Awesome write-up, especially for those who couldn't make it. The hype train is rollin'.
Love the confidence of "Volume 1" – and it reminds me of Mel Brooks' History of the World Part I. But hopefully we don't have to wait 42 years for the next one....
When I saw your name at the head of this column, I pushed aside my cereal and settled in for a great read. Thank you so much for continuing to write and publish. It may be homer bias, but no one writes about Cal football as well as you do in my opinion.
If the floor for Mohammed is Forsett...wow.
Purcell and Mini, imagine having them both on the field? Mini gave me the most exciting plays of 25, besides JKS.
Things slowing down for JKS is scary for other teams. He had preternatural calm as a freshman.
Seeing Marshawn mentor running backs at Cal makes something deep inside my heart very, very happy.
Thank you Nam for this wonderful tome. While I've tried to piece together coverage from X and other sources to get of sense of the big picture, you pulled it all together for us. It seems we indeed have reason to be hopeful at this juncture, with clear progress on nearly all fronts (...2 missed field goals??). Re the lack of streaming or ACC coverage, in another comment I hypothesized this may have been intentional on Ron's part to encourage maximum attendance. But who knows... As to your second tome, The Calgorithm, sign me up!!! Go Bears Forever baby!
Thanks —just curious. I think Rivera was hoping for 10K, but when things like this go well —nice giveaways, entertaining, celebrity sightings, etc.— and if the team wins, with word of mouth, they could easily double this next year—excellent write-up, Nam. GO BEARS!
I suspect we all know what gives; the east coaster traditionalists don’t REALLY see Cal as a conference member……and maybe we’re a little guilty of the same?
How many of us see the opener against fUCLA as our 2nd most important 2026 “must win”? For me maybe it’s #1….. start the Coach Tosh era off with an important win, punish one of the two teams responsible for the Pac8/10/12 implosion, smack it to our only other UC Div 1 school, and beat a team who has been as much of a frustration to me as a Cal fan over the last ~53 years. More important to me than any singular ACC game…. I think the ACC sees Cal as the equivalent of if Iowa had joined the Pac12; in-conference, but 2nd tier. You can feel it in the ACC game broadcasts and the wrap-up analysis shows (PLEASE send Mark Richt into retirement so I can stop hearing about his religious and political beliefs AS PART OF HIS ANALYST COMMENTS….); the folks who graduated from and some who played or coached for ACC schools are rooting for their blue-bloods to win, not calling an unbiased conference game.
Ron’s gonna have to do some lobbying to get NEXT year’s spring game televised.
UCLA is also rebuilding with a coach who knows what it takes to win. We need to make a strong showing and beat those guys in our first home game of the season. Of course, I pretty much think we need to beat everybody we play and whatever the next game on the schedule is, that is the most important game. Good to be excited again about Cal football. That was a nice write up Nam, thank you.
It's actually an interesting matchup. UCLA is being rebuilt by a coach who knows what it looks like to win, and Cal is being rebuilt by a coach who understands what level we have to play at to be in the conversation for a championship.
Fab Nam Le strikes again.
I feel strangely detached but maybe that’s just the spring lull.
Awesome write-up, especially for those who couldn't make it. The hype train is rollin'.
Love the confidence of "Volume 1" – and it reminds me of Mel Brooks' History of the World Part I. But hopefully we don't have to wait 42 years for the next one....
can the season start already I'm ready to destroy UCLA
Thanks Nam!
Nice work!
When I saw your name at the head of this column, I pushed aside my cereal and settled in for a great read. Thank you so much for continuing to write and publish. It may be homer bias, but no one writes about Cal football as well as you do in my opinion.
If the floor for Mohammed is Forsett...wow.
Purcell and Mini, imagine having them both on the field? Mini gave me the most exciting plays of 25, besides JKS.
Things slowing down for JKS is scary for other teams. He had preternatural calm as a freshman.
Seeing Marshawn mentor running backs at Cal makes something deep inside my heart very, very happy.
"Seeing Marshawn mentor running backs at Cal makes something deep inside my heart very, very happy."
Marshawn: Have y'all just tried running through them?
Ha! Yeah, or Marshawn: Why do you slow down or go down when you have fewer than three guys hanging off you?
What is the status of Jacob de Jesus?
They were initially denied and are on appeal, which is worse than waiting for a response.
Still unresolved. Move forward assuming him and Keaanaina are not coming back and you will get a pleasant surprise if they actually do.
Thank you Nam for this wonderful tome. While I've tried to piece together coverage from X and other sources to get of sense of the big picture, you pulled it all together for us. It seems we indeed have reason to be hopeful at this juncture, with clear progress on nearly all fronts (...2 missed field goals??). Re the lack of streaming or ACC coverage, in another comment I hypothesized this may have been intentional on Ron's part to encourage maximum attendance. But who knows... As to your second tome, The Calgorithm, sign me up!!! Go Bears Forever baby!
I wonder how many people attended
My estimate is closer to 5-6k, but I'm not a math guy
Thanks —just curious. I think Rivera was hoping for 10K, but when things like this go well —nice giveaways, entertaining, celebrity sightings, etc.— and if the team wins, with word of mouth, they could easily double this next year—excellent write-up, Nam. GO BEARS!
Fantastic piece!
“What gives, ACC network?”
I suspect we all know what gives; the east coaster traditionalists don’t REALLY see Cal as a conference member……and maybe we’re a little guilty of the same?
How many of us see the opener against fUCLA as our 2nd most important 2026 “must win”? For me maybe it’s #1….. start the Coach Tosh era off with an important win, punish one of the two teams responsible for the Pac8/10/12 implosion, smack it to our only other UC Div 1 school, and beat a team who has been as much of a frustration to me as a Cal fan over the last ~53 years. More important to me than any singular ACC game…. I think the ACC sees Cal as the equivalent of if Iowa had joined the Pac12; in-conference, but 2nd tier. You can feel it in the ACC game broadcasts and the wrap-up analysis shows (PLEASE send Mark Richt into retirement so I can stop hearing about his religious and political beliefs AS PART OF HIS ANALYST COMMENTS….); the folks who graduated from and some who played or coached for ACC schools are rooting for their blue-bloods to win, not calling an unbiased conference game.
Ron’s gonna have to do some lobbying to get NEXT year’s spring game televised.
In answer to your question, I think the UCLA game is the most important game of the 2026 season.
cannot afford to lose anything out of the gate for sure
UCLA is also rebuilding with a coach who knows what it takes to win. We need to make a strong showing and beat those guys in our first home game of the season. Of course, I pretty much think we need to beat everybody we play and whatever the next game on the schedule is, that is the most important game. Good to be excited again about Cal football. That was a nice write up Nam, thank you.
It's actually an interesting matchup. UCLA is being rebuilt by a coach who knows what it looks like to win, and Cal is being rebuilt by a coach who understands what level we have to play at to be in the conversation for a championship.
I just hope it doesn't come down to a FG. Bhaghani or our kicker attempting a game winning FG.
Me too! I hope we win by 21 points.
Great write up! You made me feel like I was there. Thank you.
How can we purchase a copy of the Calgorithm book?
When we have more or anything to announce (like a revision, etc), we'll let you know. Make sure you're on the form for now. :)