Cal football Q&A: Wilcox says fans are right, they should be unhappy with Golden Bears’ season so far
Dating to 1912, Saturday will be the 110th meeting between Cal and USC. But it could be the last meeting in quite some time with the teams headed to the ACC and Big Ten, respectively.
BERKELEY — Another possible “last time” awaits the Cal football team Saturday afternoon when century-old rival USC visits Memorial Stadium in the final matchup before the programs head off to new conference addresses next season.
Dating to 1912, this will be the 110th meeting between the Bears (3-4, 1-3 Pac-12) and Trojans (6-2, 4-1), who have slid to No. 24 in the latest AP Top-25 after back-to-back losses to Notre Dame and Utah.
This could be the last meeting in quite some time between Cal and USC, headed to the ACC and Big Ten, respectively.
“It’s really sad, you know, and kind of shameful, the way this whole thing went down,” Wilcox said of the dissolution of the Pac-12, whose members will play in four different conferences beginning next fall.
Wilcox is focused this week on the Trojans as the Bears try to end a two-game skid and avoid a 14th consecutive losing conference season — their seventh under Wilcox’s watch. They will have to win four of their final five games to achieve that.
But with a bye last week, at the halfway point of Cal’s gauntlet against four straight Top-25 opponents, Wilcox took the time to discuss a season that has no one happy.
Q: What is your response to fans grumbling on social media?
Wilcox: “Shoot, they should be (unhappy). Everybody wants to win, obviously. I understand that — that comes with the job. They go to games and cheer on the team. Every fan base wants and deserves wins. Unfortunately, we haven’t done that enough.”
Q: What aspect of this season has been most disappointing?
Wilcox: “We lost three games that really had a number of opportunities to win, starting with Auburn. Oregon State, I felt like there were a number of chances for us, if we performed better, to win that game. Even last week (at Utah), I really feel that way.
“The efficiency in doing our job on the routine plays, we’re not making those at a high enough rate. You’re probably never going to be 100 percent but I think we can be much better there.”
Q: How do you evaluate redshirt freshman quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who moved ahead of Sam Jackson V and Ben Finley, and has thrown two touchdowns in each of his two games as the starter?
Wilcox: “Finding some stability at the quarterback position is a positive. I think Fernando has done a nice job in his opportunities. The program believes in him.”
Q: The defense has zero sacks in four Pac-12 games. What can be done about that?
Wilcox: “I’ve got to do a better job of finding answers for the guys. If that means more technique work for them or if it means rotating them more often, or we’ve got to play more zero blitz than maybe you think is appropriate to get to the quarterback. When you start trading in scheme, there’s give and take with that. If we zero more often, you’re going to be in man and now you’ve got to make those one-on-one plays in coverage if the ball gets out, which it can. You’re constantly living in that gray area. Ultimately, we’ve got to make that decision.”
Q: You talked about doing a self-scout during the bye week. Does that involve evaluating the performance of the coaching staff, including yourself?
Wilcox: “That’s what the self-scout is all about. What are we doing well? What aren’t we doing well? How do we need to coach this better? Before it ever gets to the players, the self-scout starts with the coaches. You start at 10,000 feet and then you go all the way down. And really the last portion is personnel.”
Q: We have seen some frustration from you this season. Are you feeling that?
Wilcox: “Things get hard and it does get frustrating at times and you don’t want the frustrations to cloud the mission. It doesn’t mean emotions aren’t valid. It’s an emotional game and we’re competitive people and it should hurt and it should string when you lose. I would be lying if I said I don’t feel those things because I do. I have to do a better job of having to move on from that but I guess I don’t apologize for emotions.”
Q: What are your conversations like with athletic director Jim Knowlton?
Wilcox: “He expects us to win like I do. I understand exactly where he’s coming from. He has a job and my job is to coach the football team and I answer to him and the chancellor. The conversations are good, but he’s my boss. We have to do better — I know that.”
Q: What do you expect from your team over the final five games?
“The league is exceptional this year — not even close in our time here. We get to line up and compete against SC (this) weekend. They’ve got the returning Heisman Trophy winner (Caleb Williams). That’s an amazing opportunity for us. I expect our guys to prepare really well during the week and compete like crazy on Saturday.”