Sonny Dykes spoke with Jeremy Fowler about a few topics in the build to the 2013 season, including the brutal schedule.
A coach might not like that schedule if he didn't like his team. But Dykes believes the Bears, despite last year's 3-9 finish, have a chance to be pretty good.
"It's an opportunity for us to get on the map a little bit," Dykes said. "You'd like to be able to build some confidence early, especially with a young football team."
He also talks about "the University of Cal" (sigh...) and his coaching philosophy as an offensive mastermind:
I'm a defensive guy as much as I'm an offensive guy. I don't know as much about defense, but I'm rooting for those guys just as much. It's a dynamic that's often overlooked. If the president spent all his time at the department of education and not the departament of defense, you'd wonder, 'What's going on here? Is the defense less important?"
One of the potential sources of the Tedford downfall was when he switched over from the offense to the CEO role. Dykes might have the better strategy, which is to let the defensive guys know you're in full support of them and always open to talk to them, but that won't manifest in the form of Xs and Os because that's just not his forte.
Rugby
Men's Soccer
Women's Soccer
- The Soccer America Preseason Top-25 Rankings has Cal at no. 18
- Ifeoma Onumonu is a preseason candidate for the Hermann Trophy, the highest honor in the sport
Women's Basketball
Men's Basketball
Men's Water Polo
- California is ranked no. 4 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Preseason Poll
- The team enters the 2013 season with "cautious optimism"
Football
- In case you missed it, Cal has a new bag policy for Memorial
- ESPN chats with starting QB Jared Goff
- Jared Goff--living the dream
- Deandre Coleman is on the Senior Bowl Watchlist
- Tom Luginbill of ESPN assigns contender/pretender status to the Pac-12 teams, including Cal
- Sonny Dykes wants you to switch from DirecTV (YouTube video)
- ESPN takes a look at recruiting and a possible wave of momentum for Cal featuring Joe Mixon
- Second-generation Cal football player Burl Toler III will return home as a Special Teams Quality Control Coordinator
- Golden Bear Cam Morrah has entered a fierce competition in Detroit, likely fighting with five other men for three TE spots and hoping the Golden Bear–Lion injury curse doesn't strike again
- Desmond Bishop's SuperBowl jersey has been stolen
- A Packers practice without Aaron Rodgers (thanks to a pesky head cold) is an ugly sight
- Football is coming with Football Training Camp airing tonight. A preview here.
@CalFootball to be featured Thurs night, 7 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks with airing of Bears' episode of Pac-12 Football Training Camp.
— Jeff Faraudo (@JeffFaraudo) August 22, 2013