And here are the first standings. If you put a score in the formal Guess the Score thread, I used that one. I also went through the earlier thread of score predictions and included anyone who wasn't in the Guess the Score thread. But if you were in both, the official thread took precedence.

If anyone needs me to explain the scoring system again, happy to do so. Remember, if you play every week you will get to drop your two worst scores. The total will be averaged each week, and after Week 4 I'll drop the two worst scores for those who have played all four weeks. You can also take two Xs (missed week, no guess) and remain eligible, but you use the ability to drop scores then. (Or you can drop one score and take one X -- you get it.)

Each weekly winner gets two months comped added to subscription -- those comps have already been put through for our three winners from last week.

Moving forward, my assistant Jeff will handle the standings so you don't have to wait for me to get the time to do them. Like I said, we'll aim for Monday nights.

Cal 58, UNT 21

STANDINGS

calderon11 -- 20
vjrousseu -- 20
RugBear -- 20
BLbearfan -- 21
Gkhoury2325 -- 21
sflye13 -- 23
cal1982 -- 24
joni.a -- 24
1calfan -- 25
gbforever -- 25
GoBears96 -- 26
kairbear -- 27
bearborn11 -- 27
bluebeargold -- 27
CaliDrank -- 27
UCB4LIFE -- 27
dlit -- 27
elindsey -- 28
MC415 -- 28
lonestarbear -- 28
Fire Starkey -- 28
Eugene Choo -- 29
marklog -- 30
kotaconduct -- 31
gocalbears1994 -- 31
sppbears -- 31
oski97 -- 31
richmondisnotghetto -- 31
GoBears93 -- 32
dannyroe -- 32
Ptown Mac11 -- 32
bear949 -- 33
droski -- 34
drfunk4316 -- 35
SlugLyfe57 -- 35
Harky4 -- 35
tluv123 -- 35
mike79 -- 35
fjbards -- 36
petalumabear -- 37
rathokan -- 38
mvpcalbears -- 38
Colonial Bear -- 38
horseman -- 38
icbear -- 41
djsit -- 41
djnoblin -- 45
dhemy -- 62

Over/under 54.5

Ahead of the eagerly anticipated Cal matchup against Auburn, I broke down some of the teams’ numbers from last week. Of course, these are just Week 1 numbers, and there is much more to be said, but this is a bit of insight into what this game might look like this evening.

Looking into last week’s scoring, offensive and defensive numbers, here is a breakdown of tonight’s game, by the numbers.

4-5 last week. 0-1 for my lock of the week: https://cal.forums.rivals.com/threads/lets-pick-the-pac-12-games-week-1.32169/

Home teams in italics

Colorado by 3 over Nebraska - Interesting game. Got to think Nebraska's D is better than TCU's. Letdown game too. Nebraska I guess?

Utah by 7 over Baylor - Someone want to explain this spread? Baylor just got its asses handed to them by texas state (Spav's old team). Utah covers.

UW by 34.5 over Tulsa - UW rolls. Even covers this spread.

Oregon by 6.5 over Texas Tech - Ridiculous. Oregon.

UCLA by 13.5 over SDSU - So. UCLA's offense isn't good (Garbers looked awful) and SDSU is really good at home against the pac-12. SDSU covers.

Arizona by 10 over Mississippi State - I think MSU is supposed to suck, but this seems like too many points and I am not an arizona believer. MSU.

Wisconsin by 6.5 over WSU - Is Wisconsin good? WSU covers.

Auburn by 6.5 over Cal - Honestly have no strong idea. I usually have a good read on Cal games. I worry about Auburn's team speed and lines. Auburn covers.

USC by 29.5 over the Furd - Ridiculous line. The furd looked ok against Hawaii. Bet it's close for a half at least. Furd covers.

Oklahoma State by 3.5 over ASU - If they couldn't get up for the game immediately after the bowl ban they are going to win this game? no. OSU covers.



Non conference lock of the week: ND by 7.5 over NC State - ND has a qb. ND covers.

How is tailgating set up there? We have a group of 13 coming out to the Auburn game.

What are your suggestions for before game and things to do. We do have 2 kids coming ages 8 and 12.

We have in the past reciprocated tailgates with other teams in the past. We have a tailgate right by the stadium in Auburn.

Anyone expecting a sellout Saturday? Hoping for around 50k-55k.

Lots of memories here:

Cool interview, he has an interesting story and personality. A great potential face of the program.

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Cal going up against an SEC school seems to be anything anyone has been talking about. In the week leading up to Cal's matchup against Auburn, questions at press conferences have almost always come back to "what does it take to prepare for a team like Auburn?" Cal won big Week 1, but this is a much bigger matchup than Cal's season opener against North Texas.

Over the past two days, players and coaches alike have talked about what it'll take to go up against this Auburn team. It seems like everyone across the board is pretty confident. The outcome of the game, of course, remains to be seen. But one thing is obvious — the excitement surrounding the game is certainly there.

Read all about it in my most recent piece breaking down the team's outlook surrounding the upcoming — and highly anticipated — home opener against Auburn.

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BJ Canady admits that he wants to play close to his sister, who is a pitcher at Stanford, and Cal has been most consistent in his recruitment even after he broke bones in both feet last year. He said a decision could be coming soon as he makes his third trip to Berkeley this weekend as the lone official visitor for the Bears.

No real changes to this week's depth chart for the Bears. However, the "or" that had separated Ben Finley and Fernando Mendoza last week before the UNT game has been moved up between Sam Jackson V and Finley. Matthew Cindric still listed as starting center for the Auburn game, and we'll get an update on his status as well as Jackson's today when Justin Wilcox speaks.

There was not a lot of joking around in today's media session with Cal players Sam Jackson V, Jaydn Ott, Brian Driscoll and Brett Johnson. It was definitely a more serious tone for the Bears who expressed plenty of confidence in their team's ability to pull out a win over Auburn. Ott's comments are likely to end up as bulletin board material, but he was clear about his confidence level in the Bears this weekend.

Watch all four interviews in the two videos below:

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And what they looked like back in their high school days:

My assumption is most of you wouldn't be here if you'd lost all hope that Cal can ever win a conference title and/or get in the College Football Playoff. Obviously that is not within grasp currently, but this post isn't about the here and now.

There is a pretty spirited debate taking place on the Stanford board right now about Cal's longterm potential. There seems to be an even split between those who think Cal has great untapped potential and maybe even a higher ceiling than Stanford, and those who see Cal's 60+ years of mostly terrible football as being all the proof needed to write Cal off for the longterm.

Personally, ever since I started following this maddening program in 1990, I've seen reason to believe Cal could be if not a powerhouse, certainly a consistently nationally relevant program. But it wasn't until today and the revelation that Cal has lined up donors to fund it to be in a major conference, that I felt this could be close to being a reality, but it depends on the following two questions.

Is this possible "donor takeover" an inflection point to take football away from any influence of faculty and administration that have held it back for decades? Will donors have power to put people in positions of power to make sure football gets the support it needs to thrive?

Curious to read what y'all think about Cal's potential in a vacuum outside of conference craziness, and your outlook for what is possible if things get on the right track with a donor call to arms.

I can honestly say I have never watched the CW. But hey it's linear. Wonder how many games Cal will be on CW in 2024.

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Ryan/Matt/Maria - can you provide any details on the planned visit by 2024 SDE AJ Canady. Clint Cosgrove in your network suggests that Cal may become the leader if the visit goes well.

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Cal starting left guard Brian Driscoll has been voted the Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Week for Week 1 of the season. Driscoll moved over to center to finish out Cal's win over North Texas on Saturday and helped guide the Bears to 669 yards of offense and over 350 yards rushing against the Mean Green.

Driscoll is the first Cal offensive lineman to win the award since Ben Coleman in Week 4 last season.

Here are all four of today's interviews with Cal coaches Justin Wilcox, Jake Spavital and Peter Sirmon plus quarterback Ben Finley as the team begins to turn its attention toward Auburn. Maria will have a full rundown of today's media session in just a little bit.

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Sun Bowl vs. Pitt

-or-

Rose Bowl vs. Alabama

Independence Bowl vs. Iowa State

Thoughts?

At first I thought Jackson might’ve broken a collarbone based on his reaction during the game but it sounds like it’s more along the lines of a sprain and the coaches being cautious in game 1 not to injure him further.

I know it was UNT, but I liked what I saw from Finley. He also got enough game time to get settled, take some big shots, success in big chunks and looked decent with the short passes as well. He seems to have that tall, pocket passer mold which makes me think of Goff and Davis in a Spavital offense.

So come this Saturday who do you have start that game against Auburn? Finley, who played well against a weak opponent? Or Jackson who gives you more mobility but didn’t have as much of an opportunity in game 1?

This article sure seems to think so.

It is almost over. After a month of back and forth, Cal is expected to receive an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference alongside Stanford and SMU. The move will be for all sports and add somewhere around $72 million in revenue for the ACC. NC State is reportedly the school the flipped pushing the approval of the additions through.

The invites have to be officially accepted, but that is expected soon while details continue to be completely ironed out.

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Check in with 2025 Rivals150 guard Aaron "Ace" Glass today at an event down in Orange County. He was one of the more notable prospects in attendance, and he played like it for sure. The camp setting can be difficult since the teams are put together just for the day, but he made some impressive plays and showed his all-around ability as a guard throughout the event.

Cal offered Glass, who is beginning to see his stock rise, back in July and since then he has built a strong connection with assistant coach Amorrow Morgan. The Bears will be one of the first schools to get him out on an unofficial visit this fall as he plans to stop by Berkeley before the start of the season. UCSB is also getting him out on a visit.

Washington State probably sits in the best position right now after becoming the first school to offer him a year ago, but Cal is definitely making its presence felt and has pushed him to make the trek out to Berkeley. The exact date is still being figured out, but he says the plan right now is to head up to Cal in October.

Here's Maria's latest piece dissecting Cal's season-opening victory over the Mean Green earlier today.