Cal Football: Bears Defense Now Worst in School History

It's safe to say that a 62-28 loss to the USC Trojans was not what Sonny Dykes wanted for his birthday. The Cal Bears are now 1-9 and have no wins over FBS teams. A leaky defense has been the issue all season long, and allowing the Trojans to score 62 points epitomized the Bears' struggles. 

The last time USC scored more than 60 points was in 2008, when Pete Carroll's team put up 69 against Washington State. With the loss to the Trojans, Cal has now allowed opponents to score a total of 447 points this season.  

Since the 1916 season, the unofficial beginning of Cal football, no Cal team had given up more than 431 points in a season. The former record was held by the 2001 Cal Bears team, which finished their season with a 1-10 record. Now, having played only 10 games so far, the 2013 Cal Bears have already broken that record. Sonny Dykes' team still must face Colorado and Stanford to finish off the season.

Throughout Sonny Dykes' first season as head coach of Cal, the Bears have consistently allowed opponents to score more than their season average. The only exceptions are Arizona and Portland State, an FCS team that still managed to put 30 points on the board. 

Opponent	Points Against Cal	Season Average
Northwestern	44	28.0
Portland State (FCS)	30	33.6
Ohio State	52	48.2
@ Oregon	55	51.7
Washington State	44	29.8
@ UCLA	37	36.6
Oregon State	49	37.2
@ Washington	41	37.2
Arizona	33	34.8
USC	62	29.0

It doesn't stop there for the woeful Cal defense. Out of 125 Division I FBS football programs, the Bears rank among the worst in the nation in several defensive categories.

Category		Rank
Scoring Defense	44.7 Points/Game	123rd
Rushing Defense	195.60 Yards/Game	96th
Passing Defense	331.1 Yards/Game	125th
Total Defense	526.7 Yards/Game	123rd
Opponent First Downs	24.9 First Downs/Game	120th
Opponent 4th Down Conversion Rate	60.00%	93rd
Opponent Red Zone Touchdown Rate	67.44%	96th
Opponent Red Zone Scoring Rate	86.05%	90th
Opponent Rushing Plays of 20+ Yards	25 Plays	122nd
Opponent Passing Plays of 50+ Yards	9 Plays	123rd

Statistically, this year's Bears team may be the worst in school history; however, injuries have plagued the defense. Furthermore, having an extremely difficult schedule doesn't help their cause. According to Jeff Sagarin's strength of schedule rankings, Cal's schedule is currently the fifth toughest in the nation.

Despite the historical low that Cal reached against USC, the Bears have one last chance to salvage their 2013 season. As unlikely as it seems, an upset over what will likely be a Top Five Stanford team in the Big Game on November 23 would turn a forgettable season into one of the most memorable in school history.