Cal vs. Arizona: Three keys to the Wildcats taking down the Bears

Hello, and welcome back to Three Keys!

Last week, I was unable to post three keys thanks to me getting three stitches put in my right index finger, and more importantly, Reno has not produced a good band.

This week, my stitches are gone, and Berkeley is a hard choice for bands to go with. It came down to Counting Crows and Green Day for me, and although I personally like Counting Crows better, we are going to go with the American Idiots.

I am here to make sure you have the time of your life reading the three keys to an Arizona Wildcats victory over Cal.

1. Wake Me Up When September Ends

There were probably a lot of Arizona fans saying that when looking at the schedule. But that's definitely not the case anymore. After having the last games decided by a total of ten points, no one is taking anything for granted at this point. Expect another close one as the Wildcats look to close out September with a 4-0 record, and having survived three legitimate tests to build this team up before its toughest opponent of the year coming up in a little under two weeks.

2. 21 Guns

I tweeted out before last game that we were expecting to see a little more Tra'Mayne Bondurant, and we did, but it was mainly on special teams. With an offense like Cal's, it seems as though we're going to get a lot more of No. 21 on the defensive side of the ball as Arizona uses packages with six or seven defensive backs.

Bondurant's return is highly anticipated as this defense has only forced two turnovers through the first three games. Through three games last year, Bondurant had three interceptions by himself, two of those touchdowns. The Wildcats' defense is sorely missing a guy like him, and hopefully Cal's offensive scheme forces RichRod and coach Casteel to send Tra'Mayne out there a lot.

3. Hitchin' a Ride

Cal is currently ranked first in the Pac-12 in rushing yards allowed per game at 112.5. With the apparent return of Terris Jones-Grigsby and with the greatness Nick Wilson has shown so far, this could be a good litmus test for the run game. One thing that Cal has failed to do is get tackles for losses (95th in FBS), so I would expect to see a steady dose of Wilson throughout the game, and the offensive line continuing their success with run blocking.