Cal Football: 3 takeaways from big win over Ole Miss in SEC country

2. The Cal running game was basically nonexistent in Oxford

The fact that Cal is now 4-0 has largely occurred despite their rushing attack. Entering their Week 4 contest against Ole Miss, the Golden Bears had actually done a decent job running the ball. Christopher Brown Jr. sat in the top 20 nationally in both total rushing yards and yards per game, while Cal sat a respectable-enough 48th in the FBS with an average of 191 yards per game.

That all changed on Saturday in Oxford, as the Golden Bears struggled to move the football effectively against a strong Ole Miss defensive front. With just 26 yards on 16 carries in the first half, Cal’s rushing attack offered little protection to Garbers and the passing game. That makes what Garbers was able to do for the Golden Bears all the more impressive, considering the Rebels effectively challenged the Cal quarterback to beat them with his arm.

In the second half, things weren’t much better for the Golden Bears. Marcel Dancy stepped up to finish the game with 47 yards on 12 carries. Brown, though, struggled as he ran eight times for just 11 yards. As a team, Cal finished with only 60 yards on the ground, falling more than 130 yards below their season average to date. They will need to rediscover their ground game moving forward to have a shot at Pac-12 contention in 2019.