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).
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
