this is cal's best most realistic opportunity to avoid irrelevance, this will shake out one way or the other by the end of this week

knowlton still needs to be fired & the # of financially unsustainable sports cut in compliance with title ix

As first reported by Tobias Bass of The Athletic today, Cal guard Mike Meadows is planning to re-enter the transfer portal after joining the Bears earlier in the offseason. He originally announced plans to transfer to LMU before making the move to Berkeley, and now he will explore his other options. It does open up a scholarship for Mark Madsen should someone else become available this late in the process. Meadows is a graduate transfer so he is eligible to leave now and play for another program this season.

As of now, Meadows is still listed on the official roster online.

The road to rebuilding for Mark Madsen will begin Nov. 6 with a home game against and its first meeting with the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, Minnesota). That will be the first of four consecutive matchups to open the season at Haas over a 10-day span. The Bears will host Pacific (Nov. 10), Cal State Bakersfield (Nov. 13) and Montana State (Nov. 16) all within that span.

Cal will then head down south to Orange County to take part in the third annual SoCal Challenge at JSerra High School in San Juan Capistrano. The Bears are in the "Surf Division" alongside Tulane, UTEP and Bradley. The matchups for that event have not yet been determined. Cal will close that event by taking on San Diego State in the inaugural SoCal Showcase on Nov. 25.

The Bears have never faced either Bradley or UTEP.

A home game against Santa Clara is set for Dec. 2 before the Bears take part in their first true road game of the season (as of now) at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis where they will face Butler on Dec. 9. That will be followed by a neutral site matchup with Ole Miss at AT&T Center in San Antonio on Dec. 16 before the Bears wrap things up for 2023 with a home game against UC San Diego on Dec. 20.

The Bears will also host Colorado and travel to Washington State in the early Pac-12 games that have been played in December. Those matchups have not yet been announced yet.

Tip times and TV designations will be announced at a later date.

I appreciate all the video that's posted but would sure like to read some recaps of practices 5, 6 ?

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I've always wondered why in the hell the NCAA lost control of its football post season, when it was originally started to oversee college football. I guess this makes as much sense as all this conference musical chairs stupidity. But I digress.

If the NCAA wasn't smart enough to own college football, someone othe single entity should be. This patchwork of conferences and the competing, even contradictory needs of all the other NCAA sports vs. football, simply must stop. It seems like time to model College Football after English soccer, but with the playoff component the Premier League doesn't have.

- No more conferences, just one A league for the top competitors, and a B league for the rest
- The top X teams play for the right to make playoffs and win a championship, while bottom feeders fight to avoid relegation to the B league
- The B league teams compete like hell to get into the A league
- Schedules are fluid each year, based on who is in and how they finish it each division
- Be good enough to compete in the A league and get a certain pay out of 10x
- Not good enough to compete in A league - get a certain pay out of 5x or 2.5x, or similar from B league

Cal and Stanford are in the B league and want to improve for more money - which is the situation they face as it is - then they can win in the B league and get there.

Every year by definition a few will go up and a few will go down.

This will make the whole thing so much more interesting and put everyone on a much more level playing field, without impacting the NCAA sports.

There would be such massive TV interest and enough games for all the networks and streaming services to get it on. Every football program would be independent from their other sports and any concept of a conference as we know it. The NCAA sports can then all form their regional alliances and everything will make sense!

I should add that the House v. NCAA case is likely going to lead to the NCAA members being forced to pay athletes as employees. That is going to create a giant incentive for a new entity to run college football without the baggage the NCAA carries.

Does anyone know the rules regarding the potential playoff spot and payout for the Pac-12 in the expanded playoff? If the pac 4 just stayed together and was semi-independent, would they be obligated to get a playoff invite and / or some sort of payout until it is renegotiate led in 2026?

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Here's a look at close to 8 minutes of clips from today's practice including some OL/DL work and plenty of defensive drills.

Cal has wrapped up Day 5 of training camp, and today it was Jake Spavital's turn to chat with reporters again after practice. The offense had a better performance Monday after struggling to get into the end zone during Sunday's practice. Spav talks about that plus the competition at quarterback and how his receiver and offensive line groups are coming together at this point.

Texas A&M transfer OL Matthew Wykoff had his first chance to speak with the reporter group Monday. He chatted with us about his transition to playing for the Bears, what has stood out so far and his relationship with Mike Bloesch.

I was able to chat with both No. 3s today. Jeremiah Hunter and Nohl Williams have been battling throughout camp continuing a competition that started back in the spring. Hunter was named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list today, and I asked him about that plus his mindset this year knowing that he will be someone teams key in on at the receiver position. Williams has established himself as the top transfer so far through spring and now training camp. His strong play continued Monday, and I talked with him about his progress since arriving in Berkeley, his building rivalry with Hunter and more.

Watch all those interviews below plus I'll have more coverage from today's practice in just a little bit.

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Cal went back to work after having Saturday off, and Day 4 was a productive one for the defense. Most of Justin Wilcox's post-practice message to the team centered around the lack of scoring on the offensive side of the ball. Some pre-snap miscues and mistakes overall on the offensive side of the ball created problems getting into the end zone, and Wilcox wants to see his team improve on that side in the coming days.

Over on the other side of the ball, however, Cal was exceptional in pass coverage and continued making impressive plays in the secondary especially.

Here's a rundown of what stood out on Day 4 of camp.

Top takeaways

• The day ended on a positive note with Sam Jackson V hitting Mavin Anderson on a slant in the red zone for a score, but prior to that it wasn't an easy day for the offense to put points on the board. At the quarterback position, there is still no real separation and Jake Spavital continues to rotate different quarterbacks with the first unit. Jackson, Fernando Mendoza and Ben Finley all had opportunities to work with the first unit Sunday with Jackson earning the first first-team reps today.

Finley was up to work with the first unit prior to Mendoza stepping in, but the second-year signal caller was with the 1s during the second team period. So far through four practices, Mendoza has continued to look like the most consistent quarterback. He had some impressive throws during today's practice including a touchdown of about 25 yards that went to Trond Grizzell in the opening team period.

• Mendoza was not without mistakes, however, and the defensive backs made it difficult on the quarterback group during Sunday's practice with multiple interceptions and pass breakups throughout the day. Mendoza had a pass tipped by Nohl Williams leading to an interception for Kaleb Elarms-Orr in the second team period as Mendoza worked with and against the first teams.

Dejuan Butler had the biggest day of anyone in the secondary with two interceptions plus a big pass breakup during the team periods. He first intercepted Jackson on a ball thrown in the end zone intended for tight end J.T. Byrne on a bit of a miscommunication. He later intercepted Finley during one of the final team periods in practice. His PBU came on a pass from Jackson that was intended for Jordan King.

Matthew Littlejohn continues to look like one of the most impactful newcomers in the secondary, and he added yet another interception Sunday as he picked off Jackson who was looking for Anderson to open up the fourth team period. Littlejohn and Williams have looked like two of the best players on the team so far through the spring and early portion of camp. They have easily been the two most impactful transfers so far.

• Despite not having all its players, including its two top transfers, the running back spot continues to look like the bright spot on offense for the Bears. Jaivian Thomas is back on the field after missing time earlier in camp, and the freshman came up with a 20-yard rushing score in the second team period. Montana State transfer Isaiah Ifanse has continued to work with the second unit backing up Jaydn Ott.

• The linebacker unit is going to be an interesting one this season with the coaches working several different players with the first unit. Sergio Allen continues to look like the most likely player to end up lining up next to Jackson Sirmon this season, but Elarms-Orr spent plenty of time with the first unit today while Blake Antzoulatos and Nate Rutchena also were able to take reps with the first group. At this point it feels like KEO will be the third member of the group and likely see the field quite a bit this season.

• The team worked on some kickoff return during Sunday's practice and there were a variety of players who had an opportunity to return kicks. Lu-Magia Hearns, Nohl Williams, Mavin Anderson and Mason Mangum were a few of the players given a chance to run back kickoffs.

• Wilcox and his staff worked in a "DEVO" team period late in practice that was mostly for younger/new players. The sound/music operator even played some Devo "Whip It" as part of the period. Luke Bottari was the quarterback for the offense in that short period, and he found Jaiven Plummer for a nice completion during that portion of practice. Bottari has not had many opportunities to run with the first unit so far in camp, but he has been solid in his time with the reserve groups. The Utah transfer capped the fourth team period with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Byrne.

• The offensive line is looking much better than in the spring so far in training camp. The group has become a bit more cohesive with the return of Matthew Cindric. Even in the individual and OL/DL portions of practice, that group has been having more success. The pocket has remained a bit more clean so far in camp, and despite some miscues up front it was an overall positive day for the line. Up to this point, Mike Bloesch has been able to turn a corner with his group.

Practice clips

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Video interviews

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Photo gallery

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Justin Wilcox spoke to the media for the first time since Friday's continued movement with Pac-12 teams out of the conference. The Cal head coach was asked about it today, and he provided his thoughts on the news, what it means for the Bears, how soon he'd like to see it resolved and more.

You can watch the media session, which also includes his thoughts on today's practice, in the video above.

This is what thinking your better than everyone else gets you. You're on the outside looking in. BYU is looking a whole lot better than us right now. All this shows the BIG12 has way more competent Leadership than the PAC-12 ever did.

The first day of training camp was a lighter one, but Thursday's practice picked up the intensity and was a little longer than Wednesday. Here's some quick hits from the day, and I'll have much more later.

• I thought the defense flashed a bit more today than yesterday during the team periods. There were a number of pass breakups throughout the various periods, and that carried over into the team portion of practice. Tyson McWilliams came up with a pair of pass breakups against Jordan King in the team period and Isaiah Young came up with one late in practice working against Taj Davis. Kaylin Moore nearly came up with an interception in the 7v7 portion of practice working against tight end J.T. Byrne. Nohl Williams came up with another interception as he jumped in front of a pass intended for Jeremiah Hunter during the one-on-one portion of practice.

• Matthew Littlejohn continues to have an impressive showing in practice, and he came up with an interception over the middle as Luke Bottari attempted to find Byrne. It appeared there was a bit of a miscommunication with the transfer quarterback, but Littlejohn still made a great play on the ball to secure the pick.

• The pass rush was more active today than yesterday, and overall the defense was more aggressive. Myles Jernigan opened the team period with a sack, and there was a good amount of pressure on the quarterbacks throughout the day. Ricky Correia did a nice job flushing the QB from the pocket early. David Reese came up with a sack beating Everett Johnson on the play.

• The quarterback play was a little inconsistent at times again Thursday. Each quarterback did have bright moments. One thing that looked different Thursday was the amount of time several quarterbacks worked with the first unit. In fact, this may have been the most that Fernando Mendoza has been able to work with the first unit the entire offseason in a practice. It happened in small spurts early in the spring, but he was the first quarterback on the field Thursday and continues to look like the most consistent player at the position.

Ben Finley also had an opportunity to work with the first unit for a time while Sam Jackson bounced back and forth between the second unit and the first. The plan is to get them used to working behind different offensive lines, according to Jake Spavital, but it also gets them used to some different receivers. Thursday, you could see some real confidence with Mendoza working with the first group.

• There were some really impressive plays during the 7v7 and 1v1 portions of practice on Thursday, but it was a freshman who made the best grab of the day. Nyziah Hunter ran a great route on a back shoulder throw and made an even better catch working against McWilliams during one-on-ones. Davis, another newcomer, also had an impressive grab working against Isaiah Young.

• The running back group continues to have to work shorthanded. Today, it was freshman Jaivian Thomas who was not able to give it a go just a day after making some impressive plays. It's unclear why Thomas wasn't on the field, but he was not working with the trainers and was mostly just watching from the sidelines on Day 2. Meanwhile, fellow running back Justin Williams-Thomas looked to be moving well as he continues to work with the trainers on the sideline. He went through a number of exercises and drills, which is an improvement over where he was back in the spring when he was limited to getting around on a mobility scooter with his foot in a walking boot.

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Adam Gorney talked to a pair of Cal commits and those from the other three remaining Pac-12 schools ...

More right here:

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The Bears have the day off today and get back to work tomorrow. Justin Wilcox will speak again tomorrow as well, so there will be plenty of conversation, I'm sure, about yesterday's big news and what it all means for Cal. However, last night, DC Peter Sirmon spoke with reporters after practice to go over some of the progress his group has made entering camp and his outlook for the remainder of the month.

Cal has announced that San Jose State's Justin Allegri is the successor to Joe Starkey as the Bears' new football and men's basketball play-by-play announcer this morning. Allegri, who also spends part of his time calling games for the San Jose Giants, is an SJSU alum who has spent the last 11 years calling football and men's basketball games for the Spartans.

"This is a role that's highly coveted, not only because of the university and the academic integrity that it has, but the athletics it has as well," Allegri said in a statement. "This is a job that Joe Starkey held to such a high standard for a long, long time. I'm never going to use the phrase, 'filling his shoes' or 'taking his job.' I'm always going to use the phrase, 'hoping to carry the baton.' Joe is Cal football and forever will be."

Here is my full Day 1 practice report after yesterday's work. There is a lot in there even though it was a bit shorter practice than usual. Some highlights include the arrivals of several newcomers including NC State transfer QB Ben Finley, who made some impressive looking plays and is sure to challenge Sam Jackson V for the starting job in my opinion. Washington transfer receiver Taj Davis was VERY impressive, and my bet is that it won't take long for him to make a move up to the starting unit at some point here during camp. He had the best catch of the day on a diving play on a pass from Utah transfer Luke Bottari, who was honestly maybe the biggest pleasant surprise at the quarterback position.

Sam Jackson V opened the team period with an interception on a ball thrown into two defenders. Nohl Williams eventually tracked it down and pulled it in. Fernando Mendoza has only improved from the spring and looks comfortable.

BRETT JOHNSON is back. That's all you need to know there.

The defensive front looks so much more impressive with both Johnson and Xavier Carlton back on the field. Matthew Littlejohn is going to get on the field a bunch this season, and he continued his impressive play coming off a productive spring.

Mike Bloesch smiled a bit more Wednesday than he did in the spring with his group looking much more complete now that there are some added depth pieces and it is fully healthy.

Below are some practice clips (including JUCO transfer Martin Tine putting one of his teammates on his back during a drill. You also get to see a little bit of the QBs as well.

Plus there's a photo gallery for you all with some shots of newcomers and returners.

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Justin Wilcox just confirmed to us after practice that Oregon RB transfer Byron Cardwell (knee) will miss the entire season with his injury. DB Collin Gamble and LB Sam Ross are also going to miss the season with injuries. RB Justin Williams-Thomas did not participate in practice today and it is unclear when he will return.

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Smaller group of interviews today, but plenty of substance as we were able to speak with Jake Spavital for more than 10 minutes about the Cal offense through two days of camp. We also got Matthew Cindric as well, and he chatted about being back on the field and getting a feel for the new scheme.

Curious what the net effect is gonna be once the dust settles. keeping track here as it happens.

biggest + impact is DB (shocker. look at all the media we created bragging about our NFL DB success)
biggest - impact (for depth) is prob OL


QB (-1)
- Plummer, Milner, Johnson (-3)
+ Jackson, Finley (2)

RB (+1)
- Brooks, Street, Moore and Hayes (-4)
+ Thomas (i think he's on scholarship right?) (1)
+ Cardwell, Williams-Thomas, Ifanse, Doerue (4)

TE (-1)
- Terry, Latu, Mojarro, Alftin (-4)
+ Marshall (1)
+ Byrne, Alberding (2)
? Gumms

WR (+1)
- Sturdivant, Lee, Baker, Christakos (-4)
+ Hunter, Montgomery (2)
+ Hightower, Davis, Dortch (3)
? Craig, Tyson

OL (-3)
- Coleman, Lovell, Johnson, Brown, Lange (-5)
+ Tine (1)
+ Wykoff (1)
? Johnson, Muskrat, Sylvester

DL/OLB (+1)
- Croteau, Hisatake, Patu, Ikahihifo, Isabor (-5)
+ Mcculloch, Ashford, Williams, Afalava (4)
+ Reese, Jalloh (2)

ILB (-2)
- Oladejo, Paster, Puskas and Smith (-4)
+ Uluave (1)
+ Sergio Allen (1)

DB (+3)
- Scott, F Iosefa, Higgins (-3)
+ Vadrawale, Littlejohn (2)
+ Williams, Moore, McMorris, Scott (4)

Day 1 of Cal training camp is in the books, and I'll have plenty of coverage from today's short workout. There were only a couple team periods, but there was still a lot to see. Here are all the video interviews from today to hold you over including one-on-one interviews with newcomers Barrett Miller (Stanford) and Patrick McMorris (San Diego State) plus offensive line coach Mike Bloesch.

Justin Wilcox, Jaydn Ott and Ben Finley spoke in front of the banner today. All those videos are below. Sam Jackson V also spoke to the group but I was pulled away to talk with Bloesch, so I wasn't able to take part in that session. I will add that video here once it is posted by the program.

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Cal has infused its defense with a wave of newcomers this offseason, and there will be a different level of expectations for the Bears on that side of the ball this season. There will be plenty of intriguing position battles to watch, and I examined where things stand with the Cal defense heading into the start of camp tomorrow afternoon.

Just saw Cal got a PG named Vladimir Pavlovic out of Serbia. Had offers from Rhode Island and a few mid majors.