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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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I had an opportunity to listen in on the Zoom session in regard to what alums are looking for from the next chancellor and was very encouraged by what I heard. Many alums spoke directly to the necessity of charting a new path with respect to the revenue sports. They are tired of seeing Memorial Stadium half full on Saturdays.

Additional Takeaways:

1. Create and sustain a culture that demands excellence in the revenue sports ( One alum brought up Michigan as a prime example of the coexistence of high level academics and a sports culture that demands accountability and performance excellence).
2. Fundraise, Fundraise and Fundraise some more. (Tap into our Ultra high Net Worth alums to develop a consistent funding pipeline)
3.Create additional student housing opportunities.
4. Look within our community to develop a list of Chancellor candidates.( Preferably an alum that knows what the student experience was life i.e. registering for classes, attempting to secure housing, navigating the various bureaucracies within Cal.
5. Limiting the opportunities for outsiders ( folks that didn't graduate from Cal) to make decisions that effect Cal(Name changes etc.)
6. The next Chancellor should understand branding and the unique opportunity we have as we transition to the A.C.C. Our commercial is super outdated and it is time for an update.

I was very pleased that the alums that participated had the revenue sports on the brain. We have to do better and we can do better Go Bears!!!!!

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Here's this week's depth chart as the Bears prepare to face No. 16 Utah.

Fernando Mendoza moved to the starting job officially on the depth chart. Sioape Vatikani still listed as the starter at right guard but we're expecting to get an update on him when Wilcox speaks to reporters today.

Saturday, redshirt freshman quarterback Fernando Mendoza stepped into some big shoes. Not just because of some of the talented quarterbacks that have come and gone in recent years, but some of the bigger, now household names, the likes of Aaron Rogers, Jared Goff and even Davis Webb.

Mendoza said he tries to learn a lot when Spavital talks about Webb or Will Grier, the Patriots’ quarterback that Spavital coached during his time at West Virginia.

Read about Mendoza's path to earning the starting job and his reflection on working with Spavital and his teammates:

Cal football has finally found an identity at quarterback — and his name is Fernando Mendoza.

Was Mendoza’s performance perfect? Of course not — the 20-year-old just started his first collegiate football game, there’s no talk about a Heisman contender here. But after weeks of uncertainty for the Bears’ signal callers, it’s nice to at least see someone bring a sense of confidence and reliability to the position.

Ladies and gentlemen, get settled in for the Fernando Mendoza Show — we should all be seeing much more of him going forward.

Read my column on Mendoza's Saturday performance:

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Cal has been picked 11th by conference media in the Pac-12 preseason media poll today.

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Fernando Mendoza met with reporters today to discuss his first start last week and look ahead to facing another ranked opponent this weekend when the Bears head to Utah.

Game Details

Who: Cal (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) vs. No. 15 Oregon State (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12) | All-time series: Bears lead 39-36

When: 7 p.m.

Where: California Memorial Stadium | Berkeley, California

TV: Pac-12 Network | J.B. Long (play-by-play), Max Browne (analyst)

RADIO: 810 AMJustin Allegri (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Kevin Danna (sideline reporter); SiriusXM Ch. 158 or 197 SXM App 959, The Varsity App

It's once again game day at California Memorial Stadium, and we'll have coverage as the Bears host No. 15 Oregon State. Cal is coming off last week's win over Arizona State with plenty of question marks remaining, including what will happen at the quarterback position. We'll get answers to some of those questions soon, and we invite you to join in the conversation and follow along for updates from tonight's game.

We'll provide any updates here as well throughout the night.

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Today was our weekly media availability with the Cal coaching staff as Justin Wilcox, Peter Sirmon and Jake Spavital all met with reporters to discuss last Saturday's game agains Oregon State while also looking ahead to this week's matchup with No. 16 Utah.

Pac-12 Media Day is tomorrow in Las Vegas. Matt will be there for us. Today, they announced the preseason teams:

2023-24 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Preseason Media All-Conference Team

First Team

Oumar Ballo, Arizona

Adem Bona, UCLA

Keion Brooks Jr., Washington

Branden Carlson, Utah

Isaiah Collier, USC

N’Faly Dante, Oregon

Tristan da Silva, Colorado

Boogie Ellis, USC

Spencer Jones, Stanford

KJ Simpson, Colorado

Second Team

Fardaws Aimaq, California

Kylan Boswell, Arizona

Kobe Johnson, USC

Caleb Love, Arizona

Jordan Pope, Oregon State

Honorable Mention (votes from 5-or-more members of media)

Kwame Evans Jr., Oregon

Pelle Larsson, Arizona

Aday Mara, UCLA

Cody Williams, Colorado

1-3 last week for 17-22-1 for the year. 1-0 for my lock of the week for 5-1 for the year. https://cal.forums.rivals.com/threads/lets-pick-the-pac-12-games-week-6.32287/

Home teams in italics

Colorado by 12 over the Furd - Beats me. My guess is Colorado comes out fired up and covers.

Utah by 13.5 over Cal - Too many points. We lose by 10. Cal covers.

UW by 3 over Oregon - No real conviction here. I just think Oregon is better.

WSU by 8.5 over Arizona - Who knows? Arizona covers.

ND by 2.5 over USC - Not sure either team is all that good. USC covers.

Oregon State by 4 over fUCLA - fUCLA is just better.



Non conference lock of the week: Wisconsin by 10 over Iowa - Iowa covers.

As much as I like the guy, Sirmon has not been getting it done for some time. It’s been obvious that he’s been a big step down from DeRuyter. As a friend, Wilcox has given him ample time to step into the role. Without that friendship, any other HC would’ve parted ways imo.

Sirmon and the defensive staff are missing that mojo. We no longer have the Takers —
we have Givers (of big plays). We no longer have linebackers and edge rushers who play with their hair on fire.

TdR would often know how to pressure an offense between the 40’s to stop a drive by bringing pressure from an unexpected part of the field. When Sirmon tries, he gets read like a children’s book and we give up a huge play.

The defense has not played with inspiration since TdR left. There’s no juice to the defense like when Gerald Alexander was here.

Wilcox is locked in so the best chance we have is a change at DC just like how a change at OC has made a big difference.

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Here's everything from last night's game including the postgame press conferences with Justin Wilcox, Fernando Mendoza, Isaiah Ifanse and Craig Woodson plus our recap from AJ Alany.

Can Sam be turned into a legit weapon? He is among our fastest athletes. I could see him lined up in many places and be used as receiver, runner, jet sweeps, QB etc.

Got a couple football recruiting notes to pass along tonight as the Bears continue to ramp things back up this fall. Official visits will continue for Cal with a couple prospects already announcing their plans to be on campus for the game against Auburn. High three-star Kansas-based edge rusher BJ Canady will be on campus for an official visit this weekend. Also, joining the official visitor list this weekend will be Utah-based offensive lineman Nuku Mafi.

The three-star recruit from West High School in Salt Lake City will take three official visits this month with Nebraska and Utah both expected to have him on campus before the end of September. The Bears have made a strong move with the 6-foot-5 prospect, and it is a good sign the staff has been able to secure his first official trip.

The move to the ACC has certainly helped here but ultimately it comes down his relationship with the coaches.

USC has been hanging around in his recruitment but for now the three schools he has plans to visit in September are in the best position to land his pledge.

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A couple new offers went out today from Cal as well including an intriguing 2024 prospect from Archbishop Riordan. Offensive lineman Kalolo Ta'aga committed to San Jose State before every playing a down of football. He's a basketball player who checks in around 6-foot-7, and he was convinced to play football this season. His size and natural athleticism garnered college attention, and he committed to the Spartans over the summer.

Now, he is actually playing games and that has him starting to blow up as a recruit. Cal jumped into the mix today with an offer along with Florida. Arizona offered him yesterday, and there is growing buzz that more programs are going to become part of the picture as he moves ahead.

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Another new offer that went out was sent to Mason Posa out in Albuquerque. The 2025 outside linebacker recruit has been gaining plenty of attention entering his junior season, and now the Bears have jumped into the race for the 6-foot-3 prospect. Arizona State offered him today as well plus he picked up Wisconsin and Washington offers yesterday. He is a big-time wrestler who has gained some college attention for that sport as well.

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Here is this weekend's visitor list for the Bears as they host Oregon State on Saturday. The 2024 group will feature a fast-rising offensive lineman from Riordan and one of Oregon State's current commits. The 2025 group features a nice collection of local talent plus a tight end from down south.

2024

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2025

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Cal has finally released its training camp schedule, and the Bears will begin Wednesday afternoon. There will be four practices to open the first week with the initial three days all taking place at 4 p.m. After a day off Saturday, the Bears will then work exclusively in the morning with the remaining practices being held at 9:30 a.m.

Each of the practices below will be open to the public.

I will be out at practice this week (outside of Friday), but we will have every practice (that media is allowed to attend) covered throughout training camp as we did in the spring.

Training camp schedule

Wednesday, August 2 – 4:00 p.m.
Thursday, August 3 – 4:00 p.m.
Friday, August 4 – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 6 – 9:30 a.m.
Monday, August 7 – 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday, August 8 – 9:30 a.m.
Thursday, August 10 – 9:30 a.m.
Friday, August 11 – 9:30 a.m.
Saturday, August 12 – 9:30 a.m.
Sunday, August 13 – 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday, August 15 – 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday, August 16 – 9:30 a.m.
Thursday, August 17 – 9:30 a.m.
Friday, August 18 – 9:30 a.m.
Saturday, August 19 – 9:30 a.m.

Just gonna leave this here…

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Our Week 5 winner was @drfunk4316 with a score of 1 on his guess of Cal 24 - Arizona State 20. Next best were @kotaconduct, @petalumabear, @Harky4, and @CalGreg with a score of 4.

Here are the updates standings through five 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.

Lulz

Cal pulled out a much-needed win last week over Arizona State, but the gantlet starts this week for the Golden Bears.
The next five opponents are all presently ranked in the top 25, starting Saturday night with No. 15 Oregon State (4-1) and followed by Utah (No. 18), USC (No. 9), Oregon (No. 8) and Washington State (No. 13).

As Cal prepares for one of the hardest stretches in recent history, the Bears (3-2) are looking for rhythm and momentum as they head into the third week of conference play.

Here are the top storylines ahead of Cal’s matchup against Oregon State.

It looks like Cal will go 4/8. We cannot tolerate the D program any longer. The only hope is to get a new coach and players. JW is a great guy but cannot recruit and no offense . He does do good job on D but everything is D to F plus. Think of a new man

2-3 last week for 16-19-1 for the year. 1-0 for my lock of the week for 4-1 for the year: https://cal.forums.rivals.com/threads/lets-pick-the-pac-12-games-week-5.32266/

Home teams in italics

UCLA by 3.5 over WSU - I expect a low scoring game. WSU covers.

Colorado by 4.5 over ASU - ASU stinks. Colorado rolls.

Oregon State by 9.5 over Cal - Wilcox is good at covering spreads as a large home underdog, but I can't see us scoring against oregon state. Oregon State covers.

USC by 21.5 over Arizona - Arizona has been showing some signs of life and USC's defense stinks, but I don't think Arizona has the playmakers to cover this. USC barely covers.



Non conference lock of the week: Ohio State by 18.5 over Maryland - I just don't think Ohio State is very good. Maryland covers.

The Pac-12 schedule is done, and that means Cal's schedule is now complete for the upcoming season. The conference released days, times and TV designations for the upcoming men's basketball season this morning, so most of the Bears' first schedule under Mark Madsen is finished.

You can see all the games above but the highlights include six games on either a FOX channel or the ESPN family of networks. However, 22 of the 31 games will be broadcast by Pac-12 Network.

The national TV games include: Dec. 9 at Butler (FS1/9 a.m.), Dec. 16 vs. Ole Miss (San Antonio/SEC Network/4:30 p.m.), Jan. 10 vs. Colorado (ESPNU/8 p.m.), Jan. 26 vs. Stanford (FS1/7 p.m.), Feb. 10 vs. UCLA (FOX/2:30 p.m.), March 7 at Stanford (ESPN2 or ESPNU/TBD)

Outside linebacker Myles Williams and tight end Jack Endries play on opposite sides of the ball, but their road to collegiate football bears more resemblance than one might think.

Both of these players flew relatively under their radar during their early time at Cal — both redshirted their freshman years, 2021 for Williams and 2022 for Endries. Last year, too, Williams only tallied seven tackles on the season. But as the 2023 season ramps up, both players are seeing much more of the field — and fans are seeing much more of them.

As the two young Bears prepare to take on Oregon State — both with a significantly higher role than they saw last year — they embrace the challenge.