Colorado @ California preview
California Memorial Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 24, 2018 ) Colorado 21, California 33
The Cal Bears have a losing record but with a few breaks they could be .500 or better.
The Bears (1-5, 0-3 Pac-12) have lost games by five points, two points and another in overtime. They also went on the road to No. 9 Oregon and gave the Ducks a scare before falling 24-17 last week.
So, it's no surprise Cal is still confident heading into its home matchup with Colorado at Berkeley Saturday afternoon.
"We have a close-knit group of guys," senior safety Elijah Hicks said. "To be honest, we're confident we can play with anybody. The confidence isn't going to go anywhere."
Cal is still looking for its first win over a FBS school. The Bears' lone win came against Sacramento State on Sept. 18.
The Buffaloes (2-4, 1-2) got a much-needed win against Arizona, 34-0, on Saturday. Colorado had opened the season strong with a win and a near upset of No. 5 Texas A&M but was then outscored 102-27 in the next three games.
Freshman quarterback Brandon Lewis has been forced to learn on the job, and the lessons have been tough at times. In his first three games, he threw for 218 yards combined. But against Arizona, he had 248 yards passing with two touchdowns.
The Buffaloes also got a strong game out of Trevor Woods, who had a blocked punt that he returned for a touchdown. He was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Monday.
"That was a really good win for us as a program," CU coach Karl Dorrell said. "All three phases scored touchdowns ... We had two weeks of really doing some things in detail. I just felt like the dam was going to break at some point and it did [vs. Arizona]."
The Buffaloes will be without some players against Cal. Running back Ashaad Clayton will miss his second straight game for an undisclosed injury, defensive back Nigel Bethel has a knee injury and "it doesn't look so good," Dorrell said.
Wide receiver La'Vontae Shenault is also still serving a suspension.
--Field Level Media