Cal Football: 10 Explanations for Golden Bear's Jekyll-and-Hyde Trend

The California Golden Bears sit at 6-4 which leaves them eligible for a bowl game with two games remaining on the schedule.

However, the 2011 season has been a roller coaster ride for the Bears as they have not had much luck finding any kind of consistency on the field. It has made them a very unpredictable team and at times, a disappointing one.

Let's take a look at 10 reasons why.

Cal has been battling injuries throughout the season, most specifically to linebacker Mychal Kendricks (pictured).

The limitations of Kendricks, the Bears' best defensive player, has really hurt Cal and kept their defense from being as dominant as possible.

The Cal offense has recently had a huge inability to string together long drives down the field.

This inability to put together sustained drives doesn't put any points on the board.

When Cal can't put points on the board, head coach Jeff Tedford and quarterback Zach Maynard (pictured) rely on the pass too much. That makes things very tough for Maynard.

The Bear's inability to put together long scoring drives hasn't just hurt the Cal offense.

Short possessions give the ball back to the opposing offense quickly.

By giving the ball back to the other team, it takes away time for the Cal defense to rest. As the game goes on, the defense looks worse because of a lack of rest. A prime example of this was in Cal's loss to UCLA.

Cal has spent the majority of their 2011 season on their temporary home field of AT&T Park.

Despite playing so far away from their usual home of Memorial Stadium, Cal is still struggling more so on the road then at home.

The Bears are 4-1 at AT&T Park, but are only 1-3 on the road.

Cal has beaten every team that they were supposed to beat, with the exception of UCLA.

On top of that, the Bears could have beaten Washington and hung with Oregon and USC for awhile.

If a couple breaks had gone Cal's way in those four losses, the Bears could have clinched a bowl spot a long time ago.

Running back Isi Sofele is a great back when he can get to the outside.

Wide receiver Marvin Jones has been seeing his production slip as the season has gone on.

Keenan Allen is one of the top wide receivers in the nation, but quarterback Zach Maynard relies on him a bit too much. Defenses have begun to key in on Allen, and this is hurting the sophomore wideout's stats.

Face it, Cal doesn't have a game changer. There is no Marshawn Lynch, DeSean Jackson (pictured) or Jahvid Best.

The Bears lack someone who can turn nothing into a touchdown at any given moment like they've had in the past.

While the Bears are certainly a high profile school, there are definitely more attractive options out there for high school seniors, within the Pac-12 Conference. 

Oregon has quickly rose as the most enticing school given their success, and their great Nike facilities. They have even snagged other school's recruits, like one-time USC recruit De'Anthony Thomas (pictured).

Even USC, with their reduction of scholarships and their sanctions, still has great recruiting power. This comes from their great tradition and success for such a long period of time.

Cal just doesn't have the history or allure that some of the other schools in the conference do. The Bears need to change that to get back on track.

Quarterback Zach Maynard is playing his first real and meaningful football since 2009 when he was in the Mid-American Conference.

Now, he is facing bigger, faster and stronger opponents.

Not only that, but he is thrown into the Pac-12 against two of the top teams in the country, one of which he has not faced thus far. Head coach Jeff Tedford also has one of the toughest playbooks in the nation.

Asking Maynard to have a great season is a bit of a reach at this point. And as for the experience, that will just come with time.

As the season has gone on, head coach Jeff Tedford has called for more running plays.

Not only has this showcased running back Isi Sofele's (pictured) speed on the outside, it has given Cal an offense that must be respected.

Washington State and Oregon State came go into games against the Bears expecting Maynard to be pass happy and Cal ended up beating them on the ground.

The Pac-12 as a conference has also had a very Jekyll-and-Hyde type 2011 as well.

One example is ASU. They took down USC, but then lost to UCLA and Washington State a few weeks later. Cal plays the Sun Devils the day after Thanksgiving.

Another example is Cal beating Colorado, who then beat Arizona (pictured). Arizona smashed UCLA who then turned around and responded by beating Cal.

Week in and week out, there is no clear favorite and each team, with the exception of Oregon and Stanford, could very easily lose.

No game is an automatic win.

The Bears are bowl eligible and that is a huge victory right there. The next goal is to finish the season with a winning record. Beyond that, they need to become a more consistent team in 2012.

But that too can start in the final games of the 2011 season.