Around the 'Shoe

Be kind? Of course people are going to be kind. Their crystal ball doesn't work any better than yours.

I'm going to disagree and for a couple reasons. Oregon does not nor have they had the talent we stockpile on defense. OSU has play makers at all three levels of their defense and probably 3-4 guys who will be playing on Sundays starting for them. And while I do expect Cal to give OSU a game defensively, I think it will be more due to Miller adjusting to the new system early in the season. Also, Ohio State has more talent across the board than Oregon.

The buckeyes could lose. I just don't see it as being very probable. I don't think Cal has the talent to keep up and I don't think they can score enough points on offense. Maybe if they get some breaks on special teams and get a few turnovers it might be possible. I just don't think so. OSU is going to run the ball at will against them. I like Hyde to break loose in this one and I like the Buckeye defense to feast on that Cal offense. I don't think Cal's offensive line matches up to our front 7. I don't think Cal can run the ball and be balanced. I don't think Cal will play beyond midway through the third quarter unless the reffs save them by calling timely holding penalties on OSU to keep them out of the endzone.

I don't think anyone on their schedule is going to beat them. This is a completely different team from last year where they were gutless and gave up. At least they sound that way on paper. And after the final whistle blows and the 21+ point beatdown of Michigan is over......we can finish the year laughing our asses off at Mayor McCheese and his band of crony wannabes.

In what world do you think Mayor McCheese can compete with Meyer?

Good post, Chu. I haven't thought much about Cal and honestly don't know who they return.

Glad this is mentioned. Every year I look at the schedule I fixate on the B1G games, and usually don't do any research on the early stuff. Cal is currently a mystery to me, but I'm looking forward to having some of their fans come over and fill us in. This season will be an uneasy one for me (with the advent of the new O scheme especially) but it was the same last year too...for obvious and different reasons. My gut tells me this staff will have the team ready for all comers this season.

Just go back and look at Cal's last couple recruiting classes compared to ours. Talent and rankings are not that far behind. I think in 09 or 2010 they might have had a better rated class than us. Cal has the talent to beat us if we let them. Dont get me wrong, I really cant see this happening. You gotta also remember that Cal is our first test, so the players should be pretty pumped up and ready to roll.

While it is certainly not impossible for Cal to beat us, (heck Toledo had on the ropes last year), the odds are in our favor.

1) we will have 2 games under our belt to work out any kinks and issues
2) we are at home
3) Cal was 7-6 last year
4) although in general their Offense has some returners, they were held to 16 points or less 4 times, as bad as we were, we did this only twice
5) they won only 2 games away from home last year, 47-38 vs an ASU team that fired their HC and 36-33 against a Colorado team that we beat by 20 that they blew a 10 point lead to with less than 5 mins to go in the 3rd quarter and needed OT to win, (Colorado put up 582 yards Total O that day, this was 2 weeks before we held them to 314 and only 17 points in our win)
6) we were 5-2 at home with last years lousy team, they were 2-7 away from home
7) taking the Presbyterian game out of their stats, they went 6-6, gave up 25.2 points per game we gave up only 21.
9) 4 of their 6 losses last year were by 10 points or more including losses of 17, and 28 on the road and 21 at home, while 6 of our 7 were by 7 points or less and our worst loss was only 18 on the road
10) they return only 11 total starters while we return 18.
11) they gave up over 30 points 7 times last year, we did it only 2 times
12) in their last game, a very mediocre Texas team held them to 7 yards rushing and less than 200 total. USC held them to 35 yards rushing.

Good post jpf, but I was looking more in the line of Cal's defense against the spread offense. Most of those games they got blown out was against pro-style offenses. USC, Standford. My point was only to the fact that even though the score was much larger than it appeared last year vs Oregon, the last 2 games prior to that, they held them in check.

I just think some teams are more equip to handle different systems better. Ex: it's hard for teams to study up on triple option teams (Navy, GT), but teams that play them every year have a good true sense on how to handle it. (most of the time). Then I look at OSU few years back, recruiting faster thinner players to combat the read option UM (Rich Rod's) offense. You also had Illini, NW, and Purdue running a hurry up spread offense. Then we play Wisky- which is a down hill running power team, and they took it to us. Some teams play better against spread offense than others, I was just throwing it out there that Cal might be that 1 team that stops spread option offenses.

I do agree with most that we should beat them, and "should" man handle them coming to C-Bus, but if my predicitions are true- this could be a good early test for us.

wow is me..........attention wh$$e

Credit to BlueCrimson, from TOS, for posting this...

California Golden Bears

Preview 2012

Head coach: Jeff Tedford 
11th year: 79-48 
Returning Lettermen 
Off. 25, Def. 26, ST 2 
Lettermen Lost: 21
ten best california players 
1. wr keenan allen, jr. 
2. rb isi sofele, sr. 
3. cb marc anthony, sr. 
4. s josh hill, sr. 
5. rt matt summers-gavin, sr. 
6. c brian schwenke, sr. 
7. cb steve williams, jr. 
8. de deandre coleman, jr. 
9. qb zach maynard, sr. 
10. lb chris mccain, soph.
2012 Schedule
Sep. 1 Nevada 
Sep. 8 Southern Utah
Sep. 15 at Ohio State 
Sep. 22 at USC 
Sep. 29 Arizona State 
Oct. 6 UCLA 
Oct. 13 at Washington St 
Oct. 20 Stanford 
Oct. 27 at Utah 
Nov. 2 Washington 
Nov. 10 Oregon 
Nov. 17 at Oregon State 
Nov. 23 OPEN DATE
Different year, same old climate in Strawberry Canyon. 

The Bears and specifically head coach Jeff Tedford begin the spring with optimism, but also with the knowledge that they’ve been underachievers in recent seasons. The program is just 36-28 since 2007, including 7-6 a year ago, consistently finishing with a thud. And it’s been six years since it was higher than fourth place in the conference. 

What’s even more frustrating around Berkeley is that the Cal roster has not been light on talented athletes, the kinds of players that go on to populate NFL rosters. The team has simply had problems executing at key points in games, especially at quarterback, which has become a particular indictment of Tedford, a man who has partly earned his reputation from what he’s produced behind center. 

The coach’s starter for 2012 is likely to be incumbent Zach Maynard, though a high-profile battle for the job could brew like a hot cup of mud in the coming months. Hard-throwing Zach Kline, the nation’s fourth-ranked hurler, is already on campus, delighting the locals with his poise and promise for the future. 

Now, the Bears would prefer to redshirt their gem this fall, but if Maynard happens to digress, it wouldn’t be a stunner if the Kline era began a little earlier than anticipated. 

Cal remains a talented program on both sides of the ball, which only makes the pressure on the staff that much greater. While the coaches have excelled at attracting the right players, repurposing them into a winning product on the field has been elusive. For Tedford, that has meant a perpetual reservation on college football’s coaching hot seat. 

Yeah, he was the savior, both on and off the field, after the school had veered into a ditch, but what’s the feel-good expiration date for turning a team around? Three years? Five years? Whatever it is, the coach is likely up against it. 

The Bears have been battling mediocrity right around the same time rival Stanford has hit the tarmac, a recipe for a lot of frustration around Berkeley. Now more than ever, Tedford needs to catch the rest of the Pac-12 snoozing, and get back to competing on a high level before it gets too late. 

What to watch for on offense: The young receivers. Cal is home to one of the country’s most dangerous targets, Keenan Allen, a sure-fire All-American candidate. However, after the junior, the corps gets very young, very fast. Current Cincinnati Bengal Marvin Jones is no longer eligible, making it a little less risky for opponents to double Allen. His cousin, redshirt freshman Maurice Harris, exited spring as the starter on the opposite side. However, a wave of incoming freshmen, especially Bryce Treggs and Kenny Lawler, are going to get a chance to pay immediate dividends for a passing game that needs them. 

What to watch for on defense: The super-sophs. Out with the old, and in with the new. Cal’s recent recruiting prowess is about to go on full display with the unveiling of a swath of second-year players on the two-deep. DE Mustafa Jalil, linebackers Nick Forbes, David Wilkerson, Chris McCain and Cecil Whiteside, CB Stefan McClure and S Avery Sebastian are busting at the seams with potential. That upside is about to meld with opportunity, affording the Bear cubs a larger spotlight and far more reps than were available in 2011. 

The team will be far better if… it does a better job of protecting the ball. While the Bears were sixth in the Pac-12 in turnover margin, they were tenth in turnovers lost. And those mistakes, both fumbles and interceptions, proved especially costly in the program’s losses. In those six games, Cal was minus-nine in turnover margin, committing a whopping 17 total turnovers. Reducing that number will be a total team effort that includes better decisions from the quarterbacks, cleaner snaps in shotgun formations and a tighter grip on the ball across the board. 

The Schedule: The Bears will have to be tough and smart about conserving their energy without and weeks off. It'll be a 12-game dash that ends in mid-November a few weeks before many other teams are still playing, but there won't be many chances to take a break. Beating Nevada in the opener is a must to avoid a possible disastrous start with road trips to Ohi oState and USC coming up in mid-September. Fortunately, there are only three remaining road games after the date in L.A., and while getting an away date at Utah is a bad break from the South, getting Stanford, Washington, and Oregon all at home in a nice stretch of three home games in four weeks late in the season. 

Best offensive player: Junior WR Keenan Allen. Cal’s returning First Team All-Pac-12 performer might be the most underrated superstar in college football. Despite getting intermittent support from his quarterback in 2011, he still managed to catch 98 balls for 1,343 yards and six touchdowns. At 6-3 and 206 pounds, he has the length, big hands and precise route-running skills that NFL teams covet in a go-to wide receiver. While he’s surrounded by young receivers, batterymate Zach Maynard figures to be more comfortable in his second year in the system. 

Best defensive player: Senior CB Marc Anthony. Anthony played well in 2011, but might have been an all-star had he not been hindered by injuries. After taking it light in the spring, he’s expected to be at full strength in time for the opener. Safety-sized, with the cover skills of a corner, the 6-0, 200-pound is an asset to the Bears in a number of different of ways. His five stops behind the line led Cal’s defensive backs a year ago, as did his dozen broken up passes. 

Key player to a successful season: Senior QB Zach Maynard. Maynard was the key a year ago, and he will be again this fall. The Bears need a higher degree of consistency from the position after the lefty ranked tenth in the Pac-12 in passing efficiency. After bottoming out with awful October efforts versus USC and UCLA, he played with a little more crispness over the final five games, throwing five touchdown passes and only two picks. Cal needs to see a little more of that player now that he’s in his second season with the program. 

The season will be a success if ... the Bears win at least eight regular season games for the first time in three years. Although the team is not facing an easy schedule this fall, it’ll be no excuse for not taking a positive step forward in the standings. With seven homes games at newly-renovated Memorial Stadium, Cal should be well-positioned to avoid the kind of losing skid that derails its goals. This is not a Pac-12 championship team, but it is one that’s capable of advancing the ball compared to where it was in 2011. 

Key game: Oct. 20 vs. Stanford. Having lost two straight in the Big Game, the Bears are poised to bring the Axe back to Berkeley. Not only is the game at home, but Andrew Luck is no longer on the opposite sideline of Cal. This will be a huge game for head coach Jeff Tedford and his entire squad. This is one of those fork-in-the-road points of a season that couldn’t whether or not the Bears reach their 2012 goals, or remain in contention for the North Division title. 

2011 Fun Stats:
- Passing yards per game: Cal 246 – Opponents 204 
- Sacks: Cal 34 – Opponents 28 
- Fourth-quarter scoring: Cal 41 - Opponents 79 

- 2012 California Preview | 2012 California Offense
- 2012 California Defense | 2012 California Depth Chart

Besides Cal WRs Maurice Harris and Keenan Allen being cousins, aren't Allen and Zach Maynard also related, like half-brothers or cousins? I want to say that's why Maynard left Buffalo. They're three from Greensboro but Harris and Allen went to a different HS than Maynard. Maynard was a 2-star QB in the 2008 class, Allen was Scout's #1 safety in the 2010 class, and Harris was a 3-star WR in the 2011 class.

Sofla's like a one-man show...one actor playing multiple characters like Senor Wences and the talking hand puppet. He's become so true to his west boca ghetto bumpkin character that he's convinced a lot of people that's who he is in real life. But you just bumped into him off stage and you've realized that he's not the doofus he's had you and a lot of other people thinking he is.

Rather than be mad at him, you're now one of the few who's in on the joke. And being in on the joke always makes it fun to laugh at those who aren't or don't get it.

You make a valid argument I hadn't thought about. I like to think of myself as tolerant of people who have handicaps and generally dislike people who mock or make fun of them, much less encourage that kind of behavior. I don't even like the word retarded because I find it insensitive. So, you make a good point, Chu, that soflabuck pretending he has a disability when he probably doesn't (unless it hits him in phases, which is also a possibility), is insensitive to people who really do have disabilities and would probably willingly trade everything they own to switch places with someone who doesn't.

One of the benefits of this site should be that we can derive some value from it in the form of crossing paths with people who can open our eyes to things we hadn't considered on our own. In that regard, I think you're right and appreciate making me aware of my own insenstivity by encouraging it.