Show notes
Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds spoke this week with BearTerritory.net's Jackson Moore to get the inside scoop on the California Golden Bears and what to expect from the visitors when they travel to Seattle to face No. 8 Washington Saturday night at Husky Stadium.
It's already been a strange year and it got a little stranger when Cal and Stanford announced their move to the ACC starting next season. Moore talked a little bit about that news as well as the future of Cal Head Coach Justin Wilcox, who seemed to be moving forward pre-COVID but hasn't really progressed their football program since.
Ahead of the 2023 season, the Cal coaches flipped the roster with 50 new faces and three new assistant coaches, including new offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, who was California's OC during Sonny Dykes's final year in Berkeley.
Spavital has two main quarterbacks - Ben Finley and Sam Jackson V, with the recent nod going to Jackson. But it's a legitimate quandary right now, as both have their strong points and clear weaknesses.
The play of the quarterbacks mirrors the offense in general, as the Golden Bears can be explosive at times, and they can also struggle with multiple three-and-outs.
Jaydn Ott and former Bellevue star Isaiah Ifanse lead a thin running backs room, and they are playing very well. But Ott didn't play last week against Idaho and is expected to play against the Huskies. How effective will he be.
To round out the offensive side of the discussion, Moore talks about Washington receiver transfer Taj Davis and his impact on the team so far.
After a quick break, the talk turns to California's defense, led by former UW assistant coach Peter Sirmon and his son, former Husky linebacker Jackson Sirmon.
According to Jackson, they've changed their front scheme to more of a nickel base and even front. He talked about some of the new players that have been brought in to help shore things up on that side of the ball.
And Jackson answers the biggest question for California's defense: Can the Golden Bears try and cope with Michael Penix Jr and Washington's prolific offense?
What has it been about the recent Cal-Washington matchups that create close contests, even when they're not expected to be that close? And it seems fitting that Washington's first night game with their LED lights happens to be against California.
Could we be in for some more weirdness between the Golden Bears and Huskies? There's only one way to find out...
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