Road games are always tough, and Pitt is just good enough to worry about. Pitt just declared their announced starting RB ineligible for the season. We'll never know what would have been, but maybe this is one of those little things that make a difference in a low profile game that means a win that puts the total over the top. (I've written elsewhere that I think it's 8 wins or bust to get necessary attention for future viability...)
Great piece! Given everything that's happened and the larger circumstances Cal finds itself in, it has just GOT to be 8 or more. Anything less will be difficult to excuse. Cal and it's NIL collective has given itself the tools. The ACC has given it the stage. The coaches will be out of excuses, so they need to get this team rollin'!
CAL has more talent than any time since Wilcox has been here. Assimilation of transfer portal players and building chemistry will take time. Not as worried about Nick Morrow as you. He's huge and athletic. If he didn't earn the spot Bloesch has plenty of other experienced players to choose from. Bloesch knows what he is doing. I expect our O-Line to create a solid run game for our talented RB room. Mendoza now has a year of experience and practice reps as a potential starter. I am hopeful his ceiling is much higher this year. If not, Chandler Rogers has shown a lot more potential than coaches originally believe he had. And CJ Harris is another good option. I'd put our RB room against any in the country and our WR's finally have some players with breakaway speed. Our WR room looks good. On defense, out interior line will be better, and not by a little, than last year. Our OLB's are solid with very good back ups. Our starting 2 ILB's are studs and I think Hunter Barth is a very good two deep player. That being said, we are thin at ILB. Our DB room is excellent! I expect us to pick off more than a few balls this season. Our special teams have vastly improved with the addition of a greta kicker and return specialists. We should score many more FG's and do a better job at creating better field position for ourselves and worse firld position for our opponents. However, it's not the specialists that worry me, it's the performance of the entire units. If they play well they will be difference makers and we will win those close games we previously lost. My take on our schedule: We should beat Davis. Auburn will be tough and I have it as a toss up. I have no doubt our defense will play well, the game will rest with our offensive performance. We should beat SDSU. FSU in Florida will be tough, but I think our DB's will be a nightmare for DJ Ukelele and FSU can't win with a one dimensional run game. I am 50/50 on this game. Miami will be our toughest game for one reason: Cam Ward. He's the best QB in college football in IMHO. There may be other ACC teams with a bit more talent than Miami, but Ward is the difference maker. If our defense can get after him, we have a chance. I believe we should beat Pittsburg. After watching the NC State game last night, they clearly are not the team that preseason polls made them out to be. We should beat this team. We should beat Oregon State and Wake Forest. We should beat Syracuse and Stanfurd. I don't think SMU is nearly as good as everyone else does. We should beat them. I see three games with our odds at 50/50 or less and I'll throw another meltdown loss inn there. I say we win 8 games and maybe 9, subject to our QB play and injuries. We will get a glimpse of the future this Saturday. I will be watching our QB and O-Line closely.
Thanks so much for your thoughts, big Rug. I'm eager to hear your post game analysis of the line, especially. I agree having watched some games yesterday, that I'm not seeing any world beaters on our schedule like UW and Oregon were last year.
Road games are always tough, and Pitt is just good enough to worry about. Pitt just declared their announced starting RB ineligible for the season. We'll never know what would have been, but maybe this is one of those little things that make a difference in a low profile game that means a win that puts the total over the top. (I've written elsewhere that I think it's 8 wins or bust to get necessary attention for future viability...)
Go Bears!
Great piece! Given everything that's happened and the larger circumstances Cal finds itself in, it has just GOT to be 8 or more. Anything less will be difficult to excuse. Cal and it's NIL collective has given itself the tools. The ACC has given it the stage. The coaches will be out of excuses, so they need to get this team rollin'!
8+ or bust! LFG!!!
Go Bears!
A sober take. Can't argue with any of it.
CAL has more talent than any time since Wilcox has been here. Assimilation of transfer portal players and building chemistry will take time. Not as worried about Nick Morrow as you. He's huge and athletic. If he didn't earn the spot Bloesch has plenty of other experienced players to choose from. Bloesch knows what he is doing. I expect our O-Line to create a solid run game for our talented RB room. Mendoza now has a year of experience and practice reps as a potential starter. I am hopeful his ceiling is much higher this year. If not, Chandler Rogers has shown a lot more potential than coaches originally believe he had. And CJ Harris is another good option. I'd put our RB room against any in the country and our WR's finally have some players with breakaway speed. Our WR room looks good. On defense, out interior line will be better, and not by a little, than last year. Our OLB's are solid with very good back ups. Our starting 2 ILB's are studs and I think Hunter Barth is a very good two deep player. That being said, we are thin at ILB. Our DB room is excellent! I expect us to pick off more than a few balls this season. Our special teams have vastly improved with the addition of a greta kicker and return specialists. We should score many more FG's and do a better job at creating better field position for ourselves and worse firld position for our opponents. However, it's not the specialists that worry me, it's the performance of the entire units. If they play well they will be difference makers and we will win those close games we previously lost. My take on our schedule: We should beat Davis. Auburn will be tough and I have it as a toss up. I have no doubt our defense will play well, the game will rest with our offensive performance. We should beat SDSU. FSU in Florida will be tough, but I think our DB's will be a nightmare for DJ Ukelele and FSU can't win with a one dimensional run game. I am 50/50 on this game. Miami will be our toughest game for one reason: Cam Ward. He's the best QB in college football in IMHO. There may be other ACC teams with a bit more talent than Miami, but Ward is the difference maker. If our defense can get after him, we have a chance. I believe we should beat Pittsburg. After watching the NC State game last night, they clearly are not the team that preseason polls made them out to be. We should beat this team. We should beat Oregon State and Wake Forest. We should beat Syracuse and Stanfurd. I don't think SMU is nearly as good as everyone else does. We should beat them. I see three games with our odds at 50/50 or less and I'll throw another meltdown loss inn there. I say we win 8 games and maybe 9, subject to our QB play and injuries. We will get a glimpse of the future this Saturday. I will be watching our QB and O-Line closely.
Thanks so much for your thoughts, big Rug. I'm eager to hear your post game analysis of the line, especially. I agree having watched some games yesterday, that I'm not seeing any world beaters on our schedule like UW and Oregon were last year.
As I said before, if Cal beats Auburn and Florida St in the early part of the schedule, then we should be a big factor in the weaker than PAC12 ACC.
I like that scenario. I hope our guys can overcome the opposition’s home environment