By Brant Daughtry

The Golden (Bears) Coast

For a while now, Cal has been something of a whipping boy. Yes, they’re a Power 5 team, but the record has been abysmal for the Bears. They haven’t had a winning season since 2019, and that should tell you all you need to know. However, the Bears have done some good work in the transfer portal, and are trying to make a push back to relevance in the final year of the Pac-12.

For the second week in a row, there is no history between these two teams. Auburn is getting out of its usual opponent pool, and I for one find that really fun. It makes for interesting matchups, and that should be what the non-conference schedule is for.

Justin Wilcox is in his seventh year at Cal, which should tell you the level of patience this school has in football. He’s a West Coast lifer, save one year at Tennessee under Derek Dooley. He was named head coach in 2017, and has hovered just under .500 since, currently sitting at 31-36.

The QB situation is interesting. Starter Sam Jackson V went down with injury in the season opener against North Texas, and was replaced by Ben Finley. Jackson is a strong runner, and Finley is steady. But at the end of the day, whoever the quarterback is, he won’t be the focus of this offense.

Players to Watch For:

Running back Jaydn Ott, #1- Ott has already made headlines this week, but he’s the player who has earned the right to speak out a little. He averaged five yards per carry last season as a freshman, finishing just shy of 1,000 yards. Last week, against North Texas, Ott showed he wanted to start his sophomore season strong, as he carried the ball 20 times for 205 yards and two scores. The math majors among you will realize that’s more than 10 yards a carry. Ott is a great player, and only getting better. If Auburn’s run defense  can’t right the ship this week, it could be a long night.

Linebacker Jackson Sirmon, #8- Sirmon was the leading tackler for Cal last season, at well over 100 tackles, and he’s back for his redshirt senior season. He’s a team captain, and a pretty good football player. He’s one of the best defensive players in the Pac-12, and if Auburn wants to answer Cal’s running game with its own, they’ll gave to find him before every snap.

I came into this season pretty confident that Auburn could go out to Cal and get a win. While I still would predict Auburn to win if you forced me, looking into their roster and the way they played against North Texas, an away game by the way, I’m much less sure. This is a Cal team that’s built to take away what Auburn does best, and take advantages of their flaws. I wouldn’t be shocked if this one is close deep into the night.