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With the 2021 season on the horizon, BeaversEdge.com is introducing all 12 of Oregon State's opponents over the course of summer.
Today, we dive into the eighth game of the season, a road matchup with the Cal Bears...
MORE: DE Mathias Malakai-Donaldson Commits | Opponent Preview: Utah
The Game
Date: Saturday, October 30th
Time: TBD
Location: Memorial Stadium - Berkeley, Calif.
TV: TBD
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Oregon State 2020 Record: 2-5 (2-5 Pac-12)
Cal 2020 Record: 1-3 (1-3 Pac-12)
2020 Recap
In the pandemic-shortened, conference-only 2020 campaign, California was only able to play four games, finishing with a 1-3 overall record.
After seeing its opener against Washington postponed due to COVID-19 issues, the Bears made their season debut against UCLA on Nov. 15th. The Bears dropped that contest against the Bruins and proceeded to fall to Oregon State & Stanford the following two weekends.
Cal was able to earn its marquee and only win of the season on Dec. 5th by knocking off the Oregon Ducks 21-17 in Berkeley. That would end up being the Bears' final game of the season as matchups with Washington State & Arizona were also canceled.
The 2020 season was about as uncertain as it could get for the Bears, so like many teams across the Pac-12, it really tough to get a read on what to take from the year and what won't likely carry over.
The win over Oregon is very telling in my mind because it shows the potential for what the Bears could have been and could be. Similar to Oregon State, I see that win as something that could be built on and it's going to be very interesting to see where the Bears go in 2021...
Best Win: vs Oregon (21-17) on Dec. 5th
Worst Loss: @ UCLA (34-10 on Nov. 15th)
2021 Outlook
After having a whole bunch of uncertainty last season, the Cal Bears are most definetly chomping at the bit to get back to a full 12-game schedule in 2021.
Because the Bears only got to play four games this past season, it's tough to get a read on where they're going to be at in 2021.
The Bears return a fair amount of contributors from last years' squad, but it was a team that was inconsistent at best.
Sure, the Bears showed their potential by knocking off Oregon for their only win of the season but also didn't look highly competitive in their blowout loss to UCLA to open the year.
With that being said, like many teams across the Pac-12, it's almost a wait-and-see approach to see what we can take from last season and what was more of an outlier.
Given that they are several years into the Wilcox regime and that they return a solid quarterback in Chase Garbers and a stout defense, I expect the Bears to be a bowl team this season, settling in somewhere around six wins...
Key Players: QB Chase Garbers - WR Kekoa Crawford - LB Kuony Deng - LB Cameron Goode - DB Elijah Hicks
Season Projection: 7-5
Early Prediction
Will the Beavers be able to make it three in a row against the Golden Bears?
After knocking off the Bears in Berkeley in 2019, the Beavers once again knocked off Cal this past season as Jonathan Smith and Co. have had Justin Wilcox and the Bears' number for a couple of years now.
While Cal has typically boasted a strong defense under Wilcox, the offense has been inconsistent at best, so it's hard to predict what Cal will be this season.
In terms of this contest specifically, I like the Beavers' chances...
OSU will be coming off what I expect to be one of the tougher games of the season the week prior against Utah and I expect that they'll be plenty motivated to get back on track against the Bears.
I expect Cal to give Oregon State a really close game, and I think it'll be one of the more nail-biting games of the season because I think these two teams are fairly evenly matched.
However, I think the Beavers are a little more complete at this point heading into the season and that's why I like them to leave Strawberry Canyon with a win...
Oregon State 28, Cal 24
Previously
Week 7 - BYE
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