I forgot.

I was under the impression that Shea Patterson would go into Berkeley, dice up Cal’s secondary and light up the scoreboard all night.

Obviously I wasn’t alone in thinking that. After all, Patterson was coming off two straight 400-yard passing games. He was the first SEC quarterback since Johnny Manziel to accomplish that feat. Surely he’d make it a third en route to a high-scoring Rebels victory, right?

Ah, but I forgot something pretty important.

Cal coach Justin Wilcox knows a thing or two about disrupting quarterbacks. His ability to disguise blitzes and generate pressure without sending the kitchen sink was why he led a top-five defense at Wisconsin in 2016. That’s ultimately what landed him the job at Cal.

So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when the Bears adjusted and held Ole Miss without a second-half point.

Sure, Patterson racked up 363 yards and he threw for a couple touchdown passes. But when it counted, Cal drew up exactly what it needed to cool off the red-hot Patterson. Ole Miss was just 5-for-17 on third downs, Patterson was sacked five times and he threw three interceptions.

If SEC defensive coordinators don’t try and follow Cal’s blue print to contain Patterson, they’re fools.

From the second play of the game, we saw exactly what Wilcox and defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter wanted to do. Cal set up with an edge rusher and three down linemen.

But instead of rushing off the edge, Cal brought the pressure right up the middle with inside linebacker Devante Downs (No. 1).

By the time Ole Miss left guard Javon Patterson and tailback Jordan Wilkins picked it up, it was too late. Downs prevented Patterson from stepping into the throw.

There’s nothing complicated about that. It was just a simple four-man rush, yet it confused the protection enough and Patterson was unable to show off his arm. The result was an incompletion.

That doesn’t work every time. That’s why Patterson threw for as many yards as he did. But the thinking is that mixing looks like that should cause at least a couple key mistakes, whether it’s a big third-down sack or an interception.

That formula was what yielded Cal’s biggest defensive plays of the night.

It was so ironic that with Ole Miss down 20-16 with three minutes left, ESPN color commentator Brock Huard said on the broadcast, “Champions love adversity. And this is your moment, Shea.”

Really, it was Wilcox’s moment.

Cal lined up with two down linemen and two edge rushers with Ole Miss’ in a four-receiver set (check out that graphic, too).

What happened next?

Patterson guessed wrong.

Three of Cal’s four linebackers blitzed. The one that didn’t was Cameron Goode, who started on the line of scrimmage and looked like he was about to pressure Patterson’s blind side. Instead, Goode dropped back in coverage.

Patterson thought he had one-on-one coverage with Markell Pack on the slant. He didn’t. Patterson never saw Goode drop back in coverage.

Pick. Six.

It didn’t matter that Patterson wasn’t hurried. The Ole Miss offensive line actually picked up Cal’s pressure well.

But Patterson was confused. He misread Cal’s linebackers, and as a result, Patterson made the back-breaking play that cost Ole Miss a chance at a go-ahead touchdown.

Wilcox and DeRuyter drew up the perfect game plan to confuse a young, talented quarterback. Cal didn’t have the 4-star athletes that the rest of the SEC has, yet it still found a way to contain Patterson.

It isn’t about playing prevent defense and forcing Patterson to throw against nickel coverage. He can still pick that apart. And given how talented Ole Miss is at receiver, he won’t be afraid to throw into some tight windows.

The key is constantly mixing up blitzes. Pressure doesn’t always have to come from seven or eight guys. As we saw with Cal, four-man rushes can still do plenty to fool the protection. Patterson has the ability to change things up at the line of scrimmage, but this is still a pretty basic offense that’s predicated on spreading teams out and getting rid of the ball quickly.

Few teams — if any — will be able to stifle Patterson. That’s why he still threw for 363 yards against Cal.

But if SEC teams can disguise pressure like Cal, it’ll open the door for those costly mistakes to happen. Give the Bears credit. Not only did they game plan well, they executed.

Call me crazy, but I think Wilcox might’ve had a few voicemails from SEC coaches when he finally got around to checking his messages last Saturday night.