Oregon Football vs California Golden Bears: Three Things I’ll Be Watching

Oregon Football struggled on the road last week and needs to regain their momentum against a Cal Defense that will be up for the challenge.

Both Oregon and Cal are coming off their first respective loss of the season. More importantly, a loss within the Pac-12 Conference. The team that is victorious on Saturday night will have a leg up entering the month of October. Oregon Football was off to a 3-0 start before losing last weekend at Arizona State. The team did not look like themselves and were unable to find their ground game.

Royce Freeman Will Need To Be Royce Freeman

Running Back Royce Freeman was held under 100 yards per game for the first time this season against Arizona State. Freeman ended the game with 85 yards. The Oregon Offensive Line had trouble throughout the game with calling plays which means the crowd had an influence on the game. Home field Advantage is still a big part of the game, despite several games the last few years at Autzen Stadium, but with a new season brings a new advantage.

The Oregon Defense Will Need To Continue Learning

Defensive Coordinator Jim Leavitt will need time to build his style of Defense for Oregon Football. The building blocks for 2017 are starting to make some noise with Jalen Jelks and Troy Dye both having experience to go with big plays from last week. Jelks played out of his mind on the Defensive Line and newcomers Thomas Graham Jr and Nick Pickett are finding their stride a third of the way through the season. On many occasions last weekend the Defense had the option to bend or break and for the most part got it right.

Can The Defensive Secondary Pass The Cal Bears Test?

With Cal finding success down the field, the Oregon Secondary will be tested more than once on Saturday and they will need to take a page out of their own book from two weeks ago when they were the top team in the nation when it came to Defending the Pass.

Next: Pac-12 After Dark: Washington State Upsets USC

Our pregame from Autzen Stadium will begin at 6pm Pacific Time. Oregon and Cal tipoff at 7:30pm PT on Fox Sports 1 .