What to know before Bears’ season kicks off
Garbers returns to QB, hoping season doesn’t derail like last season’s
BERKELEY >> Jeff Tedford, a link to better days for Cal football, paid a recent visit to a Golden Bears practice. Freshmen on the current team were in the fourth grade when Tedford last coached at Berkeley in 2012 so they are excused for not grasping the significance.
Things didn’t end well for Tedford and he was let go after a 3-9 final season. But Tedford coached the Bears to nine bowl appearances, a Pac-10 co-title in 2006 and he left as the program’s winningest coach.
Hard to believe, but Cal hasn’t assembled a winning conference record since Tedford’s eighth season, back in 2009. That’s 12 years without as many as five victories in a nine-game Pac-12 season.
Coach Justin Wilcox, who coached linebackers for three seasons under Tedford, says he wouldn’t be the Bears’ head coach without that connection. Now in his fifth season, Wilcox has created a stable program, anchored by a consistently stout defense. The Bears made bowl appearances in 2018 and ’19.
“Justin’s definitely on the right track,” Tedford said when asked if Cal can become a contender in the Pac-12. “It is something that’s attainable.”
Rocked hard by COVID-19 last season, Cal staggered to a 1-3 record and is projected no better than third place in the Pac12 North this fall. Still, with greater experience and depth, including a threeyear starter in quarterback Chase Garbers, perhaps the Bears are positioned for a breakthrough.
The schedule cooperates. Cal should be favored in home games against Washington State, Colorado and Oregon State, and has a road matchup vs. Arizona, regarded as the Pac-12’s weakest team. The Bears avoid Utah and Arizona State, both strong teams.
Wins in those four would leave the Bears just a single victory shy of finishing above .500 in the Pac-12. It’s easy to envision Cal entering the final two weeks of the regular season needing just one win in road games vs. Stanford and UCLA to get the job done.
COACH: Justin Wilcox (5th season, 21-21)
2020 RECORD/FINISH: 1-3/tied 5th in the Pac-12 North TOP PLAYERS (Nonquarterback):
Key to the Bears’ hopes of taking a step forward offensively is senior running back Christopher Brooks (who changed his name from Christopher Brown Jr.). Brooks rushed for more than 900 yards in 2019 but was limited to 21 carries in three games last season by a nagging hamstring injury. On defense, the Bears will continue to need production from outside linebackers Cameron Goode and Kuony Deng, who over the past two seasons have combined for 230 tackles, 32tackles for loss and 16sacks in 17games.
PLAYER WHO COULD BLOSSOM IN 2021:
Inside linebacker Mo Iosefa, one of three Cal freshmen who played in every game last season, contributed five tackles and a key fumble recovery in the final minute to lock up the Bears’ 2117 upset of Oregon. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound native of Hawaii could
TOP NEWCOMER: The Bears have three high-profile freshmen pass-catchers, including wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant and tight end Jermaine Terry II, both four-star prospects. But it’s another freshman, wide receiver Mavin Anderson, who caught passes for more than 4,000 yards the past two years at Mission Viejo High, who has impressed and appears ready to make early contributions. THE UNEXPECTED: When the Pac-12briefly canceled the 2020 season because of the COVD-19 pandemic, defensive lineman Luc Bequette transferred to Boston College to play his sixth season of college football. He’s back at Berkeley for Year 7, and by the time this season ends he will have played more than 60games in 13different states.
KEY NON-CONFERENCE GAME:
The Bears open Sept. 4at home against Nevada. The Wolf Pack is favored to win the Mountain West Conference West Division and powered by quarterback Carson Strong, who was projected as the possible No. 1NFL draft pick by Sports Illustrated. Cal lost its past two meetings vs. Nevada, including at Berkeley in 2012 in its unveiling of renovated Memorial Stadium. The outcome here could help set the direction of the Bears’ season.
KEY PAC-12GAME: The Bears will play UCLA at the Rose Bowl for the second straight year on Nov. 27in their regular-season finale after losing 34-10to the Bruins a year ago when the matchup was arranged barely 48 hours before in the wake of Arizona State canceling its game against Cal. This game could determine whether the Bears can finish above .500in the Pac-12for the first time since 2009.
THE BIG GAME: Cal visits Stanford for their 124th meeting on Nov. 20.
BEARS WILL EXCEL IF: Quarterback Chase Garbers returns to his 2019lateseason form and the Bears fill holes on their offensive and defensive lines, where center Michael Saffell (retired for medical reasons) and D-lineman Brett Johnson (fractured hip) are out.
BEARS WILL FALTER IF:
The offense — which averaged just 20.3points last season — does not evolve under second-year coordinator Bill Musgrave.