California Golden Bears - Football

California Golden Bears - Football

Nov. 5, 1997

Cal's Bobby Shaw faces Top 20 Pass Defense

The biggest match-up this Saturday may well be Cal receiver Bobby Shaw, who hopes to set both the school career and single-season receiving records, against one of the nation's top passing defenses in Arizona State. The Sun Devils arnak 18th nationally in pass defense, despite the fact that Washington State passed for 447 yards against them last week in a 44-31 loss to ASU in Tempe. Safety Mitchell Friedman is the head-liner for the Sun Devils and he came up big last week when he sacked WSU QB Ryan Leaf and caused a fumble that was picked up and returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to clinch a victory. Senior cornerback Jason Simmons is also considered a standout and he'll be given the duties for the most part of trailing Shaw. Shaw needs just 2 catches to set Cal's all-time receiving record (currently 167 by Brian Treggs) while he needs 5 catches to set Cal's single season record (65 by Sean Dawkins). After suffering a badly bruised rib against UCLA and playing at far less than 100 percent against Oregon State last week, Shaw appears back in full health as he fully participated in Wednesday's contract drills during a Cal practice in Berkeley.

Below are where the Cal and Arizona State team and key individuals stand in the currennt NCAA statitics. 

NCAA Team Statistics
                                California          Arizona State
Rushing Offense             57th T (148.8 ypg)    30th (179.9 ypg)
Passing Offense             23rd (263.9 ypg)      54th (207.4.9 ypg)
Total Offense               30th (412.6 ypg)      41st (387.3 ypg)
Scoring Offense             48th T (27.0 ppg)     52nd (26.4 ppg)
Rushing Defense             51st (142.6 ypg)      16th (101.6 ypg)
Pass Efficiency Defense     82nd (133.1 rating)   18th (102.7 rating)
Total Defense               69th (374.5 ypg)      32nd (328.4 ypg)
Scoring Defense             92nd (31.1 ppg)       14th (15.4 ppg) Turnover Margin 66th T (- .13 topg)   19th T (+.88 topg)

NCAA Individual Statistics
            California                                          Arizona State
Justin Vedder - 37th pass eff. (131.7 rating)       J.R. Redmond - 49th rushing (83.2 ypg)
Justin Vedder - 18th total off. (256.8 ypg)         J.R. Redmond - 14th all-purpose rush (157.4 ypg)
Bobby Shaw - 4th T receiving (7.6 rpg)              J.R. Redmond - 32nd punt returns (10.5 ypr)
Bobby Shaw - 4th rec. yds (118.5 ypg)               Lenzie Jackson - 38th T receiving (5.1 rpg)
Bobby Shaw - 38th all-purpose rush (126.6 ypg)      Lenzie Jackson - 49th receiving yds (71.8 ypg)
Deltha O'Neal - 28th all-purpose rush (132.9 ypr)   Robert Nycz - 10th T field goals (1.5 fgpg)
Deltha O'Neal - 35th punt returns (10.4 ypr)        Robert Nycz - 42nd scoring (7.4 ppg)
Nick Harris - 40th punting (42.2 ypp)               Marcus Williams - 24th punting (43.6 ypp)