Golden Nuggets: Cal-Presbyterian Score Predictions

It's too bad more journalists are not interested in the Cal-Presby game (and really, why should they be?), or else we could have even more ridiculous predictions like Ted Miller's. 

California 742, Presbyterian 5: We won't be taking this game seriously.

To achieve that score, the Bears will have to score once every 34 seconds.  Basically, we will have to force a fumble on every kickoff return, with half of those fumbles being returned for touchdowns.  The other half will have to be recovered and converted into a TD on the next play.  Sounds reasonable, no?

• Phil Steele predicts a 49-point Bears victory.  His simulated prediction has the Bears winning 49-5 on average, with the Bears outgaining the Hose 606-114.
• The Bears are 42.5-point favorites in Vegas.  The over/under is 57.5, which roughly translates to a prediction of a 50-7.5 Bears victory.
• During the summer CGB readers gave Cal a 98.1% chance of winning.  This week it dropped to 93.9% (you scared, Cal fans?).

Football

• Jon Wilner has the latest roundup of rumors and news regarding further Pac-12 expansion.  The big question is what that conference would do if Texas is reluctant to join.  A fourteen-team conference could lead to some messy scheduling and division-making.
• Wilner outlines possible division alignments if the Pac-12 only expands to the Pac-14.
• The Bears climb to third in Wilner's Pac-12 power rankings.
• If Zach Maynard wants to boost his completion percentage, his receivers need to stop dropping so many passes.  They have dropped ten passes so far (Maynard is 34 for 70 on the season).
• Bob Condatta at Husky Football Blog has the Bears at fourth in his Pac-12 power rankings.
• The Times-Herald has a profile on C.J. Anderson.  Anderson has some good quotes in the article; he's clearly  tenacious competitor.
• Nnamdi Asomugha may be one of the best defensive backs in the country, but he's also a philanthropist, an actor, and a diplomat.  
• NCAA has a human highlight reel on Asomugha, which looks at his life and history on and off the field.
• JO reports from Tuesday's practice.  Tedford said the Bears have some work to do on covering screens, defending on three-step-drops, and getting through max protect packages.
• JO had a great time at the Sacramento Grid Club.  JO mentions that Tedford is trying harder to cultivate lasting bonds among his players (e.g. Pappy's Boys).
• JO has more quotes from the Brendan Bigelow story he ran on Tuesday.
• This week Tedford challenged the team to work on the fundamentals and play with a sense of urgency.  After Thursday's practice Pendergast voiced his disappointment with the defensive performance against Colorado, particularly the big plays the team gave up (something they did not do much last season).  One final note from practice: Tedford said the team will wear blue on blue for this Saturday's game (it has now been over a year since the team wore the classic blue on gold home uniform).  The blue on blue appears to be our default home look these days, for better or for worse.
• Ted Miller's "What to Watch" for week three. I can't blame him for his response to the Cal game(same with Oregon): "What to watch? Something else."
• The Bears should not take Presbyterian too lightly.  When Washington and Jefferson College, a tiny school of 500, played the undefeated Bears in the 1922 Rose Bowl, they held the Bears scoreless en route to a 0-0 final.  Of course, Washington and Jefferson was no slouch school--they were also undefeated and had outscored opponents 222-33.
• JO answers the question we have heard over and over this week, "Why is Cal playing Presbyterian?".  DJ Holt said the coaches were especially tough on players during Tuesday's practice.  They are treating this game as if it were the National Championship Game, particularly since the Bears are coming off a sub-par performance at Colorado.
• BearInsider's David Bush gives us all the information we need to know about Presbyterian.