Got some questions in with our UCLA counterparts, read that here
Here's what I wrote for his questions
1. What has been the first impressions from fans and media members of Justin Wilcox in his first season at Cal?
I think the biggest impression is that he has a plan for everything. He came in relatively late, didn’t panic and reach in recruiting, hired a very good group of assistants, and went from there. He learned that Cal had a problem with tackling, so they worked tackling every day in spring and fall camp, along with tackling meetings with film of rugby tackling. They don’t have a tackling problem anymore. It’s a lot of common sense things that Wilcox has done. While not every decision turns out perfectly, they certainly make sense, and that’s a lot more than you could say about the last staff.
2. Cal hasn't won as many as it probably would have liked this year, but they’ve won some nice games and played some very good teams like Stanford, USC and Arizona close. What is your summation of the Golden Bears' year?
In a sentence, it’s that they’ve become a well coached team, but injuries and a lack of depth have taken a toll. Cal has eleven guys out for the year with season ending injuries, including their top WR, RB, TE, OLB, and ILB coming into the year, and they’ve kept chugging forward and adjusting. The defense has been opportunistic in forcing turnovers, though they’ve petered out a bit as the season’s gone on. The offensive line has grown a ton, four of the last five games have had a 100 yard rusher after only doing that once in the first six. There’s still some consistency issues, but it’s a team that stands to return 18 starters next year.
3. If you were developing a gameplan to stop Cal this week, both offensively and defensively, how would you do it?
Offensively, the main focus is on Patrick Laird for any defense now, as over the past two games, he’s proven himself to be the centerpiece of the Cal offense (something that would confuse many people at the beginning of the season). Cal uses the RPO game a ton with him and Vic Wharton catching quick passes on the outside, so it’s a matter of being disciplined in throwing off reads just enough, either by dropping under quick slants or run blitzing.
Defensively, when Cal hasn’t been able to get pressure, their defense just hasn’t been as successful. Whether UCLA can run the ball enough to take pressure off Rosen will be key. Cal has stopped the run a bit better in recent weeks, but they’ve also struggled covering bigger receivers, especially on 3rd downs. It’s a matter of keeping them on the field, wearing them out, and finishing drives.
4. Who are some of the X-factors, both on offense and defense, UCLA will have to keep under wraps Friday?
I’ll pick two on both sides of the ball:
On offense:
#99 Malik McMorris: There’s no one else like him. You’re more likely to see someone listed at 5’11” and 285 lbs in an E-Sports competition as opposed to a football game, but McMorris is as unique as they come. As a fullback, he’s a fantastic lead blocker, with soft hands to boot. He’ll line up attached the the line at times, other times as an H-Back, and he’ll go out on the occasional pass pattern. He’s been a big part of Cal’s success in the run game over the past few weeks
#9 Kanawai Noa: A slot receiver whose skills come into play on a lot of third downs, to the point where defenses have keyed in on him. He’s done an excellent job of finding holes in zones, or getting open on out routes. He’s also fearless, which is what you need when you’re a slot receiver who has the chance to get destroyed on a crossing route by a safety.
On defense:
#59 Jordan Kunaszyk: The JuCo transfer has had to step up in the wake of Devante Downs’ injury in the middle of the season, and while he’s not the same player as Downs, Kunaszyk is a capable inside linebacker, a very good tackler, and a disciplined player. Currently the team leader in tackles.
#24 Camryn Bynum: Cal’s best cornerback, even as a redshirt freshman, and has been solid in man coverage this year. He’s likely to be lined up against Jordan Lasley on Saturday, and is an example of the kind of turnaround defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander has made with the group.
5. What's your prediction for the game, score and all?
I have been thoroughly wrong with almost every prediction I’ve made on the year about scores, but it really depends on how UCLA comes out of the gate on a short week after their coach got fired. If they come out motivated to get to a bowl, then I think Vegas will be right, and UCLA wins 28-24 or something like that. That said, I saw them last year at Cal, when they folded quickly in the 36-10 loss, though the Bruins didn’t have Josh Rosen. I think it’ll be somewhere in between the two, as Cal is motivated after last week, where they arguably should have won before a bad interception at the end. UCLA has been way better in the Rose Bowl this year than on the road, but I think Cal pulls this one out on the strength of their run game, 31-28.
Here's what I wrote for his questions
1. What has been the first impressions from fans and media members of Justin Wilcox in his first season at Cal?
I think the biggest impression is that he has a plan for everything. He came in relatively late, didn’t panic and reach in recruiting, hired a very good group of assistants, and went from there. He learned that Cal had a problem with tackling, so they worked tackling every day in spring and fall camp, along with tackling meetings with film of rugby tackling. They don’t have a tackling problem anymore. It’s a lot of common sense things that Wilcox has done. While not every decision turns out perfectly, they certainly make sense, and that’s a lot more than you could say about the last staff.
2. Cal hasn't won as many as it probably would have liked this year, but they’ve won some nice games and played some very good teams like Stanford, USC and Arizona close. What is your summation of the Golden Bears' year?
In a sentence, it’s that they’ve become a well coached team, but injuries and a lack of depth have taken a toll. Cal has eleven guys out for the year with season ending injuries, including their top WR, RB, TE, OLB, and ILB coming into the year, and they’ve kept chugging forward and adjusting. The defense has been opportunistic in forcing turnovers, though they’ve petered out a bit as the season’s gone on. The offensive line has grown a ton, four of the last five games have had a 100 yard rusher after only doing that once in the first six. There’s still some consistency issues, but it’s a team that stands to return 18 starters next year.
3. If you were developing a gameplan to stop Cal this week, both offensively and defensively, how would you do it?
Offensively, the main focus is on Patrick Laird for any defense now, as over the past two games, he’s proven himself to be the centerpiece of the Cal offense (something that would confuse many people at the beginning of the season). Cal uses the RPO game a ton with him and Vic Wharton catching quick passes on the outside, so it’s a matter of being disciplined in throwing off reads just enough, either by dropping under quick slants or run blitzing.
Defensively, when Cal hasn’t been able to get pressure, their defense just hasn’t been as successful. Whether UCLA can run the ball enough to take pressure off Rosen will be key. Cal has stopped the run a bit better in recent weeks, but they’ve also struggled covering bigger receivers, especially on 3rd downs. It’s a matter of keeping them on the field, wearing them out, and finishing drives.
4. Who are some of the X-factors, both on offense and defense, UCLA will have to keep under wraps Friday?
I’ll pick two on both sides of the ball:
On offense:
#99 Malik McMorris: There’s no one else like him. You’re more likely to see someone listed at 5’11” and 285 lbs in an E-Sports competition as opposed to a football game, but McMorris is as unique as they come. As a fullback, he’s a fantastic lead blocker, with soft hands to boot. He’ll line up attached the the line at times, other times as an H-Back, and he’ll go out on the occasional pass pattern. He’s been a big part of Cal’s success in the run game over the past few weeks
#9 Kanawai Noa: A slot receiver whose skills come into play on a lot of third downs, to the point where defenses have keyed in on him. He’s done an excellent job of finding holes in zones, or getting open on out routes. He’s also fearless, which is what you need when you’re a slot receiver who has the chance to get destroyed on a crossing route by a safety.
On defense:
#59 Jordan Kunaszyk: The JuCo transfer has had to step up in the wake of Devante Downs’ injury in the middle of the season, and while he’s not the same player as Downs, Kunaszyk is a capable inside linebacker, a very good tackler, and a disciplined player. Currently the team leader in tackles.
#24 Camryn Bynum: Cal’s best cornerback, even as a redshirt freshman, and has been solid in man coverage this year. He’s likely to be lined up against Jordan Lasley on Saturday, and is an example of the kind of turnaround defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander has made with the group.
5. What's your prediction for the game, score and all?
I have been thoroughly wrong with almost every prediction I’ve made on the year about scores, but it really depends on how UCLA comes out of the gate on a short week after their coach got fired. If they come out motivated to get to a bowl, then I think Vegas will be right, and UCLA wins 28-24 or something like that. That said, I saw them last year at Cal, when they folded quickly in the 36-10 loss, though the Bruins didn’t have Josh Rosen. I think it’ll be somewhere in between the two, as Cal is motivated after last week, where they arguably should have won before a bad interception at the end. UCLA has been way better in the Rose Bowl this year than on the road, but I think Cal pulls this one out on the strength of their run game, 31-28.
