Cal Opponent Review: A Look Back

North Carolina Tar Heels: 3–9 (1–7 Conference)

So losing to Cal for the season opener wasn’t the worst of UNC’s troubles this year? Three of UNC’s losses were by one possession or less. And despite being embarrassed by Virginia Tech (59–7), they bounced back the next week and put up a fight against #8 Miami (24–19). Looking forward, the Tar Heels have to be pretty optimistic about freshman QB Chazz Surratt. Surratt threw for 1342 yards, including 8 TDs—not bad for a freshman.

Weber State Wildcats: 10–2 (7–1 Conference)

Finishing 2nd in the Big Sky Conference, Weber State put together a pretty solid season. Treshawn Garrett led the team with eight total TDs over the season—two receiving and six rushing—to go with his 969 yards of total offense. This comes alongside QB Stefan Cantwell’s 2441 passing yards, including 21 TDs. The Wildcats look to continue their season this Saturday in the second round of the FCS playoffs against Southern Utah.

Ole Miss Rebels: 6–6 (3–5 Conference)

With a win against #14 Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl, the Rebels capped off a solid effort this season. The team finished 6th in the SEC west, led by QB Shea Patterson. Patterson threw for 2259 yards and 17 TDs. To help him out, Jordan Wilkins contributed another 1011 yards and 9 TDs on the ground. All this comes under the interim–turned–head coach Matt Luke.

USC Trojans: 10–2 (8–1 Conference)

Surprising no one, USC finished their season first in the Pac-12 South. The Trojan’s QB, Sam Darnold, finished the regular season with 3462 yards passing and 24 TDs. Another bright spot in the teams offense was Ronald Jones II, who finished with 1346 yards rushing and 16 TDs. USC looks to end their season on top, facing Stanford this Friday in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

Oregon Ducks: 7–5 (4–5 Conference)

Despite missing 5 games, sophomore QB Justing Herbert led the team this season with 1750 yards and 13 TDs. Imagine what the Ducks would have looked like had Herbert managed to stay healthy the whole season. In his senior season, Royce Freeman put a nice exclamation point on his time at Oregon, finishing with 1475 rushing yards and 16 TDs.

Washington Huskies 10–2, (7–2 Conference)

Starting the season, the Huskies looked poised to dominate the Pac-12 North and make a run in the CFB Playoffs. And then, Arizona State happened. And a few weeks later, Stanford happened. All this not only pushed the Huskies out of the CFB picture, but the Pac-12 picture as well. Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin both had solid seasons. Gaskin especially, who rushed for 1282 yards and 19 TDs.

Washington State Cougars: 9–3 (6–3 Conference)

Ah, memories. Remember when we crushed the Cougars 37–3? I sure do. Not even Luke Falk’s insane 3593 passing yards and 30 TDs were enough to push the Cougars past the third spot in the Pac-12 North. Maybe next year?

Arizona Wildcats: 7–5, (5–4 Conference)

Khalil Tate. That is all anyone really needs to say when it comes to the Wildcats. The second-string QB led the team in passing and rushing. He finished the regular season with 1289 yards and 9 TDs passing and 1353 yards and 12 TDs rushing. Tate is only a sophomore; next season should be an interesting one for the Wildcats.

Colorado Buffaloes: 5–7 (2–7 Conference)

Samsies! We know how you feel Buffs fans. Although Steven Montez managed to throw 2975 yards with 18 TDs and Phillip Lindsay carried the ball 301 times for 1474 yards and 14 TDs, they managed to finish last in the Pac-12 South and miss bowl eligibility by one game.

Oregon State Beavers: 1–11 (0–9 Conference)

It’s hard to find anything positive in this season for the Beavers. From losing a head coach midseason to its only win coming against a team who didn’t win a single game all season. It was a long season for the Beavers, but its finally over.

Stanford Cardinal: 9–3,(7–2 Conference)

Ah Stanford, how I dislike writing positive things about you. All you really need to know about Stanford is Bryce Love. Despite injuries, Love managed to rush for 1848 yards and 16 TDs on 215 carries. Crazy numbers. Stanford plays USC this weekend for the Pac-12 Championship. The Axe should have been ours.

UCLA Bruins: 6–6 (4–5 Conference)

This one is still fresh, so I apologize if I’m a little bitter. UCLA had a tumultuous season to say the least. With the firing of Jim Mora, the hiring of Chip Kelly, and the eight quarters missed by Josh Rosen, the team managed to go undefeated at the Rose Bowl. There are a lot of “what ifs?” surrounding this team. Now, facing the departure of Rosen, who led the team with 3717 passing yards and 26 TDs, it will be interesting to see what UCLA can put together for next season.

What are your thoughts about this season, Cal fans?