Golden Nuggets: Injuries plaguing defense and insight into Jeffrey Coprich's life

Coach Sonny Dykes listed all of the post-spring projected defensive starters who have suffered a significant injury affecting the ability to play in a game, which is to say Coach Sonny Dykes basically listed all of the post-spring projected defensive starters. This included practically finalizing some more bad news for the defensive line:

Asked if Scarlett will play this year: "I'd be surprised."

— Hunter Hewitt (@HunterHewitt) October 8, 2013

One glaring issue with the Bears' performance against the Cougars (and the Ducks the week before) was the number of turnovers, which WR Chris Harper would like to eliminate.

"We've turned the ball over more in the last couple weeks than I think we did in an entire year when I was at Louisiana Tech." -Dykes

— Hunter Hewitt (@HunterHewitt) October 8, 2013

Despite Dykes's comments earlier in the year recognizing the importance of rivalry games like the Big Game, he made remarks that may suggest deviating from that philosophy and becoming more like the Arizona and Oregon programs, who want to view all games equally, regardless of rivalries.

"The sign of a great program is that every game is a big game. Part of a culture is to circle games, that's a counterproductive thing to do"

— Hunter Hewitt (@HunterHewitt) October 8, 2013

There's a fine line here that Dykes is being a little ambiguous about. It's certainly beneficial to approach every game seriously and recognize their importance, but I think all Cal fans will recognize there is something particularly special about the Big Game.

On an off-the-field note, the press conference discussed some of the struggles in the life of RB Jeffrey Coprich, who lost a sister and a cousin and was injured in a car crash at the age of three. Nonetheless, the Coprichs have been dedicated to improving their community:

Coprich & parents started a foundation for 116th Street School to help raise money for the library. New books and library renovation in 2008

— Hunter Hewitt (@HunterHewitt) October 8, 2013

And it looks like we might have the new "flying around out there... real physical."

Random press conference thoughts: Sonny Dykes loves to say "The funny thing about..."

— Hunter Hewitt (@HunterHewitt) October 8, 2013

Cal Athletics

• Inside the Locker Room will feature Coach Dykes, DT Coach Sacks, RB Jeffrey Coprich, and Bears from the Swimming and Diving and Golf programs

Men's Soccer

• The Huskies take the Golden Bears to the limit, leaving the game tied after double overtime with no. 1 Cal's undefeated streak intact

Women's Soccer

• No. 11/15 Cal defeated Arizona to continue their undefeated streak
• Oh wait, did I say no. 11/15? Scratch that:

— Cal Women's Soccer (@CalWomensSoccer) October 8, 2013

Field Hockey

• Goalkeeper Courtney Hendrickson set a school record with 18 saves in a single game in a loss to no. 3 North Carolina

Women's Golf

• The Golden Bears are ready to tee-off at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invite

Women's Basketball

• RSVP now for the free Season Tip-Off event on October 13th
• Gennifer Brandon and Brittany Boyd are on the Wade Trophy Watchlist. Watch out!

Men's Basketball

• The Trailblazers are counting down 23 days to opening night. How good does a Golden Bear look in #23?
• Are you musically inclined and interested in a free student student pass (or free T-shirt)? I know I am!

Men's Tennis

• This weekend saw one Bear reach--but lose--the finals of the Aggie Invitational and another win in the qualifying round of the Tiburon Challenger
• Senior Campbell Johnson qualified for the Tiburon Challenger in doubles

Softball

• Five Golden Bears have been named National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Scholar-Athletes thanks to GPAs ranging from 3.750 to 4.000
• A Q&A with freshman Taylor Lee

Baseball

• Cal is ready to start fall practice!

Volleyball

• The underdog Golden Bears lost to no. 2 USC, but with a valiant effort in five sets
• The Bears are ready to rebound in Pac-12 play against Colorado on Wednesday

Men's Water Polo

• Senior, captain, and All-American Collin Smith blogs about the unique Cal challenge
• You've been enrolled in Water Polo 101!

Football

• A late addition to Sunday's Golden Nuggets that bears repeating: After corrections to stats from Saturday's game, quarterback Jared Goff now holds the Cal record for most passing yards in a single game with 504 yards
• WR Chris Harper, who was integral to that performance, earned a nomination for conference offensive player of the week
• Despite these accolades, Goff and Harper both expressed a greater interest in team wins than individual accomplishments
• Welcome to the new normal--ESPN's Pac-12 Power Rankings has Cal dead last
• Hunter Hewitt of SFGate learned three things from Saturday's nightmare
• Monday Mailbag with Hewitt. Expect a lot of pleasant discourse!
• Dykes chats after Monday's practice:

• UCLA has a chip on their shoulder after their shocking loss to Cal in 2012
• It took one game against Keenan Allen for Dallas's #1 cornerback Brandon Carr to see the Golden Bear has the potential to be special