Cal Opens Pac-12 Slate At Washington
Cal travels to Washington Saturday to face the Huskies for the 100th time in a series that dates back to 1904. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the game will air on the Pac-12 Network.
The Golden Bears have won the last two games between the schools by a combined three points – 12-10 on Oct. 27, 2018, in Berkeley and 20-19 on Sept. 7, 2019, in Seattle. The last time Cal won three in a row against Washington was from 2002-06, when the Bears posted a five-game winning streak. Cal has also won two of the past three contests between the schools in Seattle, picking up a 30-24 victory in 2015.
Fantastic Finishes
— The last two games between Cal and Washington have featured some dramatic late-game moments. In 2018, Evan Weaver's 37-yard interception return for a touchdown with one second left in the third quarter proved to be the difference maker in Cal's 12-10 win over the No. 15 Huskies.
— A year later, Greg Thomas booted a 17-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining, as Cal upended No.14 UW, 20-19. The game featured a 2-hour, 39-minute lightning delay that began with 9:46 left in the first quarter, with the contest finally ending at 1:22 a.m.
Bears Getting More From Moore
— Sophomore running back Damien Moore leads the Golden Bears rushing attack with 79.0 yards per game (4th in the Pac-12), including an average of 5.8 yards per rush. He has scored at least one rushing touchdown in all three games this season with a total of five in 2021 to date (two scores at TCU and vs. Sac State).
— Moore's five rushing TDs are the most in the first three games of a season for Cal since Shane Vereen (who will serve as the Pac-12 Network analyst for this week's Washington game) posted six rushing TDs in the first three games of the 2010 season.
— Moore ranks third in the Pac-12 in both total touchdowns (No. 15 NCAA) and total points scored (No. 22 NCAA).
— Moore has rushed for at least 70 yards in all three games, with a high of 87 yards (plus a season-long 32-yard rush) vs. Sac State.
Offense Producing Big Plays
— So far this season, Cal's offense is averaging 30.3 points per game and 435.3 yards per game, both highs during the Justin Wilcox era in Berkeley. Cal's total offense yards per game ranks third in the Pac-12 with the Bears fifth in both rushing ypg (177.3 rpg) and passing ypg (258.0 ypg).
— The Bears' yards per game rushing, if it held up for the year, would be Cal's highest in a season since averaging 183.0 ypg in 2012.
— Cal produced 13 plays of 15 yards or more against Sac State last weekend (6 pass, 7 rush) – the most in any game under Wilcox. Over their last two games, the Bears have had seven passing plays of at least 30 yards.
— Four Cal receivers are averaging 17.9 yards or more per reception – Kekoa Crawford (27.3 ypc), Trevon Clark (22.7 ypc), Jake Tonges (19.8 ypc) and Jeremiah Hunter (17.9 ypc).
Washington Connections
— Four members of Cal's coaching staff were together at Washington during the 2012-13 seasons. Over that span, Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox served as the Huskies' defensive coordinator, while defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach/recruiting coordinator Peter Sirmon was linebackers coach and outside linebackers coach Keith Heyward coached UW's defensive backs. In addition, Cal defensive backs coach Tre Watson was a member of the Husky team during those two seasons.
— Sirmon's son, Jackson, is a sophomore linebacker on the Washington roster.
— Five Golden Bears hail from the state of Washington – WR Justin Richard Baker (Bellevue), OL Matthew Cindric (Sammamish), OL Colin Hamilton (Edmonds), OL Dylan Jemtegaard (Yelm) and OLB Orin Patu (Seattle).
Garbers Picking Up The Pace at Quarterback
— QB Chase Garbers has completed a combined 63-of-99 passes (63.6%) for 774 yards and five scores. He started out against Sac State by going 11-for-11 through the year for 124 yards. The completion percentage is the highest of his career and above his 61.4% entering this season.
—Garbers threw for 309 yards at TCU, marking the third time in his career he has surpassed 300 yards through the air with the other two feats also coming on the road. He passed for 315 yards last fall at Oregon State and for a career-high 357 yards in a win at Ole Miss in 2019.
— With 258.0 ypg passing Garbers ranks third in the Pac-12 this season. In addition, he is second in total offense (293.3 ypg),
— Over his past two games, Garbers has completed eight passes of at least 25 yards (5 at TCU, 3 vs. Sac State), including five of 40 yards or more. He tossed a career-long 68-yard pass to Trevon Clark at TCU.
— With a 16-yard rush for Cal's final TD against Sac State, Garbers now has eight rushing touchdowns for his career. The school record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in nine by Brian Bedford and Dave Penhall (1969-70).
— Garbers has 824 yards rushing for his career and is closing in on the school record for rushing yards by a Cal quarterback (931, Joe Kapp).
— Garbers is 15-11 as a starters and Cal is 15-7 in games when he has played more than half the game, including 7-0 during the 2019 season.
Goode Playing Much Better Than Good
— Over his last 11 games, OLB Cameron Goode has accumulated 16.5 tackles for loss and 10.0 quarterback sacks.
— At TCU, Goode had his 15th and 16th career sacks for a combined minus-27 yards at TCU. The 2.0 sacks tied a career high (also at UCLA in 2019). Goode added another tackle for loss, giving him 3.0 TFLs (-30 yards) for the game. His 2.0 sacks and 3.0 TFLs tie for a single-game high in the Pac-12 this year.