What do our writers think the season will bring?
TD_24
Season Prediction: 6-6
It's TROND GRIZZELL SEASON. In terms of the team, the Golden Bears look a lot more talented and I expect that talent to translate on the field. However, the Pac 12 is stacked and just how much that talent will make a difference remains to be seen. Give me two extra wins.
Piotr Le
Season Prediction: 7-5
SJV will become an All-American level guy and despite some errors early on, will become a Heisman dark horse due to his athleticism.
Rob Hwang
Season Prediction: 8-4
Andy convinced me. Throw as much chaos into the final Pac-12 season as you possibly can and engage all the tropes while breaking all the usuals. So why not Cal? Why not us throwing a wrench into SC, Oregon and UW’s CFP aspirations, all the while racking up some wins to silence the doubters of Cal not caring about sports. 125th Big Game momentum. Let’s get that same crowd back because that was electric.
Let’s ride.
Ruey Yen
Season Prediction: 7-5
This will be the best offensive Cal team in the Wilcox era, averaging over 30 points per game.
Christopher_h
Season Prediction: 8-4
Cal is going to have a defense rivaling the 2018 squad, but unfortunately, a lot of the teams in the Pac-12 have even more ridiculous offenses (USC, UW, Oregon, and Utah will be a murderer's row). I think Cal will still struggle on the offensive line, but have an even more mobile QB to compensate for it. Spavital finally gives us some life on offense, even though a young QB is bound to have some hiccups. Pure hatred propels us to victory over the LA schools, who will refuse to ever play us again, the cowards. I am once again an optimist, at least until we get to late midseason and I have to revise my expectations accordingly. But Cal always starts off strong.
Berkelium97
Season Prediction: 5-7
I almost put 6 wins. I want to believe. The team will be somewhat better than last year. But without a proven, top-tier offense, it's hard to have much confidence against the many juggernauts in the Pac-12 schedule. I'm sure the defense will cause those top offenses some problems, but I doubt we have the offensive capability to keep up with them.
Avinash Kunnath
Season Prediction: 5-7
Cal finally has a competent OC, so all our games should be exciting. But it’s a very green QB room so there will be ups and downs. And although there’s a lot of defensive talent in the backline, it’s going to be a wait-and-see this year.
Expect inexplicable losses, like one or two games we shouldn’t drop (North Texas and ASU feel like those candidates). But an upset like OSU or Washington could be in the cards too.
We could catch one of the many mid-Pac-12 defenses by surprise with our talented playmakers going ham, but I expect inconsistency.
This is a brutal schedule. All six Pac-12 title contenders are on the docket, including four in five weeks. Cal needs to run September at 4-1 or their path to a bowl is slim.
BentPawn
Season Prediction: 7-5
Cal will pull off an upset over Oregon or USC, but will then lose to Stanford.
Nick Kranz
Season Prediction: 5-7
I do think the roster is improved, and certainly deeper. The team should be improved from last year. But the schedule is so difficult, and the biggest weaknesses from last year (edge blocking and pass rush) aren’t obviously better. Which is to say that it does feel like there is a hard cap on how much better this team can be in the win column.
SoCal Nick
Season Prediction: 9-4
I'm feeling bullish, so I actually have a sneaky feeling that this ends up being one of the most successful season under Wilcox. Which I know might not mean much, but still, I think we are in for a pleasant surprise. Also, is it weird that I want to beat UCLA more than I want to beat Stanford this year? It feels wrong, but I think Rob and Piotr have been feeding me too many annoying tweets from UCLA fans, so I want calimony AND the last win in the series
The development of the team in the first three games could tell us a great deal about our season. If we improve in each of the pre-conference games, it could be a good sign. We know what the converse could bode.
Pretty optimistic for the most part. If we can get off to a good start on Saturday that will bode well!