The Cal Golden Bears' defense finished the 2023 season as the nation's leader in fumbles recovered with 16 and tied for the top spot in the country with 28 total takeaways. At the beginning of the season some key defenders said that this year's team was ready to improve on that, and so far that's the absolute truth! Cal has gotten things started on the right foot by picking off 7 passes in the first two games of the season and forcing a huge 4th quarter fumble by Auburn on Saturday that helped the Bears get to 2-0. The fumble recovery by Craig Woodson was the 5th takeaway of the game by Cal, the most the Golden Bears have recorded in a game since 2018. For the season they are tied for the national lead in team takeaways (8), lead in interceptions (7), and turnover margin (+7), and Nohl Williams' 3 interceptions is tied for the FBS lead and pushed his career total to 10 picks. Enjoy this video centered around the Cal's defense's propensity for taking the ball away from opponents and hear what some Golden Bears have to say about how they get the job done here.
