Washington St-California Preview Capsule

It’s been a great start to the season for the California Golden Bears, and this past week may have been the best yet. “It’s the first time in 23 years that we’ve won consecutive road games on back-to-back weekends”.

California: DE Kyle Kragen.

The Washington State Cougars get conference play going when they take on the No. 24 Cal Bears on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. PT. The Cougs and Bears lit up the scoreboard last season, combining for 119 points. When the two prolific offenses met in week six last season, the two heavyweight offenses traded haymakers throughout the contest. On his first play, he allowed a 90-yard touchdown pass.

The loss began a downward spiral for the Cougars who saw Connor Halliday throw for an NCAA record 734-yards in that game. And he’s only a junior. If for any reason he is unable to go, his backups have proven to be more than capable fill-ins. The combination, along with Lasco, could be enough to make a defense’s head spin.

The teams combined for 1,401 yards in last year’s meeting won by Cal 60-59….

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The Cougars are led by redshirt sophomore Luke Falk, who now is atop the Pac-12 in passing yards (356.7) and was named Pac-12 Player of the Week after notching four touchdowns and 478 yards against Rutgers on September 12. “He was just kind of a guy we threw in there because he was a healthy body”. The Cougars and the Bears are ranked ninth and 11th, respectively, in yards through the air, averaging 362.7 and 350.5 per game. Quarterback Jake Browning was held to mostly short passes, as he threw for 152 yards on 17 completions.

Forced turnovers are fueling Cal’s fast start.

Special teams could also play a key role. A year ago against Cal, the Cougars had a chance to improve to 3-3 but Wazzu kicker Quentin Breshears missed a potential game winning 19-yard field.

And in the context of the entire season, a win this weekend gives the Cougars a foothold in the Pac-12 race, sets up the scenario in which WSU needs just three wins in its final eight games to get to a bowl game and indicates the team is indeed getting better each week. Expect more of the same when Mike Leach and former offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes meet again on Saturday, although Cal is noticeably improved from a year ago while Washington State has taken a step back. They share the NCAA lead with nine interceptions, top the country with 14 takeaways and lead the Pac-12 with 12 sacks. Cal doesn’t have a return touchdown yet this year, but Davis, and the coaching staff, have to remember what happened last year.