Cal found a little quarterback rarity this week, and it comes with Jackson Brousseau’s name on it.
Brousseau, who made his first start for the Bears on Saturday, was selected as one of eight Manning Stars of the Week after helping Cal beat Virginia Tech 25-20. He finished 29 of 43 for 321 yards and a touchdown without an interception.
That gives Cal two different quarterbacks earning the honor this season. Earlier in the year, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was named a Manning Star of the Week for his performance against Wagner.
Sagapolutele’s status for Cal’s Saturday night home game against No. 21 Wake Forest is still up in the air as he works back from a concussion he suffered against UNLV. If he can’t go, Brousseau would be in line for a second straight start.
Wake Forest brings its own quarterback recognition into the matchup. Gio Lopez also made this week’s Manning Stars list after going 26-for-33 for 303 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, while adding 10 rushing yards in the Demon Deacons’ 38-14 win over North Carolina State.
The rest of this week’s Manning Stars list includes Bradon Atkinson of Oregon State, Bear Bachmeier of BYU, Blake Baker of Louisiana Tech, Jeremy Hecklinski of Iowa, Tayven Jackson of North Texas and LaNorris Sellers of South Carolina.
Wake Forest arrives in Berkeley playing like one of the ACC’s sharpest teams outside of Miami. The Demon Deacons have won their last two games, rolling past Stanford and North Carolina State by a combined 95-17.
One week before that stretch, they went on the road and knocked off then-No. 16 Louisville, 30-27.
Their lone loss came against Miami, and even there, Wake Forest stayed competitive before falling 33-20.
In Other News...
Cal Defense Faces A Brutal Test Against Wake Forest's QB
Cals defense is bracing for one of its toughest assignments yet with Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez coming into view this week. Tosh Lupoi and his staff have spent the buildup stressing the same point: Lopez can beat a defense in more than one way, with the kind of passing accuracy that keeps drives alive and the rushing ability that punishes any lapse in contain. For a Cal group that has had trouble handling the run this season, that makes the prep as much about discipline as it is about scheme.
Lupoi and the Bears have talked about mixing looks and staying sound across the board, because Lopez is the sort of quarterback who can turn a single breakdown into a long night. Cal knows it cannot afford to get pulled out of position chasing one part of Wake Forests offense while the other part keeps moving the chains, and the challenge now is translating that recognition into a defense that holds up for four quarters. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Defense Faces Its Toughest Test Yet Against Wake Forest
Wake Forests staff is already treating Cals defense like the standard it will have to measure itself against this week, with head coach Jake Dickert praising the Bears before the matchup and framing the unit as the toughest one the Demon Deacons have seen since Miami. That kind of respect fits the way Cal has played on that side of the ball, where Tosh Lupois group has shown real bite in pass coverage and a knack for attacking the football while making opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable.
The challenge now is less about recognition and more about matchups, because Wake Forest brings a mobile quarterback in Gio Lopez who can change the geometry of a play when the pocket breaks down. Lupoi has acknowledged that the Bears have been strong against dropback passers, but the moving parts that come with scrambling quarterbacks create a different test, and one Cal will have to handle better if it wants its defense to keep the same edge it has shown so far. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Faces A Telling Test Against One Of The ACC's Hottest Teams
Wake Forest arrives in Berkeley riding a three-game winning streak and carrying the kind of profile that makes this a useful measuring stick for California. The No. 21 Demon Deacons sit near the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference, so Saturday night gives Cal a chance to see how its recent win stacks up against one of the leagues hottest teams.
For California, the matchup comes with some extra moving parts after injuries have forced adjustments on the offensive side. The Bears will have to sort through those changes against a Wake Forest team that has been in good form and has already shown it can make opponents pay when things get rolling, which is exactly what makes this one worth watching in Berkeley. [Read more 🡒]