saturday, august 30, 2008
A Look at Cal
- The Bears have a chance today to record their first six-game winning streak in the 110-year history of the Big Game. With a win, coach Jeff Tedford would tie Andy Smith for the best start by a Cal coach in the series at 6-0.
- Following his 141-yard performance at Washington two weekends ago, tailback Justin Forsett is now just 16 yards away from reaching 3,000 rushing yards for his career. Forsett currently ranks first in the Pac-10 in rushing with 119.1 yards per game and in touchdowns with 13.
- The 2007 Cal defense has the opportunity to become only the second defensive unit in school history to feature three players with 100 or more tackles. Junior linebacker Anthony Felder leads the team with 99 stops, while fellow junior Worrell Williams and senior safety Thomas Decoud are tied with 95 tackles apiece.
Player to Watch: Greg Van Hoesen
Greg Van Hoesen has recorded eight tackles this year, in large part because the senior linebacker has started none of the 10 games in which he has played.
However, earlier this week, Cal coach Jeff Tedford announced that Van Hoesen will be a starter in his final regular season game on Saturday.
Van Hoesen and Justin Moye are the senior leaders of a linebacking corps that has combined for 343 tackles, six forced fumbles and two interceptions in 11 games. The backers also have 23.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks.
If the Bears can contain Stanford’s rushing attack and force the Cardinal to go to the air, where their completion percentage hovers around 50 percent, Van Hoesen and his fellow seniors should be hoisting the Axe after the Big Game one more time.
A Look at Stanford
- Since beating Arizona on Oct. 20, the Cardinal has lost its last four games, averaging only 11.5 points while giving up 26 points per game.
- Despite upsetting then-No. 1 USC in October, Stanford once again finds itself in the Pac-10 cellar. The Cardinal rank last in the conference in total offense and defense, gaining 323.1 ypg while allowing an average of 442.3.
- Senior wideout Mark Bradford is fifth on Stanford’s all-time receptions list with 164 catches. Bradford can also move up to No. 3 on the school’s list of career receiving yards leaders with 135 yards today.
- The 110th Big Game will be the first to take place in the Cardinal’s newly built, 50,000-seat Stanford Stadium which holds 35,000 less fans than the original.
Player to Watch: Anthony Kimble
The Cal defense has allowed an astronomical total of 580 rushing yards in its past two games.
So it would make sense if Stanford junior tailback Anthony Kimble were to see the Bears front seven in his dreams this week.
“Definitely, being a running back,” Kimble said about looking forward to facing the Bears defense. “Get as many yards as I can, play my hardest, and help send these seniors out in a positive fashion.”
Kimble started his first game in over a month last weekend, after missing the previous four due to injury. Stanford lost 21-14 to Notre Dame, but the junior rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns on 20 attempts.
If the Bears haven’t improved their rush defense over two weeks of practice, look for Kimble to more than double his 45-yard output from last year’s contest.
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