Cal Players to Watch against Washington State

The Running Backs (Brendan Bigelow, Daniel Lasco and Khaifani Muhammad)

Aug 31, 2013; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears running back Daniel Lasco (2) carries the ball against Northwestern Wildcats safety Jimmy Hall (9) during the third quarter at Memorial Stadium. Northwestern won 44-30. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

To put it frankly, the running game has been pathetic this season. To be honest, not all of it is on the running backs, as much of the problem lies with the offensive line. That said, these guys have got to get going as a group in order to make some noise from this point on.

The season was rife with high expectations for Brendan Bigelow and Daniel Lasco, and yet they (along with the rest of the running backs) have rushed for 505 yards and four touchdowns. Through four games, that is horrible. I already made this clear before, but I guess to reiterate, Cal must rush well to win the game this weekend. Fact is, that starts with these three men.

Bigelow, who removed his knee brace yesterday, may be ready to be the explosive back we’ve been wating for him to be since this season started. Lasco is by far one of the players with the highest upside on this team, and it just will take one good game to spring him towards that untapped potential. This duo must perform against a tough, but not unbeatable, front seven for the Cougars.