In the UK for a bit with crap service and don’t see another thread yet so here goes

Cal 23-13

One of FSU’s two starting OTs confirmed out for this game. They both missed last week’s game, and it was uncertain if they’d be back this week.

Sounds like Washington (their best OL and starting LT) will be back but Byers (starting RT) remains out. Good news for our chances of putting pressure on DJU and forcing mistakes

Our Week 3 winner is @icbear with a score of 0! First one this year! I will make sure Ryan knows! Next best were @BearlyBreathing, @febfeb, @bearborn11, @droski, @petalumabear, @Btmatsu, @gocalbears1994 with a score of 3.


Here are the updates standings through three 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.

Given the way G-Tech was able to run the ball and control the clock- do we think Cal has a shot to do the same?

Also, as G-Tech QB did a great job running and managing the game do you think that Rodger’s skill set is better suited to do that

Go Bears

who is this guy?

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I checked in with our FSU Rivals affiliate for an overview of what the Florida State side of things is looking like this week ahead of Cal's trip to Tallahassee. You can read the Q&A at the link above.

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Our latest podcast episode is out and Ryan is back joining me as we discuss the win over SDSU, hand out some early-season MVP awards and look ahead to this weekend's big matchup in Tallahassee.

I’m feeling pretty badly for Ott this year with his injuries, one of my all-time favorite Cal players, who has stuck with us in an era where players with his talent often move around to better programs. I was hoping he’d be in the Heisman running this year at least as someone mentioned, and get all the press he deserves. Unfortunately, it has not worked out that way at least so far.

I am very hopeful he gets healthy soon and gets an opportunity to show what a great player he is and what a great representative he is for the university.

I will also become an instant fan of whatever team drafts him, as I personally think he will be a great NFL back and a very deserving person to root for.

Go Bears!

The ACC and ESPN are apparently in negotiation over new terms for the ACC. The ACC wants the lawsuits to go away and ESPN would like to keep the GOR issues out of the courts.

This is a very important issue and will come to head soon IMO. ESPN needs to exercisethe opt in/out clause by February. They hold the GOR to 2036 if they opt in, or til 2027 if they opt out. There are pluses and minuses for each. ESPN and the ACC do not want to defend the GOR in court. FSU and Clemson are spending a ton of money fighting and they could lose.

The GOR being shortened is the big sweetener ESPN and the ACC is offering. That has value. How much they shorten it is still TBD. The new revenues they may receive are still in discussion as well, but there would be some. Along with the success incentives they want to implement it could be a nice revenue addition for those that perform well in media value and on the field.

This looks like a very nice compromise for all. ESPN could opt in and keep the inventory til 2036. Several schools would like this. About as many would not. If the lawsuits do go forward it could end well for FSU/Clemson and others. But it could be a loss and tie them to the conference til 2036 and be very expensive.

I think an agreement to shorten the GOR throw a bit more revenue the ACCs way and remove the lawsuits has benefits for most of the conference. And ESPN. This needs to happen soon. The February opt in/out date looms. Given all the talk about future realignment I think an agreement is more likely than not to occur.

That ESPN and the litigating schools are at least discussing options tells me they both feel it has some value. I see all sides to this and I am not sure which is more beneficial to Cal. The details matter. They always do.

I have always believed a compromise was a likely outcome and it appears the involved parties are trying to find one. Will be interesting to watch.

I have heard that if Cal wins at FSU , we will be on college game day vs Miami. Who else has heard the same

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Receivers Kyion Grayes and Tobias Merriweather will remain out for this week's game against Florida State. Justin Wilcox did say he expects them to play at some point this season, however. Starting nickel Matthew Littlejohn has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury and he is doubtful. Not to bury the lead, however. Sioape Vatikani, Will McDonald, David Reese and Jaydn Ott are all officially probable according to Wilcox. It does sound as though there is a good chance all four end up playing this week or at least a better chance than against SDSU. Getting the two linemen back would be big for the Bears.

https://calbears.com/news/2024/9/17/mens-basketball-cal-to-host-open-gym-with-mens-basketball.aspx

Cal's MBB is having an open scrimmage on the evening of Friday, September 27 with Mark as host and a post-scrimmage opportunity to talk to the coaches and players. That is an awesome way to be introduced to the new MBB squad. As a donor-courtside season ticket holder, I get to see scrimmages on a regular basis, and I can highly recommend attending one to get an up close ability to evaluate the players in a private setting. Yes, Mark is a marketing machine who reaches out to everyone to increase interest in our MBB program.

hmmm

Here are the weekly press conferences with coordinators Peter Sirmon and Mike Bloesch plus conversations with defensive lineman Aidan Keanaaina and tight end Corey Dyches. Fernando Mendoza will speak with reporters shortly and I'll add his video here after that.

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Here's Cal's newest depth chart for Week 4 of the season. Again, some guys who are listed won't play (Matthew Littlejohn) but the "or" that has separated Fernando Mendoza and Chandler Rogers has been removed.

Linebacker Liam Johnson also makes his depth chart debut third on the list behind Cade Uluave and Aaron Hampton. That didn't come up with Justin Wilcox during our time speaking with him today, but that is a positive development for the transfer from Princeton who missed the entirety of training camp with a leg injury.

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Here's Justin Wilcox's entire Tuesday press conference focused on this week's matchup with the Seminoles. He provides injury updates and his thoughts on the Bears' first ACC matchup.

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Checking out Cal RB commit Anthony League tonight. He’s got a couple touchdowns at halftime already continuing his stellar senior season. He’s not Jaydn Ott but man is he going to be a nice piece for the Bears’ offense.

He’s a physical runner who isn’t afraid to run between the tackles. Staying healthy could be a concern for how much he seeks out contact, but he’ll be a good addition to the room.

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Cal has announced that the Oct. 26 game against Oregon State will also serve as Bay Area appreciation day and feature an appearance by rapper E-40. There will be a couple giveaways with the first 5,000 fans getting an E-40 bobblehead and students getting a Bay Area chain.

He played against Auburn but didn't even suit up against SDSU. I thought they were keeping him out as they felt confident that we could get the W without him and would rather let him rest. Yet, during the post-game presser Wilcox said that Ott was "not available" and that it was a decision by the medical staff implying that somehow his condition was worse than the week before.

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I caught up with new Cal point guard commit Semetri Carr to discuss his decision to pick the Bears while on an official visit yesterday. It was the only time he changed up his process, which has typically meant taking some time after a visit to assess his true feelings. The Bears made a ton of headway in recent months since offering in June, and he had a good idea before the trip that it would be the school he'd commit to when the dust settled.

His relationship with the Bears coaches, led by associated head coach Adam Mazarei and player development coach Shasha Brown, helped him decide that he doesn't want to leave the Bay Area.

"I think it really checked all of my boxes, but the pushing factor for me was the coaching staff and opportunity," Carr told Golden Bear Report about his decision to commit to Cal over the weekend. "I feel like I can thrive with the style of play there. But, mainly, coach Madsen, coach Maz (Adam Mazarei) and all the assistant coaches, and him having his NBA experience, I feel like having that as my head coach is special.

"They have a lot of NBA sets. They like to go fast, push the ball down the court, and I feel like it just matched me. The vibe I got from Cal, it just felt right. It felt like home."

Read the full update at the link above with plenty of quotes about his decision.

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It was yet another beautiful day in the bay but it's clear that fall has arrived. The brisk weather has moved in, making for a cool evening game.

I expected attendance to be much better after a notable win against Auburn and outreach they showed on social media but I don't know if we had any more attendance than the Davis game, apart from the student section(s) which seemed pretty full. They had good energy but need to stop throwing shit on the field as we were penalized twice. I'm curious to see if they stop distributing cards at seats or have some staff ready for enforcement at future games.

One notable attendee was Chancellor Lyons who led the stadium in a cheer with crazy energy. You can tell that not only does he bleed blue and gold but he has that fanatic energy.

As usual, ACC has a condensed version of the game almost immediately on their Youtube channel -- something you never saw from the Pac12.

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My game observations:

• Mendoza continues to shine. Not only does he continue to maintain accuracy within 10 yards, whether it's in the center of the field or to the sideline, but he showed some accuracy throwing 15+ yard passes. On one TD, he had a nice read option run in the TD. On another one, he spotted the safety blitzing and immediately threw to the TE who was in the vacated area. In particular, his chemistry with Nyziah continues to pay dividends as Mendoza can confidently find his back shoulder with confidence.
• The run game is mixed -- showed some good adjustments and progress while some problems continue to persist. We had a good amount of success using 1 or 2 tight ends inside to help with the run or for pass blocking. However, results were mixed with RB's always picking up the right players on blitzes.
• The defense overall continues to play well. How many interceptions will Nohl get this season?? Cade really showed out. It was good for the defense to get reps defending screens and a mobile QB.
• College football needs to reform the targeting rule. I get the intent and I know many of these calls are strict interpretation of the rules but the one from this game (and the last game) happened incidentally because players are moving so fast and obviously can't change their body's momentum in fraction of a second. I'm fine with the penalty but the automatic ejection is overkill -- it should be saved for flagrant cases.
• The refs just ruined the game. The replay doesn't show all the flags but it seemed like they were throwing a flag on every other play last night. There was just no rhythm and the game went at least 30 minutes longer just because of flags.

After watching the condensed version, I'm feeling better than I did last night. Yes, it wasn't a clean game but it felt like refs were just looking to throw a flag for anything which really interrupted any rhythm. It's unrealistic to expect perfect execution all 4 quarters. If there's a game to make mistakes and grow, I'll take it in a game like this one where we can lean in down the stretch and pull out the win. Even though we did not score much the first half, I had some confidence that eventually things would break our way in the 2nd half, similarly to Davis. Against much weaker opponents, I think the quality of our roster eventually makes the opponent give way.