Field reporter, Winterer, was on ground at Alumni Stadium for Cal’s 28-24 win against BC.
He interviewed Ron Rivera, who was honored to be featured in last weeks Bearly Interesting article.
His dad, a lifelong BC fan, chucked a full beer against the bleachers.
Narrowly Avoided Collapse
Our biggest fear was realized…
Cal went down 14-0 after 7 minutes of play.
Was our spirit broken? Would the Wilcox regime crumble?
The Golden Bears found their fighting spirit and battled back to win in dramatic fashion…
A goal line interception!
Here are our takeaways from Week 5:
JKS WINNER:
You can’t teach it. Jaron kept his composure with the game on the line and got the job done.
Getting clutch plays under the belt early in a career is crucial to building confidence. Though he has been incredibly poised, he has lacked composure in the following situations.
- Early in games he gets excited (happened this week, pic on first throw of the game)
- When down 20+ points to SDSU he started forcing the ball
Other than that… No notes.
Offensive Line Competent?
We saw huge improvement in the run game this week.
Offensive line got a consistent push through the entire game.
Kendrick Raphael carried the ball 25 times for 119 yards (avg 4.8). This allowed us to win time of possession 35 min to 25 min.
If it wasn’t for San Diego State, I would be quite pleased with this unit.
3.5 Quarters of Solid Defense
Boston College had a full bye week to script a series and scored easily on their first possession.
BC’s second possession started on Cal’s 27 yard line (after a JKS interception). BC scored immediately on a 27 yard touchdown run (theme).
Through the next 3.5 quarters, Cal defense gave up just 10 points.
Seven of those points came from a 71-yard touchdown run (theme).
Why do we suck against the run?
Run defense was ranked 14th nationally in 2024. On paper, our 2025 front seven looked even more talented.
Yet we keep giving up chunk run plays. Bear Insider did a good (though long winded) film review explaining why this is happening.
TLDR;
Linebackers are missing simple gap assignments. Wilcox defenses typically excel at the fundamentals. That was not the case against San Diego State or Boston College.
How it goes down:
- The defensive line gets a good push
- Linebackers get out of position
- Running backs go untouched into the secondary
Thus….
Key to Victory: Linebackers Stop the Run
Duke’s QB is elite… They will have success throwing the ball.
Duke Freshman running back Nate Sheppard is very, very good… And he is just starting to heat up.
We NEED to clean up our run lane assignments. If we do not keep Sheppard contained, Duke will destroy us.
Linebackers need to step up. Cade Uluave had a great start to the season but has looked average at best since he was called for targeting in week two.
Duke Defense:
I see nothing special about Duke’s defense. Tulane destroyed them with the read option. Syracuse moved the ball fine, but turned it over.
If our good offensive line shows up, we should be able to score 30 points.
Prediction: Inconclusive
I love…
- Duke cocky after slaughtering Syracuse
- 7:30pm kickoff (second half will start at 1:00am ET)
- JKS Winner
I hate…
- Our linebackers playing terrible
- Duke RB Sheppard
- Hot and cold offensive line
Our Chief Sharp Officer lost his confidence last night after picking Rams in the elimination league.
He is taking the day off to reflect and gather himself before making a prediction for the Cal game.
The pick will be in by 3:30pm before kickoff.
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