BERKELEY — A week after his Cal football team knocked off 12-point favorite Auburn in front of 88,000 fans on the road, head coach Justin Wilcox is confident the Bears will dodge complacency entering Saturday night’s home game against San Diego State.
“I don’t have that concern,” Wilcox said. “All we’ve got to do it turn on the tape and look at the things we can get better at — there’s a lot of them.”
But just in case, Wilcox sent his players a group text to serve as a reminder of how easily things can go sideways. Linked to the text was a story in which Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman explained why the Fighting Irish lost to underdog Northern Illinois.
“He said the reason was because the team believed the hype,” Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza said. “That’s something the entire team is emphasizing — don’t believe in the hype.
“We can use our momentum as a weapon but it can also be a curse. I think our focus is on point.”
The hype surrounding the 2-0 Bears remains modest, although the Haas School of Business professor in Mendoza’s ethics class saluted the football team at the start of his Monday lecture.
Defensive tackle Nate Burrell says the Bears will mostly block out the praise and the criticism. “Don’t let the outside noise get to us,” he said, “because a lot of people didn’t think we’d be able to win that game.”
They upset Auburn by winning the turnover battle 5-0 and controlling the ball.
Along the way, Mendoza was 19-for-21 passing in the first half, which earned him the starter’s endorsement this week from Wilcox and offensive coordinator Mike Bloesch. Mendoza and North Texas transfer Chandler Rogers had competed for the No. 1 job since spring ball.
“That trust means a lot to me,” Mendoza said. “I want to prove Coach Wilcox and Coach Bloesch right.”
Meanwhile, here are three issues the Bears hope to smooth over:
The run game
There are reasons for this, but Cal is 109th nationally in rushing at 100.5 yards per game. Jaydn Ott produced more than that himself last season, but he has been slowed by an ankle injury and the offensive line will play a third straight game without two injured starters (guard Sioape Vatikani and center Will McDonald).
Don’t be surprised if sophomore Jaivian “The Jet” Thomas plays more — or perhaps starts — if Ott is not ready to go. “The guys on the team trust him,” Wilcox said of Thomas, who had a career-best 53 yards at Auburn, including a game-clinching 32-yard touchdown dash.
Penalties
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The Bears were flagged 11 times for 77 yards in the win over Auburn, including two pass-interference penalties and a targeting call on Marcus Harris. Most vexing to Wilcox were five false-start penalties, four of them being in the first half. The reshuffled offensive line must be better.
Placekicking
While punter Lachlan Wilson averaged 46.6 yards on seven kicks and had two downed at the two-yard line, new placekicker Ryan Coe missed his two field-goal tries, including one from 25 yards.
Going forward, Wilcox said the Bears must merge growing confidence with necessary humility. After all, the start of their inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference and a road matchup at Florida State is just a week away.
“We need to get better. We can’t stay the same,” he said. “We’ve got to get better and better throughout the season.”