88% of the money bet is on the "under". This means the bettors believe Cal's Offense will lay another egg (maybe a goose egg). Sadly, there seems to be a good chance of repeating the WF disaster. As a fan, this feels worse than the 2013 1-11 season, because at least Sonny Dykes told the fan base the team was not good at the beginning of the season (he said thetalent was raw and underdeveloped). RR and Tosh built expectations of an 8+ win 2026 season...
This is the same Tosh & team that were being lauded after the VT win. This is also the inevitable wild variance you get when you combine Tosh and a Cal depth chart.
Totally agree. If Lupoi had set low expectations and set out say a 2 year program leading to some sort of reasonable success, then at least the fan base would be prepared for a building year or two. That would have provided some protection and allow him to say that when he came in, he did not promise an “Indiana Miracle.” And if he exceeded expectations, maybe even a 6-6 season and a Chips Ahoy bowl game, he would have looked like he knew what he was doing and was building a new program. But this! Essentially promising the fan base a competitive program and bringing back the glory days in year 1 — huge strategic mistake on his part and indicative of an incomplete thought process.
100% agree. Just for kicks, I looked up the points for and against average of 2013 and compared them to 2026 - taking the Portland State (2013) and Wagner (2026) games out of the scoring. in 2013, it was avg 21.7 for and 47.4 against (-25.7 avg). In 2026 so far, it is 19.7 for and 31.2 against (-11.5). It could get worse in the next few weeks, but a double digit loss average is no bueno. Still, compared to a 3.5 touchdown average disadvantage from 2013 makes 2026 look not as bad. But setting expectations is the key, and Sonny at least set expectations that 2013 was going to be bad. I remember the 2013 Oregon and Stanford games really hurt me bad... This play from Andrew Luck in the 2010 big game however is the biggest hurt of all imo:
Someone reached out asking for resources to help parents talk with their children about gambling, so I am happy to share what resources I have available.
In Wyoming, the Fremont County Prevention Program website Gambling tab, and Parent Support Guide can be helpful. I have attached the Youth Gambling portion of the parent guide that you can print. We are also currently working on another booklet for parents.
Operation Parent has some outstanding resources and free webinars for parents. In this webinar (The State of Modern Youth: Navigating Screens, Substances and Pressures) teen interns "share their experiences and thoughts on gambling, marijuana, pornography, technology overuse, and mental health".
88% of the money bet is on the "under". This means the bettors believe Cal's Offense will lay another egg (maybe a goose egg). Sadly, there seems to be a good chance of repeating the WF disaster. As a fan, this feels worse than the 2013 1-11 season, because at least Sonny Dykes told the fan base the team was not good at the beginning of the season (he said thetalent was raw and underdeveloped). RR and Tosh built expectations of an 8+ win 2026 season...
This is the same Tosh & team that were being lauded after the VT win. This is also the inevitable wild variance you get when you combine Tosh and a Cal depth chart.
Totally agree. If Lupoi had set low expectations and set out say a 2 year program leading to some sort of reasonable success, then at least the fan base would be prepared for a building year or two. That would have provided some protection and allow him to say that when he came in, he did not promise an “Indiana Miracle.” And if he exceeded expectations, maybe even a 6-6 season and a Chips Ahoy bowl game, he would have looked like he knew what he was doing and was building a new program. But this! Essentially promising the fan base a competitive program and bringing back the glory days in year 1 — huge strategic mistake on his part and indicative of an incomplete thought process.
100% agree. Just for kicks, I looked up the points for and against average of 2013 and compared them to 2026 - taking the Portland State (2013) and Wagner (2026) games out of the scoring. in 2013, it was avg 21.7 for and 47.4 against (-25.7 avg). In 2026 so far, it is 19.7 for and 31.2 against (-11.5). It could get worse in the next few weeks, but a double digit loss average is no bueno. Still, compared to a 3.5 touchdown average disadvantage from 2013 makes 2026 look not as bad. But setting expectations is the key, and Sonny at least set expectations that 2013 was going to be bad. I remember the 2013 Oregon and Stanford games really hurt me bad... This play from Andrew Luck in the 2010 big game however is the biggest hurt of all imo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4_w-puInqY&t=28s
"This will not be over quickly. You will not enjoy this."
Ratings and Rankings
ESPN SP+ 98 (down 11) (100 offense, 89 defense, 135 special teams (of 138 total teams)) SMU = 25
Football Power Index 88, down 13, 14.3% chance to win 6 games SMU= 35
The Athletic’s ranking: #72. down 7 spots, SMU = 28
Sagarin: Rank = 77, down 9 (SMU = 35)
Using predictor ratings, SMU is about a 10 pt favorite
Masse composite (87) rankings - #86 (down 10), range 66-109 (SMU= 35, Miami #1)
Colley’s bias free index (my personal favorite, no priors, but now all connected) = 77
(SMU=33, UCLA #1!)
Really painful to see how UCLA got it so right.
If we start Ian JKS and Jericho I think we cover
Someone reached out asking for resources to help parents talk with their children about gambling, so I am happy to share what resources I have available.
In Wyoming, the Fremont County Prevention Program website Gambling tab, and Parent Support Guide can be helpful. I have attached the Youth Gambling portion of the parent guide that you can print. We are also currently working on another booklet for parents.
Operation Parent has some outstanding resources and free webinars for parents. In this webinar (The State of Modern Youth: Navigating Screens, Substances and Pressures) teen interns "share their experiences and thoughts on gambling, marijuana, pornography, technology overuse, and mental health".
https://fremontcountyprevention.com/parent-support-guide/