What do you most want me to ask Madsen today after practice?

I went to the men's basketball practice this afternoon. I was impressed with the energy and focus of the players and coaches, with Mark and his assistants constantly teaching, individually and as a team. IMO, this squad is as talented and athletic as any Cal team since Cuonzo was running the show. Cal scrimmaged Boise State recently and lost by double digits. Fardaws scored something like 18 points and has 12 rebounds in that scrimmage. However, Jaylon Tyson could not play due to the absence of his NCAA waiver. Jaylon looks like a real stud and will be our best and most talented player, as well as the team's on-court leader. Jalen Celestine finally looks healthy and seemed to have not lost the sweet shot that he possessed 2 years ago. Jalen will be in the regular rotation IMO. Also IMO, the likely starters would appear to be Fardaws, Grant, Keonte, Jaylon and either Jaylen (Cone) or a healthy and bearded Devin at the PG. Rodney Brown is impressive and will be in the regular rotation as a frosh. Vladmir reminded me of Jorge, pony tail and all, as a player who just is tenacious and aggressive. I can see Vladmir coming off the bench, because he is a tenacious defender.

“I think the best way to develop someone is just pushing them into the fire,” said Cal’s newest starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza to the media Wednesday.

Mendoza said that people have a tendency to ease young quarterbacks into the game with “garbage time” reps and lower competition games — a philosophy he said he doesn’t 100% agree with. His philosophy, rather, lies with being thrown into the fire.

The redshirt freshman got the first-ever start of his college career against then-No. 15 Oregon State Oct. 7. Then going up against then-No. 16 Utah Oct. 14 and slated to face USC, Oregon and Washington State in the next three weeks, there couldn't have been a more difficult induction for the redshirt freshman into collegiate play.

Read about Cal's newest young quarterback being thrown into the fire in a strong Pac-12 season:

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Fernando Mendoza now has a weekly media availability as the starting quarterback, and he spoke with reporters about a variety of topics today as he heads into his third start. The game against USC was in full focus, and he answered a number of questions about the Trojans and his work during the bye week as well.

Brody Kozlowski from Utah. Has Cal in final six with BYU, Nevada, UCLA, USC and SD State. Took an OV to Cal in late August.​

Had himself a game. Two interceptions and caused the McCaffery fumble. Cal receipts! I know Niner fans are sad but it was great to see a Cal kid do well on the big stage - loved his worm, too!

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The coaches were back today for their weekly Tuesday media session. Head coach Justin Wilcox, defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital all spoke with reporters today to discuss the bye week, what the team focused on improving during its week off, the challenges presented by USC heading into the new week and much more.

Cal is back to work this week as it welcomes No. 24 USC to CMS after its bye. The staff had some extra time to do some evaluations, but the depth chart looks similar to what it was prior to the bye week. Blake Antzoulatos is again listed atop the depth chart at the inside linebacker spot with "ors" separating himself, Nate Rutchena and Cade Uluave. Antzoulatos started against Utah but played the fewest snaps among that group while Uluave was the most productive as the staff looks for a way to try and replace the production lost with Jackson Sirmon now out for the season.

Running back Jaivian Thomas is also now listed as the third running back on the depth chart behind Jaydn Ott and Isaiah Ifanse. The Jet has been carving out a bigger role for himself and there is an "or" separating the freshman and Ashton Stredick for that third spot.

We'll talk to Justin Wilcox, Peter Sirmon and Jake Spavital here over the next hour or so.

OL David Abajian decommits from Oregon State. Cal and Kansas were high on his list and both are in contact.
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3-1 last week for 21-27-2 for the year: https://cal.forums.rivals.com/threads/lets-pick-the-pac-12-games-week-8.32320/ 0-1 for my lock of the week for 6-2 for the year.

Home teams in italics

Oregon by 6.5 over Utah - Oregon covers.

USC by 11 over Cal - No idea. USC isn't good, but our defense has zero pass rush. USC covers.

UW by 26.5 over Furd - Furd covers.

UCLA by 16.5 over Colorado - Colorado covers.

WSU by 6.5 over ASU - WSU covers.

Oregon State by 3.5 over Arizona - Two arizona school lines are too low. Oregon State covers.



Non conference lock of the week: Texas by 17.5 over BYU - BYU covers.

I thought the line would have been higher.
Go Bears

Justin Wilcox just confirmed to the media after the game that starting middle linebacker Jackson Sirmon will miss the remainder of the season with the injury he suffered last week.

Following Cal's loss to Auburn last Saturday, I wrote about the state of the Cal football program. With high hopes and an energized fanbase, the Bears once again struggled to convert, resulting in a four-point 14-10 loss to the Tigers.

Justin Wilcox is in his seventh year as Cal head coach, and only has two winning seasons to show for it. You can make as many excuses as you want — stale offensive scheming for the past few years, an apathetic fanbase, unfavorable media deals, COVID-19 — but it’s clear that this is becoming an issue.

That being said, after everything I’ve seen following Saturday’s loss, this is one of the biggest takeaways I have for fans: Take it easy on the players. Hold the program accountable, hold the coaching staff accountable. But don’t take it out on the athletes. You’re allowed to be critical without being downright cruel.

Read my (first!) column on the state of Cal football following the loss against Auburn:

"Our football team is in the middle of one of the toughest stretches of the schedule in our history – after playing ranked opponents in each of our past two games, three of our final five games are also against teams currently ranked in the Associated Press top 25, and another is just outside the poll. We’ve shown signs of promise in every game, and I know we are close to putting together the type of complete performance that Coach Wilcox and our team are working toward. We all know winning in football is critically important to our university, and we will continue to fight for California. Our loss at Utah last weekend really came down to a handful of plays that didn’t go our way, and if we can turn those around, I’m confident we will be doing some celebrating very soon."

For the second time this year, Cal lost a crucial sixth-year contributor to the team in inside linebacker Jackson Sirmon. Sirmon injured his bicep against Oregon State and had surgery last Thursday, the senior said at Tuesday’s media availability.

Despite having to take time off — and with losing valuable playing time in his last season of collegiate eligibility — Sirmon said his injury does not change his plans for the future. He still has one goal in mind: to play in the NFL.

“I don’t plan on that being my last game or my last snap. So, that’s how I’m moving forward — rehab from this, the same way I attack everything, and I think good things will happen," Sirmon said.

Read about Sirmon's collegiate football career and plans for the future:

Agree or disagree?

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With Cal on a bye week, the coaches got the day off from their usual media availability on Tuesday and instead Jackson Sirmon was given an opportunity to speak with reporters about his season (and Cal career) ending injury that he suffered in the game against Oregon State. The Bears linebacker injured his bicep and it required surgery, and he had a big brace on his arm while speaking with us today.

He plans to do the same thing that Matthew Cindric is doing (also, done for the year with a biceps injury) by helping the rest of the linebacker group as much as he can and serving as an extra set of eyes for his dad on defense.

You can watch his full media session from earlier today above.

1-4-1 last week (thanks wilcox!) for 18-26-2 for the year. 1-0 for my lock of the week for 6-1 for the year. https://cal.forums.rivals.com/threads/lets-pick-the-pac-12-games-week-7.32303/

Home teams in italics
Oregon by 20 over WSU - No idea. WSU?

USC by 6.5 over Utah - No idea. Utah?

UCLA by 16.5 over the Furd - UCLA covers.

UW by 28 over ASU - Let down, but not sure it matters. UW covers.



Non conference lock of the week: WVU by 3 over Oklahoma State - WVU covers.

Game Details

Who: Cal (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12) at No. 16 Utah (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12) | All-time series: Tied 6-6

When: Noon

Where: Rice-Eccles Stadium | Salt Lake City, Utah

TV: Pac-12 Network | Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Lincoln Kennedy (analyst)

RADIO: 810 AMJustin Allegri (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Kevin Danna (sideline reporter); SiriusXM Ch. 386 SXM App 976, The Varsity App

Cal is back in action as the Bears continue their difficult stretch facing another ranked team today. The Bears will square off against Utah for the first time since 2019 as Fernando Mendoza makes his second start at quarterback hoping to replicate some of the success the offense had last week. The defense, meanwhile, will look to regain some momentum after struggling to stop Oregon State's offense a week ago. It will have to do so without starting middle linebacker Jackson Sirmon who is out for today's game.

Join the conversation and follow along for updates as Cal takes on Utah today.

Going into its second week of five straight ranked opponents, Cal was hoping to get an upset win against No. 16 Utah. Instead, the Bears saw a lackluster performance, especially on defense, leading to a 34-14 loss to the Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday.

The Bears’ offensive struggles were nowhere near its defensive woes in terms of costly performance, and Cal’s inability to capitalize on a weaker Utah offense proved to be detrimental.

Read the Utah-Cal recap here:

There were some technical difficulties after the game with the postgame Zoom press conference, so here are the videos from Cal Athletics of today's media sessions with Justin Wilcox, Taj Davis, Cade Uluave and Fernando Mendoza.

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Who’s on everyone’s list? A few I’d be excited about:

Troy Taylor
Brennan Marion
Dennis Simmons

Our Week 6 winner was @Eugene Choo with a score of 27 on his guess of Oregon State 34 - Cal 31. Next best were @bearborn11 with a score of 31 and @CalGreg and @marklog with a score of 34.

Here are the updated standings through six weeks. Remember, after Week 4 we drop each person’s two worst scores from the average provided they have participated all four weeks (or drop one score if a week has been missed). The bold scores are the scores that have been dropped.

Cal is now onto the second week of its gauntlet — five ranked teams in a row. Following a 12-point, 52-40 loss to Oregon State at home last week, the Bears (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12) now turn their attention to Utah (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12). Set to be a challenging game at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Cal is heading to Utah looking for an upset win against the No. 16 Utes.

Here are the top storylines ahead of Cal’s Week 7 matchup against Utah:

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A lot of confidence from Mark Madsen today at his first (and only) Pac-12 Media Day as Cal's head coach. Madsen continued to come back to the Bears being the team no opponent will want to play this season. Good stuff from Madsen, Keonte Kennedy and Grant Newell today.

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