Sonny Dykes is Saying All the Right Things

Sometimes, hiring a new coach is kind of like getting back into the dating scene after getting out of a longtime relationship.

In this case, Sonny Dykes is like that date who’s saying all the right things in the first week. You know, things like, “I hate the ballet! Let’s go watch football!” or “Would you like another beer, sweetie?” Seriously, if what Dykes (and his staff for that matter) have been saying since taking the job is any indication, then fans should be stoked.

Of course, as we all know, a date can appear to be Mr/Ms perfect in the weeks 2 and 3 and turn out to be a complete nightmare. We all know a true relationship isn’t evaluated by what the person says but what they do, in good times and in bad. Dykes could say all the right things now, but it won’t mean a thing until we see how this team looks once they hit the field in September.

Still, it’s hard not to be impressed with what most are hearing and reading so far. Let’s get into some of the choice bits.

Preventing Player Entitlement
"After every practice, we rank every player. Jerry Rice said 'that every single day I was afraid of losing my job.' If it's good enough for Jerry…"

"Sometimes, "they (student-athletes) think this is all about them. It's not theirs, it's not mine, it's the Cal fans'.

I got to say, I love this quote from Dykes. It’s not really the competition bit that strikes a chord with me, though I love the idea of building competition in every level of the team. Rather, I love the mentality that the entire program, from the players to the coaches are working to represent the university. It’s not about what the players can get out of it and how much media or NFL scout attention they get, but rather what they can do to represent Cal athletics. Dykes seems to give every indication that the players who “get it” and “buy in” are going to be the ones who will most contribute, and thereby reap the most rewards. It may sound simple to most, but I don’t know if I’ve heard a Cal coach phrase it this way, and it sure sounds a whole heck of a lot like a bit of a paradigm shift. I’m all for it.

Open Practices:
"We'll open the gates and come on in. We don't have any secrets. People can watch our film; they can rewind it, fast-forward it. This is not my program. This is Cal's program."

Again, Dykes is emphasizing that no one coach or player has ownership over the Cal team. But c’mon, the news that Cal’s practices will be open is huge. Clearly, as a fan, this is uber-exciting as it seems like fans are welcome to stroll in and watch practices any time. No more getting caught in the bushes and being chased away by portly security guards. This does so much for building a connection between the team and the fans. You have to think this also only help to build more media interest in the football team as well.

But more than that, Dykes seems to almost challenge skeptics by inviting them to observe and film practices. I can’t begin to tell you how much this statement simple exudes confidence in what Dykes believes his team can do if they prepare and execute.

I’m not going to turn this post into an anti-Tedford rant, because that’d be like (going back to the new date analogy) having your date go on and on about how much of a loser their ex-boyfriend was. No need for that here. But remember when Tedford got pissed about a few Cal reporters documenting and reporting on the formations and plays they observed in practice? I understand that you don’t want to divulge any information that’s going to give opponents any competitive advantage. But I always felt that it was no coincidence that increased security and privacy around a team’s practices always seemed to go hand-in-hand with increased insecurities in a team’s ability.

It’s just refreshing to hear a coach essentially say, “Gee, great, now you know we’ll bring our Z receiver in motion to the opposite side, fake the screen before handing it off to our back. Now try and do something about it.” The best teams aren’t the best because they are continually outsmarting or tricking their opponents. They’re outworking them. I’m not saying Cal is anywhere close to that right now, but it’s encouraging to hear a coach have that mentality that they have to shroud everything in mystery in order to be successful.

Recruiting
Recruiting has been great. We've added five new commits since we got hired, so that's been exciting. The response has been great. Kids are interested in Cal. The university sells itself. If we do a good job of presenting a unified message, then I think the recruiting part of it is going to be great. To me, we have a chance to have one of the top recruiting classes in the country at Cal.

This is less about what he’s saying and more about what he’s done. Despite the coaching change, Cal hasn’t had a single decommitment (though things are shaky with Cameron Hunt), and they’ve actually received 5 new commitments (1 OL, 1 WR, 2 DE, 1 WR). They’ve moved up into the Top 25 rankings in the nation according to Rivals’ recruiting site, and are pretty close in ESPN. This isn’t a staff that’s taken a wait-and-see approach. Almost all the new coaches have hit the recruiting road as soon as they signed on to Cal. We’re talking aboutlLiving out of suitcases, spending more time on planes and in recruit’s homes than in their own hotel rooms, etc. It’s been really impressive.

Residing in Berkeley:
"I think you need to live in the community if you can. It's important for people to see you in restaurants and shopping and we need to be involved in the schools. I think that's important. For me, I like to have my kids at practice, my wife at practice, hang around and get to know the players. It's important ... we create a family environment." This isn’t a huge a point, but it does speak to Dykes’ emphasis on continuing the Cal tradition of having a family and “home” culture at Cal. Tedford did this pretty well, but Dykes does take it an extra step further in residing in Berkeley. Good moves Coach. The hills are gorgeous. Just be sure not to hang out too much south of the Jack in the Box on Telegraph past 9 PM.

On the Use and Recruitment of Tight Ends:

"Six scholarship tight ends is a little out of whack…There's not enough running back depth and we have 10 scholarship offensive linemen; that number needs to be 16-18."
The above quote I think has been immediately misconstrued by many. Some are adding it to their “Dykes is anti-TE” though stockpile. Of course, I could be reading it wrong, but I don’t necessarily see it that way. Dykes has clearly stated that he’ll utilize the best players. I’m paraphrasing Tony Franklin when he said the reason Louisiana Tech didn’t play any tight ends last year was because they didn’t have any. Or at least none that warranted playing over their playmaking WRs. If Cal’s tight ends can play, I have a lot of confidence that Dykes and Franklin will find a way to incorporate them into the offense.

Also, I think Dykes touches upon a real important point in that our offensive line and RB recruiting in recent years have most certainly been out of whack. Football is won in the trenches, and when you consider that the offensive line makes up 5 out of your 12 players on the field at any given moment, it’s hard not to agree with the notion that 10 scholarship offensive linemen is a bit of a killer. Fortunately, the previously coaching regime had a very solid recruiting class with this corps last year, but it’ll be up to the new one to bring in another haul of about 4-5 big uglies.

So what do you guys think? Any thoughts on Coach Dykes’ early comments?

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Thoughts on Assistant Coach Hires: Defensive Coordinator

New head coach Sonny Dykes has begun assembling his new team in what everyone hopes will be the staff to lead the Bears to the Rose Bowl in the near future. A couple of hires have become public, while a few are agreed to in principle, and a few remaining coaching positions are still being decided.

I wanted to share just a few thoughts on each hire, but let me start off by saying this: it's a bit ridiculous that some people are already jumping off the cliff in regards to a few hires. People are way too obsessed with sexy picks and I find it funny that some people are disappointed they Dykes has chosen not to bring on certain candidates, even though most didn't know who they were a few weeks ago. I understand the desire to bring on big name coaches, but I actually believe in Coach Dykes when he maintains that it's all about fit, and who he thinks is going to work best with the players and other coaches. It's that chemistry that's been missing for a while in the latter years of Tedford's tenure, and I for one am ready to believe Dykes when he says he's looking for the coaches who will best instill that chemistry in the team.

And if anything, let's wait until these coaches have actually gone through a full season before we jump to any conclusions, yeah?

Defensive Coordinator - Andy Buh

(It's pronounced "Boo," biatch.)

Defensive Coordinator was by far going to be the biggest hire for Sonny Dykes, with Louisiana Tech handicapped last year by a defense that couldn't seem to keep any team from scoring points (see LT surrendering 55 points to Texas...State.)

If you're measuring this hire strictly by the ability to make a big splash, then the hire is a bit of a head scratcher. Buh coached the linebackers at Wisconsin this past season, after having served as Stanford's co-defensive coordinator from 2007-2010 and Nevada's D-coordinator from 2010-2012.

On paper, the results don't necessarily jump out at you.

@ Nevada
(Before Buh)
Scoring Defense 2009: 28.5 ppg (86th nationally)
Total Defense 2009: 409.3 ypg (96th nationally)
Turnovers 2009: 18 (89th nationally)

(After Buh)
Scoring Defense 2010: 21.4 ppg (31st nationally)
Scoring Defense 2011: 25.2 ppg (58th nationally)

Total Defense 2010: 363.6 (54th nationally)
Total Defense 2011: 369.2 (52nd nationally

Turnovers 2010: 24 (45th nationally)
Turnovers 2011: 25 (39th nationally)

Pretty admirable job. Buh took a pretty atrocious Wolfpack defense and turned it into a respectable one fairly quickly. Nevada's defense wasn't quite elite which is probably why Buh didn't get more props, but it's clear he had a pretty immediate effect as defensive coordinator.

His job at Stanford wasn't quite as respectable, as we all remember Stanford's inability to deal with the speed of the Pac-10 during Harbaugh's early years. It's also difficult to determine who to attribute much of the responsibility to with Buh having acted as co-defensive coordinator. It is highly plausible that he had a large part in bringing in the talent to turn Stanford into the elite defensive squad it is now.

This leads us to at least one reason to be excited about Buh. He's reportedly a solid recruiter and has been described by more than one recruit as a "player's coach" in that he has the ability to connect with players on a personal level. I know that Gabe King should be excited about that.

In short, it's not a sexy pick by any stretch of the imagination. Buh isn't a big-name coordinator who has a long track-record of coaching elite defenses. But he's a young name in the coaching world who has done a pretty good job at Nevada, recruits well, and is at the very least a heck of a linebackers coach. The question will be of course how that will translate at Cal.

I can't honestly say that I'm impressed with the hire, but I'm certainly willing to give it a shot. There's nothing at this point for anyone to determine that this won't end up being a solid pick up. I want to see how the players respond before I go and end up declaring the move a failure. It's a bit preposterous to do otherwise.

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Remaining Cal Assistant Coaches Are Out

("But, but, who will do the pushups now?")

After Jeff Tedford was relieved of his duties as head coach back in Novemeber, four of Cal's assistant coaches were released (defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, linebackers coach Kenwick Thompson, special teams coach Jeff Genyk and defensive line coach Todd Howard) while five remained to deal with the head coach transition and with recruiting in the interim.

Well, it looks like those remaining coaches have been shown the door. Offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Jim Michalczik, QB Coach Marcus Arroyo, RB Coach Ron Gould, Secondary Coach Ashley Ambrose, and WR coach Wes Chandler have all been notified that they will not be retained under Coach Sonny Dykes' new regime according to Jeff Faraudo.

There were some whispers that a few assistants might be retained, most notably RB Coach Ron Gould who has coached at Cal for 16 years, well before the Tedford era even starter.

But alas, it looks like Dykes will start fresh with a staff he knows and trusts.

[Edit: Geez, ok, so despite my last correction, it turns out the original report is true. All the previous assistant coaches have been released. MoragaBear at theBearInsider as the semi-definitive word:

Just in case there's still confusion about Coach M - Today, 04:45 PM

He'll be moving on with the rest of the holdover coaches.

My tweet from today was: Despite information floating around to the contrary, #Cal will not be retaining any of their holdover coaches. Best of luck to all of them.

My tweet from last night was: Look for a completely new coaching staff at #Cal under new HC Sonny Dykes.

That's still the case, despite info out there to the contrary.

Best wishes to a group of men that have given a lot of blood, sweat and tears to the Cal cause. ]

A few more thoughts on the moves after the jump.

First off, it's completely understandable that Dykes wants to bring on a new staff. It's far from uncommon for a new coach to bring in people he trusts and has worked with before. There's far too much room for egos and personalities to clash when there are coaching holdovers from a previous regime.

Dykes has been emphasizing "fits" in all of his public statements about his vision for the team and the staff in that he wants people who are going to work best together. He appears to place a premium on the ability to work cohesively to turn out an end product rather than simply looking at what a coach has done individually.

Keep in mind, most of the assistant coaches that Dykes has worked with has seemed to work pretty well for him thus far, and he sees little reason to change what has worked.

Still, I'm probably the most bummed about seeing Ron Gould go. He's been one of the best ambassadors for Cal for the past 16 years, and he's said himself that he bleeds blue and gold. He's easily one of the best at what he does, and for anyone to try and argue otherwise at this point is a bit ridiculous. I for one, would have liked to have seen him stick around, but again, I understand why Dykes has chosen to go in a different direction.

In a somewhat interesting side note, WR Coach Wes Chandler seems to be a bit irked that he wasn't told from Dykes himself that he was no longer needed:

“I understand it. He wants to have his own guys,” said Chandler, who said he was only unhappy that he didn’t get a direct answer from Dykes. “He could have said, `Hey, I don’t have a place for you.’"

Fair enough. But again, I'm not sure if Dykes was obligated to. But I understand the frustration. But like all of us, we probably should have seen that there was little chance of any of the staff sticking around from the beginning.

That's what happens when your team goes 3-9.

And finally, for what it's worth, many might be somewhat celebrating a complete overhaul of the staff now, but the true gauge of reactions will come at the end of next season. Should the runningbacks be ultra productive next year, most undergraduates may not even remember the name Ron Gould. Should we see any units falter, we might be longing for Jeff Genyk again.

Well maybe not that one.

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Sign of Things to Come?

("This shit's about to get live, son.")

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Welcome Sonny Dykes!

So I've had a chance to digest the news that Sonny Dykes will be the new head coach for our sturdy Golden Bears.

Like I said before, I can't say that I began doing backflips upon hearing the news, but this was far from the worst possible hire. Again, I'm cautiously optimistic here. There's a whole lot to like, and there's plenty of reason to think this could end up being a home-run hire. And honestly, though I'm not fully fired up yet, I have a hard time seeing this turning out as terribly as it might have been had we gone with some other potential candidates.

Here are some of my thoughts as I waver between optimism and concern.

Reasons for Optimism

(1) Say Hello to the #1 Offense in the Country
And thank goodness. Of all the units on this year's team, it was clear that the offense was the one in most need of an overhaul and you couldn't have asked for a better set of offensive minds to do that than Sonny Dykes and offensive coordinator Tony Franklin.

What they've done at at Louisiana Tech is nothing short of astonishing. The Bulldogs were the top scoring offense in all of FBS football last season, averaging 51.5 points per game. They averaged 577.9 yards per game, in a ridiculously balanced offensive attack: 227.17 ypg on the ground and 350.8 ypg through the air. Their uptempo offense averages 88.6 plays per game which is second in the country. To provide some context, Oregon (5th nationally) averages 84.2 ppg, while the Bears averaged 71.5 plays per game (74th nationally). They scored TDs on 75% of their trips in the red zone. Contrast that to the Bears' dismal 47.37% red zone TD efficiency last season.

Just staggering numbers all around. And what does this mean? The Bears become immediately more competitive in each game. No deficit seems insurmountable. Hell, the Bulldogs were down 27-0 against Texas A&M last season before staging a near miraculous comeback in a 57-59 loss.

Does this mean this will all translate to offensive success in Berkeley? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe not immediately. But I'm dying to find out what he'll do with some of the offensive playmakers we have currently. With this receiving corps, Bigelow and Lasco, and a potential star QB in either Zach Kline or Austin Hinder, this could be an explosive offense. And at the very worst, at least it'll be fun to watch.

(2) Proven Winner

I'm always hesitant with coaches who supposedly are great leaders but don't have the record to back it up. It's why I knew coaches like Derek Dooley and Gene Chizik were questionable hires and why coaches like Urban Meyer, and Brian Kelly are bound to do big things: they win wherever they go.

Dykes' young track record speaks for itself so far: Before Dykes joined Arizona as offensive coordinator in 2005, the Wildcats were ranked 115th nationally in total offense and 105th in scoring offense. By 2008, Arizona was ranked 16th in scoring and 33rd in total offense. Arizona's offense wasn't the same after Dykes left until Rich Rod finally took over this past year.

Then you look at what Dykes has done at Louisiana Tech as head coach. After a mediocre 5-7 start in his first year, the Bulldogs improved to 8-5 the following season including a close bowl loss to #18th ranked TCU. This past year, LT was a potential BCS buster before two close losses to Utah State (in overtime) and SJSU left them at 9-3 on the season.

Those numbers might not be mighty impressive in the SEC, but when you consider the sheer lack of resources at Louisiana Tech, it's hard not to be impressed. This was a program who hadn't enjoyed that type of success in nearly 20 years.

You have to think that there's a huge opportunity here with Cal providing seemingly infinite more resources than what Dykes had in Louisiana. It's hard not to envision a bright future.

(3) Recruiting Prowess
This is more hearsay than anything, but Dykes is reported to be a very solid recruiter. Not necessarily all-star, but he's a socially likeable guy, and is said to be very good at closing the deal with recruits when it counts.

His time in Arizona has given him some experience recruiting California, but his experience also gives him some key inroads to Texas and the Southeast.

Again, Dykes didn't have nearly the level of firepower he now has at Cal to recruit. If he can bring on some top notch assistants, I'm interested to see how he closes with recruits.

(4) Aggressive Offense
One of the biggest knocks on Tedford was his conservative approach in each game. Not really so with Sonny Dykes. Dykes' team had a whopping 29 4th down attempts last year, and he converted on nearly 69% of them, which was the 16th best in the country.

This is a guy who's confident in what his offense can do, and is willing to roll the dice to move the chains.

Reasons for Concern

(1)Defense For as prolific as Sonny Dykes' offense has been, his defense has been that terrible. Just...awful. We're talking one of the worst in the country. Check these numbers out:

Scoring Defense: 38.5 ppg (119th in the country)
Total Defense: 526.1 yards per game (last!)
Opponent 3rd Down Conversions: 46.32 (108th)
Opponent Red Zone Conversions: 88.24 (109th)

There's no other way to spin this one guys. LT's defense was atrocious last year. Hell, they gave up 55 points to Texas State. I know it was a road game and all, but still...

So here's the bright side with this: Dykes is fully aware of the need to get it right on that side of the ball, and he understands the pressing need to get an all-star defensive coordinator to instill some confidence that we're not going to be regularly engaging in 63-57 shootouts with FCS schools.

Word has it that Dykes plans on bringing in New Mexico State's DeWayne Walker. That sounded great 4 years ago, but opinions of Walker have ranged since NMSU has struggled at 10-40 with him as their head coach. Fortunately we're not talking about Walker as a head coach here.

Walker was more than solid as UCLA's defensive coordinator from 2006-2008, and you have to wonder how much better those UCLA units would have been statistically had they had some competent offenses. For now, I will say that I'd be happy with the Walker, and he seems to be a more than suitable candidate to manage that side of the ball with Dykes and Franklin focusing solely on the offense. Walker's reportedly been a solid recruiter and his SoCal recruiting connections should pay some immediate dividends as well.

And honestly, there's less pressure here simply because the defense was in far better shape than the offense by the end of the season. I actually thought Cal's defense played decently with all things considered, but I'm intrigued to see what Walker can do to instill some much needed toughness back into the trenches and discipline in a young, but talented secondary.

(2) Wins Against Top 25 Teams
That is, there are none. In Dykes' three years as a head coach, he doesn't have a signature win over a Top 25 team under his belt. You'd like to see a coach come in who has a record of having taken down a few big dogs.

With all that said, in Dykes' defense, Louisiana Tech isn't exactly in a position to get many opportunities against Top 25 competition being in the WAC and all. It is particularly worth noting that the Bulldogs have actually shown up pretty well against Top 25 teams: a 24-31 loss to TCU, a 57-59 loss to Texas A&M, and a 43-52 loss to San Jose State.

You can't say that his teams don't make it a game. And the more you think about it, you have to think it's a credit to Dykes that he's been able to get his teams to be so competitive against more talented teams.

(3) Sloppy Undiscipline? Undisciplined Sloppiness?
I was truly hoping that whoever Cal's next head coach was would be a no-nonsense authority figure who would hold his team accountable for mental mistakes and shooting the team in the foot.

Dykes doesn't strike me as having that type of demeanor, but it's not his demeanor that worries me. It's the fact that Louisiana Tech was 121st in the nation in penalty yardage this past season, and 118th in penalties. That's just marginally (and a slim margin at that) better than Cal's horrendous year.

This knock is the one that bugs me a bit simply because I do believe it's a symptom of coaching, and of the team's mindset. It's one of the few categories that isn't easily biased and skewed because of a team's opposition, or what conference they play in. Undisicplined football is undisciplined football. I can't tell you what was the issue with LT last year, but I do hope that Dykes is able to instill a culture of smart, disciplined football in Berkeley, unlike that which is existed in Louisiana.

On the flip side, Dykes' team was very good about not turning the ball over as well, which is usually a sign of smart, disciplined ball. In fact, the Bulldogs turned the ball over just 13 times all year last season, which was tied for 10th in the nation.

Can He Do It?

New, exciting offense is fun and all, but the bottom line question on the minds of many Cal fans is, "Can Dykes lead us to the Rose Bowl?"

I'm not going to lie: I don't immediately see it. I'm not saying it won't happen by any means, but I don't instantly think Dykes = Rose Bowl.

But Dykes' track record has been impressive so far. Given what he's been handed, you can't argue that the guy has not made the most of every opportunity. And you can clearly tell he looks at coaching the Bears as a dream job of sorts, and is going to hit the ground running at full speed. This is not a guy who's going to take a "wait and see approach here." He plans on giving it his all, and that in itself is pretty darned exciting.

You're going to see the phrase, "cautiously optimistic" thrown out a lot. And it's the best choice of words here. A lot of people who know better have been very high on Dykes, so I'm feeling pretty good that we got a solid hire. But we all know that the bottom line will be whether he can lead the Golden Bears to the promised land in Pasadena. And if Dykes doesn't know that yet, he will very soon.

Welcome to Bear Territory Coach Dykes. We're happy to have you.

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Sonny Dykes to Be Next Cal Head Coach

(Are you ready for some Bear Raid action?)

Nothing has been announced officially, but multiple sources are reporting that Louisiana Tech's Sonny Dykes will be the next head coach for Cal.

I can't go into my full thoughts at this very instant, but I'll hopefully have a post up within the next few hours going to some more detail.

For now, I'm cautiously optimistic. It doesn't jump off the page to you as a home run hire, but there's a lot to like here. A lot of it depends on the coordinators he brings on, which if the rumors are true, would make this hire a whole lot more appealing.

Again, will be back with more in a bit.

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Thoughts on Coaching Candidates

Back from my mini-break. It was a draining season for various reasons, and it's been an emotional last couple of weeks with the dismissal of long time head coach Jeff Tedford and the prospect of having a new leader for the Cal program for the first time in over a decade. In the world of college football fandom, this is unfamiliar territory for a lot of folks.

There's been a lot of names for replacements floating around the webisphere the past month, and while some have been flat out ridiculous, some have been far more realistic and intriguing.

I've heard whispers of a semi-official list of coaching candidates who have been interviewed, and I must say there are some encouraging and not-so-encouraging names on the list. I'll run through my thoughts on a few of them, as well as a few others who have been mentioned though aren't in the official running, just to throw off the hounds.

In order of preference from least to most coveted...

Hue Jackson
Look, I understand that the charismatic Jackson could inject some energy into the team, but please, just...no. Jackson's name has been thrown around quite a bit, and he's been quoted to saying something to the effect that he'd take the Cal job in a heartbeat. But the guy hasn't been consistently successful at any coaching position at any level. He's bounced around from job to job, and hasn't stayed at any position for longer than three years. Look at the offenses he's run as the OC. None of them impress you. His one year as the head coach of the Raiders? 8-8. And we're supposed to buy that he was a great coach because the Raiders are back to being terrible and not just mediocre? That's one of the weakest arguments possible for a coach. And it's not like teams were lining up for Jackson's services after he was relieved of his duties in Oakland. He's currently the assistant to Special Teams and assistant to Defensive Backs for the Cincinnatti Bengals. That's right. He's not even the assistant defensive backs coach, he's the assistant to the defensive backs coach.

That's cool...if you're Dwight Schrute.

Ron Rivera
As an all-time great Cal linebacker, Rivera's built up a repuation as a stud defensive coordinator. As a head coach? Not so much. The Panthers are 8-18 under Rivera, and he's likely to be dismissed at the end of this year with the Panthers' ownership growing impatient with Rivera. We all know well that the lack of success at the NFL level doesn't necessarily mean an individual won't succeed at the college level: see Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, Bobby Petrino, etc. But here's the problem: Rivera hasn't been a head coach at the college level. I'm not sure his personality translates well to overseeing a collegiate program either. I have no doubt the guy knows his Xs and Os, and will instill a tough, defensive-minded culture on the team, but I don't have a great deal of optimism right off the bat either.

Darrell Hazell
Hazell is an interesting name because I doubt many people know who he even is. That's because Kent State has gone from laughing stock to playing in the MAC championship game with a 11-2 record pretty quickly. It's an impressive turnaround for sure, but there's little to indicate that Hazell can do it consistently in the Pac-12. Prior to being the head coach at Kent State, Hazell served as the wide receivers coach for five years at Ohio State. Not quite the resume that jumps out at you. I'd like to see what Hazell can do for several more years at Kent State before handing him the keys to the Cal program.

Troy Calhoun
Calhoun's a familiar name as many will remember the Bears facing off against his Air Force Squad in the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl. Remember Longshore and Riley, and that comeback? And all that? Yeah, him. Anyway, it's still an odd choice simply because Calhoun's been firmly entrenched in the Air Force program for a while now. And though he's coached the Falcons to some nice seasons (47-30 in his tenure), he's never finished better than 2nd in the Mountain West. His teams are 2-3 in bowl games. His record looks eerily like Tedford's first 6 years at Cal, except he's doing it in the Mountain West. And then there's the question of what type of offense he'd run at Cal, as he surely can't expect to run the triple option in Berkeley. I don't know, it's an odd choice and though I don't think Calhoun is a bad coach by any means, I don't see him as the type to win with the Bears.

Bob Diaco

(Ladies love him)

This guy's the wild card because he's the only collegiate candidate on the list without any head coaching experience. Why's he on the list? Because his defense is playing Alabama in the national championship game. That's why. But if you look at what he's done with Brian Kelly at both Cincinnati and Notre Dame, his body of work speaks for itself. He was a semifinalist for the 2011 Broyles Award, presented annually to college football's top assistant coach. He's turned an awful Fighting Irish defense to one of the best in the country, ranking in the top 25 in most statistical categories. And Cincy's defense was in pretty good shape when he left it. Don't know what the Bearcats are up to now, but they were good.

It's an impressive resume. I have no doubt in my mind that this guy is going to be a head coach within the next few years. He's young, the ladies swoon over him, and he's got charisma. This might be a reach, but he does strike me as having a bit of a Harbaugh personality though. That is, he can be kinda...weird. Enigmatic is probably a better word, but he can be a bit awkward with the media at times. But all is forgivable if you win. That he does, but it's still a gamble to hire someone who's never been a head coach before. With the pressure to win now, I'm not sure if the Bears can afford to hire Diaco. Really intriguing, but risky.

Mike MacIntyre
MacIntyre is a name that has risen up my list the past few weeks. The first time I heard the name, my honest reaction was, "the guy at San Jose State? No thank you." But the more I've looked into what he's done at SJSU, and how he's done it, I'll admit, I'm impressed. This was a terrible Spartan program that was limited in scholarships, and a pushover in the WAC. After a 1-10 start, the Spartans improved to 5-7 in his second season, and 10-2 this year with the only losses being a close 3 point loss to Stanford and to Utah State. That loss to Stanford looks a whole lot better now given what we know about the Cardinal.

If the team's transformation wasn't enough, he's gotten grad rates up, and most impressively, he never seemed to lament the limitations in taking over the program. Since SJSU couldn't hold their own recruiting camps, he and his staff hit the road, setting up regional camps to attract attention SJSU. He could have easily gone the JC route, but has been setting on building a program and not looking for short-term solutions. It's a strategy that has paid off.

It's not a sexy pick, and there's certainly no guarantee that MacIntyre could do the same at Cal. But it's hard not to look at the work that he's done there and wonder what he might be able to do with the resources and talent on this Cal team.

Sonny Dykes
For a while, Sonny Dykes was a bit of my default pick. I wasn't completely sold on him, but I didn't think there'd be any other stronger candidates who we had a realistic shot at.

Let's make it clear, there's a lot to like about Sonny Dykes. How's this for starters: the opportunity to have the best offense in the country. That's what Dykes has accomplished at Louisiana Tech with the Bulldogs leading the country with a whopping 51.5 points per game. The idea of Dykes and offensive coordinator Tony Franklin working with some of Cal's explosive playmakers next year is appetizing indeed.

But there are plenty of question marks. Louisiana Tech's defense is about as awful as their offense has been prolific. Of course, this would be of less a concern if Dykes could bring on an all-star defensive coordinator.

Then you've got the issue of a lack of any signature wins under Dykes' belt. Really, getting the Bulldogs to 9-3 is really impressive given how awful LT has been for so long, but their opponents haven't been anything close to world beaters. They've been pretty bad actually. So you really have to wonder how he'll do against Top 25 teams on a regular basis.

My biggest fear? Upside. Specifically, I don't know what it is with Dykes. Best case: I can see his team putting up a whole lot of points, but I do wonder how much better they'd fare than 8 or 9 wins a season.

But all in all, I can see Dykes coming in and immediately getting this team to become competitive week after week. But I know I speak for many when I say that we didn't fire the winningest coach in Cal history to be satisfied with 7 or 8 wins a season.

Charlie Strong
Now we're talking. Let me state that I think we have very little shot at pulling Strong out to Berkeley. With that said, I'd be thrilled with Strong for obvious reasons. The former defensive coordinator for Florida has done an amazing job in pulling Louisville out of the ashes of Steve Kragthorpe's smoldering mess.

I simply really admire a lot of Strong's qualities. He's got a strong defensive mindset, instills a hard-nosed mindset in his football team, and shows an amazing ability to get the most out of his team. The loss to Syracuse was mind-boggling, but all in all, I'd be doing backflips if Strong were hired.

Chris Petersen
I end the list with my absolute top choice for the head coaching position. Here's what I wrote about him in Pacific Takes' roundtable on dream coaching candidates.

"If we’re talking about our top choices regardless of how realistic it’d be to get them to come to Berkeley, I’d be ecstatic with Chris Petersen. I know some may scoff at coaches from mid-major conferences, but I love the way he runs his football teams. They play smart, disciplined football, and he seems to be able to extract every last ounce of talent from his players. Imagine what he could do with some of the personnel on this team. The guy’s a winner and has proven it, even against the big boys. Would love to see him in Blue and Gold."

With Peterson, I see just two drawbacks: First, his flashy 82-8 record is very much the result of beating up on WAC opponents during his tenure, and a lot of teams could build up some gaudy numbers facing off against Wyoming year in and year out. With that said, it's not like Boise St. has shrunken under the spotlight. Think about the teams they've beaten in the last six years: Oklahoma, TCU, Oregon (twice), Virginia Tech, Georgia, etc. They've shown they can not only play with the big boys, but whup their asses as well. His teams never get blown out, as their rare losses are always by less than one score (the number of one or two point losses under Peterson is astounding). He gets his team ready to play. I don't care what conference you're in: that's impressive to do under seven seasons as a head coach.

The second hesitation is that he's already an established coach who may not be as hungry as a young up-and-comer who's looking to make his mark in the coaching world. Personally, I don't buy that for a second. You don't think Peterson is aware that his coaching legacy is attached with the "yeah he's a good coach, but he coaches in the WAC/MWC"? He's as driven as the next guy (any successful head coach is) and understands that he's going to need to prove it in one of the automatic qualifying conferences. I have a hard time buying that he'll come into the Pac-12 and kick up his feet. I think he'll be just as hungry, and just as driven to prove himself.

I will say this: this is an absolutely critical time. The athletic department and AD Sandy Barbour can't afford to screw this up. They know this. They understand the pressure surrounding the program, and it's clear they've got a clear set of criteria for their new coach.

And personally, I can't wait.

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The Day After Tedford: Reactions

(Photo: Joe Parks)

Yesterday was obviously an emotional day for everyone involved. You had current players having to cope with the loss of their coach and the prospect of having someone brand new on the sidelines next season. There was an outpouring of support from both current former players in appreciation for what Tedford has done for both the university and themselves.

On top of that, you have the press conference with Sandy Barbour and a statement from Tedford himself.

There's also a contingent of former players and alumni who were none too pleased with the decision, with Cal great Aaron Rodgers calling it disrespectful.

Let's try and navigate through some of the talk.

Current Players
The Bear Insider has a writeup with comments from current OL Jordan Rigsbee and LB Nick Forbes with a video of their interview that you can watch below.


Tedford's comments to his team were reportedly very heartfelt with the primary points being his encouragement to the players to rise to occasion both on the field and in the classroom.

"He told us he cared about us," said Forbes. "He told us that despite everything, he knows the kind of talent we have and that there will always be a part of us with him. He told us to finish strong academically because that was one of his main points in recruiting -that Cal's an academic institution and he wants us all to be successful in life."

It's not much of a surprise that Tedford stayed classy through the very end, and his message to his players remained consistent with the type of coach he's been to his players through his 11 years at Cal. For all the knocks on Tedford, no one has been able to deny the genuine care he's shown for his players and the effect that he's had on all of them.

Former Players
Speaking of that effect, the outpouring from former players, many of which who are currently in the NFL, was pretty vocal in support for Tedford. Most tweets yesterday cited their gratitude and appreciation for Coach Tedford.

California Golden Blogs has a pretty good collection of the thoughts here.

One of the most famous former Cal players, and close friend to Jeff Tedford took it one step further however. Aaron Rodgers called the decision and "terrible," and frankly "disrespectful."

"It's a shame, because when you promise a guy the stuff that you promised him and he fulfills everything you asked him to do on the field, regardless of the injuries they had this year, to always continue to prepare those guys like I know he did--to not give him a chance to recruit to those facilities is a shame."

You can listen to the entire clip below courtesy "Okaydo."


I tweeted this yesterday, but I don't blame Rodgers for feeling the way he does in the slightest. I can completely see it the way he does, and a part of me sees that perspective as completely valid and frankly, truthful. I'd be shocked if he didn't feel this way.

With that said, I do think his emotional attachment to Tedford limits him from seeing the larger picture as to the state of Cal football. Both where it is currently, and the overall trajectory of where the program really has been for the last 5 years or so. The decision to move on from Tedford is in many people's opinions what is ultimately best for the university, its football program, including the financial scope of what's at stake here.

Rodgers is right in that it is a "shame," and that most people wanted Tedford to continue to be successful here and few wanted a successful Tedford out. But the reality is that the program hasn't been up to par with where its needed to be for the past few years and showed little sign it was getting better. If anything, it showed it was only getting worse. So really, it is unfortunate, but it doesn't make the move any less necessary.

The Media
The media reaction to Tedford's dismissal followed suit with a general sense of sadness but recognition of Tedford's great influence on the Cal program. Yahoo! Sports Write Mike Silver might have said it best in his tweet:

Jeff Tedford has given Cal 11 years of excitement. Helped take our program out of the abyss & upgrade it immensely. He will always be a Bear.

Long time Bay Area sports writer Glenn Dickey called Tedford's firing the "Wrong Move for Cal Football" however.

In reading his comments, I can't help but disagree with his most salient point that it is largely difficult to build a "consistent football power" at Cal because of its academic standards, an out of touch city government and a lackadaisical school administration. And for these reasons, the school will struggle to attract top coaches.

While I would certainly affirm those hurdles, I think if anything, Dickey is essentially refuting his own assertion that we can do no better than what Tedford has produced in the past few years. Tedford has shown that winning football is indeed possible in Berkeley, and has made the head coaching position that much more desirable. Cal fans aren't dissatisfied with Cal football because we're simply not winning, we're dissatisfied because we know we can do much better than where the program is right now. Why? Because Tedford proved it's possible to better.

Much like the "victim of his own success" notion, Tedford has elevated expectations, and we're simply not buying the, "Woe is me, it's hard to win at Cal" argument anymore. That's one of the biggest reasons we're so indebted to what Tedford has done in Berkeley. And I think I speak for a majority of Cal fans that said we would have loved to have had Tedford continue that success here. The problem? He hasn't. And more importantly, he hasn't shown that he has the answers to turn it around anytime soon. And because of these expectations (and financial obligations), we're in no position to let him continue to try and make adjustments or tinkerings. We simply couldn't afford it.

So all in all, it's been an emotional process and I completely understand and to a lesser extent agree with some of the backlash against the firing. But let's be clear here: it was an unfortunate but necessary move. I'll reiterate my thoughts in that I really do wish things had turned out differently and if I could have had any say in how things worked out, I would have preferred no one else other than Tedford to lead the Bears back into national prominence. He had done too much for the program to have me think otherwise.

I simply didn't think it was possible anymore.

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Goodbye Jeff Tedford

The Athletic Department has announced that Jeff Tedford will not return as the coach of the California Golden Bears next year. You can read the official press conference here.

I've had a lot of different thoughts this impending move, and have refrained from throwing them out on this blog until I knew for certain whether Tedford would be here next year.

Now that it's certain that Cal will be moving on without Coach Tedford, I must say that it's a combination of both sadness and relief.

First and foremost, I feel it necessary to say thank you to Coach Tedford for everything that he's done for this program. I became a diehard Cal football fan largely because of what Tedford did to rebuild this program from the mess it was when he got there. And yes, I was around for the Holmoe years as well. I mean, Tedford made Cal football relevant, he made it exciting, and he made me a fan.

On top of all that, he did it with class and he did things the right way. You talk to anyone who's been in the business and they have nothing but good things to say about Tedford as a person and as a coach. And in this day and age, that's still fairly rare to see. It goes quietly unnoticed, but I've always appreciated that Tedford ran a program that generally didn't embarrass itself off the field.

It also has to be a bitter pill for Tedford that he doesn't get to fully enjoy the facilities that he helped build. He's endured a whole lot of patience in dealing with the extensive process and number of roadbumps in getting this new stadium done along with the SAHPC, and for him to have to leave after one year is rough.

So it's not with a whole lot of joy that I say "Goodbye" to Coach Tedford. He's been inextricably linked with this program's identity for more than a decade now and I attribute so much of my love of Cal football to his efforts. And though the last few years haven't panned out the way anyone wanted, he had been wildly successful here. I might be in the minority, but I really wanted to see him take the Bears to the Rose Bowl, and it really wasn't even until just a few years ago that there was ever any doubt in my mind that he would.

But I also knew in my mind that Cal was ready to begin moving forward when my wife asked me earlier this season, "Do you want Tedford to stay?"

I waited a second before I responded, "I want Cal to win."

And for whatever reason (and there are a lot), the Bears have fallen back into obscurity under Tedford and didn't seem to show any answers about how to get back out of it.

It would be unfair to this university, its fanbase and its players if any allegiance to Jeff Tedford inhibited it from seeing that the program has stalled and seemingly run out of moves under the current regime.

Since that fateful night in which Cal lost to Oregon State in 2007, the Bears are 34-36. They haven't finished a season ranked in the AP Polls in over five years. They haven't won a postseason bowl since 2008. And they haven't been close to competing for a conference title since 2006.

On top of that, graduation rates have dropped to a conference worst 40%, and the APR numbers are actually worse.

And I don't buy for a second the notion that Tedford was phoning it in or had somehow lost passion for his job. I think he continues to work as hard as he did when he first got here. I just think it's simply not working right now, and hasn't been for a while, and no level of adjustments, or tinkering, or replacing of individual parts will cut it anymore. There comes a point where you simply need to replace the engine.

All signs clearly point to a program that isn't anywhere near where it needs to be, especially with the heightened financial pressures of the new facilities. In short, it became absolutely necessary to go in a new direction.

So I must say that for as sad as I am that Coach Tedford will be leaving, I am as excited about the future as I have ever been. I think the resources and foundation is there for a very strong football program. All it takes is the right person to guide the ship, and for the first in a while we have options to consider. With Tedford's departure I suddenly a great level of hope that Cal football can again be relevant to even greater heights than they were under Tedford.

Regardless of how we're feeling now, I know for sure that we're saying goodbye to a good coach and really, a good guy. I hope everyone has a level of appreciation for what he's done, and I personally have little doubt that he'll continue to succeed in whatever else he does should he decide he wants to continue coaching.

So thank you Jeff for everything you've done and thanks for the memories. I wish you the very best in what you do moving forward.

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Oregon State Recap

This was seriously the best moment of the game. Seriously.

In Cal's season finale, the Bears were completely throttled by the Beavers 62-14. Gawd, what a freaking embarrassment of a game. It was a fitting end to this debacle of a season and a likely sobering end to Jeff Tedford's tenure at Cal. At this point, even the most diehard Tedford supporters are left with little to say to the notion of continuing the Tedford era with the Bears.

I'll extrapolate more with this point if and when it gets there, but for now let's try and run through some of the main points of the game, as tough as it may be. I mean, it's the last game of the season and all.

Tough end for the Seniors
If there's a group I feel the worst for, it has to be the seniors on this team. These guys have put in so much time and effort for this team and program, and for them to go out and get drubbed in the rain like this was pretty heartwrenching.

I'm certain there's no one feeling too good about themselves in the locker room right now, but at least the underclassmen get to go back to work in the offseason and focus on turning things around for next season. These seniors won't get that. They're stuck with finishing their careers on the worst Cal team in over 10 years, and that sucks.

Thank you seniors. We all wish things had turned out better, but we appreciate what you've done.

Turnovers and Penalties Submarine the Bears
The Bears were likely to lose this game, if for nothing else than because the Beavers are simply a better team right now.

But the Bears seemed hellbent on just handing the game over with a maddening combination of penalties and turnovers in the game. The Bears committed three turnovers in the first half alone after a Bridgford interception and two fumbles. They would finish with four interceptions after a Brendan Bigelow. And I like Bigelow a lot, but I think he's averaging 1 fumble for every 10 carries right now. Not good.

And the penalties, good Lord. The Bears were flagged 15 times for 172 yards. That's unbelievable. That's more yards given up than Bridgford had passing. It's so freaking painful to watch the lack of discipline on this team. Holding, false starts, and oh yeah, the bloody "hands to the face" penalties. I have never seen so many "hands to the face" penalties. That's a result of bad technique which then forces the refs to be on the lookout for mistakes, some of which are often simply incidental contact.

Defensive Line Disappoints
Cal's defensive line was supposed to be the strength of this defense, but has been a supreme disappointment this year. Granted, this unit might have been hit hardest by injuries this season, but they've really struggled this season in plugging gaps and helping to generate pressure on the opposing quarterback.

It showed with Sean Mannion seemingly having hours to sit back and shred the Bears for 325 yards and 4 TDs. Cal didn't record a sack until late in the third quarter, when Deandre Coleman notched just his third sack of the season. That sentence alone seems to encapsulate the season in a nutshell for the Bears' defensive line: the player who was supposed to be the breakout star on the defense becomes a non-factor with just three sacks on the season.

The run defense wasn't much better with the Beavers rolling up 200 yards and 4 TDs on the ground. Granted, this was more of a reflection of the defense as a whole, but the d-line really struggled in shedding blocks and plugging gaps. It's just perplexing for a unit that was widely perceived to have so much talent.

Issues in the Secondary
In this past week's press conference, Steve Williams made the statement that a lot of the issues in the secondary this season have been due to the inexperience from some of the underclassmen and their lack of understanding of the defense. It could be conceived as throwing his teammates under the bus, but you can't disagree with what he's saying.

However, this week, it seemed each player took turns making mistakes. Michael Lowe completely losing Marcus Wheaton on a long 47 yard pass. Josh Hill letting an freebie interception bounce off his chest pads. Marc Anthony slipping on a TD reception. Miscommunication in zone assignments, allowing receivers to run free both in short and deep zones.

In the last two games, the Bears have been torched for 725 yards and 11 touchdowns. They've completely fallen off and are mere shell of the tough, athletic defense of years past. Injuries account for a lot of it for sure, but this defense was struggling even when they were healthy.

Cal's Rushing Offense: Lone Bright Spot
As has been the case for most of the season, Cal's rushing offense was the lone bright spot of the night. Seniors Isi Sofele both seemed hell bent on doing all they could and again ran with about as much heart and determination as I've seen all season.

The two combined for 165 yards in their swan song with the Bears and were the main reason the Bears' offense got much going at all. Credit Cal's offensive line which again got some really good push off the line, when they weren't committing penalties. Their pass blocking as a whole has also been pretty solid for the past two weeks. I'm not duping myself into think it'll translate into a transformed offensive line next season, but it is worth noting.

It's also worth noting that true freshman Freddie Taglaloa handled himself pretty well in filling in at right tackle. He was particularly impressive in his run blocking, and dominated his man pretty well. The future is bright with that one.

Bridgford: Not Terrible but Not the Answer
I really wanted to wait another week before making any judgments on Allan Bridgford. The last two weeks have been some pretty tough assignments in facing off against two solid pass defenses. But Bridgford was barely serviceable again on Saturday, going 18 for 31 for just 132 yards and an interception.

I think Bridgford has done a nice job in managing the game. Handling the snap count, knowing the offense, directing his players, he's done all that pretty well and hasn't looked too wide-eyed in the process. He clearly has a pretty good grasp of the offense.

But it's become pretty clear that Bridgford isn't going to be the answer for the Bears at QB. We've seen far too many passes with too much air, allowing defenders time to catch up and make a play on the ball. And this last point may be unfair, but he hasn't shown himself to be a playmaker. He doesn't create plays. He hasn't made much happen. He's not a complete disaster by any means, but he doesn't really instill confidence that he can put the team on his back and lead this offense long term.

Moving Forward
The game was painful to watch, but in the end, at least it's over. Look, I love my Bears, you know I'm going to spend the next 9 months eagerly anticipating the start of a new season. But with this current version of Cal football becoming utterly unwatchable, I feel like someone whose painfully limping horse has finally been put out of its misery. You're sad, but know you couldn't have stood to watch one more moment of it.

As for the more pressing question of Jeff Tedford's future with the Bears, I'm not going to lay out my thoughts until we get some official word. There's been a whole lot of speculation, and I'm inclined to trust the word of certain parties more so than others, but there's no point in fleshing everything out until we know for certain.

I wish I could say that 2012 was a season to remember. It was supposed to be with the unveiling of the new Memorial Stadium and all. But in the end, it'll be one that everyone will hope to forget. And quickly.

Have heart Cal fans. If you've followed this program long enough, you know that patience is key. Don't let yourself settle for anything other than excellence, but remember we're still Bears and we don't quit, and we don't die. We support our team through thick and thin.

Thanks for reading (for those of you who have managed to stick around) and stay tuned. Things will get better. They will. And as always, Go Bears."

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Pac-12 Week 12 Predictions

I feel like the only reason I'm keeping this feature going is because I keep predicting more games than I'm getting wrong. After going 5-1 last week I'm at 51-26 on the season. Given all the unexpectedness with some of these teams this year, that ain't too shabby.

Here's a quick look since Pac-12 games kick off real shortly.

No. 25 Washington (6-4, 4-3) at Colorado (1-9, 1-6)
If there's one thing you have to credit Jon Embree for, is that he still has his team competing week in and week out. That and he managed to not completely snap. At least not publicly. Colorado simply doesn't have the athletes to be competitive in the conference right now, but they're still out there competing. It won't mean much as they take on Washington this week who will move on to 7 wins. Ugh.
Prediction: Washington 38 Colorado 21

Washington State (2-8, 0-7) at Arizona State (5-5, 3-4)
After WSU's first game, most people expected it to be bad in Pullman this year, but I don't think anyone thought it'd be this bad. The team is losing, players are quitting and accusing coaches of abuse...THEIR PET'S HEADS ARE FALLING OFF! I understand Mike Leach is trying to instill a culture of no-nonsense and discipline, but he seems to be doing it with a "get on, or get out" mentality, which might be tough given this team's already fragile psyche. This looks to be a longer project than anticipated.

The Sun Devils are absolutely struggling after dropping four in a row. I think ASU fans are realizing how soft the front of their schedule was, and how they're still a ways away from being considered one of the top tier teams in the conference. At the very least, they'll lock up bowl eligibility and give themselves a pretty good shot at improving upon last season's win total.
Prediction: ASU 38 WSU 27

No. 18 USC (7-3, 5-3) at No. 17 UCLA (8-2, 5-2)
Oooh, what's this? A USC/UCLA game with two ranked teams? Can't remember the last time we had this. 2005 maybe? Anyway, the Bruins are clearly the best team LA has seen in years, and I think we're in for a good one. With that said, despite USC's struggles, I do think they have the edge in playmakers. The Trojans should pull this one out, keeping their Holiday Bowl hopes alive.
Prediction: USC 31 UCLA 24

No. 13 Stanford (8-2, 6-1) at No. 2 Oregon (10-0, 7-0)
The Stanford are feeling pretty good about themselves, and you have to give them credit: they've managed to keep their Pac-12 North hopes alive. It all comes to an end against the Ducks in Autzen Stadium however. In the Pac-12 there are simply bad matchups. The Trojans struggle against Stanford, and Stanford struggles against the Ducks. I think Stanford's tough front seven should do a good job keeping Oregon's running game from going wild, but the Ducks are too balanced on offense, and have too many ways of breaking down opposing defenses. Ducks win.
Prediction: Oregon 38 Stanford 24

Arizona (6-4, 3-4) at Utah (4-6, 2-5)
It's just about make or break time for the Utes. They lose this game and they're out of the postseason. A part of me thinks that the Utes are in the middle of the their uual second half roll, but then again, I think the Wildcats simply have the edge on offense. It's hard for me to see the Utes keeping up. Going on a bit of a limb here.
Prediction: Arizona 24 Utah 20 Read the rest of the post and comments here >>

Keys to the Game: Oregon State

(Hip, Hip, Hurray!)

At the beginning of the season, I absolutely terrified of this game. And this was before we found out that Oregon State was actually going to be good this year. Think about it: the Bears were facing a Beavers squad has had Cal's number for the past six years, on the road, to finish the season (when the Beavers are firing on all cylinders).

Fortunately, I'm at a point where it doesn't hurt that much anymore. Naturally, I care and am rooting for this team, but I'll be frank, these losses don't leave me curled up in fetal position. I'm just a bit numb to everything at this point.

Here are a few quick keys to the game.

Stop the Run, Stop the Offense
For a while, it looked like QB Sean Mannion could do no wrong during OSU's winning streak. Sure, he could be pressured into mistakes, but was playing with a new level of confidence and poise, and the Bears rolled to a 5-0 record. Mannion was averaging 339.5 yards per game, and had an average QB rating of 141.3. Just solid stuff.

Then after a knee injury put him out of action, Cody Vaz came in and the Beavers showed little to no drop-off on offense, with Vaz completing over 60% of his passes with 3 TDs and no interceptions, leading the Beavers to 7-0 on the season.

When Mannion was presumed healthy enough to play again, things got messy. Mannion threw four interceptions in his return, and was pulled in favor of Cody Vaz. Vaz lead the Beavers on a game-tying TD drive, but the Beavers still fell to the Huskies.

Vaz got the start the following week in a win against the Sun Devils, but then was injured late in a game in a loss against Stanford the week after.

So it will be Sean Mannion who gets the nod at the Bears, seeing his first significant game action since his debacle of a performance against the Huskies. The question will be whether that was temporary blip, or whether he was just coming off a fast start.

When you look at his numbers against both Washington and WSU, I'm beginning to feel that it was more of the latter. I would rank Mannion in the upper tier of conference quarterbacks, but he can certainly be pressured into being a turnover prone QB.

It all starts with stopping the run game. OSU's passing offense is at its best when it's established the run in their power run game and on their signature fly sweeps. Once opposing defenses begin honing in on the run, the Beavers are able to hit their tight ends and fullbacks on quick outs and dig routes. Subsequently, once the secondary begins playing shallow to guard the flats, it begins to open up deeper passing zones, leaving Oregon States' quality receivers to begin ripping off huge catch after catch.

It sounds simple, but this becomes an incredibly difficult offense to stop because OSU's offense has been able to execute it pretty well. Their line has matured and is playing physical in the trenches and has been able to oppose their will on opposing defenses. The biggest reason the Bears beat the Beavers last season was because OSU had no run game to speak of. This year? Pretty decent rushing attack which creates a troublesome offense.

Cal's run defense was fantastic against Oregon last week, but it came at a huge cost. The Bears loaded up on the run, leaving their shaky secondary in some perilous positions, allowing them to get torched for 7 TDs. The Bears can't afford to load up the box, and will have to rely on simply winning individual battles, and not losing gap integrity with their front seven. Given how beat up this group is, it'll be a tough task.

Chip Away on Offense
Oregon State's defense is the biggest reason this team wins more games than it loses. They're not as flashy as some teams, but they play really disciplined ball. They keep plays in front of them. On the season, they've given up just 121 plays of 10+ yards (27th in the nation). They put themselves in defensible 3rd downs, and allow opponents to convert just 27.42% of their third downs on the season (5th in the nation).

The Bears are just going to have to be near-perfect on offense. Seriously. It's not that Oregon State's defense is that good, it's that they're that disciplined. The Beavers don't beat themselves on defense too much, but they've shown they can certainly be had with good play in the trenches, and mistake-free ball.

Raise your hand if you think that describes this team right now. Yeah...

Outlook
It was hard for me to predict a win for this one at the beginning of the season, and it's even harder knowing the Bears are 3-8, and the Beavers are ranked and 7-2. The Bears show some fight, but can't keep up as the Beavers roll.

Prediction: Cal 24 Oregon State 31

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Oregon Recap

Forgive me for the late post, but I wasn't exactly running home to post after the game. I also celebrated a birthday Saturday night, so the second half of the game really is a bit of a blur. I just remember looking up and the score had gone from 24-17 to 59-17 in what seemed like a heartbeat.

The Bears were never close to being in command of the game, but they certainly were competitive for a good two and half quarters. Ultimately, the penalties and turnovers again caused the Bears to unravel, and gave way to letting Oregon do what it does best: capitalize on opponent's mistakes and score points. Lots and lots of points.

I said before, we are far past the point of moral victories. There are few to be had in a 3-8 season. And few from the worst Cal loss in 11 years. However, there are a few points worth mentioning and a few items to be encouraged by.

Cal's Defense Holds...For Awhile It's no secret that Cal's defense is a far cry from where it's been since Clancy Pendergast took over as defensive coordinator. And people who simply checked the box score on Sunday morning aren't likely to give the Bears their due credit. For the first the first two and half quarters of the game, the Cal's defense gave Oregon all sorts of fits.

And that run defense? It wasn't just good, it was great. Really, probably the best run defense the Bears have shown all year. They filled their gaps, showed all sorts of disruption in the trenches, and exhibited some of their best tackling of the year. You just didn't see any of the back bust out for big yards. On the day, they limited Kenjon Barner to 65 yards on 20 carries (3.3 ypc) and DeAnthony Thomas to just 13 yards on 5 carries (2.6 ypc). That's fantastic given what those two had done all year and especially against USC the week before.

But when you load up on the run, you leave yourself quite susceptible to the pass, and the Bears were torched for 395 passing yards and 7 TDs on the day. It could be more of a testament to Oregon's offensive balance this year, as they can find multiple ways to beat you. But the Bears did themselves no favors with some pretty poor coverage in giving up some huge passing plays. Safety Michael Lowe had a rough outing, being late in getting to his zone and some times being flat out beaten in man coverage. But Cal's secondary as a whole found themselves on the losing end of a number of big throws for scores.

Interested to see what this defense can do with a competent offense
Like, really interested. Despite giving up the big plays, Cal's defense had done what it needed to do to put the Bears in a position to make this a far more competitive game in the early going. And when Cal's offense did its job, the defense seemed to hold steady. But the game turned after Allan Bridgford's first interception, and Oregon promptly scored quickly on the subsequent drive. That whole sequence seemed to encapsulate the game in a nutshell. When the Bears' shot themselves in the foot with turnovers, penalties (and ultimately stalled drives), their defense simply ran out of gas.

And it's been this way all year. It's no coincidence that some of Cal's defensive struggles are due to the Bears' inability to score or even sustain drives. Consider these stats:

Time of Possession: 27:41 a game (108th nationally)
3rd down conversions: 34% (105th nationally)
Red Zone TD Conversions: 44.4 % (118th nationally)
Turnovers Lost: 26 (115th nationally)

Those stats have all the makings of a Cal offense that not only struggles to sustain drives consistently, but finds way to beat itself in scoring situations due to penalties and turnovers.

We've seen flashes of a very good defense this year. The statistics might tell us otherwise, but there's a lot of promise there. But they're far from being complete, and they're not good enough (yet) to overcome Cal's offensive inefficiencies.

Bridgford was OK, for a bit
I mentioned last week that I was really curious to see what Bridgford could do with a week's worth of starting reps. We all knew he had a very tough task going against Oregon's underrated defense, but I wanted to see what type of poise, ability, and command of offense he'd show.

Overall, I though Bridgford handled himself ok. He never really appeared wide-eyed or flustered, though I suppose I'd be far more concerned if he did exhibit those qualities as a player in his 4th year in the program.

He clearly had a better first half, when he went 7 for 12 for 87 yards and a TD. It was refreshing to see him go through his reads, and he actually showed pretty good pocket presence and did his line some favors by stepping up into the pocket instead of bouncing it outside into the arms of awaiting defenders.

The second half was a different story however, and Bridgford would manage to go just 2 for 9 passing for 26 yards and 2 interceptions. It appeared to be more of an issue of a quarterback trying to do too much and force passes that weren't there. It happens to a lot of quarterbacks making their first real start, especially when they're playing down. It was just troubling to see such a stark contrast in halves.

I'm not ready to dismiss Bridgford yet. I've seen nothing to indicate that he's the long term answer for the Bears, but I've seen enough to think that he might be a capable quarterback with more reps and less of a mentalitity, "I've got to make it happen right now." I have a feeling that ultimately, his long release, and lack of zip on his passes will keep him from being the starter next season and a starting collegiate QB (there were some passes that should have been completed had it not been for his passes that took a second longer to get to their intended receivers). But again, I kind of want to see how next week goes before making that final assessment.

Offensive Line plays its best and worst game of the season
There was a bit to like from Cal's offensive line. They manhandled Oregon's injury-plagued defensive line and paved the way for 236 yards on the ground. That's a pretty respectable 5.9 ypc.

They also allowed just 1 sack which is monumentally better than what we've seen all year.

That was good. What wasn't good was the absolute lack of discipline. The Bears were flagged 7 times for 89 yards, and the majority of those were on the offensive line. Illegal hands to the face, holding, and a really weird tripping call. My friend even pointed out that Jordan Rigsbee should have been called for an ineligible receiver penalty on the screen play to CJ Anderson, as he broke off downfield well before Bridgfird tucked it to run.

It's just a flat out lack of discipline, and it's so bizarre to see game after game under Coach M. I hate to say it, but for as much as we pile on the playcalling and quarterback play, our offensive line has not played well as a whole this year.

Special Teams
Is it just me or is our special teams starting to become the nightmare we thought it might become? I mean I know punting has obviously taken a step down, but I thought D'Amato has done well since the debacle of the OSU performance.

But man, our coverage teams continue to play pretty poorly.

We currently are ranked 100th in the nation in opponent punt returns, 122nd in opponent kickoff returns, and 85th in punting. We're not much better in the other special teams categories.

The Bears again surrendered a 60 yard kickoff return, putting the Ducks in prime field position. It was lost in the multitude of points the Ducks scored, but coverage has gotten increasingly worse.

Moving Forward
I freaking love college football. I'm pretty sure I'm obsessed with Cal football.

But it's about time this brutal season comes to an end.

Like I said last week, here's hoping the Bears keep building to the future, because Cal fans, there are some nuggets of gold lost in the murk of this season. There's reason to think we can be a whole lot better.

Let's hope some of them appear in the season finale.

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Things I Want to See on Saturday Against Oregon

So the Bears are a 28 point underdog heading into their matchup against the 2nd ranked Oregon Ducks. This Oregon team is for real. They're easily the best team the Bears will have faced all season and in my opinion, up there as one of the best teams in the nation. I've watched nearly all their games this season, and they're that good. If all things go as pundits expect, the game should be over by halftime.

Now naturally, I've always been a proponent of the statement, "Well, that's why you play the game." Nothing's decided until the game actually starts. It's what's gotten me through this season, and it's what's stopped Colorado fans from jumping in front of Ralphie before the beginning of each game. That and a whole lot of alcohol.

So more than anything, I'd love to see the Bears come out and compete. They have effectively nothing to compete for other than pride and what they owe to themselves. Even if the season hasn't shaken out like anyone expected, they still owe it to themselves to go out there and put on their best effort in their last home game of the season.

For the seniors, it'll be the last chance to run out of the tunnel in Memorial Stadium. They've got nothing to lose at this point. We're past the point of moral victories, but you can certainly play for pride and see what happens.

In addition to the Bears showing some heart this Saturday, I've got a few other things I'd love to see.

Allan Bridgford with a week of starting reps
All signs point to Zach Maynard's time as the starter for the Bears being effectively over. Maynard's still hobbling on a sprained knee, and though Tedford stated he might be available in a backup capacity, that would make little sense for anyone involved. With the Bears playing solely for pride at this point, it would only make sense that we use this time to take an honest look at Allan Bridgford and even Austin Hinder.

While the coaches will likely say that spring ball will be competitive, it'd be foolish not to use this time to get a sense of what your quarterbacks can do in real live game situations. Think back to 2010, when fans clamored for anyone except Kevin Riley. Then we got a sense of what Brock Mansion could do in four games as a starter, and it became pretty clear to everyone that he wasn't going to be the answer at quarterback the following season.

The jury is still out on Allan Bridgford. In his 4 year Cal career, the junior has only completed 17 of his 48 pass attempts 216 yards in mop-up duty. He hasn't shown to be particularly turnover prone, and hasn't appeared completely wide-eyed in his appearances. However, his release is a still elongated, and he's still completing just 35% of his passes in his collegiate career against mostly defenses with 8 men back in coverage.

But here's the key part, he's never had an opportunity to take reps with ones, even when he announced as the starter in the season opener (what a debacle that was). So he's never really been given a fair shake, and I'm really curious to see what he can do after he's had an entire week to prepare as the starter. Every backup quarterback will tell you that they prepare each week as if they're the starter, but deep inside, each of those guys know there's a huge boost of confidence and adrenaline when you know you're going to be "the guy" come Saturday.

Of course, Oregon presents a significant challenge, so it might not be fair to evaluate Bridgford based on one game. But it sure as heck is a start.

Austin Hinder Gets a Look
This probably isn't the game to try this out, but I'd love to get a look at Austin Hinder in an actual game. I've been high on Hinder since we recruited him, but knew very early on that the kid was going to be a project. He was slender of frame, and had throwing mechanics that needed to be refined at the collegiate level. But he's a stud of an athlete, and might possess the best combination of throwing ability and mobility of the current quarterbacks.

Apparently, the light turned on some time during the offseason, and Hinder has finally put on significant weight and impressed quite a bit during camp. It was his inexperience at the position (having not gotten any game snaps ever) that really held him back for pushing for the backup role, but the coaches are high on Hinder.

Much like the reasoning for evaluating Bridgford, I'd love to see what Hinder can do. Given the offensive line's current pass protection problems, Hinder may actually be a better option. If the game gets out of hand early on, I'd like to see Hinder get the entire 4th quarter, and just see what his composure and management of the offense looks like. Again, it could be so much more valuable for the coaches in the long run, then trying to simply make the final score not as bad it really was.

Continued look at Cal's young playmakers on offense
Last week's offensive production was marred by abolutely brutal turnovers. But again, the Bears outgained their opposition in total yardage even in defeat. The Bears could move the ball decently well, and a lot of it had to do with the great play of Cal's wide receivers.

The future looks really bright there, and these are critical reps that Chris Harper, Bryce Treggs, Maurice Harris, and Darius Powe are getting. All four are freshmen (Harris having redshirted), and with Keenan Allen likely off for the NFL after this season, it would have been a nightmare if all four came in with little experience next year.

Fortunately, Harper as emerged as a star, and Treggs, Harris and Powe will have gained significant experience. Like I said last week, I'm liking a lot of their play. Harris is showing some tremendous blocking ability and he and Powe are developing as some solid possession receivers.

I want to continue to see three or four of them spread wide along with Richard Rodgers and Brendan Bigelow and continue to get a sense of how they fare against some pretty solid corners for the Ducks.

Bigelow?
I can't let it go guys, I just can't. I know Bigelow somehow has managed not to learn the playbook, but let him run the same three plays over and over (toss, stretch, and screen) and just get him into space.

Or, just watch what Oregon does with DeAnthony Thomas, and just have him do the same exact thing the next time the Bears get the ball.

Please?

"Dude...just go for it"
I actually roll my eyes most of the time the fans boo when the field goal team jogs onto the field. When it's 4th and 1 from the 32, I can understand the frustration. But when it's 4th and 8 from your own 46, you usually live for another day.

Not on Saturday though. I'm not saying throw every inch of football logic out the window, but I'm hoping for a bit more aggressiveness when it comes to playcalling and some cajones when it comes to extending drives.

Field goals aren't going to cut it against the Ducks under Chip Kelly (other than 2010, wait what?), so seriously, why bother?

Unless our defense holds their offense to 10 points against, then yeh, like kick field goals and stuff.

Outlook
As sad as it is, I'm not going into Saturday's game expecting a win. Sorry, I'm just not. Make no mistake, I'm actually going to the game, and you know I'll be rooting for the Bears to pull off the upset of all upsets, but I wouldn't even bet you a snickers bar on it.

So I'm hoping for effort. I'm looking for execution. I'm looking for some balls from the players and coaches. I'm hoping for a fun time, and something under the lights of Memorial Stadium that won't be deemed "excruciatingly painful" by the time I leave.

Prediction: Oregon 49 Cal 20

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Pac-12 Week 11 Predictions

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I didn't catch any of the games last weekend, so I didn't bother doing a Pac-12 Recap this weekend. Did have a 4-2 week last week with me falling on my face thinking that the Cougars would upset the Utes or that Arizona's hot streak would push them past the Bruins. I'm about 46-25 on the season, which isn't terrible, but I'm a little bummed I'm not past the 50 number mark after week 10.

Colorado (1-5, 1-8) at Arizona (5-4, 2-4)
This has all the makings of a bounce back game, as the Wildcats look to get bowl eligible in Year 1 under Rich Rod. Given their roller coaster of a season, you have to see this as a huge win for Wildcat fans. As for Colorado, all you can really think about at this point is basketball season.
Prediction: Arizona 42 Colorado 13

Arizona State (5-4, 3-3) at No. 19 USC (6-3, 4-3)
ASU fans are likely feeling a bit down after such a strong start to the season has stalled with three straight losses. But they still have to be encouraged by fact that they can easily finish with 7 or possibly 8 wins this season if they can knock off the Trojans.

USC fans are likely all feeling deflated after their national title hopes went out the door, really after their loss to Stanford. But have hope Trojan fans, you can still fight for that Holiday Bowl bid!
Prediction: USC 31 Arizona State 23

No. 11 Oregon State (7-1, 5-1) at No. 14 Stanford (7-2, 5-1)
Now we're talking: a solid showdown between two Pac-12 North teams. I expect a defensive battle, though the question might be how Stanford's redshirt freshman Kevin Hogan will do in his first career start. The Cardinal are desperately looking for answers on offense, though they have to be encouraged by the fact that they've played much better on the road. Then again, Oregon State has been pretty unflappable on the road. Taking the Beavers in a close battle.
Prediction: Oregon State 21 Stanford 17

Utah (4-5, 2-4) at Washington (5-4, 3-3)
Two weeks ago, both teams looked dead in the water. The turning point? 2 game winning streaks including wins over your Golden Bears. Sad trombone sound. This should be a fairly even matchup with two inconsistent offenses. Though I give the edge on defense to Utah, the Huskies have been a completely different team at home this season. The Huskies earn bowl eligibility, putting Utah at the brink.
Prediction: Utah 21 Washington 27

No. 18 UCLA (7-2, 4-2) at Washington State (2-7, 0-6)
Boy, talk about the Bruins. UCLA controls its own destiny in the Pac-12 South, while the Cougars control pretty much nothing at this point. Mike Leach continues to rip into the team, calling the effort of the water boys lethargic and embrassing.

Prediction: UCLA 38 WSU: 17
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Washington Recap

So this was one of those weekends where as soon as the game was over, I shut the TV off, and took a break from all of college football. Seriously, didn't watch any games on Saturday, and read up on some box scores on Sunday evening while check my fantasy football scores.

Why? The game was that depressing, the weather this weekend was that amazing, and my friends and family are too important and fun to not hang out with.

Still, for the sake of tradition and because a few things can be gleaned from Friday night's loss to Washington 21-13, I'll post a few quick thoughts.

Quick Recap
The Bears led 13-7 before two late scores gave the Huskies the lead for good. It was a sloppy, mess of a game from both sides, with neither team showing they seemed to want the win with a combined 8 turnovers from both squads. Ultimately, it was Washington's ability to capitalize on their red zone visits that made the difference in the game.

Cal's Red Zone Woes
The Bears continued to struggle inside the red zone, as they have all season now. Of Cal's 5 trips inside Washington's 25 (I know, not quite red zone, but close enough), the Bears managed 1 TD, 1 fumbles, 2 FGs, 1 missed FG. You just can't win games like that. On the season, Cal has scored TDs on just 42.4% of their trips to the redzone, which puts them 121st out of 124 teams in all of FBS college football. That's awful. That's not a blip. That's a reflection of questionable playcalling and poor execution in the redzone.

I'm not sure what's more frustrating. Watching an offense that struggles to move the ball, or watching this Cal team move the ball week in and week out and find ways not to convert inside the red zone. Still thinking about it.

Cal's Run Defense Continues to Struggle
I've harped on this quite a bit this season, so I won't go into that much more, but Cal's defense continued to struggle in their run game. Washington's Bishop Sankey carried the ball 18 times for 124 yards in the first half. The Bears tightened it up a bit until Washington's last two drives, allowing Sankey to finish the game 189 yards and 2 scores on 29 carries.

It's the 3rd consecutive game that the Bears have given up 100 yards to a rusher, and the seventh time out of 10 games the Bears have allowed such a feat. It's never easy to watch an opposing ball carrier run with ease, but it's all the more maddening when you continue to watch defenders try to knock out the ball carrier instead of wrapping up.

Questionable Matchup
Anyone who's followed this blog knows I have a bit of mancrush on Steve Williams. The guy's arguably the best cover corner the Bears have had in years and I'm sure he'll be playing on Sundays.

With that said, I'm a bit curious as to the logic behind placing him on 6'6 Austin Sefarian-Jenkins. Again, I understand that Williams is your best corner, but that just has matchup problems written all over it. And it showed in two of ASF's catches, one going for a score when he simply outjumped Williams. And it was real close, but that's a battle a 5'10 corner simply isn't going to win a lot.

Other than Kasen Williams, Washington has no other proven playmakers at receiver, so I'm confused as to why they thought Williams was the best answer. I'd think they'd be better off putting either Brennan Scarlett or Chris McCain on ASF, and floating a safety to help with coverage on top. Again, curious.

Nick Forbes Has Breakout Game
I've been real impressed with ILB Nick Forbes all season, but he had the game of his career against the Huskies. Not only did he lead the team with 11 tackles, but he also had two fumble recoveries and an amazing play in which he tipped a pass to himself for an interception. Just a stud on Friday night.

On the season, Forbes is tied for fourth in the conference with 74 tackles, which is all the more impressive when you consider that he didn't get his first start until the 3rd or 4th game of the season. He's still out of his position at times in pass coverage, and I'd like to see him shed blockers a bit more quickly, but he's a smart player who's continually around the ball. It's the best type of quality you want to see in a linebacker, and the reason why players like Mychal Kendricks and Desmond Bishop are playing on Sundays. Forbes is just a sophomore, but he's got a really bright future based on what we've seen of him in his first year as a starter.

Injuries Pile Up
It's amazing to watch a team as battered as this Bears team is. And some will point to the lack of a bye week, and though that may have something to do with it, the number of injuries sustatined by this squad is simply stunning. You look up and down the roster and you just kind of shake your head.

On defense, the Bears were without their starting cornerback, inside linebacker, and nose tackle. They were also missing a backup linebacker, and two backup defensive linemen. On offense, Cal was missing both their starting WRs, and saw their starting QB and right tackle go down in the middle of the game.

And the players who were on the field were far from 100% health, with McCain limping around, CJA only available in spot duty, and Scarlett playing with a drumstick taped to his hand.

For all the wrong this team has done, you have to admit the number of injuries on this team have been absolutely brutal, especially when you consider the number of players who were out for the season even before the season began.

Maynard Goes Down This particular injury is worth noting particularly because of it's implications for the future. Maynard was injured on a questionable "gator-roll" tackle and had to be carted off the field.

Tests have fortunately come back positive, and it looks like a sprained knee. It's doubtful that Maynard plays on Saturday against Oregon, so it very much looks like both Allan Bridgford and Austin Hinder get a look over the next two weeks.

Clearly, some things can change, but there's a real possibility that the Zach Maynard era at Cal is over. I'm hoping people refrain from snarky comments and have some level of appreciation for Maynard's efforts at Cal. We all know his limitations as a quarterback, but I did feel for him as he had to be carried off the field. He's played for the team, and for that I thank him.

Future is Bright at Receiver
With Keenan Allen likely out for the season and done playing for the Golden Bears, fans got a fantasic preview of the talent at the wide receiver position.

Chris Harper led the Bears with 7 catches for 101 yards including some spectacular "Top 10" type grabs. He also added a 14 yard rush on an end around for a score. If you had told me last spring that Chris Harper would been the breakout receiver out of Cal's vaunted freshman WR class, I would have been more than skeptical. But he's stepped up big time, and has shown more athleticism than I could have predicted to go along with his nice route-running.

Darius Powe also had 3 catches for 32 yards, Maurice Harris finally got in the mix with 2 catches for 13 yards, and showed some tremendous blocking downfield. Richard Rodgers also had a 23 yard reception. Keep in mind that Bryce Treggs wasn't a 100% either.

None of these guys are close to replicating the type of polish or production of Keenan Allen, but I saw something from all of them on Friday that made me nod with approval.

Moving Forward
Well, this season is officially a bust, but we knew that long before Friday happened. With the Bears slumped at 3-7, I can just hope that we continue to play for the future and see if we can ignite some, some excitement into this fanbase.

If you dig through all the mess, there's a lot to be intrigued by. Cal's young linebackers are getting some much needed playing time to go with their playmaking abilities, Avery Sebastian provides some much needed aggression in the secondary, and Cal has some young playmakers at the offensive skill positions that have the chance to do some nice things next season.

At this point, let's try not to depress ourselves anymore. It's been a tough, ok, brutal season. Let's support the team, enjoy the rest of the nice fall weather, and see if we can appreciate any few good moments left in this season. In other words, let's see if we can have some...fun with what's left?

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