TD, for a lot of the reasons I mentioned above, Utah is a great dog team due to their ability to turn a game “ugly”. The College GameDay crew includes over 100 people to get everything set up on Thursday, so the sets were ready for shows to broadcast Friday and the main event on Saturday morning.

“We’re playing Utah next week”. “Although I am still committed, it’s hard to rule out Utah just yet”.

“I hope that’s something we’re dealing with”, Dykes said.

The first of Goff’s picks went through the hands of Lawler, but the others were on him: one thrown into tight coverage, another on an underthrown deep pass to Bryce Treggs and the last one on a tipped screen pass. Goff now has 68.

Goff’ became the first FBS quarterback to throw four INTs in a game this year, according to ESPN. Both teams have completed two shutouts this season, including Michigan coming off back-to-back ones against BYU and Maryland. Lawler has caught a pass in all 28 games he has played for the Bears.

ESPN reported that no other FBS quarterback in the nation had thrown four in a game this season. Cal’s five TOs were half of their previous season total in five games. Cal has gone 5-0 six times since ’50 without a win in its sixth game….

While the group of 2016 prospects in the state of Utah doesn’t quite match the 2015 group in terms of top-tier talent, the Utes could send a loud message by picking up prospects at the top of the state rankings. It’s a play that won’t come through most of the time, but when it does, it pays off nicely.