By the numbers: No. 5 Utah vs. No. 23 Cal


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SALT LAKE CITY — No. 5 Utah hosts No. 23 Cal in a high-profile Pac-12 matchup that will be televised by ESPN Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

It's the second straight Top 25 matchup for the Utes, who previously defeated No. 13 Oregon 62-20.

Here is a statistical look at the matchup between the Utes and the Golden Bears:

Jared Goff may be the best QB Utah will face all season

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham has a ton of respect for Cal's signal caller. "He is a tremendous talent," Whittingham said. "He might be the first quarterback taken in the [NFL] draft."

Just how good is Goff? He currently leads the Pac-12 in both touchdown passes (15, tied for third in NCAA) and passing yards (1,630, No. 7 NCAA), while also ranking among the league leaders and country's top 10 in passer efficiency rating (170.5, No. 2 Pac-12, No. 7 NCAA) and completion percentage (125-178, 70.2 percent, No. 3 Pac-12, No. 8 NCAA).

Where Goff stands out from the pack is the deep ball, where he is 19-26 (73 percent) on passes that have traveled 20 or more yards, the best by far of any college quarterback in the nation.

Photo credit: profootballfocus.com

Cal has surrendered 12 sacks on the season

Utah cannot let receivers get open like it did in Week 1 against Michigan, or Goff will make the Utes pay.

The key will be to get pressure on him and force mistakes, and Utah has historically been known for a dominant pass rush (after all they do call it Sack Lake City). Through five games this season, Goff has been pressured 52 times and sacked 12 times.

While the sack numbers for the 2015 Utes aren't as high (only eight sacks through four games), the Utes have gotten pressure on opposing quarterbacks, forcing bad throws that Utah has converted into seven interceptions (1.75 per game, No. 17 NCAA).

Give and take

While most attention on this game is focusing on Utah's defense against Jared Goff, the real battle may be taking place when the Utes have the ball. Cal boasts a much improved defense that leads the nation with 18 turnovers (eight fumble recoveries, tied No. 1 NCAA; 10 interceptions, tied No. 2 NCAA). The Bears defense also ranks first in the Pac-12 in total sacks (18) and sacks per game (3.6).

Utah has only turned the ball over four times this season — two by its backup quarterback, one on a kickoff return fumble and the other a Hail Mary interception before the half.

Utah's Wilson ranked in top 12 for rushing

While opposing defenses have been putting a lot of attention on slowing down running back Devontae Booker (110.8 rushing yards per game, No. 5 Pac-12), quarterback Travis Wilson has quietly stepped up to the plate, averaging 66.7 rushing yards per game (No. 11 Pac-12, three games, missed the Fresno State game). The stat is even more impressive when you consider that Wilson also missed half of the Utah State game due to an injury.

As a team, the Utes are averaging 204 yards per game on the ground. Cal's rush defense is holding teams to 137.2 yards per game.

Last of the undefeated teams in Pac-12

Utah and Cal are the last two undefeated teams in the Pac-12, and only one will remain after Saturday's contest.

The Utes 4-0 start is their best since opening the 2010 season with eight-straight wins, while Cal's 5-0 start is its best since 2007. The last time the Bears opened the season 6-0 was back in 1950.

Scoring streaks

Cal has gone on a run in each of its five victories. The Golden Bears scored 66 straight vs. Grambling State, 35 against San Diego State, 27 at Texas, 24 at Washington and 14 vs. Washington State.

The Utes have had similar streaks, scoring 14 straight against Michigan, 10 vs. Utah State, 21 at Fresno State and perhaps the most impressive of any team in the country — 42 at Oregon.

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