You just know this is going to end like Big Game in 2017 and 2020 where we outplay Stanford only to lose because of discipline...and I'm not ready for it.
I became a Bears fan in 1977, when I came up to Berkeley as a freshman, and it had been less than 20 years since Cal's last Rose Bowl appearance. "We dominate the Pac 8" was one of the cheers then, but now it's 44 years later and the Pac 8 became the Pac 10 and the Pac 12, and still the Blue and Gold has never won the league championship and I'm an old man. It was always like this after the 1950s-60s, fans: the Golden Bears playing really well, really credibly, but with some wonderful exceptions (like a triple-overtime victory in Memorial Stadium back in the late 1990s), still so able to explode on the launchpad or find some way to lose late in the game. After a hundred heartbreakers I kind of gave up, call me a bad Old Blue if you wish, but I just walked away from fandom 10=15 years ago and pay little attention now.
Perhaps some of young "New Blues" will live to see Cal crushing all opposition en route to dynastic league dominance. But I don't think that I will, and in that surrender I have found inner peace on Saturdays.
JORDAN KUNASZYK. Don’t ignore that name. The point of the spear for the best defense of the Wilcox era. Also, the Sonny hate is tiresome. He inherited a shit show created by his predecessor, and recruited far better than has been given credit for. Now, this guy is trying to win with no players on either side of the ball who are the least bit feared by the opposition. To cut him loose would set back a reeling program even further. If some of the youngsters can develop, hope. If not, doom, but no one wants to coach at Cal.
Can't disagree with you more about Wilcox. It comes down to talent. In the Oregun game, we had 3 star recruits going against 5 star athletes and damn near beat them. I hate seeing the 1-5 record as much as anyone else, but what Cal needs in both football and basketball (and has since 1959) is consistency in coaching. Losing Wilcox will just put the program back another two steps. He is committed to Cal despite all of the additional obstacles the unique Berkeley experience presents, and Cal should be committed to him.
It took John Wooden 11 years to get his program rolling (and Sam Gilbert). The pandemic wiped out any momentum that was made. Give him time and relax.
The story of the Wilcox era has been the QB position. Year 1 was spent with a serviceable but mistake prone QB - 5 wins seemed appropriate. Year 2 through now us fans and the coaching staff have injected way too much hope into an inconsistent QB who looks great some days and makes basic mistakes on other days. The day Musgrave showed up he said this is my quarterback's team and has been calling plays like that his entire tenure. The 7 play sequence at the end of the Oregon game was as if we have Lamar Jackson starting for us and we will win or lose with him and only him running or throwing the ball on the money plays. I think Wilcox will have a lot of regrets here when he looks back on the last 4.5 years. Every time I see Ole Miss on tv I can't help but think of what Matt Corral looked like in 2019 and what he looks like now; experience has not translated into anywhere close to that kind of meaningful improvement in Berkeley. The guy coaching down on the Farm for all his flaws has been quick to recognize when it's time to try something new at that position. Will we?
Kinda meh and jump on the bandwagon article here, Avinash.
Wilcox has made some hire mistakes. His greatest one isn’t even mentioned in this article or any other articles regardless of fan site. That hire would be Greatwood. I think we can agree that the toughest position to matriculate from high school ball to college is the OL. The position is often the hardest to develop and for every 4 recruits perhaps 1 will ever play any meaningful snaps for a program. GW was at the tail end of his career, and he only recruited one blue chip who, for now, seems to be a below average lineman (Craig). So, other than Wilcox paying GW a handsome salary for a few years, Cal got absolutely nothing for it, and it set back the OL thus the program by at least 4 years. Greatwood’s OLs weren’t all that great and the philosophy of teaching each linemen multiple positions when they couldn’t play one position above average has proven to be wasted time. Angus wasn’t an upgrade, and he is absolutely one of the coaches who should be gone by the end of the year. If I recall he signed a 2 year contract so Cal should absorb his remaining year. Hell Angus should have been fired after the Wazzu game.
I can’t help but think that should Wilcox be let go (I hope he isn’t) this year or next that somewhere in the back of his mind he will lament sticking with Garbers as his only QB for 5 years and not fixing the OL problem.
Cal is and can only be a developmental program. Therefore, Cal will have deep valleys and foot hill peaks until and when they can recruit marginally better players. That process is well on its way especially on defense and specifically at defensive line. The linebacking crew is solid and developing. GA recruited nobody when he was here and left the cupboard bare so that lands on him for the state of the DBs. On offense we have recruited well at receiver and going into this cycle looked really good at QB and RB. So, clearly the recruiting was/is getting better. Except for OL and to a lesser extent DB. Without an OL Cal will continue to fail on offense ~ get rid of Angus (if I haven’t already mentioned that). The plan and the process ~ given Cal’s limitations in recruiting ~ is a solid one, it’s too bad our poor record lost some critical recruits this cycle.
Yes, Wilcox must grow a pair of cajones and make changes at the end of the year. Previously I trusted Wilcox had the ability to make good decisions, recently I have begun to waver on that trust.
Avinash, perhaps Cal has a “high hill to climb” but as you yourself indicated that hill is literally 46 yards!!
The article didn't mention the penalties. One after the other against Cal against Oregon. And the missed snap for FG against Washington that would have won the game at the buzzer... My heart can't take it.
Harbaugh: "We're going to win with character, but we're also going to win with cruelty." Wilcox: "We'll try to win with character but overall stick with my friends." Maybe I'm wrong on this but it's possible: If Wilcox wants to win he'll need to adopt cruelty. Not only for his staff and his players but for how he approaches the game.
I loved Justin Wilcox, mainly because I'm a defensive guy and I love watching 13-10 defensive struggles, which was happening more often in the 2018 season. But I consider the game this week a must win.
I wasn't old enough to remember Holmoe, but it looks like Wilcox's tenure is lining up with it just a bit. There should be no reason they lose to Colorado or Arizona. If they lose to Colorado this week, I don't think they are winning another game this year. It feels like I came in a "Golden" age of Cal football where they were competive year in and year out for a while. Honestly, now I feel spoiled listening to Old Blue Stories about what the 70's and the 80's and the 90's were like.
I would like Wilcox to stay, but I would need a reason to believe he would turn it around, and considering the Administration and everything... I don't have a reason to believe they will. I think they would all go in 2022.
It's honestly been a disappointment, There had been so many problems especially playing inconsistently against teams. Almost beat Oregon, yet losing to Nevada at home. The culture needs to change especially when things hasn't changed in the past 10 or so years.
Playing up or down to the level of our opponents is one of the big problems. I honestly don't know how Wilcox can break this cycle. But it's clear our coaching is not developing players so they can execute come crunch time. Overall, it's been a very hard year to stomach.
Well said Avi, needless to say. You cut to the quick, again and again. Name the problem, again and again. Sure wish you didn't have to write this, and instead were penning a tribute to greatness, but these are the time we face. Like I've been saying, I've gone from sunshine pumper to Old Blue in this season.
You just know this is going to end like Big Game in 2017 and 2020 where we outplay Stanford only to lose because of discipline...and I'm not ready for it.
I became a Bears fan in 1977, when I came up to Berkeley as a freshman, and it had been less than 20 years since Cal's last Rose Bowl appearance. "We dominate the Pac 8" was one of the cheers then, but now it's 44 years later and the Pac 8 became the Pac 10 and the Pac 12, and still the Blue and Gold has never won the league championship and I'm an old man. It was always like this after the 1950s-60s, fans: the Golden Bears playing really well, really credibly, but with some wonderful exceptions (like a triple-overtime victory in Memorial Stadium back in the late 1990s), still so able to explode on the launchpad or find some way to lose late in the game. After a hundred heartbreakers I kind of gave up, call me a bad Old Blue if you wish, but I just walked away from fandom 10=15 years ago and pay little attention now.
Perhaps some of young "New Blues" will live to see Cal crushing all opposition en route to dynastic league dominance. But I don't think that I will, and in that surrender I have found inner peace on Saturdays.
“Mediocre” suggests a .500 record. We’re 1-5. That does not suggest mediocre.
JORDAN KUNASZYK. Don’t ignore that name. The point of the spear for the best defense of the Wilcox era. Also, the Sonny hate is tiresome. He inherited a shit show created by his predecessor, and recruited far better than has been given credit for. Now, this guy is trying to win with no players on either side of the ball who are the least bit feared by the opposition. To cut him loose would set back a reeling program even further. If some of the youngsters can develop, hope. If not, doom, but no one wants to coach at Cal.
Can't disagree with you more about Wilcox. It comes down to talent. In the Oregun game, we had 3 star recruits going against 5 star athletes and damn near beat them. I hate seeing the 1-5 record as much as anyone else, but what Cal needs in both football and basketball (and has since 1959) is consistency in coaching. Losing Wilcox will just put the program back another two steps. He is committed to Cal despite all of the additional obstacles the unique Berkeley experience presents, and Cal should be committed to him.
It took John Wooden 11 years to get his program rolling (and Sam Gilbert). The pandemic wiped out any momentum that was made. Give him time and relax.
The story of the Wilcox era has been the QB position. Year 1 was spent with a serviceable but mistake prone QB - 5 wins seemed appropriate. Year 2 through now us fans and the coaching staff have injected way too much hope into an inconsistent QB who looks great some days and makes basic mistakes on other days. The day Musgrave showed up he said this is my quarterback's team and has been calling plays like that his entire tenure. The 7 play sequence at the end of the Oregon game was as if we have Lamar Jackson starting for us and we will win or lose with him and only him running or throwing the ball on the money plays. I think Wilcox will have a lot of regrets here when he looks back on the last 4.5 years. Every time I see Ole Miss on tv I can't help but think of what Matt Corral looked like in 2019 and what he looks like now; experience has not translated into anywhere close to that kind of meaningful improvement in Berkeley. The guy coaching down on the Farm for all his flaws has been quick to recognize when it's time to try something new at that position. Will we?
Kinda meh and jump on the bandwagon article here, Avinash.
Wilcox has made some hire mistakes. His greatest one isn’t even mentioned in this article or any other articles regardless of fan site. That hire would be Greatwood. I think we can agree that the toughest position to matriculate from high school ball to college is the OL. The position is often the hardest to develop and for every 4 recruits perhaps 1 will ever play any meaningful snaps for a program. GW was at the tail end of his career, and he only recruited one blue chip who, for now, seems to be a below average lineman (Craig). So, other than Wilcox paying GW a handsome salary for a few years, Cal got absolutely nothing for it, and it set back the OL thus the program by at least 4 years. Greatwood’s OLs weren’t all that great and the philosophy of teaching each linemen multiple positions when they couldn’t play one position above average has proven to be wasted time. Angus wasn’t an upgrade, and he is absolutely one of the coaches who should be gone by the end of the year. If I recall he signed a 2 year contract so Cal should absorb his remaining year. Hell Angus should have been fired after the Wazzu game.
I can’t help but think that should Wilcox be let go (I hope he isn’t) this year or next that somewhere in the back of his mind he will lament sticking with Garbers as his only QB for 5 years and not fixing the OL problem.
Cal is and can only be a developmental program. Therefore, Cal will have deep valleys and foot hill peaks until and when they can recruit marginally better players. That process is well on its way especially on defense and specifically at defensive line. The linebacking crew is solid and developing. GA recruited nobody when he was here and left the cupboard bare so that lands on him for the state of the DBs. On offense we have recruited well at receiver and going into this cycle looked really good at QB and RB. So, clearly the recruiting was/is getting better. Except for OL and to a lesser extent DB. Without an OL Cal will continue to fail on offense ~ get rid of Angus (if I haven’t already mentioned that). The plan and the process ~ given Cal’s limitations in recruiting ~ is a solid one, it’s too bad our poor record lost some critical recruits this cycle.
Yes, Wilcox must grow a pair of cajones and make changes at the end of the year. Previously I trusted Wilcox had the ability to make good decisions, recently I have begun to waver on that trust.
Avinash, perhaps Cal has a “high hill to climb” but as you yourself indicated that hill is literally 46 yards!!
The article didn't mention the penalties. One after the other against Cal against Oregon. And the missed snap for FG against Washington that would have won the game at the buzzer... My heart can't take it.
Harbaugh: "We're going to win with character, but we're also going to win with cruelty." Wilcox: "We'll try to win with character but overall stick with my friends." Maybe I'm wrong on this but it's possible: If Wilcox wants to win he'll need to adopt cruelty. Not only for his staff and his players but for how he approaches the game.
The Bears are comical - but Mr. Kunnath’s writing is excellent. Go Bears! 🐻
I loved Justin Wilcox, mainly because I'm a defensive guy and I love watching 13-10 defensive struggles, which was happening more often in the 2018 season. But I consider the game this week a must win.
I wasn't old enough to remember Holmoe, but it looks like Wilcox's tenure is lining up with it just a bit. There should be no reason they lose to Colorado or Arizona. If they lose to Colorado this week, I don't think they are winning another game this year. It feels like I came in a "Golden" age of Cal football where they were competive year in and year out for a while. Honestly, now I feel spoiled listening to Old Blue Stories about what the 70's and the 80's and the 90's were like.
I would like Wilcox to stay, but I would need a reason to believe he would turn it around, and considering the Administration and everything... I don't have a reason to believe they will. I think they would all go in 2022.
It's honestly been a disappointment, There had been so many problems especially playing inconsistently against teams. Almost beat Oregon, yet losing to Nevada at home. The culture needs to change especially when things hasn't changed in the past 10 or so years.
Playing up or down to the level of our opponents is one of the big problems. I honestly don't know how Wilcox can break this cycle. But it's clear our coaching is not developing players so they can execute come crunch time. Overall, it's been a very hard year to stomach.
Dude. It's so frustrating. I've only been a Cal fan since 2005, but it's been years since we have had a complete team. It's just so frustrating.
Well said Avi, needless to say. You cut to the quick, again and again. Name the problem, again and again. Sure wish you didn't have to write this, and instead were penning a tribute to greatness, but these are the time we face. Like I've been saying, I've gone from sunshine pumper to Old Blue in this season.
A long winded way to say we suck?