Opponent Overview: Cal
While there are some similarities between the 2007 California Golden Bears squad and Spartan squads of the pre-Dantonio era, there are large differences in where these two teams stand as programs. Sure, the Bears had a hot start to the 2007 season and then collapsed, finishing the regular season with a 1-6 slide. Makes you want to shout Same Old Spart - wait - Same Old Bears? SOB? Just like Bobby, just like John L, but it’s not the same old Bears. It was an anomaly, at least in the Tedford era. I wish losing seasons at MSU were just an anomaly.
You know the 2009 Spartan recruiting class that we’re so excited about? California is one of the few teams that gets that type of class every year. They are located in a hotbed of football recruits and have a winning tradition. So what are we up against come August 30th? Raw talent, and lots of it. Even though Cal lost some playmakers to graduation and the NFL, they are a team that reloads, not rebuilds.
2007 Season
Cal’s 2007 season started with aspirations for a #1 rank in the polls and a possible national championship come January. Everything was going swimmingly, the Bears were 5-0 with big wins over Tennessee and Oregon, on their way to an eventual showdown with USC for the chance to play in the Rose Bowl or better. That all changed October 13th on the last play of the Oregon State game. Freshman QB Kevin Riley had been playing a stellar game and was leading a comeback after stepping in for injured starter Nate Longshore, but on that fateful play he made a serious mental error. Down 31-28 with 14 seconds to go on the OSU 12, Riley found all of his receivers covered. Instead of just throwing the ball away and having the field goal crew try for the tie, Kevin decides to become a running back and go for a 12 yard sprint to the endzone. He made it 2 yards. It was about this time, after hearing of the LSU loss earlier in the day and expecting a #1 rank by the end of the game, that Cal fans realized there would be no undefeated season, no national championship.
Da Bears finished the regular season on a 1-6 skid, their lone win being at home vs Wash St. How did a contender for the championship implode so completely? For a Spartan fan, hearing this brings back so many wonderful memories. 2002 comes to mind - high expectations, high quarterback. Cal spanked us that year. Can the Spartans return the favor 6 years later? We shall see August 30th.
Offense
Cal loses a bit of experience on offense this year. Running back Justin Forsett, wide receivers DeSean Jackson, Lavelle Hawkins and Robert Jordan, and tight end Craig Stevens are gone. However, the main story with the offense may be the quarterback position. After a great sophomore season, Nate Longshore was plagued with injuries much of his junior year. Kevin Riley stepped in and actually performed better statistically than Longshore in the 2007 season, and through spring camp the starting position is still not decided and may not be until after fall camp. Whoever steps up, be it Riley or Longshore, Cal will still have a competent signal caller under center. The confusion of who will win the starting job may take a mental toll, however.
At running back, sophomore Jahvid Best will look to try his best at achieving the same success that Justin Forsett had in ‘07. It will certainly be a tall task, but Jahvid has shown some moves in his freshman year before suffering a bruised left hip in the USC game. He missed out on spring practice, but has said it is now more of a mental barrier than a physical one. Whether he can overcome that barrier will have a major impact on the 2008 California offense.
California will be very inexperienced at wide receiver this year. They lost DeSean Jackson and Lavelle Hawkins, and the most experienced returner won’t likely see playing time. That is because the Bears have a few young but highly-touted players in sophomore Jeremy Ross and redshirt freshman Michael Calvin. Both impressed coaches at spring camp and are hoping to get their first collegiate receptions this year. At tight end, the Bears must replace Craig Stevens and the man to do that will likely be Cameron Morrah. Morrah had 13 receptions for 155 yards and 1 touchdown last year.
Cal’s offensive line will be a strength in 2008. In 2007 this group allowed only 11 sacks, which was first in the Pac-10 and third nationwide. They return senior center Alex Mack, an All-American, two-time All Pac-10 player who will anchor the line in the middle. Also returning are senior left tackle Mike Tepper and senior right guard Noris Malele. Joining the starters will be sophomore Mark Boskovich at left guard and senior Chet Teofilo at right tackle.
Overall, the 2008 California offense has tons of talent, but is inexperienced in places. The new wide receivers must quickly learn their routes for the passing game to be successful, and Jahvid Best must overcome his injury and return to his freshman form, though he will certainly have help from his experienced offensive line. And finally, whichever quarterback is chosen to start will be very capable of leading the Bear’s offense.
Defense
Linebackers. The Golden Bears have some great ones; so good in fact that Cal is switching to a 3-4 defense this season. They return three senior starters at linebacker in Zach Follett, Worrell Williams and Anthony Felder, and each had terrific seasons in ‘07. Cal will be just as talented as USC at linebacker this year, so the running game of opponents may be in jeopardy.
If there was one weakness in Cal’s defense, it would have to be the defensive line. Last season, the Bears finished last in the Pac-10 with only 22 sacks. The line returns four starters which includes senior Rulon Davis and junior Tyson Alualu at defensive end. Rulon was reportedly “dominant” in spring practice and Alualu comes off a stellar season in which he had 52 tackles, four fumble recoveries, 2.5 sacks and an interception. With the switch to the 3-4, the defensive line becomes less of a concern.
The Bears look decent at the defensive back positions in ‘08. They return starters Bernard Hicks, a senior safety, junior corner Syd’Quan Thompson and sophomore corner Chris Conte, who had 32 tackles last season as a freshman. They must replace lead tackler Thomas DeCoud at safety, but several players have stepped up and it doesn’t seem to be a concern.
Overall the Cal defense looks solid, not spectacular. The run defense should be very good with that linebacker trio and pass defense should be decent. The big question mark is whether the defensive line can step up the pass rush. If the line improves this year, the Bear’s defense will be a major strength.
Special Teams
The Bears are going to miss DeSean Jackson on punt returns. Jackson had six punt returns for touchdowns, setting the California and Pac-10 record. Expect a running back behind Jahvid Best to replace him. It is highly doubtful his production will be equaled. As for punters, the Bears lost two-year starter Andrew Larson but sophomore Brian Anger is ready to step in and has been very impressive at camp. At kicker Cal returns senior Jordan Kay who had an average season in ‘07, going 13 of 20 overall.
Coaching
Coach Jeff Tedford enters his 7th year as the head man with an overall record of 50-26 heading into 2008. Tedford took a mediocre Cal squad and made them annual contenders in the Pac-10 conference. Last year was definitely a slip for Tedford and this may be his defining year as coach for the program.
2008 Season
Cal begins the season at home with a showdown with Michigan State which could set the tone for the whole season. The Spartans are a rising power in the Big-10 and Cal a traditional power in the Pac-10 looking to restore some respect. After that pivotal game they travel to Washington St. and then Maryland in a bizarre out-of-conference, in-conference, out-of-conference schedule with 3 bye weeks thrown in. After Maryland they host Colorado State and Arizona State for a possible fight for 2nd place in the Pac-10. Then its a trip to Arizona and hosting UCLA and Oregon. Oregon will be another contender for 2nd place after USC. The Bears then travel to USC to lose there and Oregon State to try and get some revenge for that embarrassing loss last season. They then host Stanford and Washington to close out the regular season.
I’m predicting an 8-4 finish for the Bears this season. I will post a preview of the Cal-MSU game in the week preceding the game with my prediction for that particular outcome. Wednesday we will look at the 2008 Eastern Michigan Eagles. Thanks for reading!
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August 25th, 2008 at 3:48 am
Hey MSUtom, tell me what you are hearing about MSU secondary this year. I know BG, Northwestern, and Purdue torched that secondary and you know Cal will come with a similar attack. They will replace skill with skill and that Tedford scheme is still there.
I like MSU as a road underdog, great toughness, running attack and Cal won’t get any pressure on Hoyer.
Impressions about outcome of game and specifically, camp hearings on secondary vs. Cal’s passing dynamic attack.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Hey bucknut5,
First… sorry about the delayed response. I’ve been dealing with a lot of family issues and unpleasant things and kind of neglected the site for a while. I will get it up and operational again though in time for the season (tomorrow 8^0 )
To answer your questions… We have a skilled senior in Otis Wiley (#21) at one of the safety positions returning. He underperformed last year, but really came on at the end of the season. He’s got size (6′2 210) and will improve greatly this season with a full year of Dantonio’s system under his belt. The other starting safety will be senior Kendall Davis-Clark, who was a cornerback until Rodrick Jenrette was asked to take a leave of absence from the team to address some “personal matters”. From all reports he looks comfortable there and is performing well. He also has size at 6′0 210, so it’s just a matter of learning the coverages which apparently he has.
Cornerback should be improved over last year as well. Junior Ross Weaver and sophomore Chris L. Rucker both return from last year in which they had some playing time. Rucker is reportedly the best of the bunch. Our depth at corner is actually better than it has been in a while and it’s not much of a concern for me. The bigger question is whether the safeties can play to their potential and work with the corners to not allow the deep bombs that have devastated us in the past.
I do agree with you that Ringer will be able to “get his” at Cal. I think Hoyer will be well protected and that should help with trying to break in some young receivers. So I believe MSU will be able to score some points and so will Cal. The key is if our DL can get pressure on their quarterback. If they can, the Bears are in for a long day.
Thanks for the comment!