Cal Players to Watch against Oregon

Jared Goff-Quarterback

Sep 14, 2013; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears quarterback Jared Goff (16) tries to avoid being tackled by Ohio State Buckeyes defensive lineman Noah Spence (8) in the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Seeing Goff on this list seems like the kind of thing that is going to happen on a weekly basis, especially during a season that is dithering between living up to potential (something Cal has a lot of) and playing down to inexperience (unfortunately something else Cal has an excess of). And when you have a team like that, which can go either way, the performance of the quarterback is going to be the biggest factor in determining if the team is going to be a success (and live up to potential) or a failure (and play down to their inexperience).

Goff averages over 400 yards passing and two touchdowns per game and, while those numbers are great for any quarterback (much less a true freshman), they may not be enough for a win over a team like Oregon. All things considered, I think Oregon is the best team in the nation, they are nearly perfect at all phases of the game, and in order to even put a scare into them, Cal needs to play its best game and need to beat Oregon and to do that, Goff has to play error-free.