Evans Hall’s problems don’t look mysterious anymore. They look measurable.
The latest Cal breakdown leans hard on HudlIQ and uses Rainer Maria Rilke’s letters as a frame, but the football message is plain enough: the Bears have real issues in the run game, some uneven work in pass protection, and a defense that’s steadier against the pass than it is when opponents start handing the ball off.
The piece opens by borrowing from Rilke’s advice to Franz Xaver Kappus, then turns that inward toward HC Lupoi and the program’s own standards. The point is simple: there are no outside fixes coming.
No trade deadline. No free agents.
No playbook swap from EA College Football that magically makes everything click. If this team is going to improve, it has to do it inside its own structure.
One of the first places the analysis goes is effort, especially along the lines. On the offensive side, the run game has not produced much at all.
Using HudlIQ tracking of every Cal run carry in the 2026 season, the report says the results are “sad.” Cal has not had a carry where the runner was untouched before the 10-yard line, the average carry is basically met at the line of scrimmage, and the team is getting less than the national mean in yards after contact once contact arrives.
The addition of Adam Mohammed hasn’t changed that picture in the ground game. The offensive line still isn’t showing enough as a run-blocking unit.
Pass protection, though, gets a more measured grade. The report calls 2026 Cal pass protection “not bad,” just “around mediocre.”
The biggest problem appears to be the C gap between the right tackle and tight end, a rough spot made trickier because JKS is a left-handed quarterback who is showing signs of a sophomore slump. A bad snap, like Vatikani getting blown up on a sack against Clemson in a DT/DE stunt, still shows up in the conversation, but the report says those issues aren’t as frequent as they were in 2025.
Defensively, the run game has been a sore spot too. The Bears are described as slightly below average in tackling metrics against the run, with busts showing up in every game. The examples are spread across the schedule: UCLA, Wagner’s big QB scramble that helped set up its only touchdown, Syracuse’s opening run, and Clemson’s final TD.
The passing game on defense gets better marks than the run defense, and that’s where the report says Cal has been able to put a stamp on opposing offenses. Still, the team could do a better job cutting down on drive success rate, and the rushing numbers remain too high in chunk percentage and yards per rush.
On offense, ball placement is another major issue. The report says JKS has repeatedly missed receivers high and to his left, and that pattern may help explain why Ian Strong’s production has been limited. A lot of Strong’s targets have been vertical misses, with the quarterback seemingly trying to place him in contested-catch situations that have looked far less like a 50/50 ball and more like a “1/10 case” right now.
There are some brighter individual notes. Kingston Lopa is credited with having a good season, though the report adds an important caveat: that comes with issues in his coverage.
He can be a ball hawk, but when he allows a catch or misses a run tackle, the result tends to be costly. Ricky Fletcher and Damien Harris are also said to be having really good seasons.
Even so, the report notes that the best quarterback Cal has faced throwing the ball is Nico Iamaeava.
The broader offensive picture is still grim. The report says Cal offense is “offensive?”
and adds that, outside of sack percentage, there isn’t much to praise anywhere else. Formation usage offers one possible path forward, though.
The offense has been more effective out of 3x2 empty sets and from 12 personnel looks, while 21 personnel has not produced good results. Cal is using 11 and 12 personnel more than the rest of the field, and the report suggests there’s efficiency to be found in empty 3x2 looks with 1 RB and 2 TEs, because that setup gets the best pass catchers on the field and gives JKS a cleaner chance to identify and commit to his throws.
The closing takeaway is blunt. There is “a lot, a lot” left to be desired from the coaching staff.
The report says HudlIQ has made the scheme issues easier to see, but the burden now sits with the team to solve them. The list of priorities is clear: better protection from JKS’ blind side, cleaner run fits and tackling, sharper placement toward Ian Strong, and some kind of schematic wrinkle from empty 3x2 sets that can turn into reliable success.
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