38 unanswered points, worse than the SDSU game - simply inexcusable especially at home.
Rivera needs to show that Cal is willing to be a serious program sooner rather than later; relieving Wilcox of his duties during the bye week and commencing a real search for a replacement (*not* a Harsin or Rolo bandaid) would be a start.
Ron better be asking whale donors to cut checks for paying Wilcox's buyout this week. Otherwise we're fucking beyond cooked with more realignment looming on the near horizon.
Was just attempting to explain to my wife why it’s time for Wilcox to go. Every year it’s been just enough to not be fired but even with a 4-2 record the time is now. It’s one thing to watch a close loss and be heartbroken but for nine years it’s been more of bad losses and disgusted. Hard to do it anymore.
It’s October and wiLcox is our coach so this loss and the next 3 this month seem to be inevitable.
If we were still in the Pac12, the only difference in today’s game is we would have lost to winless UCLA 45-21 instead of Duke on homecoming. I’m sure wiLcox is saving his head scratching loss to a really bad team for UNC in a couple of weeks.
WiLcox is great at killing any momentum that this team begins to generate. Team is 4-1 and generating some buzz, it’s homecoming so fans and students are out to support the team and of course wiLcox loses in spectacular fashion.
Wilcox lost too much talent at WR and RB in the off season to the portal. This group of WRs and RBs are basically G5 talent, not P4 or ACC level.
You are right, Cal lost a lot of offense talent to the portal no doubt. Beginning with an experienced QB, who made few turnovers, and is reported to be a top 5 NFL pick. And lets not forget the four players on defense that graduated and went to the NFL. It seems clear we don't have the talent level of last year's team. You can blame the coaches or the changing economics of college sports which put Cal at a major disadvantage to retain and recruit players. Either way a 500 team in the ACC isn't so bad. Many analysts had Cal at the bottom of the ACC into this season, Going forward the economic playing field has been made more equal to some extent. Hopefully we can continue to build on JKS and that he learns from his mistakes, in games like today.
For the offense, not just the speed, also the magnitude of the change - from unstoppable to completely incompetent, literally from one drive to the next. And this with a Duke defense that was rebuilt on the fly because they lost their middle linebackers and had to reconfigure the fly. Then the collapse quickly spread to the defense and special teams.
Whatever disease hit us in San Diego struck again last night. I have no idea what it is, and I don’t think Wilcox does either.
OL just doesn’t have it, obviously can’t protect JKS so he’s rushed, throws balls he shouldn’t and/or gets sacked. Firing Wilcox is unlikely to fix the OL problem because Cal just doesn’t have the horses. What firing Wilcox now might do is head off another mass portal exit once the season ends. Why would JKS stay if he’s offered a better opportunity at a winning program with a proven coach and a better OL, better WR group and better RBs? We will lose him just like we lost Mendoza and Ott. If Wilcox stays, all the good players will leave, so better for Rivera to step up now and start the search. Otherwise, it will be more portal puzzle play next year. And beating Stanford this year is not a given.
Right. Only question at this point is whether there is ANY timing that could possibly prevent JKS leaving. I don’t think there is, but waiting until season’s end will 100% not work. Maaaybe if someone takes over before then and engineers a miracle turnaround for the team, and forms a charismatic bond with JKS. Short of that, he’d be a fool to stay here. Sorry, but Fernando has shown the way—very, very clearly. We were lucky to get this 2nd chance with JKS, and we’ve already blown it. So gd frustrating.
JKS is as good as gone, why would he choose to stay at Cal, he can get everthing sonewhere else; lets be honest. Athletes are going to leave regardless if Wilcox stays or leaves; I think there is no vot of confidence at all with this coaching staff. So, might as well blow it all up, how much worse can Cal football get? Cal already receives scraps of talent from other programs. Wilcox is the seed of mediocrity, Cal needs to remove this seed if it wants to survive the next round if realignment. A signal needs to be sent to the fan base, alumni, and donors that real change is here. Otherwise, we’re just “circling back” on our own problems.
Absolutely agree. If Cal wants to play with the big boys in this NFL farm team environment of big money college football (which has destroyed the whole concept of the student athlete) it’s going to have to really step up, raise a boat load of NIL money and go out and recruit a very expensive coach and player group. Otherwise, Cal might as well join the revived PAC12 where going to second or third tier bowl games is the reward for mediocre teams.
I'm not shocked that Cal lost. Duke won 9 games last year, and their current QB is levels above the one they had last year. I was just shocked at how lost, flat, and helpless the offense looked after things turned against them. That's two out of the last three games that Cal have been completely overwhelmed. The game in the middle, Boston College, required luck in the end to pull out, and BC have won only one game this year. The record is ok, 4-2, but they way they are playing really portends future doom.
I love Cal. I want them to win more than any other team in my sports fandom. But they seem the farthest away. It’s hard to renew season tickets every year. It’s hard to explain to my 8 year old Godson what happened. It’s even harder to do all this while listening to Wilcox in his postgame comments just say how bad we were as team. Well isn’t that on you Justin??? Yes it’s not 100% the coaches fault but in the end he’s responsible for the product on the field. Cal has lackluster home field and losses like this only push the program closer to the edge of oblivion. Maybe the Mountain West won’t be so bad after all. Just don’t expect me to buy tickets for Cal vs. Wyoming at 8pm on CBS Sports+. Make us believe again Ron. Give us some fucking hope here.
Patience Grasshopper. Rivera doesn't have a magic wand to instantly fix Cal Football. But he does have the knowledge, experience and drive needed. If he thinks that Wilcox needs to go, Wilcox will go. But at the time and bidding Rivera decides.
I hear Mullen LOVES LV. Lewis is solid…great call.
Now’s the window to change the culture of the program. This is it.
As has been painfully obvious for YEARS, Justin Wilcox is NOT the guy to instill mental toughness and leadership. You have a clear commitment by RR and the donors, and the importance of the FB program is there for all to see. Hell, even useless Wilner pointed out the value of GameDay.
I am so sick and tired of Wilcox. He just doesn't have it. You could give him unlimited time and unlimited resources and he would be able to turn Cal into a consistent winner. And on top of this people give him a pass because "he's a good guy who does it the right way". I have no clue where this notion came from, he is not a good guy and clearly he isn't doing things the right way, because the right way doesn't lead to shitty results.
He is so lucky he followed up the piece of shit that is named Sonny Dykes which helped lower everybodys expectations, but nobody should be given 9 years to do what Wilcox has done. Now that Ron Rivera is in charge I am confident a good hire will be made, which definitely couldn't have been said when Knowlton was in charge. Whether you fire Wilcox now or at the end of the season doesn't matter too much, but Rivera better start spending some real time making his shortlist of head coaching candidates and hit the ground running the second somebody else can be brought in. Time to truly change this program and bring some new life and energy into it.
Three things are constant: Death, Taxes, and Cal losses in October. RR needs to rip the band aid off now and relieve JW of his responsibilities. The 2nd quarter last night showed the lack of coaching and leadership - the GBs had no answer on O or D. That's coaching. Maybe with an interim HC we can break the October slide.
It's not just coaching, it's talent level also. Our O line was com;letelhy overpowered and our DB's could not compete with Dukes wide outs. They just plain had much better athletes than us.
The television commentators were amazed that the smaller Duke OL and DL lines were literally pushing around the "much bigger" Cal lines. So talent AND coaching!
That only fixes so much, but it would show dynamic leadership by RR.
So you’ve got BYE, v. UNC, @ Va Tech, v UVA, @LOU, @ Furd, and v SMU. None of those final 4 are at all gimmes, which means the next 2 on the schedule are must-wins if Cal’s gonna push for a >7-5 year.
Absent an about-face with the OL, which seems incredibly unlikely, you’re most likely looking at 2-4, a 6-6 final tally, and a Wilcox dismissal in DEC, followed by the biggest hire in the history of the school.
Harsin is a terrible OC. He's the one who calls the plays and designs the blocking schemes, not Wilcox. Also, the new defensive coordinators also suck. However with several freshmen on the defensive side for Cal is for sure to cause, especially in the defensive backfield, what happened to our defense last night. It's not all Wilcox's fault. We have a bunch of average or even poor athletes trying to compete against superior talent each Saturday.
Wilcox has been the coach at Cal for 9 seasons now. He owns every aspect of this roster and program, any deficiencies or bad coaching hires are his responsibility
Losing our QB and the other players in the portal due to NIL over the last year resulted in this loss. Cal fans have to realize that NIL has created an entirely different type of college football program. Rivera will have to build up Cal's NIL war chest to enable us to win 8-9+ games consistently. Blaming Wilcox is just being completely blind to the realities of college football in 2025 & beyond. It's not the X's and the O's, it's the Johnnies and the Joes, that come to Cal due to the money they get from NIL. Not the academics, Nobel Laureates, but cold hard cash.
I can understand what Wilcox is going through, I’ve been there a thousand times. Only difference is that I go to the well one too many times since I’ve only mastered a handful of plays in College Football 26. Oh and I have no professional football experience. Otherwise basically same results.
Rivera has a long track record from asst to head coaching. Surely he has a network of Wilcox replacement options already figured out and to build on once the Wilcox train finally comes to a halt.
Since joining the ACC - Miami, Syracuse, NC ST, and now Duke, have all traveled to Berkeley and won. JW is now 0-4 in true home ACC contests (not counting Palo Alto)
If that doesn’t scream HC issues, idk what does.
For context: Palo Alto’s Team has beaten 2 ACC opponents at home since joining the same conference.
People say that if we get a new coach things could get worse - true. But at least you would generate some buzz and hype, getting the donor base excited about the “possibility” of something better.
For the past 8+ years Wilcox has sucked the joy and excitement out of Cal football, crushing our hope year after year. We’re apathetic as a group knowing that Cal will eventually blow the big moment to turn things around and revert to mediocrity.
Ron’s aura will eventually fade as the Wilcox vortex will drag any positive vibes down and Cal football will suffer even more (which I didn’t think was possible).
Ron has one chance to reach escape velocity and should let Wilcox go this year soon to start the search process.
38 unanswered points, worse than the SDSU game - simply inexcusable especially at home.
Rivera needs to show that Cal is willing to be a serious program sooner rather than later; relieving Wilcox of his duties during the bye week and commencing a real search for a replacement (*not* a Harsin or Rolo bandaid) would be a start.
Ron better be asking whale donors to cut checks for paying Wilcox's buyout this week. Otherwise we're fucking beyond cooked with more realignment looming on the near horizon.
Was just attempting to explain to my wife why it’s time for Wilcox to go. Every year it’s been just enough to not be fired but even with a 4-2 record the time is now. It’s one thing to watch a close loss and be heartbroken but for nine years it’s been more of bad losses and disgusted. Hard to do it anymore.
38 unanswered points at home is worse than 0-34 loss.
It’s October and wiLcox is our coach so this loss and the next 3 this month seem to be inevitable.
If we were still in the Pac12, the only difference in today’s game is we would have lost to winless UCLA 45-21 instead of Duke on homecoming. I’m sure wiLcox is saving his head scratching loss to a really bad team for UNC in a couple of weeks.
WiLcox is great at killing any momentum that this team begins to generate. Team is 4-1 and generating some buzz, it’s homecoming so fans and students are out to support the team and of course wiLcox loses in spectacular fashion.
Wilcox lost too much talent at WR and RB in the off season to the portal. This group of WRs and RBs are basically G5 talent, not P4 or ACC level.
OL looks below average as usual.
You are right, Cal lost a lot of offense talent to the portal no doubt. Beginning with an experienced QB, who made few turnovers, and is reported to be a top 5 NFL pick. And lets not forget the four players on defense that graduated and went to the NFL. It seems clear we don't have the talent level of last year's team. You can blame the coaches or the changing economics of college sports which put Cal at a major disadvantage to retain and recruit players. Either way a 500 team in the ACC isn't so bad. Many analysts had Cal at the bottom of the ACC into this season, Going forward the economic playing field has been made more equal to some extent. Hopefully we can continue to build on JKS and that he learns from his mistakes, in games like today.
The speed in which this game turned was staggering.
For the offense, not just the speed, also the magnitude of the change - from unstoppable to completely incompetent, literally from one drive to the next. And this with a Duke defense that was rebuilt on the fly because they lost their middle linebackers and had to reconfigure the fly. Then the collapse quickly spread to the defense and special teams.
Whatever disease hit us in San Diego struck again last night. I have no idea what it is, and I don’t think Wilcox does either.
And that’s the problem. He has no answers. In year 9. He’s such a tired look on the sideline and in the post-game pressers.
Nothing substantively changes until there’s a new staff. That much is clear.
OL just doesn’t have it, obviously can’t protect JKS so he’s rushed, throws balls he shouldn’t and/or gets sacked. Firing Wilcox is unlikely to fix the OL problem because Cal just doesn’t have the horses. What firing Wilcox now might do is head off another mass portal exit once the season ends. Why would JKS stay if he’s offered a better opportunity at a winning program with a proven coach and a better OL, better WR group and better RBs? We will lose him just like we lost Mendoza and Ott. If Wilcox stays, all the good players will leave, so better for Rivera to step up now and start the search. Otherwise, it will be more portal puzzle play next year. And beating Stanford this year is not a given.
Right. Only question at this point is whether there is ANY timing that could possibly prevent JKS leaving. I don’t think there is, but waiting until season’s end will 100% not work. Maaaybe if someone takes over before then and engineers a miracle turnaround for the team, and forms a charismatic bond with JKS. Short of that, he’d be a fool to stay here. Sorry, but Fernando has shown the way—very, very clearly. We were lucky to get this 2nd chance with JKS, and we’ve already blown it. So gd frustrating.
JKS is as good as gone, why would he choose to stay at Cal, he can get everthing sonewhere else; lets be honest. Athletes are going to leave regardless if Wilcox stays or leaves; I think there is no vot of confidence at all with this coaching staff. So, might as well blow it all up, how much worse can Cal football get? Cal already receives scraps of talent from other programs. Wilcox is the seed of mediocrity, Cal needs to remove this seed if it wants to survive the next round if realignment. A signal needs to be sent to the fan base, alumni, and donors that real change is here. Otherwise, we’re just “circling back” on our own problems.
Absolutely agree. If Cal wants to play with the big boys in this NFL farm team environment of big money college football (which has destroyed the whole concept of the student athlete) it’s going to have to really step up, raise a boat load of NIL money and go out and recruit a very expensive coach and player group. Otherwise, Cal might as well join the revived PAC12 where going to second or third tier bowl games is the reward for mediocre teams.
I'm not shocked that Cal lost. Duke won 9 games last year, and their current QB is levels above the one they had last year. I was just shocked at how lost, flat, and helpless the offense looked after things turned against them. That's two out of the last three games that Cal have been completely overwhelmed. The game in the middle, Boston College, required luck in the end to pull out, and BC have won only one game this year. The record is ok, 4-2, but they way they are playing really portends future doom.
I love Cal. I want them to win more than any other team in my sports fandom. But they seem the farthest away. It’s hard to renew season tickets every year. It’s hard to explain to my 8 year old Godson what happened. It’s even harder to do all this while listening to Wilcox in his postgame comments just say how bad we were as team. Well isn’t that on you Justin??? Yes it’s not 100% the coaches fault but in the end he’s responsible for the product on the field. Cal has lackluster home field and losses like this only push the program closer to the edge of oblivion. Maybe the Mountain West won’t be so bad after all. Just don’t expect me to buy tickets for Cal vs. Wyoming at 8pm on CBS Sports+. Make us believe again Ron. Give us some fucking hope here.
Patience Grasshopper. Rivera doesn't have a magic wand to instantly fix Cal Football. But he does have the knowledge, experience and drive needed. If he thinks that Wilcox needs to go, Wilcox will go. But at the time and bidding Rivera decides.
Have we started our new coach search yet?
Ideally RR has a list of candidates…
Sean Lewis of SDSU should be a candidate.
Dan Mullen of UNLV should be a candidate
I hear Mullen LOVES LV. Lewis is solid…great call.
Now’s the window to change the culture of the program. This is it.
As has been painfully obvious for YEARS, Justin Wilcox is NOT the guy to instill mental toughness and leadership. You have a clear commitment by RR and the donors, and the importance of the FB program is there for all to see. Hell, even useless Wilner pointed out the value of GameDay.
If not now, itks never happening.
I am so sick and tired of Wilcox. He just doesn't have it. You could give him unlimited time and unlimited resources and he would be able to turn Cal into a consistent winner. And on top of this people give him a pass because "he's a good guy who does it the right way". I have no clue where this notion came from, he is not a good guy and clearly he isn't doing things the right way, because the right way doesn't lead to shitty results.
He is so lucky he followed up the piece of shit that is named Sonny Dykes which helped lower everybodys expectations, but nobody should be given 9 years to do what Wilcox has done. Now that Ron Rivera is in charge I am confident a good hire will be made, which definitely couldn't have been said when Knowlton was in charge. Whether you fire Wilcox now or at the end of the season doesn't matter too much, but Rivera better start spending some real time making his shortlist of head coaching candidates and hit the ground running the second somebody else can be brought in. Time to truly change this program and bring some new life and energy into it.
Three things are constant: Death, Taxes, and Cal losses in October. RR needs to rip the band aid off now and relieve JW of his responsibilities. The 2nd quarter last night showed the lack of coaching and leadership - the GBs had no answer on O or D. That's coaching. Maybe with an interim HC we can break the October slide.
It's not just coaching, it's talent level also. Our O line was com;letelhy overpowered and our DB's could not compete with Dukes wide outs. They just plain had much better athletes than us.
The television commentators were amazed that the smaller Duke OL and DL lines were literally pushing around the "much bigger" Cal lines. So talent AND coaching!
Rivera as interim? Maybe Harsin and promote Rolo to OC?
That only fixes so much, but it would show dynamic leadership by RR.
So you’ve got BYE, v. UNC, @ Va Tech, v UVA, @LOU, @ Furd, and v SMU. None of those final 4 are at all gimmes, which means the next 2 on the schedule are must-wins if Cal’s gonna push for a >7-5 year.
Absent an about-face with the OL, which seems incredibly unlikely, you’re most likely looking at 2-4, a 6-6 final tally, and a Wilcox dismissal in DEC, followed by the biggest hire in the history of the school.
Harsin is a terrible OC. He's the one who calls the plays and designs the blocking schemes, not Wilcox. Also, the new defensive coordinators also suck. However with several freshmen on the defensive side for Cal is for sure to cause, especially in the defensive backfield, what happened to our defense last night. It's not all Wilcox's fault. We have a bunch of average or even poor athletes trying to compete against superior talent each Saturday.
Wilcox has been the coach at Cal for 9 seasons now. He owns every aspect of this roster and program, any deficiencies or bad coaching hires are his responsibility
Losing our QB and the other players in the portal due to NIL over the last year resulted in this loss. Cal fans have to realize that NIL has created an entirely different type of college football program. Rivera will have to build up Cal's NIL war chest to enable us to win 8-9+ games consistently. Blaming Wilcox is just being completely blind to the realities of college football in 2025 & beyond. It's not the X's and the O's, it's the Johnnies and the Joes, that come to Cal due to the money they get from NIL. Not the academics, Nobel Laureates, but cold hard cash.
Cal’s football NIL is extremely competitive when compared to similar programs, like Duke…MBB is a disaster, but Cal football has $$$.
All due respect, but it’s a tired excuse and blaming Wilcox for continued failures is more than justified.
So SDSU outspent us?
Yes they did and their entrance requirements are much lower than Cal's.
I can understand what Wilcox is going through, I’ve been there a thousand times. Only difference is that I go to the well one too many times since I’ve only mastered a handful of plays in College Football 26. Oh and I have no professional football experience. Otherwise basically same results.
Rivera has a long track record from asst to head coaching. Surely he has a network of Wilcox replacement options already figured out and to build on once the Wilcox train finally comes to a halt.
Since joining the ACC - Miami, Syracuse, NC ST, and now Duke, have all traveled to Berkeley and won. JW is now 0-4 in true home ACC contests (not counting Palo Alto)
If that doesn’t scream HC issues, idk what does.
For context: Palo Alto’s Team has beaten 2 ACC opponents at home since joining the same conference.
People say that if we get a new coach things could get worse - true. But at least you would generate some buzz and hype, getting the donor base excited about the “possibility” of something better.
For the past 8+ years Wilcox has sucked the joy and excitement out of Cal football, crushing our hope year after year. We’re apathetic as a group knowing that Cal will eventually blow the big moment to turn things around and revert to mediocrity.
Ron’s aura will eventually fade as the Wilcox vortex will drag any positive vibes down and Cal football will suffer even more (which I didn’t think was possible).
Ron has one chance to reach escape velocity and should let Wilcox go this year soon to start the search process.