Cal Bears Football

Following the firing of Jeff Tedford, Cal football has found their new head coach. His replacement in Berkeley will be Sonny Dykes, an offensive mastermind who has coached at Louisiana Tech the last three seasons. Dykes will have to rebuild a program that went 3-9 this past season and missed out on a bowl game for the second time in the last three years.

Dykes has previous experience in the Pac-12 Conference. He was Mike Stoops’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arizona from 2007 to 2009, where his air-raid offense was a success.  

Dykes coached multiple NFL products in Tucson, including New England Patriots superstar Rob Gronkowski. Mike Thomas, currently with the Detroit Lions, caught a Pac-10 record 259 passes with Dykes running the offense.

Before coaching at Arizona, he was an assistant at Kentucky under Hal Mumme and later for Mike Leach at Texas Tech, his alma mater. Dykes' father, Spike, is the winningest coach in Red Raiders’ history. Sonny lived up to his father’s name while helping Leach and current West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen run the offense at Texas Tech.

While specifically working with receivers, Dykes helped Wes Welker develop into the three-time NFL receptions leader that he would later become. Furthermore, quarterbacks Cody Hodges and Graham Harrell were among the nation’s best when playing under Dykes.   

After years as the second in command, Dykes was finally given a chance to be a head coach when he was hired to replace Derek Dooley at Louisiana Tech of the WAC in 2010. The Bulldogs finished just 5-7 during his first season, but made immense improvements on offense.

He took the program to new heights in 2011. Louisiana Tech earned its first conference title in 10 years after an 8-4 regular season. The Bulldogs made an appearance in the Poinsettia Bowl, where they lost to TCU.

2012 featured a number of highs in Ruston, but ended on a very sour note. They cracked the top 25 in the BCS, AP and Coaches Polls, and received a ranking as high as 18 in the Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs won two games against teams from BCS conferences, including a blowout of Illinois 52-24 in Champaign.

Their biggest game of the season, maybe even the biggest game in program history, was a loss to “Johnny Football” and Texas A&M in October. Although they lost 59-57, it was a success because the Bulldogs proved that they could contend with a top-notch program, nevertheless an SEC team that went on to beat Alabama.

Louisiana Tech lost their final two games of the season in heartbreaking fashion to ranked teams. They finished the year 9-3 and earned an invitation to the Independence Bowl, but declined the offer in search of playing in a bigger bowl. When no other bowl called, Ohio had already agreed to take fill the vacancy in the Independence Bowl, leaving the Bulldogs without a home for the postseason.

In the end, Louisiana Tech finished the season as the highest scoring team in the country. In just three years, Dykes took a team that could barely score a touchdown and turned them into an offensive showcase that put up 51.5 points per game. The Bulldogs needed every point that they can get since their defense was the worst in the nation.

Dykes has a lot of work to do at Cal. It is much harder to build a winner in the Pac-12 than it is in the WAC. His onetime mentor Mike Leach's air-attack was shut down during his first year at Washington State.

Dykes is a proven winner.  As long as he finds some defense, he should able to turn Cal around into the team that Jeff Tedford helped them become prior to his fall.         

Every year Boise State head coach Chris Petersen's name comes up in the coaching carousel. Every damn year. 

When will people learn that he probably isn't coming to your school?

He lives like a king in Boise, Idaho making $1,959,833 a year, according to the latest USAToday college football coaches' salary database. The average median household income in Boise, which has a population of just over 205,000, is $60,678.

Boise is a safe place to live with very low crime rates, and the city has won numerous awards for best place to live in the US. The pace of life is a little slower in Boise, but for young families, it's a pretty neat place to raise your kids. Especially kids with special needs. 

Petersen's son Sam was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was just 13 months old and cancer was later found in his spine. A long surgery, a stem-cell transplant and chemotherapy for Sam while Petersen was preparing to take on the head coaching job at Boise State was more stress than any family should ever have to deal with. Now at 13 years old, all reports seem to indicate that Sam is healthy. 

In 2008, Petersen was interviewed by Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com about the very subject of leaving Boise. "I've never been a big one for moving and uprooting your family," Petersen told Dodd.

But that was four years ago and Petersen's record at Boise State cannot be ignored by schools in a coaching-search mode. The Broncos are 82-8 under Petersen, who's the only coach to have won the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award twice. He also has a 4-2 bowl record including a Fiesta Bowl victory over TCU in January 2010. 

Cal needs a new head coach after Jeff Tedford was dismissed on November 20 and Petersen does have ties to central California.

According to MercuryNews.com, Petersen's father Ron lives in Yuba City—a two-hour drive from Berkeley—the same city where Chris was born. Petersen also graduated from the University of California, Davis, a school located in central California. The article also states that former Cal coach Jeff Tedford and Chris Petersen are "good friends." 

On Monday, Petersen made a statement about rumors of his potential destination, if any, and basically nixed the idea.

"99.9 percent is always completely false, the problem is 0.1," Petersen said. "But there hasn't even been 0.1."

But CBSSports columnist Bruce Feldman just recently reported that Petersen could be interested in the job: 

A source close to the coach said there are two jobs the UC Davis grad would be tempted by Oregon and Cal. The source, though, added that since Petersen and Tedford are close, the thought of replacing his friend might steer him away from an opportunity to coach the Bears.

A potential deal-breaker for Cal is that the Bay Area is almost the exact opposite of Boise both culturally and geographically—Boise is a very slow-paced, conservative town while Berkeley is one of the bastions of liberalism. Petersen is also a very spiritual man and his fit in an area where secularism is very strong might not woo him enough to make the big move.

True, Cal could pay Petersen more than his current salary but the cost of living in the San Francisco-area would eat up a large portion of his paycheck—San Francisco is third most expensive place to live in the U.S.

Oregon, where Petersen coached for six years as an assistant coach and offensive coordinator, seems like a better fit. Since there are rumors swirling about head coach Chip Kelly possibly leaving the school to go to the NFL, Petersen should and probably will wait this out until January and then weigh his offers, if any.

If both Oregon and Cal offer Petersen a head coaching job, Petersen will most likely take the better fit: Oregon.

Cal had no choice but to fire coach Jeff Tedford.

The news just broke today, but this was a move most had seen coming for quite a while. It seems like a lifetime ago that Aaron Rodgers was leading the Golden Bears into the Coliseum to face USC in one of the year's biggest must-see games.

That game took place in 2003, and Cal finished the season 10-2. Only once—2006—did the Golden Bears win 10 games again.

With all the money funneled into college football and the growth of super conferences the margin for error is becoming smaller and smaller for coaches. A couple of bad years can put a program way behind in terms of recruiting, and make boosters less likely to open their wallets.

The Pac-12 had been dominated by USC and Oregon in recent years, but it's becoming more and more of a competitive conference. And with Cal in the tougher North Division, their struggles were being magnified.

Once lauded as a passing guru, Tedford has overseen a steady decline in Cal's air attack.

They rank only 91st in the nation in passing yards per game. Senior Zach Maynard's 295-yard, four-TD performance against UCLA was one of the few cases this season in which the passing game hit on all cylinders.

The offensive struggles could be offset by a good defense, but that's not one of Tedford's strengths. The Golden Bears are giving up 33 points a game this year, 99th in the nation.

The university higher-ups could only sit by for so long without taking some action. Had this year been an aberration, then Tedford would get a pass. But this season has been symbolic of a loss of stature in recent years.

While the program had become largely irrelevant before Tedford arrived, it was reaching a consistent level of mediocrity. Cal won five games in 2010 and seven games in 2011, but this year has been the nadir of Tedford's reign. The Golden Bears finished 2012 with a paltry 3-9 record.

Cal's descent in the Pac-12 is all the more infuriating for their fans because of the rise of their biggest rivals, Stanford. The Cardinal are proving they can be successful without Andrew Luck.

It only makes sense for Cal to start anew under a different head coach. The program hasn't undergone a huge drop in terms of allure, so the school should be able to reel in a very good replacement.

If Cal stuck with Tedford longer, they might have dug themselves into a hole that would take years to dig out of.

Following the end the worst season in his tenure with the school, the California Golden Bears have decided to fire head coach Jeff Tedford. 

Cal's Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour gave her reasoning for Tedford's firing at a news conference on Tuesday (via the university's official press release): 

This was an extraordinarily difficult decision, one that required a thorough and thoughtful analysis of a complex set of factors. Ultimately, I believed that we needed a change in direction to get our program back on the right track.

Tedford, who spent 11 years at Cal, was widely regarded as one of the best offensive coaches in the nation as recently as three years ago. Considered a quarterback guru, Tedford is largely responsible for the development of former first-round picks Aaron Rodgers, David Carr and Trent Dilfer, among others. 

However, recent seasons saw the Bears' offensive efficiency take a nosedive. Though highly touted, current Cal quarterback Zach Maynard has seen his development plateau since taking over as a starter.

Without a great signal-caller under center, the cracks in Tedford's coaching style have become apparent. The 51-year-old suffered his first losing season at the school in 2010, barely scraped to 7-6 in 2011 and this year, the team has been an absolute train wreck.  

With a 3-9 overall record, including a 2-7 mark in the Pac-12, the Bears have continually struggled to show any of their offensive firepower of years past. In fact, Cal's biggest highlight of the 2012 season was a near-victory over still-undefeated Ohio State.

Left with a vacant coaching post for the first time since 2002, Cal will now wade into uncertain waters. While it's an attractive job, there will be plenty of other vacancies out there this season, as changes are expected at high-profile schools like Tennessee and Auburn. Considering the Bears' absence from the national consciousness lately, it may be harder than expected to bring in a big-name replacement.

As for Tedford, he should be just fine. With a respected reputation and track record of previous success, Tedford should have at least a few schools jumping through hoops for his services. 

Nonetheless, this is an unfortunate end to what can only be deemed a long and mostly fruitful relationship between Cal and Tedford.

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Keenan Allen hasn't gotten a ton of national attention because he plays for an average Cal team, but he deserves recognition as one of the most dangerous receivers in the country. His draft stock has fluctuated because of some inconsistencies and a recent minor knee injury. Here's my scouting breakdown on Allen.

School: California

Position: Wide Receiver

Year: Junior

Height/Weight: 6'3"/210

Big Board (as of 11/18/12): Kiper (24), McShay (25), CBS (21), My Rank (11)

Background

Allen was one of the top recruits in the country coming out of high school, but as a safety, not a wide receiver. He grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina and played at Northern Guilford High School before committing to Cal. 

Hands

Allen shows a consistent ability to bring the ball in under control, allowing him to try and make a play after the catch. He rarely drops an easy pass, and only does so when he takes his eye off the ball and looks ahead to the move after the reception.

He uses his frame well to shield the defender and get his hands in position where only he can make the catch. He has strong hands and likes to squeeze the catch with his arms in front of him, rather than let it get into his chest.

Athleticism

Allen is one of the most athletic offensive players in the country. He has a good, muscular frame at 6'3", but the quickness and footwork of a smaller defensive back.

He is explosive off the line and is able to keep defenders off balance with his shiftiness and balance. He always looks to make a play once he has the ball, and is extremely elusive. 

He has the body control to make the catch, dig his foot into the ground, and turn upfield to make a move. While he does not have top-end speed, it is just a notch below elite and still makes him dangerous in the open field.

Over the four games I scouted Allen, I saw him line up in the slot, on the outside, and also in the backfield. He is dangerous from anywhere on the field because of his combination of size and speed.

Route Running

Allen is not a perfect route-runner by any means, but is clean enough that it wouldn't be considered a weakness. He thrives when he is allowed to maneuver in the middle of the field.

He has a phenomenal first two steps off the line, but sometimes gives away his next move with his head or shoulders. He can get away with it sometimes in college because of his quickness, but will need some coaching to be more consistent in the NFL.

He has to work on turning his hips more fluidly and take a more direct route on the ball. He sometimes has to re-adjust at a bad angle because his momentum has carried him too far. He uses his hands well though, and is skilled at getting separation if the cornerback plays him tight.

Intangibles

Allen is currently dealing with an injured posterior cruciate ligament that will keep him out for a few weeks, effectively ending his season. Other than that, the only notable injury was an ankle injury in the spring of 2012 that required surgery.

He works hard on the field, and is always fighting for extra yardage. He doesn't shy away from contact, and is aggressive in the air.  

Projection

At this point, Allen is my highest-rated receiver and while anything can happen, I'd be very surprised if that changes. With that being said, Allen isn't on the level of guys like A.J. Green or Julio Jones, and his draft stock is dependent on teams' needs.

I see Allen going outside of the top eight, but he shouldn't drop past the top half of the first round. 

Oregon State had a huge showdown with one of the northern California Pac-12 teams last Saturday. California doesn't figure to put up anywhere near the fight provided by Stanford, though.

The Beavers were still in line to earn a trip to the Pac-12 Championship Game before a late fumble cost them the lead last week. They are now focused on finishing strong and securing a top bowl game.

Cal (3-8, 2-6) officially lost any chance of a bowl game two weeks ago with a loss to Washington.

Oregon State has won 10 of the last 12 games in this series, but Cal was victorious last season. This is a much-improved Beaver squad, though. Stealing a win in Corvalis won't be easy.

When: Saturday, Nov. 17 at 10:30 p.m. ET

Where: Reser Stadium, Corvalis, OR

Watch: Pac-12 Network

Live Stream: Pac-12 Video

Radio: Free Football Radio

Betting Line (via OddsShark)

Over/Under: OFF, Spread: Off

Cal has lost four straight games in this series, and it is about to be five. Odds for this game are not yet set, most likely awaiting the status of quarterback Cody Vaz. He's listed as day to day.

Cody Vaz isn't practicing today. He's moving around very gingerly. Heavy limp favoring that ankle. #GoBeavs

— Erik Elken (@Erik_Elken) November 12, 2012

Injury Report (via USA Today)

Cal

Zach Maynard, QB, Questionable (Knee)
J.P. Hurrell LB, Questionable (Concussion)
Matt Summers-Gavin, OL, Questionable (Knee)
Bryce Treggs, WR, Questionable (Ankle)
Keenan Allen, WR, Questionable (Knee)
Mustafa Jalil, DL, Out (Knee)
Dominic Galas, OL, Out (Appendix)
Jason Gibson, LB, Out (Foot)

Oregon State

Cody Vaz, QB, Day-to-Day (Ankle)
Josh Williams,LB, Out (Suspension)

BCS/Top-25 Implications

The No. 16 Beavers still have a bowl game on their horizon. A loss last week cost them a shot at the Rose Bowl, but they are in the hunt for one of several high-profile games.

A win will push them further up the BCS rankings, while Cal's season won't include postseason play.

Cal Player to Watch: Keenan Allen, WR

It is hard to pin down this slot, as there is no decision made on who will start this game at quarterback. 

Cal starter Zach Maynard sat out (knee) against the Ducks, giving Allan Bridgford the start.

Whichever quarterback is in the game, he will hope he can be looking for Allen. But Allen is also questionable in this game, which could create some distinct issues in the passing game contest.

Oregon State Player to Watch: Cody Vaz/Sean Mannion, QB

The Beavers will want to press the ball down the field on California. To do so they'd be best served with Vaz under center.

If he isn't stable enough to play on Saturday Oregon State still has Mannion, who was the starter for the fist half of the season. Vaz was an injury replacement against Brigham Young and Utah prior to being given the starting job against Arizona State.

Vaz will get some help from Storm Woods in the ground game, and Brandin Cooks is just 12 yards from surpassing 1,000 yards on the season.

Markus Wheaton leads the team in receptions but is 122 yards shy of 1,000.

Prediction: Oregon State 38, Cal 13

This game doesn't figure to be close. Both teams have injury concerns on offense, but the Beavers have better depth.

Cal has really struggled on the road and against the top Pac-12 schools. This game is ripe to cover a huge spread, provided one is released.

Darin Pike is a writer for Bleacher Report's Breaking News Team and a Featured Columnist covering the NFL and the Seattle Seahawks. Follow @darinpike

Dear Coach Tedford,

A few months ago, I wrote about how you would not be fired this year, at least not during the season. Now, your Golden Bears are 3-6 after an embarrassing loss to Utah, and it's even more apparent that Sandy Barbour and the Cal athletic department have a decision to make about you.

I still stand by my argument that I won't see any change here in 2012. There are just too many factors telling me it's not going to happen. Like cost. And the money. And the lack of replacement. And how much it will cost. 

But if there's one thing that I've finally come to realize about the way you run your teams and how things are different than before, it's that, for some reason beyond reason, you don't like shaking things up.

I wrestled with what bothers me so much, and I realized that I didn't really notice this whole "only starters start" mentality back when you first got here. Because our starters were good. Aaron Rodgers was good. We had a string of tailbacks who were good. Geoff MacArthur. DeSean Jackson. Lavelle Hawkins. Marshawn Lynch. Marvin Jones. All of our defensive players over the years. They were good. Really good. 

It started with Nate Longshore, though. Longshore was actually good, until he got hurt. Then, Kevin Riley had a chance to shine, and did pretty well, but when Longshore "recovered," he went right back in the starting lineup.

Now, I'm realizing that this is still happening all over the field. Kevin Riley should have started over Longshore a long time ago. Allen Bridgford and Brock Mansion were top quarterbacks in high school. Zach Maynard is not a good quarterback. Isi Sofele has no business being the every-down back. 

But you have this thing about starters starting. And I can't remember any time that I would think it more appropriate to break that tradition than this year. Again, Maynard is not throwing well. Last year, it was acceptable because at least he would throw into triple coverage to Keenan Allen instead of the easy dumpoff, yet here in 2012, he's not even doing that.

If the whole reason that he's starting is to keep Allen happy, and he's not even throwing him the ball anymore, then something has to change.

However, for some reason, you refuse to let anyone play who didn't earn a spot out of spring ball. Zach Kline was the best quarterback recruit in California. Kline is a local guy. The season is already lost, pretty much, and no one is going to fill up a shiny new stadium to watch Zach Maynard scramble, throw it away and get sacked. 

Which brings me to my next point. Where's the coach that ran a wide receiver screen pass for 70 yards on his first play from scrimmage? Where did you go? The offensive creativity is gone. I don't know if it's because you don't have playmakers anymore, but fly sweeps, draws on first and third down and uncomplicated passing routes just make it easy for defenses to slow the offense to a crawl. 

I feel like the Cal offensive playbook has like four pages in it. Draw. Bubble screen to Allen. Draw to the other side. Post pattern deep. Fly sweep. Rinse. Repeat. 

Get creative, please. The defense is good. It's that same old bend-not-break defense that allowed the Bears to beat good teams in the past. But there is nothing happening on the offensive side of the ball. And if you're not going to change up the plays and you're not going to change the personnel, then I'm not going to change my mind, and I'm going to clamor for your headset on a pike until something happens.

I've been rooting for the Golden Bears since I was a kid. I'm not going to stop. But Jeff, you're making this team extremely hard to watch.

Sincerely,

Evan Aczon
Political Science, 2011 

Both of them are coming off tough losses at the hands of ranked opponents that they doubtlessly wish they could take back.

Both of them displayed anemic offenses last week. Both of them are lingering far lower than they'd like to be in the Pac-12 standings.

This weekend, one of them, at least, will have an opportunity to get a leg up.

After putting up four consecutive losses, the Utah Utes will have a chance to take down the California Golden Bears, losers of four of their last six. In defeat, each of these teams has displayed some very troublesome offensive woes, both against stiff competition and not-so-stiff competition.

Saturday's game will be all about whichever team can manage to overcome them, if only for an afternoon. 

Where: Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah

When: Saturday, Oct. 27 at 9:45 p.m. ET

Watch: Pac-12 Network 

Listen: KGO 810 AM in Northern California, ESPN 700 in Utah

Live Stream: CalBears.com  

Betting Line (via OddsShark.com): Utah -1 1/2 

California Injury Report (via USAToday.com)

• TE Spencer Hagan (knee) hasn't played since Sept. 15 and is questionable for Saturday
• LB David Wilkerson (ankle) is out for the season
• LB Cecil Whiteside (academics) will miss the entire season
• LB Khairi Fortt (knee) is out for the season
• LB Jason Gibson (foot) is out until mid-November
• OL Mark Brazinkski (knee) is out indefinitely
• DB Stefan McClure (knee) is out indefinitely

Utah Injury Report (via USAToday.com)

• DB Wykie Freeman (leg) is out for the season
• QB Jordan Wynn (shoulder) is out for the season
• DT Junior Salt (foot) is out for the season
• WR Anthony Denham (shoulder) is out for the season
• DB Keith McGill (shoulder) is out for the season
• OL Marc Pouvave (Achilles) is out indefinitely
• QB Chase Hansen (shoulder) is out for the season 

BCS Implications

It's safe to say that neither of these teams stands a good chance of sneaking into the BCS poll by season's end. Climbing back to .500 by season's end might be a more reasonable goal. 

And it's not one that looks promising for Cal. It has four games remaining on its schedule, two of which are against teams currently ranked in the Top 10. In other words, in order to salvage pride, it at least needs to win this week against Utah and next week against Washington.

Utah has a bit of an easier time of it, as none of the remaining five games on its docket will come against ranked opponents. That means, despite the fact that there's not a lot at stake (besides getting their first conference win), Utah needs to start winning at home in order to pull it together, and it needs to start this weekend. 

What They're Saying

A berth to a bowl game isn't yet out of the question for Cal, even if a BCS bowl is far from in the cards. But time is running out, and it's absolutely essential that the Bears come out of this weekend with a win if they want to remain in the hunt.

The only problem is, it might be difficult for them to swing the momentum in their favor after suffering a devastating 21-3 loss at home to their fiercest rivals. And another problem is that the Utes are strong precisely where the Bears are not, according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News.

Not only does Wilner believe the Bears need a win on Saturday (and one or two more down the line) in order to snag a bowl bid, but he believes that the career of head coach Jeff Tedford could depend on their ability to do so. 

Wilner writes: 

Until Saturday, the Bears had reason to be mildly optimistic. Beat Stanford and climb into the postseason after a 1-4 start—that would have provided the administration with enough justification to bring him back, if it was so inclined.

The Utes aren't doing too much better themselves, though—in part, due to their quarterback situation. Injuries have forced true freshman Travis Wilson into a starting role, and he made the second start of his career in Saturday's 21-7 loss to No. 8 Oregon State. 

It's obvious from the box score that things didn't go well for Wilson and the Utes' offense. It was also obvious from the four turnovers the QB coughed up (two fumbles, two picks).

The good news is, Wilson isn't skirting the blame. He knows that for the Utes to be better, he has to be far better. Wilson told the Deseret News' Dirk Facer:

It definitely hurts, but I think this team has the potential to finish out the season strong and I think we'll do it. We just need to keep on working hard. I definitely need to work hard, too.

He and Utah should be on a level playing field, at the very least, against Cal this weekend.

Cal Player to Watch

The Bears' offense struggled last Saturday, mostly because senior quarterback Zach Maynard struggled. The QB has had an up-and-down season thus far, but Saturday marked only the second time this season that he failed to throw or rush for a touchdown.

More problematic was the fact that it marked the third straight game in which he registered at least one turnover; he's had four in his last three games, and he's only had two games this season in which he's managed to hold on to the ball.

This offense's success starts with Maynard's ability to protect the football, and he has a big opportunity to show up a true freshman on the road this weekend. He needs to take every advantage of that opportunity.

Utah Player to Watch 

Last week, Utah seemed very committed to its running game, rushing the ball 45 times (and gaining just 135 yards) while passing it just 28 times for 172 yards. Given Wilson's inexperience, turning to the backfield makes sense—especially with senior John White and junior Kelvin York back there.

Both of these running backs need to step up and get something done against a Cal defense that is far from formidable. Last week, White got 20 carries and only managed 68 yards, nearly half of which came on a single rush attempt. York got 10 carries for 52 yards. They're going to be the primary form of offense of Utah, especially against a Cal team that allowed a whopping 252 rushing yards to Stanford last week. 

For the first time in at least three weeks, the Utes are facing a team that, objectively, they are very capable of beating. Saturday is the perfect time for this offense to show up, and it starts with White and York.

Key Storyline

The winner of this game could very well come down to whichever team manages to make fewer mistakes, because the errors were numerous for each of these teams last week.

Utah's offense committed four turnovers. Cal coughed up the ball three times (two fumbles, one pick). Both of these teams know they have a huge opportunity to turn the season around this weekend, but they also know that they don't have much time, making Saturday's matchup a must-win for each of them.

It really is anyone's game. Utah is only favored by 1 1/2 points at home, and it's going to be a battle. Whichever offense manages to be a little less sloppy will be the one that comes out on top.

Prediction: Cal Wins

When it comes to picking the team with better odds of limiting the mistakes, Cal is the answer. They may be on the road, and Utah may be favored (by the slimmest of margins), but the Bears have experience at quarterback, which is one thing the Utes are desperately lacking at this point.

Utah's inexperienced freshman QB will once again be unable to produce against a Pac-12 rival, and Maynard, meanwhile, will get his act together in a must-win for the fading Bears.