of course Notre Dame has the ball in its court here

Cal (12-15, 8-8 Pac-12 | last game: 81-73 win vs. Oregon State) vs. Oregon (18-8, 10-5 | last game: 78-65 win at Stanford)

When: Saturday, Feb. 24 | 4 p.m. PST
Where: Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, California
TV: Pac-12 Network | J.B. Long (PxP), Don MacLean (Analyst) & Ashley Adamson (Reporter)
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP) & Theo Robertson (Analyst)

The final Pac-12 game at Haas Pavilion has arrived. The Bears will host Oregon this afternoon looking to complete a sweep of the Oregon schools for the first time since the 2015-16 season. Cal has won just one of its last 13 matchups against the Ducks with the last home win in the series coming back in that 2016 season.

Follow along for updates and join the conversation throughout the matchup today at Haas.

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Cal football announced some new additions to the coaching staff Saturday.

Among these is a familiar face, Mike Bruno, who returns to Cal as a defensive analyst, the same position he held with the program previously for four seasons starting in 2018. Bruno worked with defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon at Mississippi State and Louisville in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Bruno was most recently defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Minot State for the 2023 season, having previously also spent time at Dartmouth (secondary and special teams coach), and served as a defensive assistant at Louisville and graduate assistant at Mississippi State.

The Bears have also made an adjustment when it comes to special teams. Michael Frisina, a former Boise State kicker, comes to Cal in a quality control position for special teams — a unit that struggled considerably in the 2023 season. Frisina spent the last four seasons in the same role at as many programs: UNLV in 2020, UC Davis in 2021, his alma mater Boise State in 2022 and Oregon State last season. The hire comes after the former assistant for quality control for special teams Zach Tinker, "Coach Tink," returned to Oregon after spending one season in the position with the Bears.

The third addition, officially announced by the program today, is Winterhawk Leighton. Leighton had previously announced that he was joining the Bears' staff in a graduate assistant position on offense in December via X, formerly known as Twitter. Leighton played at Central Washington 2017-2019 and spent the next two years as an assistant coach at his alma mater. He has also served as a graduate assistant at Idaho in 2022 and Hawaii in 2023.

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said throughout the season that he would eventually allow reporters to ask him questions about conference realignment and the Bears eventual move to the ACC once the team was wrapped up with its 2023 schedule. Tuesday, he spent close to an hour speaking with reporters about a variety of topics revolving around the biggest news of the summer to provide his thoughts on how it happened, how it could have been avoided and ultimately how the future looks for his team and the program.

You can read the takeaways from the session (we'll have a lot more soon) at the link above.

Cal (11-15, 7-8 Pac-12 | last game: 82-80 win vs. Washington) vs. Oregon State (11-15, 3-12 | last game: 60-58 loss vs. Oregon)

When: Thursday, Feb. 22 | 7 p.m. PST
Where: Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, California
TV: Pac-12 Network | J.B. Long (PxP) & Don MacLean (Analyst)
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP) & Theo Robertson (Analyst)

In the lone meeting between the two teams this season, Cal will hosts Oregon State tonight at Haas Pavilion. The Beavers have won 7 of the last 10 contests between the pair including the last two. The Bears are coming off a road win against Washington while OSU lost to its rival, Oregon, in a 2-point game last week.

Join the conversation and follow along for updates as the Bears square off with Oregon State.

Here's the starters:

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Thought you guys would enjoy this one.

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Jovani Ruff, once rated as high as No. 22 in the 2025 class, continues to finish out his junior season at Long Beach Poly. The 6-foot-5 prospect was great last week in leading Poly to a win in the CIF-SS Div. 2A semis against Newport Beach-Corona del Mar. He scored 27 points and hit the game-winning 3-pointer to seal his team's spot in the championship game this weekend.

Ruff has slowed his recruitment down quite a bit during the season, but Cal has remained active in its pursuit of the four-star prospect. Ruff has only used on official visit on a trip to Cal, last September, and he still jumps on calls with the Bears weekly at this stage. Cal has made him feel like a priority and the Bears are among the teams standing out most right now.

Oregon and Kansas are the two schools most likely to get an official visit from him this spring while USC also remains heavily in the mix as well.

Still, Mark Madsen, Matt Scherbenske and the rest of the Cal coaches have made it clear to him how much he's wanted in Berkeley.

"I talk to them every week, probably like four times a week," Ruff said. "Coach Matt (Schebenske), coach Mad Dog is calling me checking in. It's all love."

Read the full update at the link above and you can see clips from last week's semifinal game in the video below. He guarded multiple positions Friday night and was as much a distributor as he was a scorer. There are certainly some Jaylon Tyson elements to his game.

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Cal (10-15, 6-8) at Washington (14-11, 6-8)

When | 5 p.m. PT Saturday
Where | Alaska Airlines Arena | Seattle
TV | Pac-12 Network

Cal looks to snap a two-game losing skid on the road against a Huskies team coming off back to back lopsided wins vs. Oregon State (67-55) and Stanford (85-65). Washington is led by Keion Brooks (21 PPG) and Sahvir Wheeler (15.3 PPG), but with Franck Kepnang out the second half of this season the Huskies have only one player averaging even 5.5 rebounds per game (Brooks at 6.9), so this could be a prime opportunity for Fardaws Aimaq to make his presence felt.

Washington has won the last seven meetings, including a narrow 77-75 win over Cal at Haas Pavilion on Jan. 18. Brooks had 21 points in that game while Aimaq had 18 points and 10 rebounds while Jaylon Tyson and Jalen Cone each scored 17.

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Cal (10-14, 6-7 Pac-12 | last game: 61-60 loss vs. UCLA) at Washington State (18-6, 9-4 | last game: 62-56 win at Oregon)

When: Thursday Feb. 15 | 7 p.m. PST
Where: Beasley Coliseum | Pullman, Washington
TV: Pac-12 Network | Greg Heister (PxP) & Matt Muehlebach (Analyst)
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP)

Cal will look to bounce back from its 1-point loss to UCLA as it faces off against Washington State to open one last road trip to the Pacific Northwest. The Cougars have been a surprise this season in the Pac-12 and currently sit in second place behind Arizona in the conference standings.

Kyle Smith's team is currently riding a five-game winning streak and has only lost once in its last nine games. That lone defeat came at the hands of the Bears, and a win for Mark Madsen's team would mark the first sweep of Wazzu since the 2019-20 season.

The Cougars are led by standout freshman Myles Rice, who was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the third time in a row. He has now won the award six times this season.

He leads WSU with 15.6 points a game but is followed closely by veteran 6-foot-9 forward Isaac Jones, who is averaging 15.5 points.

In the first meeting, Jaylon Tyson shined as he tied a career high with 30 points to help Cal break an eight-game losing streak to the Cougars in the overtime victory.

All time, the Bears are 32-34 against the Cougars in Pullman.

We invite you to join the conversation and follow along for updates as the Bears square off with the Cougs.

Curious who do we all see as the next rival(s) for us in the ACC. Of course rivalries dont just exist out of nowhere. It’ll take time and events to occur before we become rivals with a team. That being said if we were to replace our historical in-conference rivalries with UCLA and $C with anyone, who do you all see as potentially filling that spot?

Personally I can see a potential rivalry between us and UNC develop.

UNC is the ACC version of Cal - top public school, deep rivalry with private school nearby (Duke). Very similar to UCLA. They were also very against us joining the ACC.

Other possibilities—

Duke is similar to $C insofar they are a powerhouse in one sport (basketball). Rich private school kids like Furd too.

UVA - similar top public school for a large state in the Atlantic Coast.

FSU - first ACC matchup. Was also against us joining the ACC. Likely top dog everyone hates similar to $C.

Seven-on-seven season is in full swing and over the next several weeks there will be camps added to the mix as well. The offseason means lots of new offers and March will bring a wave of visits across the country once the current dead period is over. Cal will host its first big offseason junior day in March as well, and there are already several recruits mapping out a trip to stop by Berkeley.

I have recently caught up with a bunch of Cal's targets in the upcoming classes to discuss their offers from the Bears and how the process is going so far as they get to know the staff.

You can read those updates at the link above.

Let’s get to poachin!

Money is heavy to the under which makes sense to me.

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Cal (10-13, 6-6 Pac-12 | last game: 83-77 OT win vs. USC) vs. UCLA (12-11, 7-5 | last game: 82-74 win at Stanford)

When: Saturday, Feb. 10 | 2:30 p.m. PST
Where: Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, California
TV: FOX | Brandon Gaudin (PxP) & Casey Jacobsen (Analyst)
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP) & Theo Robertson (Analyst)

The Bears are riding some momentum after defeating USC in overtime Wednesday night to snap an 11-game losing streak to the Trojans. Jaylon Tyson, Jalen Cone and Fardaws Aimaq all came up big for Cal in that matchup. Today, Mark Madsen's squad will be looking to sweep the LA schools in the final scheduled meeting with both teams as members of the Pac-12.

Cal has already defeated the Bruins in their previous meeting back in early January. UCLA is coming off a victory over Stanford earlier in the week, so both teams should be feeling good about where they stand entering the national TV matchup this afternoon.

As always, we invite you to join the conversation and follow along for updates throughout the matchup.

Who would have thunk it .....

Cal (9-13, 5-6 Pac-12 | last game: 81-66 win vs. Arizona State) vs. USC (9-13, 3-8 | last game: 82-54 win vs Oregon State)

When: Wednesday, Feb. 17 | 8 p.m. PST
Where: Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, California
TV: Pac-12 Network | Ted Robinson (PxP) & Bill Walton (Analyst)
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP) & Theo Robertson (Analyst)

The Bears are back in action and hosting LA schools for the last time as members of the same conference. Tonight, USC is up first this week as Cal will face the Trojans in front of a sold out crowd at Haas Pavilion. @Maria Kholodova has a preview of the two matchups at the link above.

Feel free to join in the conversation later tonight as the Bears open up their home stand.

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Brett Johnson announced Wednesday morning via Instagram that he is medically retiring from football.

“This was a difficult decision but with the multiple injuries I have sustained both on and off the field, I am unable to play football at the highest level and without seriously sacrificing my short and long-term health,” the statement reads.

Here's the full statement:

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Apparently sold out? Let’s go Mad Dog, get the W

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Justin Wilcox is speaking with the media this morning and he broke the news that Khamani Hudson has committed and signed with Cal today. Here's a story from Maria and I with the Houston-North Shore recruit discussing his choice of the Bears.

“I knew Cal was the spot for me when I got on campus and got to experience how the team bonded together on and off the field,” Hudson told Golden Bear Report. “Being in a great program such as Cal and also being around a brotherhood and coaching staff that thrives off the betterment of others around, definitely reminds me of home.”

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It was a mostly quiet day across college football as the regular February signing period has lost some luster since the advent of the early signing period in December. Still, the Bears added a new cornerback Wednesday and signed a punter as well. Justin Wilcox met with reporters to discuss both additions and provide some more insight into the offseason as the Bears work toward spring ball next month.

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Cal flips 2024 punter Bobby Engstler, former Florida commit. He was committed to UF as a walk-on but will join the Bears on scholarship. The Under Armour All-American is set to join the team this year as the Bears continue to add talent on special teams.

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Cal saw some lackluster special teams play in 2023, from kicking struggles to poor production on both kick and punt returns. There’s been some movement when it comes to kicking, as well as a number of new skill position players who have the potential to contribute on special teams.

As the first transfer portal window of the offseason has closed, here is an assessment of where Cal’s special teams stand as the Bears head into spring with practice set to begin March 18.

Before I get to the official visitor news …

We’ve been alerted that someone is taking the recruiting intel we deliver for you all here and posting it on another free public forum, which then gets picked up on Twitter, undermining both the value of the intel we get for you here and also our ability to get that intel. We don’t tweet out this kind of stuff as it can be sensitive information in some cases — it’s here for you on the premium board and only intended for here.

It is absolutely imperative that what is reported on this board stay on this board. We have identified the source of the leaks, I’m reaching out to that person now over DM and reiterating that we’re going to have a no-tolerance policy on such action moving forward.

Any questions as far as that goes?

Moving along, Cal is hosting 2024 CB Khamani Hudson this weekend for an official visit.

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Houston (Texas) North Shore cornerback Khamani Hudson visited Cal and Houston this weekend, and the trip with the Bears certainly left a strong impression. He called it a "once in a lifetime" experience, but it certainly feels like Berkeley and could become his new home. The staff did a good job making him feel comfortable, and now he will have to decide whether or not he wants to stay home in Houston or make the move to the West Coast.

I caught up with him to review the trip, and he had plenty of positive things to say about the Bears and the "warm welcome" he felt in the Bay Area.

“Some of the most memorable parts were getting to see different famous landmarks I’d seen in movies, like Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge, in person,” Hudson said. “But honestly, they were giving me an understanding of how much support I’d have on and off the field. Having a great coaches is one thing but also having mentors and people who thrive off bettering others around them is another, and that plays a big part in things I look for to make my decision.”

Hit the link to read the full update.

In a season that saw some tumultuous quarterback play, Cal’s wide receivers and tight ends proved vital to the offense. Three different starters were used to guide the group through the first half of the season. With some veterans, youngsters and even walk-ons, the receiving corps was crucial in getting Cal into scoring position.

Change has continued into 2024 as Cal’s offense will work under a new coordinator and several new coaches, and that has been accompanied by the typical offseason movement among players in the group.

As the Bears move into spring, here is an offseason assessment of Cal’s wide receivers and tight ends: