Pro Football Focus’ grades for Cal’s performance against SMU were what you would expect – in a word, lousy. And the trend is not encouraging as the Bears’ season heads down the stretch starting with Saturday’s game at North Carolina State (3-4).
PFF provides grades for every player and each team based on metrics that evaluate each play.
Cal’s overall grade for its performance in its 59-20 loss to SMU was 51.4, which is the Bear’ worst grade this season. Cal received its second-worst grade the week before when it received a 54.2 grade against Wake Forest.
Since Wale Forest and SMU are the only ranked teams Cal has faced this season, it is not surprising that the Bears’ lowest grades came in those two losses.
But those sub-55 grades are a long way from the 78.0 grade the Bears received for their 21-18 victory over Syracuse in the second game of the sseason.
Cal’s grade of 59.1 for its offense against SMU was its second-worst of the season, better only than the 57.0 grade Cal’s offense got against Wake Forest.
Cal’s defense got a 46.0 grade for the SMU loss, and that is by far the Bears’ worst defensive grade this season and contrasts with the 81.8 grade Cal’s defense got against Syracuse.
SMU’s grade of 84.4 for it offense against Cal was easily its best offensive grade against an FBS team this season. The Mustangs scored 42 points in one half.
In short, Cal’s seaon is trending the wrong way as far as its PFF grades.
The highest graded Cal player this past weekend was wide receiver Ian Strong, although his 67.7 grade is rather low to be the best on the team. Plus Strong was on the field for only 41 of Cal’s 68 offensive plays, suggesting injuries might have limited his playing time.
Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele had a great first half against SMU and a mediocre second half, resulting in an overall grade of 61.0, which well below the 77.9 grade SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings received for that game.
The Mustangs’ top graded player against Cal was running back Kendrick Raphael, Cal’s leading rusher last season. Raphael received a grade of 82.1 for his SMU performance against Cal when he rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns and caught a 22-yard touchdown pass.
Cal’s top-graded defensive players against SMU were all defensive backs, although all of them had grades below 70.
Cornerback Jae’on Young (68.4), cornerback Daniel Harris (68.1), cornerback Cam Sidney (67.9) and safety Khamani Hudson (64.9) were the highest-graded Cal defenders.
Safety Kingston Lopa has been the Bears’ highest-graded player all season, but managed just a 57.5 grade against SMU.
For the season, Lopa remains Cal’s highest rated player at his position. His national PFF ranking has dropped to No. 60 among safeties with an overall grade of 79.3, but he still ranks third in the country in pass coverage among safeties with a grade of 79.7.
The only other Cal players ranked among the top 100 at their positions are Adam Mohammed, who is 91st among running backs, and Bastian Swinney, who is 82nd among centers.
Mohammed has missed the past four games with an injury, and Swinney was not available for the SMU game because of an injury.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele ranks 128th nationally among quarterbacks in PFF’s grading system.
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