California
Golden Bears
Preview 2007
By
Richard Cirminiello
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2007 Cal Offense Preview
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2007 Cal Defense Preview
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2007 Cal Depth
Chart
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2006 CFN California
Preview
As long as Head
Coach Jeff Tedford continues to rebuff offers to leave Strawberry
Canyon, Cal will be a perennial threat for ten wins. However, the
upcoming season provides unique challenges, as Tedford and his staff
must replace a few all-time great Bears. It’s a good thing the
program has recruited so well the past few years because no Pac-10
school lost a more productive quartet than star running back
Marshawn Lynch, leading tackler linebacker Desmond Bishop, defensive
tackle Brandon Mebane and All-American cornerback Daymeion Hughes.
Head coach: Jeff Tedford
6th year: 43-20
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 22, Def. 23, ST 3
Lettermen Lost: 23 |
Ten
Best Cal Players
1. WR DeSean Jackson, Jr.
2. C Alex Mack, Jr.
3. QB Nate Longshore, Jr.
4. LB Zack Follett, Jr.
5. OT Mike Gibson, Sr.
6. RB Justin Forsett, Sr.
7. TE Craig Stevens, Sr.
8. FS Thomas DeCoud, Sr.
9. LB Worrell Williams, Jr.
10. WR Lavelle Hawkins, Sr. |
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2007 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 9-3 |
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Sept. 1 |
Tennessee |
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Sept. 8 |
at Colorado State |
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Sept. 15 |
Louisiana Tech |
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Sept. 22 |
Arizona
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Sept. 29 |
at Oregon |
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Oct.
13 |
Oregon State |
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Oct.
20 |
at
UCLA |
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Oct.
27 |
at Arizona State |
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Nov.
3 |
Washington State |
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Nov.
10 |
USC |
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Nov.
17 |
at
Washington |
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Dec.
1 |
at Stanford |
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2006
Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
10-2
2006 Record: 10-3
Preview
2005 predicted wins
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9/2 |
at Tennessee
L 35-18 |
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9/9 |
Minnesota
W 42-17 |
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9/16 |
Portland State
W 42-16 |
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9/23 |
Arizona State
W 49-21 |
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9/30 |
at Oregon St
W 41-13 |
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10/7 |
Oregon
W 45-24 |
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10/14 |
at Wash St
W 21-3 |
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10/21 |
Washington
W 31-24 OT |
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11/4 |
UCLA
W 38-24 |
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11/11 |
at Arizona
L 24-20 |
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11/18 |
at USC L 23-9 |
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12/2 |
Stanford
W 26-17 |
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12/28 |
Holiday Bowl
Texas A&M W 45-10 |
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Every year Tedford
is back, he’s the key returner for Cal, a program that was in complete
disarray before he arrived in 2002. The Bears are currently riding the
wave of their best five-year stretch in more than a half-century,
dramatically upgrading the pool of talent and routinely finishing the
season ranked and in a bowl game. That a hollow feeling of unfinished
business existed after going 10-3 in 2006 is a testament to just how far
Cal has come, since going 1-10 in 2001. To fully complete this extreme
makeover, however, the Bears still must get to the Rose Bowl, and must
renovate their outdated facilities, a touchy subject that’s reached the
courts and raised the ire of local neighborhoods and environmental
groups.
With a winning tradition beginning to take root, Cal doesn’t rebuild, it
reloads. Yes, last year was the Bears’ golden opportunity to knock
mighty USC from its Pac-10 throne, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be
right back in the thick of the 2007 race, especially since the Trojans
come to Berkeley Nov. 10. With the trio of quarterback Nate Longshore,
running back Justin Forsett and receiver DeSean Jackson back for another
year, Tedford’s offense will once again roll, giving the revamped
defense time to break in six new starters.
What to watch on offense …Cal is just one of five teams in the
country that has ranked in the top 25 in scoring the past five seasons,
a trend that’ll continue in 2007. Tedford’s an innovator, but there’s a
national misconception that the Bears are content to heave 50 passes a
game, when balance and deception are the objectives. Super-sub Forsett
supplants Lynch in the running game, but at 5-8 and 185 pounds, he’ll
need support from redshirt freshmen James Montgomery and Tracy Slocum.
Longshore will build on his debut as the starter by getting the ball
into the hands of Jackson, a home-run-hitting receiver and the nation’s
most explosive punt returner.
What to watch on defense … The busiest Cal coach this off-season
will be defensive coordinator Bob Gregory, who’ll be trying to piece
together a cohesive unit after his defense was torn apart by
graduation. There’s no easy way to replace Hughes, Mebane and Bishop,
so potential stars, such as tackle Derrick Hill, linebackers Zack
Follett and Worrell Williams and corner Syd’Quan Thompson will be asked
to grow up and assert themselves real fast.
The team will be far better if … it can locate a consistent pass
rush. The Bears had just 12 sacks over the final eight games of 2006,
leaving a pretty good secondary to fend for itself. If they fail to
create pressure for a second straight year, those young corners are
going to be toast once the Pac-10 portion of the schedule begins.
The Schedule: Considering one of the “away games” is down the
road at Stanford, the schedule isn’t all that bad. The non-conference
schedule is interesting, starting off with a must-win, national-showcase
home opener against Tennessee, before going to Colorado State and then
returning home for what should be an easy win over Louisiana Tech.
Getting USC at home might mean everything in the Pac-10 race, but league
road games at Oregon, UCLA, Arizona State and Washington should derail
any hope of an unbeaten season.
Best Offensive Player:
Junior WR
DeSean Jackson. Think Ted Ginn Jr., but smaller and more productive. The
6-0, 166-pound wisp is one of the nation’s fastest players and a
game-breaker whenever he has the ball in his hands. The ultimate deep
threat, Jackson has averaged 17.1 yards per catch on 97 grabs with 16
touchdowns in his first two years, and has been a devastating punt
returner, averaging 18.2 yards per try last season with four touchdowns.
Best Defensive Player:
Junior LB
Zack Follett. A reserve most of last year, Follett still earned
All-Pac-10 honors with 62 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss.
He’s a hard hitter who’s solid in pass coverage. Now he’ll have to
become a leader, given all of the big losses on defense.
Key player to a
successful season:
Sophomore CB Syd’Quan
Thompson. With All-American Daymeion Hughes gone, it’ll be up to
Thompson to take on the role as the number one corner right off the bat.
While he’s not nearly as big as Hughes, the 5-10, 178-pound sophomore is
a bit faster and proved he could handle himself after being thrown into
the fire as a freshman.
The season will be a
success if
... the Bears win the Pac-10 title outright. It’s time. This is a loaded
team with as much all-around talent, skill and athleticism as anyone in
the Pac-10 outside of USC, which has to come to Berkeley. One loss to a
UCLA or Oregon will be acceptable, but anything less than a spot in the
BCS for the first time, preferably in the Rose Bowl, will be seen as a
major disappointment.
Key game:
Sept. 1 vs. Tennessee.
Of course the USC game is the most important, and of course there are
several other key conference battles. However, for the Bears to finally
be recognized as more than just a good Pac-10 program (at least by those
who haven’t been paying attention or didn’t watch the 2006 Holiday
Bowl), they need to beat Tennessee. A win would set the tone for the
season and put them in the thick of the national title race from the
start.
2006 Fun Stats:
- Sacks: Cal 26 for 136 yards – Opponents 13 for 89 yards
- Punt return average: Cal 17.3 – Opponents 6.9
- Red zone scoring: Cal 38 of 42 chances (90%) – Opponents 26 of 36
chances (72%)