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To learn more about Oregon State's opponent this weekend, BeaversEdge.com chatted with Golden Bear Report Publisher Trace Travers, who covers the Cal Bears.
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1. With all the emotion of having the season start pushed back, playing on a Sunday, and then having a rough performance against UCLA, what’s the mood of this Cal team heading into this matchup with OSU?
Golden Bear Report Publisher Trace Travers: "Surprisingly energized after what could have been seen as a demoralizing loss. For those that don’t know, Cal hadn’t had a full 11-on-11 session in practice for two weeks thanks to contact tracing protocols keeping the entire defensive line in quarantine. Now, the Bears have gotten back to practicing with their defensive line, and they’ve been very energetic in post-practice interviews. Their challenge is getting that to translate against Oregon State."
2. Cal changed offensive coordinators in the offseason, and we’ve seen more of a pro-style look than the spread under Beau Baldwin, what are the biggest differences and what do you expect to see from them against OSU?
TT: "It has been a small sample size so far, but the biggest differences in the early going are the use of bigger sets, with a fullback coming back to the Cal offense. There’s more usage of tight ends, but the Cal offense hasn’t exactly done enough, nor has the media been able to see any of practice, to really know the full scope of Cal’s changes.
A couple of other pieces do come to mind though, those being a bit more motion and shifts than in the past, with multiple formations, personnel groupings, and different ways to arrange those personnel groupings."
