Cal QB to present challenge for CU Buffs defense

Throughout his assemblage career, California backmost Chase Garbers hasn’t posted large numbers, but the elder has acquisition and has done capable to impressment Colorado caput manager Karl Dorrell.

CU (2-4, 1-2 Pac-12) volition sojourn Cal (1-5, 0-3) connected Saturday astatine Memorial Stadium successful Berkeley, Calif. (1:40 p.m., TV: Pac-12 Networks) and facing Garbers mightiness beryllium astatine the apical of the database of Dorrell’s challenges.

“The champion happening is that erstwhile you person a seasoned defence going against a seasoned backmost past that benignant of neutralizes immoderate of that, but he’s a truly bully player,” Dorrell said. “I deliberation helium manages their strategy truly well.”

Now successful his 4th play arsenic Cal’s starter, Garbers has thrown for 5,541 yards and 43 touchdowns, with 21 interceptions successful his career, portion completing 61.5 percent of his passes. This season, he’s thrown for 1,492 yards and 9 touchdowns, putting him connected gait for vocation highs successful some categories.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Garbers is besides a bully runner, with 929 yards and 9 touchdowns successful his career. College Football Hall of Famer Joe Kapp is the lone backmost successful Cal past with much rushing yards (931), but Garbers needs conscionable 3 yards to interruption that mark.

“I deliberation sometimes you tin disregard however diversion helium is conscionable due to the fact that he’s a pouch passer, but helium tin marque immoderate plays with his legs,” Dorrell said. “They bash diagnostic him astatine times successful immoderate backmost runs. So he’s multi-faceted. Plus, if you springiness them clip successful a pouch to truly spell done his progressions, he’ll find the unfastened guy. He’s a seasoned player.”

Garbers is 1 of the astir experienced quarterbacks successful the Pac-12 and helium leads the league successful mean full discourtesy (283.3 yards per game). In his career, helium is 15-14 arsenic a starter, including 15-10 erstwhile playing much than fractional the game.

CU counters with an experienced defence that is presently 2nd successful the Pac-12 successful points allowed (19.8 per game) and 4th successful yards allowed (366.3 per game). CU’s walk ratio defence is 3rd successful the conference.

“They’re precise bully defensively,” said Cal caput manager Justin Wilcox, who is simply a long-time antiaircraft coach. “That’s evident erstwhile you enactment the portion on. They’re a seasoned group. They’re a very, precise carnal front. Their antiaircraft line, their wrong linebackers and the screen guys are truly speedy and they play a batch of in-your-face man-to-man sum and get aft radical and they’ve done it versus everybody.

“They’ve done a truly bully occupation connected defence passim the season.”

The Buffs volition person to bash a bully occupation this week to bushed Garbers and the Bears, Dorrell said.

“Whenever you person a feline that’s been a multi-year starter, they’ve seen astir of the tricks of the commercialized from what defenses present,” Dorrell said. “They tin find immoderate anemic links, they tin bash a fig of things. That’s ever the biggest situation erstwhile you’re playing against a feline that’s a veteran. … He’s gonna find ways to get his accomplishment the shot and marque bully decisions; erstwhile determination is blitzes, beryllium capable to prime up blitzes and worldly similar that. So those are each truly things that we request to combat erstwhile we support a backmost similar this.”

Cal doesn’t person a high-powered offense, ranking 10th successful the league successful scoring (23.0), but the Buffs are alert of the Bears’ weapons. They person a bully moving backmost duo successful Damien Moore and Christopher Brooks and immoderate big-play imaginable astatine receiver, led by Trevon Clark (346 yards and 2 TDs connected 17 catches).

For CU, it starts with getting to Garbers, who has been sacked 13 times.

“We expect him to marque astute decisions, marque astute plays, conscionable similar immoderate different seasoned quarterback,” antiaircraft lineman Mustafa Johnson said. “The extremity is conscionable to get backmost determination to him and unreserved his decisions, marque him messiness up astatine immoderate point.”