In your hypothetical, Cal is bowl bound with wins over Stanford and likely USC. Hell yes I would be happy. Not thrilled because of what could've been, but happy nevertheless.
Can Cal salvage the season? Nothing to date indicates this is a probability. Too much inconsistency everywhere. The OL drives me nuts, and the ST play has been killing us. Is it possible? Sure, it is Pac 12 football, the other teams are inconsistent too. Heck, I am a Cal fan, Go Bears, beat Oregon!
6-6 with wins over Stanford and USC would make me happy and salvage the season. I will say, if we get to 6-6, we better have some dominate wins against Arizona and Colorado because 6-6 with close wins over those teams, would be cause for concern.
6-6 seems unrealistic because of our special teams play alone. We're unable to get any separation from teams while playing with one arm tied behind our backs. If we even had just a mediocre unit this year, our W-L would look much different right now.
I'm sure there have been comparably poor units over the history of the Pac-12, but I'm having a hard time coming up with them. When you play every game close, that disability is going to show up in the end result more often than not.
Totally agreed PawlOski, and sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings my dear Sloane Peterson, but, to add on to P’Oski.....the level of ineptitude by special teams the past 2 seasons is laughable for a P5 FBS football team. Even the most basic plays are an absolute adventure, and any type of sustained success under such circumstances is untenable, especially for a Coach that prefers to play a Wisconsin Badger-type style of FB...i.e. fundamentally sound that limits mistakes, with relatively few big plays on either side of the ball. Special teams success is F-ING crucial for Wilcox to win these close games with the collection of modest-at-best talent he’s assembled, yet they’re the worst in the country. This is a coaching breakdown of malpractice levels.
This team is poorly coached, has no speed & lacks the talent to win individual battles 1-on-1 against similarly mediocre teams. UO, UCLA & SC are going to handle the Bears on talent alone, probably with relative ease...Jonathan Smith owns Wilcox; Cal will make more mistakes than Stanford & lose a close one, per usual, and we haven’t won at Tucson since George W’s 1st term...we really think this is the Cal team to do it, regardless of how dogschitt U of A is? Buffs at home is the only game they really should win, and if the team that gave up 460 total yards to Sac St shows up, Colorado could easily get their best win of the year.
Even if this magical switch is somehow flipped, 4-8 really seems like the absolute ceiling....
his quote today was tattersall was dinged up and he’s working his way back. He’s back but while he was out it allowed other guys to get snaps and earn some play time.
Speaking of salvage, how about Zeke Berry?? Who is he you may ask. Welp he is the former teammate of Lu-Magia Hearns from De La Salle. Berry is a 3* CB. Berry just decommitted from AZ. Perhaps Hearns got in his ear and said, "Mate, come to Cal we need your services".
My optimistic view for the rest of the season is that the Bears will win the rest of their home games and beat Stanfurd. My pessimistic view is that they will only beat Colorado and Arizona. My realistic view is that they will be Colorado and Arizona and pull off one upset.
"Can special teams just stop shooting itself in a the foot?" deserves more than a single line. But I'm very much of the salvageable mindset! Having seen good portions of U$C, Arizona, UCLA, Stanfurd on Fri/Sat, these are all very beatable teams. In that if our offense plays like first half versus TCU for 3/4 of each game, we can beat all these teams!
Let's beat Oregon and put the moribund part of the season behind us. I don't see how we can win more than 4 games because our lack of consistency and mistakes, no matter who the opposition is. And we have to develop a killer instinct. Geez, we were ahead of Sac State 28-6 and allowed them to get back into the game. Nevertheless, six wins is possible if Cal plays crisp, clean football, with improved tackling and OL play, but I am not terribly optimistic at this point.
I hope the Bears shock Oregon, the national audience, myself, and the other 150 or so east coast Cal fans who stay up for the 10:30 P.M.(!) kick off. I endured till Chris Taylor put the Dodgers into the NLDS, I will be there until the Bears put away the best team Nike can buy.
In your hypothetical, Cal is bowl bound with wins over Stanford and likely USC. Hell yes I would be happy. Not thrilled because of what could've been, but happy nevertheless.
Finishing the season 5-2 even with a historically bad Pac-12 seems like a pipe dream to me.
If the Bears beat the Ducks, then the game should be used in Haas lectures as proof that past performance does not predict future results.
Also would be suitable material for a b-school case study in that case.
best moment of the year - Will Craig the hero
https://youtu.be/aFQd2gVOKqI
Can Cal salvage the season? Nothing to date indicates this is a probability. Too much inconsistency everywhere. The OL drives me nuts, and the ST play has been killing us. Is it possible? Sure, it is Pac 12 football, the other teams are inconsistent too. Heck, I am a Cal fan, Go Bears, beat Oregon!
6-6 with wins over Stanford and USC would make me happy and salvage the season. I will say, if we get to 6-6, we better have some dominate wins against Arizona and Colorado because 6-6 with close wins over those teams, would be cause for concern.
6-6 seems unrealistic because of our special teams play alone. We're unable to get any separation from teams while playing with one arm tied behind our backs. If we even had just a mediocre unit this year, our W-L would look much different right now.
Special teams issues have cost us 4 games (losses) since 2020.
I'm sure there have been comparably poor units over the history of the Pac-12, but I'm having a hard time coming up with them. When you play every game close, that disability is going to show up in the end result more often than not.
Totally agreed PawlOski, and sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings my dear Sloane Peterson, but, to add on to P’Oski.....the level of ineptitude by special teams the past 2 seasons is laughable for a P5 FBS football team. Even the most basic plays are an absolute adventure, and any type of sustained success under such circumstances is untenable, especially for a Coach that prefers to play a Wisconsin Badger-type style of FB...i.e. fundamentally sound that limits mistakes, with relatively few big plays on either side of the ball. Special teams success is F-ING crucial for Wilcox to win these close games with the collection of modest-at-best talent he’s assembled, yet they’re the worst in the country. This is a coaching breakdown of malpractice levels.
This team is poorly coached, has no speed & lacks the talent to win individual battles 1-on-1 against similarly mediocre teams. UO, UCLA & SC are going to handle the Bears on talent alone, probably with relative ease...Jonathan Smith owns Wilcox; Cal will make more mistakes than Stanford & lose a close one, per usual, and we haven’t won at Tucson since George W’s 1st term...we really think this is the Cal team to do it, regardless of how dogschitt U of A is? Buffs at home is the only game they really should win, and if the team that gave up 460 total yards to Sac St shows up, Colorado could easily get their best win of the year.
Even if this magical switch is somehow flipped, 4-8 really seems like the absolute ceiling....
Depth chart is out for the Oregun game, no changes to the offense <rolls eyes>.
I did notice Tattersall is not longer starting at ILB. I’m not sure if that is due to injury or a demotion.
Wilcox said in one of the press conferences that he’s not hurt and other guys earned playing time… a polite way of describing a demotion
his quote today was tattersall was dinged up and he’s working his way back. He’s back but while he was out it allowed other guys to get snaps and earn some play time.
Thanks for this update.
Speaking of salvage, how about Zeke Berry?? Who is he you may ask. Welp he is the former teammate of Lu-Magia Hearns from De La Salle. Berry is a 3* CB. Berry just decommitted from AZ. Perhaps Hearns got in his ear and said, "Mate, come to Cal we need your services".
More than likely he is going to Oregon.
My optimistic view for the rest of the season is that the Bears will win the rest of their home games and beat Stanfurd. My pessimistic view is that they will only beat Colorado and Arizona. My realistic view is that they will be Colorado and Arizona and pull off one upset.
I’m sure Colorado and Arizona fans are having similar thoughts about their games against Cal.
Let 'em.
"Can special teams just stop shooting itself in a the foot?" deserves more than a single line. But I'm very much of the salvageable mindset! Having seen good portions of U$C, Arizona, UCLA, Stanfurd on Fri/Sat, these are all very beatable teams. In that if our offense plays like first half versus TCU for 3/4 of each game, we can beat all these teams!
Let's beat Oregon and put the moribund part of the season behind us. I don't see how we can win more than 4 games because our lack of consistency and mistakes, no matter who the opposition is. And we have to develop a killer instinct. Geez, we were ahead of Sac State 28-6 and allowed them to get back into the game. Nevertheless, six wins is possible if Cal plays crisp, clean football, with improved tackling and OL play, but I am not terribly optimistic at this point.
Man 6-6 and a bowl game would be a spectacular end of the season. Here’s to hoping!!
I hope the Bears shock Oregon, the national audience, myself, and the other 150 or so east coast Cal fans who stay up for the 10:30 P.M.(!) kick off. I endured till Chris Taylor put the Dodgers into the NLDS, I will be there until the Bears put away the best team Nike can buy.
GO BEARS !!