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California Golden Bears (Last Year: 9-4)
2009 College Football Season Preview:
Star Players:
RB Jahvid Best, RB Shane Vereen, WR Nyan Boateng, T Mitchell Schwartz, G Mark Boskovich, G Chet Teofilo, DL Tyson Alualu, DE Cameron Jordan, ILB Mike Mohamed, CB Syd’Quan Thompson, CB Darian Hagan, S Marcus Ezeff, S Sean Cattouse, P Bryan Anger.
Draft/Graduation/Transfer Losses:
QB Nate Longshore, FB Will Ta’ufo’ou, WR LaReylle Cunningham, WR Sean Young, TE Cameron Morrah, G Noris Malele, C Alex Mack, DE Rulon Davis, DT Mike Kane, OLB Anthony Felder, OLB Zack Follett, ILB Worrell Williams, S Bernard Hicks.
2009 California Golden Bears Offense:
Jeff Tedford has struggled mightly to replace Aaron Rodgers ever since the Packer quarterback entered the NFL Draft as an underclassmen after the 2004 season. Joe Ayoob, Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley have not even come close to Rodgers’ production or leadership.
I see no reason to expect junior quarterback Kevin Riley to take his game to another level next season in terms of the vertical passing game. He does not possess a strong arm like an Rodgers to play up to a high potential. Riley had a 6.2 YPA last season and only a 51-completion percentage.
This just shows how good of a coach Tedford is. Both Riley and Longshore had nearly identical statistics, and both came close to an impressive 6.3 touchdown percentage.
A new sheriff is in town as the offensive coordinator is Andy Ludwig comes from Utah. He is regarded as one of the best offensive minds in the college game, but I don’t have confidence this passing game will improve that much. While Brian Johnson had an impressive senior season for Utah last year, he only had a 6.8 YPA and an 11-10 TD/INT ratio in 2007. Ludwig might help Riley with his mechanics and improve his completion percentage, but expect the same old Riley.
Transfer Nyan Boateng lead all Golden Bears in receiving yards last season (439) and might have a breakout season. Verran Tucker and Jeremy Ross are other options at receiver, but neither is looked at as very talented.
The bread and butter of the Cal offense is without a doubt the rushing attack led by junior Jahvid Best. Best gained more than 1,800 total yards last season including 8.1 yards per rush and 15 rushing touchdowns. Best is a projected second-round draft pick at this point, but he could be a first-rounder if he puts out a good 40 time like Felix Jones.
The offensive line will not be as good without senior center Alex Mack, but they do return senior left tackle Mike Tepper who missed last season with a pectoral injury. Sophomore Mitchell Schwartz is a dominant run blocker at right tackle and senior Mark Boskovich provides leadership at left guard. Senior Chet Teofilo moves from right tackle to right guard, which should improve the run blocking more at that position.
Despite the loss of Mack, this line is still going to be very effective in run blocking next season.
2009 California Golden Bears Defense:
The non-USC Pac 10 teams get a lot of flack for not playing defense, but never say that about the Cal Bears after reading this season preview ever again. This defense is very talented, they are very well coached, and they are the most underrated unit in the country. California ranked seventh in yards per play, 23rd in scoring defense, 15th in yards per rush allowed, 10th in yards per pass attempt allowed, 10th in third-down conversion rate and third in interceptions!
California is one of the few teams in college football that runs a 3-4 base defense. They have the outstanding defensive ends (5-techniques) to run this scheme. Tyson Alualu is flying under the radar, but is a disruptive force. He is a 6-3, 295-pound senior with a good motor and sneaky athleticism. Alualu had 62 tackles and six sacks last season. Cameron Jordan is the other defensive end, and he has more NFL potential. Both players set the edge against the run, but still dominate smaller opponents against the pass.
After losing Zach Follett, Worrell Williams and Anthony Felder, linebacker is without a doubt the weak point of this defense. Junior Mike Mohamed is clearly the best of the bunch and has closing speed to eliminate space in zone and against the run. There is a lot of inexperience on this part of the defense, but if senior outside backers Devin Bishop and Eddie Young can get a pass rush, this defense will go to an even higher level with more experience on the line and backfield.
California’s defensive backfield is one of the most overlooked in the country, but they are talented and deep. The star of the unit is senior Syd’Quan Thompson. Thompson doesn’t have the man cover skills or size to make it at the next level (Dante Hughes Part II?), but he is a playmaker and not afraid to get his uniform dirty against the run. He takes on blocks and is effective when blitzing in nickel packages, and reminds me a little bit of Ronde Barber in that area. If he can run a sub 4.5 forty time, then he has a chance to be a second-round pick.
Junior Darian Hagan has better size and should be even better next season with added experience. He broke up 15 passes last year and registered three interceptions.
The sleeper on this defense is sophomore safety Sean Cattouse. I expect him to win the starting job by mid-season and really provide some more playmaking ability at that position.
2009 California Golden Bears Schedule and Intangibles:
The Bears boast one of the best special teams units in the country led by sophomore punter Bryan Anger. Anger has a strong, accurate leg and really sets things up for the defense in giving them great field position.
Syd’Quan Thompson is a very dangerous punt returner. Granted, he is no DeSean Jackson, but he averaged 12.3 yards per return and had one touchdown last year.
Giorgio Tavecchio returns as the placekicker and he is a true sophomore. Tavecchio was 5-of-6 from 39 yards in, and 3-of-4 from the 40-49 yard range. After getting his freshman jitters out of the way, he might be ready for a better workload from long range this season.
Pac 10 schools only have three non-conference games, and this year, California has Maryland at home to open the season, Eastern Washington at home, and then they travel to Minnesota, which should be a blowout win.
The fun starts on Sept. 26 as they travel into Autzen to face the Oregon Ducks. I think California is the more talented team and they return much more talent. I expect the Golden Bears to pull it out in the end.
California will most likely lose to USC the following week in Berkeley. However, if USC isn’t confident in its quarterback, California might turn the ball over enough to pull an upset. If Oregon State can beat USC, then why not California, minus Mark Sanchez and arguably one of the best defenses of all time?
USC will be given a run for its money. I ultimately won’t be shocked if Cal pulls the upset and wins the Pac-10. This is their best chance to do it in decades, and they have the rushing attack, coaching and defense to beat the Trojans.
2009 California Golden Bears Positional Rankings (1-5 stars):
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Offensive Line |
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Secondary |
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Running Backs |
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Defensive Line |
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Special Teams |
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Receivers |
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Coaching |
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2009 California Golden Bears Analysis:
After watching the first month of football, I seriously might be singing a different tune come Sept. 3 and change my Pac 10 Championship pick from USC to California. There seriously is not much separating the two teams. Both have mediocre quarterback play. Both have very good defenses. Both have strong coaching staffs. However, I have to give USC the edge because they always seem to reload and they have more overall talent on their roster than Cal. On the other hand, does experience win out in this instance? I think these two teams are so much closer than the consensus believes and do not be shocked if California pulls it off. They are ready.
Projection: 10-2
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