Cal Football: 5 Things That Will Keep Coach Tedford Up at Night

Cal football has had rich tradition, but last year had fans shaking their heads to a 7-6 record.

Head coach Jeff Tedford will be shaking his head all year long with the fans in 2012. The Golden Bears play in a very competitive conference that will be loaded with talent in 2012. 

The Pac-12 North will once again be better than the South. This does not fare well for Cal. These five obstacles will keep coach Tedford up at night.  

The California Golden Bears have to travel to Ohio State to take on Urban Meyer's Buckeyes on Sept. 15. 

The Buckeyes are not the team that they used to be, but this will still be a very tough non-conference opponent. Not only is this a tough opponent, they are one of the loudest crowds in all of college football. 

Urban Meyer brings in a a whole new style of play. Meyer will have the Buckeyes spread out and running up and down the field. 

Braxton Miller may be a Heisman candidate under Meyer and Cal will have a very tough time stopping him. 

Another tough game on the road will be when Cal travels to USC to play the Trojans on Sept. 22, the week after they go to Ohio State. 

This is a brutal two week span. Ohio State and USC are two of the loudest stadiums in all of college football, and Cal will have to play out of their minds to beat the two teams. 

USC is the preseason No. 1 ranked team in the nation. The Trojans have the best passing duo in the nation with Matt Barkley and Robert Woods, and Cal will be lucky to not get burned all game long. 

Cal has a brutal two week span in September, and Cal has to play unbelievably well to beat Ohio State and USC.  

Cal's defense has young written all over it. 

At every position, there is a freshman or sophomore competing to start on defense. Cal's defense was not top notch at all by any means, and inexperience in 2012 may result in an even worse defense. 

Cal has to go against quarterbacks: Matt Barkley, Braxton Miller and Keith Price in 2012. These quarterbacks may have a field day against a young defense. 

Youngsters will have to step up for Tedford on defense or else he will have no sleep at night. 

Cal quarterback, Zach Maynard, had a solid first season as Cal's starting quarterback, but he still has plenty of red flags. 

Maynard's accuracy is nothing to be proud of. To go with a 57 percent completion percentage, Maynard tossed 12 interceptions in 2011. 

However, Maynard did throw for for 2,990 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2011. Clearly, Cal's quarterback isn't a complete mess. 

Without a solid compliment to Keenan Allen, Maynard may panic and have another rough season with accuracy in 2012. 

Maurice Harris, freshman wide receiver, will be very vital to Cal's success in 2012. 

Everyone knows how great Keenan Allen is, but he needs a solid compliment alongside him. In 2011, Allen had Marvin Jones to help him haul in 98 catches for 1,343 yards and six touchdowns. 

Harris will have to come up huge as freshman for Cal and Maynard. With Allen getting double-teamed, Harris will have to be a reliable option for Maynard to pass to. 

Cal's biggest question mark on offense in 2012 may be Harris, and Tedford will lose a lot of sleep if he can't produce.