Cal Football: Why the Golden Bears Have a Shot at the 2012 Pac-12 North Title

The California Golden Bears (7-6) finished 2011 with a disappointing 21-10 Holiday Bowl loss to the Texas Longhorns, but don't count them out for 2012.

There should be a lot of excitement around the Cal Bears in 2012, as they will have a legitimate shot at winning the Pac-12 North title.

How? Read on to find out.

In 2011, the Cal Bears were forced to play football at AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, because of a huge renovation project to their home venue, Memorial Stadium.

For 2012, Cal will be back to playing their games a block away from campus at Memorial Stadium.

The stadium has been retro-fitted and features a brand new press box and the Student-Athlete High Performance Center. The High Performance Center will house offices, training facilities, dining areas, locker rooms, study areas, a dining hall and a medical clinic. It will be one of the nicest facilities in not only the Pac-12 but also the nation.

Perhaps the most important part of Cal's return to Memorial Stadium will be the return of the student section and alumni support. While playing in San Francisco, the stadium was never full, and there was never a lot of fan support. But with the new stadium, there will be a resurgence of fan support behind the Cal Bears.

The Cal Bears have pulled together one of their best recruiting classes in years.

The headline name is Shaq Thompson (pictured), the top safety in the nation. Joining him on the defensive end are defensive tackle Ellis McCarthy and linebacker Michael Barton.

On offense, Cal filled one of their biggest needs by signing quarterback Zach Kline, the third-ranked quarterback in the nation and an Elite 11 participant. Around him, the Bears signed three top-tier wide receivers in Bryce Treggs, Darius Powe and Jordan Payton.

Thompson should be able to make an immediate impact in 2012, along with at least one of the receivers. Kline is enrolling early and will be a part of the team during spring practice. At the very least, he should help push Zach Maynard's growth as a quarterback.

The Cal offense was nowhere close to perfect in 2011, but it did get better as the season went on.

The offensive game plan changed from one based on deep throws to a run-based attack that highlighted the skills of running backs Isi Sofele (pictured) and C.J. Anderson. With Sofele's lightning to Anderson's thunder, the Bears were able to establish a solid ground game, which then opened up the passing lanes.

In 2011, Marvin Jones and Keenan Allen were the wide receivers getting the ball thrown to them by quarterback Zach Maynard. But even with Jones' graduation, Allen is one of the best wide receivers in the nation.

Now with a recruiting class that has some great wide receivers and spring and summer practices on their way, the offense will have ample time to build off of their 2011 season. Maynard will have more time to learn and will now has a full season under his belt.

The cal defense will definitely have some holes to fill with the departure of key members such as linebacker Mychal Kendricks and safety Sean Cattouse.

Luckily, there is a lot of depth on the sidelines—and it's not like this is a new thing.

In 2011, the Cal defense lost playmakers like defensive tackle Cameron Jordan, linebacker Mike Mohamed and safety Chris Conte, but they didn't lose a step.

2012 should be no different. 

Defensive tackle Viliami Moala will see more time, and he should excel on the defensive line. Linebackers like Chris McCain, David Wilkerson, Dan Camporeale and Cecil Whiteside should all be able to make a big impact after seeing serious playing time as freshmen in 2011.

In the secondary, Stefan McClure (pictured, No. 21) is one of Cal's bright young stars and should play well once he is again healthy.

And, as previously stated, Shaq Thompson can make an immediate impact at the safety position. 

In 2012, there should really only be three games that are tests for the Golden Bears.

First up is a trip to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Urban Meyer's (pictured) Ohio State Buckeyes on Sept. 15.

Next is a trip to the Coliseum to face the Matt Barkley-led USC Trojans just a week later.

And finally, the Oregon Ducks visit Memorial Stadium on Nov. 10.

Luckily the Ohio State game is early on in the season when the Buckeyes could still be having trouble adjusting to Urban Meyer's system. Against USC, Matt Barkley will be playing, but the man protecting him for the past three years—left tackle Matt Kalil—will be in the NFL. As for Oregon, the last time the Ducks walked out of Memorial Stadium, it was after squeaking away with 17-15 victory over an offensively challenged Cal team.

The rest of Cal's schedule looks fairly tame, including the Stanford game. Why? Andrew Luck will be gone.

It will take a lot of things to go right for Cal to end up in the Pac-12 Championship Game, but it could definitely happen—just be ready to cheer for USC against Oregon on Nov. 3.

But don't count out the Bears—they're coming.