They've arguably played a team better than any we've faced in Texas (Boise State) and I'm not sure Utah State isn't better than SDSU.
Their defense looks rock solid, not just statistically but when you watch them, their DL and secondary in particular look strong. They seem more like a team than last year. Unit cohesion, consistent effort, etc.
All that said, I like the matchup for our Bears. Whilst their defense will be far better than any we've faced this year to date, they don't have a great pass rush and I think they can be tired out as depth is potentially an issue for them. Running the ball will be tough but I believe Goff can move the chains and create scoring opportunities. UW will have a tough choice to make coming off our Texas film. Do they do what UT did and take away the long passing game by dropping safeties deep and playing off our WRs OR do they play us straight up to stifle the run and short passing game? I think whichever way they choose, we will eventually crack the code and score 30+ on them.
Their offense is not very good. Their OL hasn't been terrible but it's below average both in pass protection (7% of pass attempts lead to sacks) and outside of Sac State, they haven't run the ball at all. Browning I like. He's accurate, poised and tough. Yet I don't see him lighting us up. WR corps is just okay.
That said, if we can't muster a pass rush and have more mental breakdowns like we did in Austin, they can score 30+ on us.
More likely, we pull away late and win this by 7-14 points. Lower scoring affair. I'm thinking 33-24 Cal.
Their defense looks rock solid, not just statistically but when you watch them, their DL and secondary in particular look strong. They seem more like a team than last year. Unit cohesion, consistent effort, etc.
All that said, I like the matchup for our Bears. Whilst their defense will be far better than any we've faced this year to date, they don't have a great pass rush and I think they can be tired out as depth is potentially an issue for them. Running the ball will be tough but I believe Goff can move the chains and create scoring opportunities. UW will have a tough choice to make coming off our Texas film. Do they do what UT did and take away the long passing game by dropping safeties deep and playing off our WRs OR do they play us straight up to stifle the run and short passing game? I think whichever way they choose, we will eventually crack the code and score 30+ on them.
Their offense is not very good. Their OL hasn't been terrible but it's below average both in pass protection (7% of pass attempts lead to sacks) and outside of Sac State, they haven't run the ball at all. Browning I like. He's accurate, poised and tough. Yet I don't see him lighting us up. WR corps is just okay.
That said, if we can't muster a pass rush and have more mental breakdowns like we did in Austin, they can score 30+ on us.
More likely, we pull away late and win this by 7-14 points. Lower scoring affair. I'm thinking 33-24 Cal.
