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There's the Air Raid, co-pioneered by Washington State's Mike Leach, and the patent-infringing Bear Raid, run at Cal by former Leach assistants Sonny Dykes and Tony Franklin.

What more do you need to know?

Well, Franklin told The Tribune by phone this week, the fact that this notion isn't accurate, for starters.

"People always just kind of throw that together," said the Cal offensive coordinator, who served as running backs coach when Leach was OC at Kentucky. His boss, Dykes, ran the offense under Leach at Texas Tech. But after Franklin watched tape from Washington State's 28-27 win against the Utes last year, he didn't come away thinking he wants Jared Goff to throw 61 times, as Connor Halliday did that day.

"I firmly believe [that] to win a championship, you have to be able to run the football," Franklin said.

The stats show that's no lie.

Cal finished with 440 rushing attempts last season to Washington State's 243, and this year has 197 to the Cougars' last-in-the-nation 91.

Franklin has five running backs he likes, including thousand-yard rusher Daniel Lasco and track star Khalfani Muhammad, who's darted for 350 blurry yards on just 39 carries in 2015.

And in Franklin's opinion, while he admits that Cal's passing concepts mirror those made popular by Leach and Hal Mumme, his offense is characterized by multiple formations and playing "as fast as we humanly possible can."

In three years together at Louisiana Tech, Dykes and Franklin improved from 26.8 points per game to 30.1 to 51.5, first in the nation.

In their third year now at Cal, they've gone from 23.0 to 38.3 to 43.4, eighth nationally.

Some of the credit, fair or not, has gone to Leach.

And even more has gone to Goff.

During his own tape study, Utah's John Pease saw from Goff the throw that indicates there is no limit to a quarterback's capabilities, the one that makes NFL scouts drool and defensive coordinators wake up in a cold sweat: a rope from the hash mark to the far sideline.

Asked what he thinks about when he sees that throw, Pease quipped: "I think about retiring.

"I've been very fortunate to watch John Elway and [Joe] Montana and those guys play, and when they're on, you go, 'Oh, let's enjoy ourselves and go out and have a nice dinner and say we watched a great player play today.' And I hope we don't get that kind of day out of him."

Projected by most outlets as a top-five pick in next April's NFL draft, Goff reminds Pease of Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton — who led TCU to blowout victories in the last two times Utah was featured on ESPN's "College GameDay."

The Cal junior stands 6-foot-4 with a blink-and-you'll-miss-it release and dancer's feet that have drawn comparisons to Peyton Manning — "His footwork is the best that I've ever seen," said Golden Bears wideout Bryce Treggs.

He's whip-smart. He knows the soft spots in the two-deep zone, the three-deep zone and man coverage. And he's of one mind with his receivers — who include speedsters Treggs and Trevor Davis and lanky red zone circus act Kenny Lawler.

Franklin recently told team media that Goff "knows the offense better than me."

"I trust him. If he suggests something, I do it. If he suggests he doesn't want to do something, I don't do it."

Fox analyst Joel Klatt, who's done color for both Utah and Cal games this season, believes Utah's defense will need to more greatly resemble the 2014 group that led the nation in sacks. The Utes finished with five in Eugene, but prior to that had just three through three games.

"It's a bit of a hold-the-ball offense," Klatt said. "They coach their receivers to run to green spaces on the field. It's about reading the progression rather than just a zone movement. So Goff sits back a bit more. You're going to have an opportunity to pressure him."

Blitz at your own risk, though. ESPN Stats & Information found that Goff has thrown 16 touchdowns and no interceptions when defenses bring an extra man, and Pro Football Focus discovered that Goff possesses the "extremely rare" quality of having a higher passer rating when he's pressured.

Pease sees the key as coverage: Make Goff go to his second and third read, and then, while he's reloading, try to force a mistake.

Said junior defensive end Hunter Dimick, expected to return to the fold after traveling but sitting out against Oregon: "We're going to get to him quick and we've got to get in his head, just like we did the quarterbacks [against Oregon]."

Intentions aside, Klatt believes it could be a long day for Utah's defense, calling to mind — apologies to Franklin — last year's loss to the Cougars.

"People think, 'Oh, this team is good, so they should beat that team,' " he said. "But it's more about teams that you match up well based on philosophy. It's not a great matchup for Utah.

"Do I think they're the better team? Yes. Do I think Utah will win? Yes. Will it be more difficult than people think? Yes, absolutely."

Asked his thoughts on Goff, Utah safety Tevin Carter responded in an eerily parallel structure.

"Do I think he's beatable? Yes. Do I think he can beat us? Yes. If we let him come out and do what he do, and play like he's been playing, it's possible. But we have a great defense, and at the end of the day, I feel like we can beat anybody."

Will we know soon if that's true?

Yes.

— Reporter Kyle Goon contributed to this report. —

No. 23 Cal at No. 5 Utah

P At Rice-Eccles Stadium

Kickoff • Saturday, 8:15 p.m.

TV • ESPN. Radio • 700 AM

Series history • Cal leads 5-4

Last meeting • Oct. 27, 2012 at Utah; Utah 49, Cal 27

About the Utes • After a 62-20 win at Oregon and a tumultuous bye week, the Utes find themselves more highly ranked in the AP poll than they have ever been at this point in the season. Just 76th nationally in total offense (394 yards per game) and 61st in total defense (373 yards per game), Utah has thrived because of turnovers (seventh in margin), special teams (third in net punting, eighth in average punt return and ninth in average kickoff return) and clutch offense (18th in third-down conversion percentage, sixth on fourth down and 12th in the red zone).

About the Golden Bears • Cal has earned its first 5-0 start since 2007 with an explosive offense — 10th in the nation at 528 yards per game and seventh with 134 total first downs — and an opportunistic defense — leading the nation with 18 turnovers. Junior wideout Kenny Lawler is second in the nation with eight touchdown receptions. The Bears have rarely been penalized — averaging just 37.2 yards per game — and sometimes been lucky.