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Know Your Opponent: UCLA Football vs. California 2018

By Mike Regalado

BERKELEY, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Head coach Justin Wilcox of the California Golden Bears walks the sidelines during their game against the Idaho State Bengals at California Memorial Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
BERKELEY, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Head coach Justin Wilcox of the California Golden Bears walks the sidelines during their game against the Idaho State Bengals at California Memorial Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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BERKELEY, CA – OCTOBER 13: Jordan Kunaszyk #59 of the California Golden Bears celebrates after intercepting a pass against the Washington State Cougars during the third quarter of their NCAA football game at California Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2017 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
BERKELEY, CA – OCTOBER 13: Jordan Kunaszyk #59 of the California Golden Bears celebrates after intercepting a pass against the Washington State Cougars during the third quarter of their NCAA football game at California Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2017 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

California Defense

The reason UCLA should be cautious about coming into the game against Cal is that of the Golden Bear’s defense. Justin Wilcox is a defensive-minded coach and one of the first things he did when he got the job before last season was overhaul the D.

Two seasons ago, Cal was one of the worst defensive teams in the nation. This season, they are one of the best. As pointed out by the Cal site, California Golden Blogs, the Bears have the 6th best  S&P+ defensive rating. Currently, Cal is 19th in the nation in yards allowed (334.5). Their strength is in the pass defense which is 12th at 174.8 per game. The run defense needs some work, but it is holding its own. They are currently 62nd in the nation as they are allowing 159.8 yards per game.

"DID YOU KNOW? Cal’s mascot “Oski” made its debut on September 27, 1941 during the season opener against St. Maty’s College."

The guys up front do not get a lot of penetration as they have a wait and see approach, though it helps it limiting big yards. The most efficient player up front is DE Paul Tevin who only has 16 tackles, but 4.5 of those were for a loss. Unfortunately, he has not been able to record a sack. The one player that often plays on the line that can get at the quarterback is DE/OLB Alex Funches who has 2.5 sacks so far this season.

The Top Dog (get it?) among the Bear LBs is Jordan Kunaszyk. He will be found all over the field on Saturday, so the Bruins need to be mindful of where he is at all times. He is second on the team in tackles with 51 and has 2.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks. Ball carriers also have to make sure they hold onto the ball as he has two forced fumbles on the season. Next to him will be Evan Weaver who leads Cal in tackles (58) and has also been able to disrupt the passing game with four pass breakups.

2018 California Defensive Stats

Total – 331.4 | Rushing – 155.8 | Passing – 175.6 | Scoring – 24.8

The secondary is also stacked and is very active. Not only do they play their opponents hard, but they rarely make dumb mistakes. Those involved with the pass defense avoid giving up big plays downfield and only allow 5.7 yards per attempt. The main DB the Bruins want to avoid is S Ashtyn Davis. He only has 18 tackles on the season, but he has done damage with two interceptions and two pass breakups. Cal will also have Camryn Bynum and Elijah Hicks to give UCLA headaches and that will severely affect how Dorian Thompson-Robinson performs.

Lately, it seems that Kelly wants to pass the ball. It worked last week against Washington, so we should expect the same, but this might simply be to open up the running game, which they may need if the Bears shut down the pass. Now that Kelly has settled on Joshua Kelley as the go-to RB, he might want to implement more of a ground game.