Inside Slant

The Sports Xchange

November 20, 2018 at 10:39 pm.

Rested Cal to host reeling Colorado

Lingering smoke and poor air quality from Northern California’s wildfires forced the first postponement of the Stanford-Cal “Big Game” in 55 years.

That also means a surging Golden Bears team had another bye week of sorts before hosting Pac-12 foe Colorado at 4 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

Colorado (5-6, 2-6 Pac-12) has had a bizarre season, dropping six in a row after winning five consecutive games to start 2018. Buffaloes coach Mike MacIntyre was fired over the weekend and will not take part at Cal as offensive coordinator Kurt Roper will serve as interim coach.

Cal, meanwhile, has earned two upset wins in its past three games — 12-10 over Washington at home and 15-14 over USC on the road (its first win at the Los Angeles Coliseum since 2000).

This game will be the regular season finale for the Buffaloes, who can become bowl eligible with a victory. Cal (6-4, 3-4 Pac-12), which clinched its bowl eligibility by beating USC, entertains Stanford in the remake of the “Big Game” at noon PT on Dec. 1.

“First and foremost our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the tragic California wildfires,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox wrote in a Twitter post, referring to the many victims of the Camp Fire in Butte County.

“While we realized the importance of the Big Game right now, our thoughts are centered around so many who have been so deeply affected.”

Cal’s defense has been the driving force behind its resurgence. The Washington upset, for example, featured a win without an offensive touchdown for the Golden Bears.

The Buffaloes have been steamrolled 31-7 by No. 8 Washington State and 30-7 by No. 19 Utah. Colorado has not won a Pac-12 road game this season. Tailback Travon McMillian has 951 rushing yards with seven touchdowns.

Cal, meanwhile, relies on steady senior Patrick Laird, who has 771 rushing yards and five touchdowns this season. While the Golden Bears have switched between quarterbacks Chase Garbers and Brandon McIlwain this year, Garbers has taken the helm full time. In fact, there was speculation McIlwain could spend time at wide receiver against Stanford.