California Golden blog contributor Leon Powe was kind enough to answer some questions concerning the state of the Golden Bear program going into Saturday's game.
John - What seems to be Cal's biggest problem on offense?
Their problems are multiple - and if you ask 5 Cal fans, you'll get 20 different answers. However, I think it will all boil down to one thing. Our offensive line no longer kicks ass, like it did from 2004-2006. That was a mean mean offensive line that would punch you in the face. If we could block, we could run, Mansion (and Riley) wouldn't have to run for their lives every other down. Everything would be better if we could block - and our problems (WR dropsies, QB accuracy) would not be so magnified.
John - Cal's defense has played well most of the season. How will they plan to contain Jake Locker?
Over the last 2-3 games, we've shifted from a 3-4 base to a lot of 3-3-5 looks. However, with our two starting corners out against Stanfurd, it really hurt. We did an amazing job spying Thomas at Oregon with a safety (Chris Conte) and playing assignment defense. Given Locker's well documented accuracy issues, I would bet a lot of man-zero coverage and a spy to play against the QB run to start off with.
John - Who is the best player on your roster that we haven't heard of and should be very aware of on Saturday?
If you know anything about Cal's defense, you'll know Mike Mohammed - who is the leader. But Michael Kendricks has actually been our best linebacker down the stretch, personally delivering messages of pain to the QB (well, except for Luck) week-in, week-out. Expect to see a lot of him in the UW backfield.
John - If QB Brock Mansion happens to go down who comes in to replace him?
Aaron Rodgers in a mustache!
John - In your mind what is the biggest key on Saturday for a California victory?
An offense which is able to put together more than a few clock eating scoring drives. Which will allow our defense (with its lack of depth) to get some rest and keep the score down.
John - Why do the Bears look like a different team at home (with the exception of last week) than they do on the road?
Beats me.
John - How excited is the Cal fan base about the renovation of Memorial Stadium?
Not so much the stadium, but the Student Athlete High Performance Center will allow Cal to move out of the 1950s facilities we currently have and allow us to really sell our University, city and football program (and other sports!) to recruits, without having other schools laugh at our current crap training and office space.
John - Is Jeff Tedford on the hot seat next season?
Unless we turn in a stinker of a season, I think (and hope) we have one more season of mediocrity before his seat heats up. Others would argue that its warm now. I think we need to see how he reacts in the off-season and how the Bears play vs. expectations next season.