Reducing ‘controllable mistakes’ a big key for Cal Bears heading into stretch of five straight games against Top-25 teams

The Bears face No. 15 Oregon State on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium looking to build off their win over Arizona State.

BERKELEY — Cal coach Justin Wilcox, whose team faces 15th-ranked Oregon State on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium, isn’t waiting for the Bears to deliver a perfect performance.

“I’ve been coaching or playing for quite a while now and I’ve yet to see that game,” he said.

But if the Bears (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) hope to prevail against the Beavers (4-1, 1-1) in the first of five straight games against Top-25 opponents they will need to reduce the number of self-inflicted wounds.

Those have popped up everywhere during the first five games, although the Bears hope they have resolved kicking-game shortcomings after a successful debut last week by freshman Mateen Bhathani.

Elsewhere, there were mistakes that could have been costly against an opponent better than Arizona State (1-4, 0-2).

On offense, two penalties wiped out runs of 32 and 16 yards by quarterback Sam Jackson V.

And on defense, blown assignments on three plays — mental, not physical mistakes — allowed the Sun Devils gains of 66, 52 and 30 yards. That’s 148 yards on three snaps; ASU averaged 3.9 yards on its remaining 69 plays.

Wilcox, referring to those as “controllable mistakes,” said fixing the problem is simple but not easy. “It’s a matter of us doing our job,” he said.

WEEKLY QB QUESTION: Sophomore Sam Jackson V started and played the entire game last week in the Bears’ 24-21 win over Arizona State, the first Cal quarterback to pitch a complete game this season.

Part of the reason for that may have been because Ben Finley was held out of more than one practice last week after getting banged up at Washington. Finley is available to face Oregon State, but Wilcox was not tipping his hand on a starter during his weekly news conference.

“Well, I don’t know,” Wilcox said with a laugh. “I do know. We have a plan, and maybe we’ll talk about it later in the week, maybe we won’t.”

Jackson was just 12 for 29 for 130 yards with a touchdown against ASU, but he played turnover-free football.

WHEN MORE IS LESS: Cal ranks second nationally in offensive plays per game at 79.8, just behind Penn State at 80.6. And while coaches typically appreciate controlling the ball, Cal offensive coordinator Jake Spavital says he’d swap a few snaps for more explosiveness.

He cites as an example the Bears’ 18-play, 74-yard drive late in the ASU game with Cal nursing a three-point lead, which ended without a point when Jaydn Ott was stopped on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1.

“If you look at that 18-play drive, we were just hammering the ball,” he said. “It’s showing that we’re moving the ball but we’re not being explosive. That’s where the pass game’s got to come into play.”

Cal is second in the Pac-12 and 12th nationally in rushing offense at 212.6 yards per game but just 10th in the conference and 89th in passing at 217.8.

RETURNING HOME: Tight end Jermaine Terry II played two seasons for Cal before transferring to Oregon State in the offseason. The Richmond native and former four-star prospect at Kennedy High told the Oregonian this week that he’s looking forward to a trip home to play in front of family and friends, but holds no ill will toward the Bears.

“I enjoyed my time there. I don’t regret any bit of it. I definitely was able to grow as a man, as a player, as a person,” Terry said. “I just felt the time was right for me, to go somewhere wanting to grow as a player, as a student. It was nothing against those guys at all.”

TEDFORD SALUTES EX-BEAR: Vei Moala, who played three seasons (2011-13) along the defensive line for Cal, died last week at the age of 30, following an illness. Moala was a five-star prospect out of Grant High in Sacramento, one of the nation’s top recruits in the fall if 2010.

Former Cal coach Jeff Tedford, whose Fresno State is 5-0 and ranked No. 24 in the AP Top-25, said he was saddened to hear the news about Moala.

“He was a big, physical, imposing figure, a guy I loved being around every day,” Tedford said in a phone interview. “Seemed like he was always happy, always had a smile on his face. I was always really happy he was part of our program.”