Oregon State Football Opponent Preview: California

With the start of the 2023 season just around the corner, BeaversEdge kicks off the first in an opponent preview series diving into all 12 of Oregon State's opponents in 2023...

Up next is a road matchup with the Cal Bears...

THE GAME

Date: Saturday, October 7th

Time: TBD

Location: Memorial Stadium - Berkeley, Calif.

TV: TBD

Oregon State 2022 record: 10-3 (6-3 Pac-12)

CAL 2022 record: 4-8 (2-7 P12)

CAL Head Coach: Justin Wilcox (30-36, 17-32 P12)

CAL 2022 RECAP

After going 5-7 in 2021, the California Golden Bears under Justin Wilcox took a step back in 2022, going 4-8 and suffering through some tough moments.

After opening the season 2-0, the Bears dropped a winnable game at Notre Dame in week three where they held a seven-point advantage heading to the fourth quarter.

The Bears bounced back and trounced Arizona 49-31 to open Pac-12 play, but the wheels started to fall off after that. The Bears weren't exactly blown out each game, but they lost seven of their final eight games.

That being said, it's notable that the Bears made life tough on Washington and USC, falling to the Huskies by seven and the Trojans by six. Say what you will about Cal's season last year, but playing those two teams close showed they weren't perhaps as poor as their record indicated.

The low point had to be the overtime loss to Colorado... The Buffs were all but destined to go 0-12 this past season, but the Bears played very poorly in Boulder and left a 20-13 loser.

Things got so bad for the Bears this season that after Oregon State cruised to a 38-10 victory late in the season Wilcox elected to fire longtime offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and offensive line coach Angus McClure.

Cal managed a rivalry win in The Big Game against the Cardinal, taking them down 27-20 for their final victory.

After thinking early in the Wilcox era that he was the guy for Cal football, there have been a few lean years these past couple of seasons. The pressure will be on Wilcox to have the Bears pushing for the postseason in 2023...

Best Win: vs Arizona (49-31)

Worst Loss: vs Colorado (20-13 OT)

2022 Schedule

MORE: Day 6 Nuggets: DL Takari Hickle Dazzles | WATCH: Offense Talks Day 6 | WATCH: Fall Camp Day 6 | Inside The Dam: Beavers Add DL | FALL CAMP HQ

CAL 2023 Outlook

Entering the 2023 campaign, the Cal Bears are going to look different offensively as the Bears brought in a new offensive coordinator in Jake Spavital who's known for his quarterback development and offensive mind.

Spavital returns for his second stint with the Bears after serving as OC under Sonny Dykes for the 2016 campaign. The QB guru has worked with some of the bigger names in college football over the last decade-plus including Brandon Weeden, Geno Smith, Kyler Murray, Kyle Allen, and Johnny Manziel.

Spavital and Wilcox brought in TCU quarterback transfer Sam Jackson V to run the new offense and after sparingly seeing the field with the Horned Frogs, it'll be interesting to see how he fares in the P12 this season.

RB Jaydon Ott was arguably the only other freshman running back to garner as many headlines as Damien Martinez last season, rushing for 896 yards and eight touchdowns a season ago.

Defensively, with linebacker Jackson Sirmon (leading tackler in 2022) back for his sixth season and a strong secondary returning, the Bears figure to be decently good on that side of the ball given that Wilcox hangs his hat on having a tough, physical defense.

For a Bears team looking to return to the postseason, the road ahead won't be easy. The non-conference isn't too unmanageable, but the Auburn game is a big-time opportunity for Wilcox's squad. Auburn is down right now following a coaching change, and that's not typically a nonconference game a team like Auburn makes... I think that game will be key for their season's success...

Cal's Pac-12 schedule is brutal as in their first six conference matchups, five of those teams are expected to be ranked in the Top 25 in Washington, Oregon State, Utah, USC, and Oregon...

If the Bears can pull off the upset of Auburn and go undefeated in nonconference and beat the teams they can beat (ASU, WSU, Stanford, and UCLA) I could see them returning to a bowl game this season, but that's a big ask.

I expect the Bears to be firmly in the mix to reach that six-win mark, but I don't think they'll be able to pick up wins against the top teams in the conference, thus leaving little margin for error...

Key Returnees: RB Jaydn Ott, WR Jeremiah Hunter, LB Jackson Sirmon, DB Craig Woodson

2023 Schedule

Season Projection: 5-7

Early Prediction

While the Cal Bears always seem to be a tough out under Wilcox for how well they typically play defense, this shouldn't be a game the Beavers struggle with too much.

The only reason I could see this game being a bit closer than expected is the fact that this is the first game following the Utah game, and that's bound to have a ton of emotion regardless of the result.

In any case, the Beavers have always been pretty good under Jonathan Smith on keeping things week-to-week, so even if it is an emotional victory or loss the week prior, OSU should be able to stay focused and take care of Cal.

PREDICTION - Oregon State 31, Cal 14

Previously

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