This will come as a surprise to you, but Cal football somewhat struggled in 2013.
And yet, the national media sees some promise for better days in Oski's future. Sports Illustrated thinks there's potential for Coach Sonny Dykes to return to the success he had at Louisiana Tech and for signs of that progress to start showing in 2014, naming it one of their top 100 things to look forward to about the next season.
Cal took a step back in Dykes' debut in Berkeley. Cal's 1-11 campaign was a far cry from the coach's history of success at Louisiana Tech. With prolific passer Jared Goff (3,508 yards in ‘13) back for his sophomore season, can the offensive-minded Dykes make the Bear Raid a winner?
Another potential area where Cal can make a splash nationally is at quarterback thanks to QB Jared Goff. The NFL listed the will-be-sophomore as one of the top ten quarterbacks to watch next year.
It's hard to heap a ton of praise on a quarterback with only one win under his belt as a starter, but anyone who watched Goff progress over the 2013 season could see his extraordinary talent and potential. The super sophomore is a polished pocket passer with A-plus arm talent and a terrific feel for the position. He is capable of making every throw in the book with zip and velocity, while also displaying the timing, touch and anticipation to make finesse throws down the field. Given more chances to toss the ball around the yard to a talented set of pass-catchers, Goff could lead the nation in passing yards as a second-year starter.
Goff could very well be one of the top quarterbacks next year, but let's hope that he doesn't lead the nation in passing yards as Dykes et al. will be trying for a more balanced attack than what we saw last year.
UC Berkeley
- Congratulations to the Class of 14 for joining the family of Cal Alumni!
- Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement, which is more than just a café on campus
Women's Tennis
Men's Tennis
Men's Crew
- Recapping Cal's second-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships
Women's Crew
- Discussing our third-place finish in the Pac-12 Championships, breaking a six-year streak of finishing on top
- The no. 4 Golden Bears have qualified for their 16th consecutive NCAA Rowing Championships
Men's Basketball
- Ricky Kreklow must have seen something he liked in Creighton when we played them as he'll be transferring there for the 2014–15 season (after flirting with the idea of transferring back to Missouri)
- Travis DeCuire won't be a Beaver, but might be headed to his alma mater
Ex-Cal assoc HC Travis DeCuire didn't get nod for OreSt job, but ought to be a serious contender for opening at Monrtana, his alma mater.
— Jeff Faraudo (@JeffFaraudo) May 20, 2014
Women's Golf
Men's Golf
Football
- How did Cal (and the rest of the Pac-12 North) do with converting takeaways to points and stopping opponents from turning turnovers into points? It isn't pretty.
- The presidents of the Pac-12 schools are hoping to rally other universities to join them in petitioning for changes to the NCAA
- If you haven't had enough of the rumors about DeSean Jackson's departure from the Eagles: despite reports that several teammates were happy to see him gone, Jackson alleges his ex-teammates didn't understand how he was portrayed as not a team player and loved him
- For the second-straight year when a Cal alumnus was invited to the White House for celebrating a Super Bow win, a Bear did not attend. Marshawn Lynch's mother explained he simply "didn't want to go." However, President Obama made it clear that Lynch was missed.
"I am sorry that Marshawn is not here, because I just wanted to say how much I admire his approach to the press," Obama said. "I wanted to get some tips from him. It's about the action."