California Golden Bears Athletics
The Bears' offensive line gets its flowers following Cal's 25-20 win over Virginia Tech.
Photo by: Mike Wondolowski
Belief Down The Line
10/11/2026 6:00 PM | Football, Inside The Lair, Inside Cal Football
Cal's O-Line Is Hungry For More
By the nature of the positions they play, offensive linemen typically get recognized only when they make mistakes.
The credit for long gains and touchdowns usually goes to quarterbacks, running backs and/or receivers.
O-linemen take the blame for sacks and holding penalties but rarely enjoy the spotlight when an offense clicks.
Well, let it be said that Cal's offensive line deserved a lot of praise for its performance in the Bears' 25-20 victory over visiting Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon.
"No one blinked. No one ever doubted. It was all about belief," center Bastian Swinney said in an interview Sunday afternoon.
The Hokies' Kemari Copeland sacked Jackson Brousseau on third down on the game's first series. For the final 58 minutes, Brousseau remained upright.
Brousseau threw for 321 yards as the Bears amassed 403 yards of total offense. In the Hokies' previous two games, they allowed 261 yards to Boston College and 295 to Pitt.
Swinney and the four other starting O-linemen – Michael Klisiewicz, Tyson Ruffins, Sioape Vatikani and Frederick Williams III – gave "us proper time to distribute that ball," Travers Family Head Football Coach Tosh Lupoi said in his postgame news conference. "When we execute, it looks a certain way – and for the most part, we executed to a high level."
"Our O-line played an amazing game," said running back Carson Perry-Smith, who caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brousseau with 4:06 left to give the Bears a 19-14 lead. "It starts with Bastian Swinney...
"He's just a standup guy. He really led us to be able to be in those hard moments and come back and just fight the entire game."
The O-line has received criticism this season and it allowed four sacks in the Bears' 39-31 loss at UNLV on Oct. 3. Swinney said he and his fellow O-linemen did a bit of soul searching heading into the matchup with Virginia Tech.
"We were talking about, who do you want to be as an individual? Even outside of football, what type of guy do you want to be?" Swinney said. "So, this whole week was really focused on mindset and I think that played a big part in our performance on Saturday.
"The guys were just bought into, 'OK, I want to be a guy that helps the team win. I want to be part of the reason that we win.' So, I'm really proud of the way the guys stepped up this week and responded to the challenge."
An alum of Edina High in Minnesota, Swinney owns a definitive perspective on the Cal program. He's in his sixth season with the Bears.
"I'd like to think that I'm a leader of the position group, of the offense collectively and a leader on the team as well," Swinney said. "I wouldn't say we have one leader on the team. Leadership can come from anywhere.
"I have noticed that I can fire guys up a bit, so I'm trying to get a lot better with my leadership, filling that role. It's an honor. I'm really happy to be able to do that for all my time here at Cal. There's nothing I wouldn't give to this institution."
Swinney must be a pretty good recruiter for Cal; his brother Meyer is a redshirt freshman wide receiver for the Bears.
Bastian was proud of what the O-linemen did against Virginia Tech and he hopes it can be a springboard for the second half of the season.
"We're trying to get better every single day," Swinney said. "So, there are always improvements that can be made no matter how good of a game we have. We're a hungry group and we want to continue to build off of what we've done.
"So, yeah, not being satisfied is the main thing for us."
The credit for long gains and touchdowns usually goes to quarterbacks, running backs and/or receivers.
O-linemen take the blame for sacks and holding penalties but rarely enjoy the spotlight when an offense clicks.
Well, let it be said that Cal's offensive line deserved a lot of praise for its performance in the Bears' 25-20 victory over visiting Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon.
"No one blinked. No one ever doubted. It was all about belief," center Bastian Swinney said in an interview Sunday afternoon.
The Hokies' Kemari Copeland sacked Jackson Brousseau on third down on the game's first series. For the final 58 minutes, Brousseau remained upright.
Brousseau threw for 321 yards as the Bears amassed 403 yards of total offense. In the Hokies' previous two games, they allowed 261 yards to Boston College and 295 to Pitt.
Swinney and the four other starting O-linemen – Michael Klisiewicz, Tyson Ruffins, Sioape Vatikani and Frederick Williams III – gave "us proper time to distribute that ball," Travers Family Head Football Coach Tosh Lupoi said in his postgame news conference. "When we execute, it looks a certain way – and for the most part, we executed to a high level."
"Our O-line played an amazing game," said running back Carson Perry-Smith, who caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brousseau with 4:06 left to give the Bears a 19-14 lead. "It starts with Bastian Swinney...
"He's just a standup guy. He really led us to be able to be in those hard moments and come back and just fight the entire game."
The O-line has received criticism this season and it allowed four sacks in the Bears' 39-31 loss at UNLV on Oct. 3. Swinney said he and his fellow O-linemen did a bit of soul searching heading into the matchup with Virginia Tech.
"We were talking about, who do you want to be as an individual? Even outside of football, what type of guy do you want to be?" Swinney said. "So, this whole week was really focused on mindset and I think that played a big part in our performance on Saturday.
"The guys were just bought into, 'OK, I want to be a guy that helps the team win. I want to be part of the reason that we win.' So, I'm really proud of the way the guys stepped up this week and responded to the challenge."
An alum of Edina High in Minnesota, Swinney owns a definitive perspective on the Cal program. He's in his sixth season with the Bears.
"I'd like to think that I'm a leader of the position group, of the offense collectively and a leader on the team as well," Swinney said. "I wouldn't say we have one leader on the team. Leadership can come from anywhere.
"I have noticed that I can fire guys up a bit, so I'm trying to get a lot better with my leadership, filling that role. It's an honor. I'm really happy to be able to do that for all my time here at Cal. There's nothing I wouldn't give to this institution."
Swinney must be a pretty good recruiter for Cal; his brother Meyer is a redshirt freshman wide receiver for the Bears.
Bastian was proud of what the O-linemen did against Virginia Tech and he hopes it can be a springboard for the second half of the season.
"We're trying to get better every single day," Swinney said. "So, there are always improvements that can be made no matter how good of a game we have. We're a hungry group and we want to continue to build off of what we've done.
"So, yeah, not being satisfied is the main thing for us."
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