The upcoming home game against Miami is one of the biggest Cal football games in a very long time (given the ESPN gameday).
Here are a few factors that might play in Cal’s favor (hopefully contributing to a Cal win this Saturday).
Here are a few factors that might play in Cal’s favor (hopefully contributing to a Cal win this Saturday).
- Kickoff at 7:30pm PT. That means the game will run from roughly 10:30pm ET to 1:30am ET
- Travel. Miami has to fly a long way to Berkeley, which they’re not used to making long trips
- Healthy. Cal will hopefully be as healthy as they’ve been all year long, including Jaydn Ott and the OL (especially if McDonald and hopefully Vatikani plays)
- Home crowd. Will we see one of the best attended home games so far this year (given the ESPN gameday)???
- Bye week. Cal has had 14 days to prepare for this game, while Miami will have had only 8 days. Yes, I know Cal is not great off bye weeks, but hopefully this time it is better
- Cal knows from Pac 12 days QB Cam Ward and RB Damian Martinez, plus HC Mario Cristobal
- Last time Cam Ward came to Berkeley (Nov 2023), Cal beat Wazzu 42-39 despite Ward throwing for 350+ yards.
- A big part of the 2023 Cal win was getting turnovers (3 fumbles and 1 INT off Ward). In 2022, although Cal lost that road game at Wazzu, Cal did intercept Ward twice in that game too. Getting a Cal win in 2024 will definitely require winning the turnover battle
