Despite covering the spread exactly – Cal was a 13 to 14 point favorite at most places this week – the 27-13 victory over #5 FCS UC Davis wasn’t the kind of inspiring performance many teams hope for in their opener, nor did it do very much to make anyone feel differently about the season projections, which are mostly hovering at the 5 to 7 win range.
That is not to say that there were no improvements from last year’s team shown in this game. Chase Garbers and the rest of the receivers showed a vertical dimension not present at any point in 2018.