"constant rotation of promlem areas" is the usual product of a roster and depth chart that is overall lacking in not only depth, but breadth and versatility, despite a few that are above average, because there are more that are not. This is Cal.
Six wins sounds like s very solid prediction given that Cal is losing five of the top 7 tacklers from the defense and will be starting a quarterback with little or no game experience. The list of first year QB's who won at Cal is not a big one. Certainly Aaron Rodgers. And Mike Pawlawski did great in his first year while throwing to Sean Dawkins, handing off to Russell White and having studs like Troy Auzenne, Steve Gordon and Todd Steussie plowing the way for him. With apologies to Travers family head coach Justin Wilcox, you are no Bruce Snyder.
I think the core problem here is not the coaches, but the changes we have seen in college football recruiting - high school and the portal. And the role big money plays in attracting and keeping top players. Cal's high school recruiting classes in recent years have been falling in terms of rankings. In 2023 Rivals 247 ranked Cal's high school class 79th in the nation. In 2024 we were ranked 55. I believe this year we come in at 69. Most of our recruits are solid three stars. Top teams are getting 4-5 stars. With that type of talent you are going to be. 500 team on average. You can point to the highly ranked portal class we had for 2024, but how many of those top players really contributed because of injury or otherwise - without going into names? This year our overall ranking for HS and portal is 13th in the ACC. That is not going to get you much of anywhere. Starting this coming season NCAA is scheduled to begin sharing revenues so all schools will have $20 million to share with athletes. This should level the playing field and hopefully Cal can become more competitive again on the recruiting front.
I'd be willing to consider blaming the changes across college football over Wilcox if Wilcox didn't already have functionally identical results before the transfer portal existed.
OLine gurus. I get that the RPO is a relatively simple scheme (say compared to some of the Pro Style stuff we saw with Tedford, Musgrave, etc.). But it seems as if RPO would make things more difficult as a lineman, as sometimes it's hard to discern whether the play is run or pass (and as evidenced by many downfield blocking penalties). Wouldn't it be easier for a lineman to know what's happening. Might that have helped last year?
Nick, great summation regarding the tendencies of the offense to come up short and in turn the dependence on the kicking game to score. It's always something isn't it, we never seem to have that complete team. Looking to next season, I am going to the Beavers Game. That is all I got for now.
I so thoroughly agree that I refuse to Charlie Brown myself again for Wilcox. I will always root hard for the Bears, and hope for better, but until there is either a 10 win season or some back to back 8-9 win seasons, I will expect a 6-7 win season with some inexplicable losses from easily knowable and fixable problems.
This year is a great example: Lots of good changes on offense, some good talent coming in, reasons for optimism. Yet, Wilcox will somehow revert to his mean.
No sunshine pumping today, thank you Nick! Apart from the talent problem, the lack of touchdowns and high # of FGAs point to a coaching problem. And also, the unsturdy GBs were unprepared and unready to face Syracuse, Stanford and SMU, so maybe Cal should refrain from playing schools that start with S. Bottom line, I'm with you that no matter who Cal recruits and plays, until coaching improves/changes, predicting more than 6-6 is pure folly...
The left O tackle is the most important lineman for pass protection. I couldn't understand why a player who had never played that position or any O line position in his playing career was there at all. That decision was a position coach's decision and a really bad one.
For all intents and purposes, Cal did not have a position coach for the OL.
It was obvious to the naked eye of even the most casual of fans that no one was teaching these kids proper technique, and they so obviously were lost in terms of scheme. Pound for pound, it was the worst positional unit in all of Power Conference football.
Really excited to see what Famika does with this crew from a coaching/preparation standpoint.
Plenty of folks on this board had legitimate questions at the time about the feasibility of Wilcox eschewing a dedicated OL coach and having an inexperienced play caller pull double-duty. What was going to happen on Saturday, when Mike had his hands full executing a game plan and the various in-game adjustments required of an OC? Unfortunately, while Bloesch was perhaps able to handle the dual role during weekly practice sessions, it was an obvious issue on game days as the unit clearly looked poorly coached on the football field. Was it at FSU where the OL struggled with the snap count and alone had 4-5 pre-snap procedure penalties? A better, more experienced coach may have been able to pull this off, but Bloesch clearly was not up for it, at least not at the Power Conference level.
Of all the new hires, I am actually most excited for the Famika Anae add…dude is legit, and his players have loved him at his previous stops. Plus, and most importantly, he’ll actually be available to work with guys mid-game to correct technique, to make proper substitution calls, etc….given your personal experience on the sideline, would you agree this has the potential to lead to substantial improvement by the OL?
And if he can turn the OL into even an average unit, 8-4 should be absolutely doable.
Our alma Mater is ready to hire my former teammate, Oregon DC Tosh Lupoi. The Alumni wants it. Lets get this done Bears
He used to be a dynamic recruiter. Now he's older and recruiting world has changed. So I think we are fine without him.
Lots of mixed feelings about that one. Not sure ALL the alums want it.
Oh please no. What he did when he left Cal's coaching staff several years ago was terrible.
"constant rotation of promlem areas" is the usual product of a roster and depth chart that is overall lacking in not only depth, but breadth and versatility, despite a few that are above average, because there are more that are not. This is Cal.
Six wins sounds like s very solid prediction given that Cal is losing five of the top 7 tacklers from the defense and will be starting a quarterback with little or no game experience. The list of first year QB's who won at Cal is not a big one. Certainly Aaron Rodgers. And Mike Pawlawski did great in his first year while throwing to Sean Dawkins, handing off to Russell White and having studs like Troy Auzenne, Steve Gordon and Todd Steussie plowing the way for him. With apologies to Travers family head coach Justin Wilcox, you are no Bruce Snyder.
Nate Longshore led us to Pac10 co champion in his first season as a starter in 2006 as RS Soph.
I think the core problem here is not the coaches, but the changes we have seen in college football recruiting - high school and the portal. And the role big money plays in attracting and keeping top players. Cal's high school recruiting classes in recent years have been falling in terms of rankings. In 2023 Rivals 247 ranked Cal's high school class 79th in the nation. In 2024 we were ranked 55. I believe this year we come in at 69. Most of our recruits are solid three stars. Top teams are getting 4-5 stars. With that type of talent you are going to be. 500 team on average. You can point to the highly ranked portal class we had for 2024, but how many of those top players really contributed because of injury or otherwise - without going into names? This year our overall ranking for HS and portal is 13th in the ACC. That is not going to get you much of anywhere. Starting this coming season NCAA is scheduled to begin sharing revenues so all schools will have $20 million to share with athletes. This should level the playing field and hopefully Cal can become more competitive again on the recruiting front.
I'd be willing to consider blaming the changes across college football over Wilcox if Wilcox didn't already have functionally identical results before the transfer portal existed.
OLine gurus. I get that the RPO is a relatively simple scheme (say compared to some of the Pro Style stuff we saw with Tedford, Musgrave, etc.). But it seems as if RPO would make things more difficult as a lineman, as sometimes it's hard to discern whether the play is run or pass (and as evidenced by many downfield blocking penalties). Wouldn't it be easier for a lineman to know what's happening. Might that have helped last year?
What were the stats for 2023 regarding touchdown and FG relationship? Thank you
I don't drink much anymore, but this article made me want to numb the 2024 pain with brown spirits.
Or clear spirits, for that matter. Even green spirits…a good triple-Midori sour never hurt no one!
But spirits needed, nonetheless, my friend!
Nick, great summation regarding the tendencies of the offense to come up short and in turn the dependence on the kicking game to score. It's always something isn't it, we never seem to have that complete team. Looking to next season, I am going to the Beavers Game. That is all I got for now.
I so thoroughly agree that I refuse to Charlie Brown myself again for Wilcox. I will always root hard for the Bears, and hope for better, but until there is either a 10 win season or some back to back 8-9 win seasons, I will expect a 6-7 win season with some inexplicable losses from easily knowable and fixable problems.
This year is a great example: Lots of good changes on offense, some good talent coming in, reasons for optimism. Yet, Wilcox will somehow revert to his mean.
No excuses after the coaching staff additions, CB.
If he goes 6-6 this year he is out…one of the reasons Rivera was hired was to minimize Knowlton’s involvement in the program.
7-5 should be the absolute floor.
No sunshine pumping today, thank you Nick! Apart from the talent problem, the lack of touchdowns and high # of FGAs point to a coaching problem. And also, the unsturdy GBs were unprepared and unready to face Syracuse, Stanford and SMU, so maybe Cal should refrain from playing schools that start with S. Bottom line, I'm with you that no matter who Cal recruits and plays, until coaching improves/changes, predicting more than 6-6 is pure folly...
The left O tackle is the most important lineman for pass protection. I couldn't understand why a player who had never played that position or any O line position in his playing career was there at all. That decision was a position coach's decision and a really bad one.
For all intents and purposes, Cal did not have a position coach for the OL.
It was obvious to the naked eye of even the most casual of fans that no one was teaching these kids proper technique, and they so obviously were lost in terms of scheme. Pound for pound, it was the worst positional unit in all of Power Conference football.
Really excited to see what Famika does with this crew from a coaching/preparation standpoint.
Wasn't Bloesch the OLine coach as well as OC last year?
Yes, Coach, which is exactly my point.
Plenty of folks on this board had legitimate questions at the time about the feasibility of Wilcox eschewing a dedicated OL coach and having an inexperienced play caller pull double-duty. What was going to happen on Saturday, when Mike had his hands full executing a game plan and the various in-game adjustments required of an OC? Unfortunately, while Bloesch was perhaps able to handle the dual role during weekly practice sessions, it was an obvious issue on game days as the unit clearly looked poorly coached on the football field. Was it at FSU where the OL struggled with the snap count and alone had 4-5 pre-snap procedure penalties? A better, more experienced coach may have been able to pull this off, but Bloesch clearly was not up for it, at least not at the Power Conference level.
Of all the new hires, I am actually most excited for the Famika Anae add…dude is legit, and his players have loved him at his previous stops. Plus, and most importantly, he’ll actually be available to work with guys mid-game to correct technique, to make proper substitution calls, etc….given your personal experience on the sideline, would you agree this has the potential to lead to substantial improvement by the OL?
And if he can turn the OL into even an average unit, 8-4 should be absolutely doable.
Go Bears!