On Thursday, UCLA (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) will face an upstart Cal team, which is currently ranked No. 20 in the AP Poll. The Bears (5-1, 2-1) are trying to end a two-year losing streak to the Bruins.
Here’s a scouting report for Cal, which runs an air-raid offense that’s led by one of the nation’s most heralded quarterbacks – Jared Goff.
Cal’s offense
Base formation: Shotgun
Run/pass ratio: 54 percent pass, 46 percent run
Blocking style: Vertical set, man blocking
Strength: Passing game
Weakness: Pass protection
X-factor: RB Vic Enwere
Cal’s offensive setup is very similar to UCLA’s.
Up front, both the Cal and UCLA offensive linemen utilize vertical set blocking, meaning they stand in two-point stances about a yard behind the line of scrimmage. Second, the Bears emphasize tempo in their offense, just like the Bruins do. Through half the season, Cal ranks No. 21 in offensive pays per game, while UCLA ranks No. 42. Thirdly, the Bears throw a lot of intermediate passes and screens – averaging 6.2 yards per play – while the Bruins trail slightly behind at 6.1.
Where Cal stands apart from UCLA is at the quarterback position. Junior signal caller Jared Goff is one of the most prized NFL prospects in all of college football. One mock draft website projects that Goff will be picked sixth overall in next year’s NFL draft, and a Sporting News article compared him to former No. 1-pick quarterbacks Sam Bradford and Eli Manning.
What UCLA defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said was special about Goff is his ability to stay calm amid strong pass rushes. Cal’s pass blocking hasn’t been great this year – ranking No. 86 in the country in sacks allowed per game and No. 101 in tackles for loss allowed – but that hasn’t foiled Goff. Entering the UCLA game, Goff ranks No. 8 in the nation in passing touchdowns and No. 19 in yards per attempt.
“He stands in there as long as he possibly can; he’s not afraid to take a hit,” Bradley said. “He doesn’t have the happy feet.”
As good as Goff is, the X factor in this game could be Cal running back Vic Enwere. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound sophomore has almost the same build as Arizona State power running back Kalen Ballage, who punished UCLA on Oct. 3 in the Rose Bowl. The Bruins have struggled mightily to stop the run over the past three games – allowing 5.6 yards per rush during that span – so the Bears may decide to run the ball a little more just to hit UCLA where it’s weak.
Cal’s defense
Base defense: Multiple; mostly 4-3 and 4-2-5
Blitz tendency: Frequent
Strength: Creating pressure and forcing turnovers
Weakness: Allowing big plays
X-factor: DE Kyle Kragen
Cal’s defense relies on a statistic that isn’t always reliable: turnovers. The Bears rank No. 1 in the nation with 21 takeaways – 12 of which are interceptions and nine of which are fumble recoveries.
To create those turnovers, the Bears use a high degree of quarterback pressure. Through six games, they rank No. 13 in the nation with an average of 3.17 sacks per game.
Key to that pressure is a four-man defensive front spearheaded by weak-side defensive end Kyle Kragen. The 6-foot-2, 245-pound senior is tied for No. 22 in the country with an average of 0.83 sacks per game.
It will be interesting to see where Kragen lines up in Thursday night’s game, as UCLA’s starting left tackle – redshirt junior Conor McDermott – is listed as “very questionable” to play, per coach Jim Mora on Sunday. If McDermott doesn’t play, Kragen could have a field day off the edge, as UCLA’s backup left tackle is a redshirt freshman – Kolton Miller – who struggled quite a bit against Stanford last week.
While Cal’s defensive line is strong, its back seven is exploitable. The Bears allow an average of 236.3 pass yards per game, which ranks No. 83 in the country, and have shown some weaknesses defending deep passes, allowing 12.55 yards per completion.
UCLA offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone allowed freshman quarterback Josh Rosen to pass early and often against Stanford, and he may want to opt for that same approach against Cal’s porous secondary. But Rosen will have to watch out for freshman mistakes against an opportunistic Cal defense that relies on forcing takeaways.
“We have to protect the football and we can’t give them easy opportunities,” Mazzone said.