Golden Nuggets: A Homecoming for Justin Wilcox

Football

• Justin Wilcox, who played at Oregon, downplays his return to the school as Cal HC, saying the focus should still be on the actual game.

“I know you want to make it a bigger story than that,” Wilcox joked. “I guess I could make something up, if that would help. But, no, it’s not about (me). It’s Cal versus Oregon. We all approach it that way. I know that might not make the best answer for you, but that’s just what it is.”

• Of course, it’s not just Wilcox. Steve Greatwood, offensive line coach, is returning to his former school as well. He also says the focus should be on the players.

“We all know that he coached at Oregon for decades,” Patrick Mekari said. “He knows that. We all know that. But not one time has he talked about that. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. It’s about us.”

• Game notes for Saturday’s game can be found here.
• Sad news on the injury front. Cameron Saffle will not return this season. Alex Funches will take his spot on the roster as #1 Outside Linebacker for the remainder of the year.
• Matt Anderson is a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy, given to the best football scholar-athlete in the nation.
• Trace Travers breaks down the numbers for the Oregon Ducks.
• The “fairytale is over”, according to the Daily Cal’s Austin Isaacsohn as he fears the USC loss could be the start of a long losing streak that will remove some of the luster from this team’s hot start.
• Picks: Jon Wilner picks Oregon to win outright but Cal to cover within the 13.5 point spread. On ESPN, Edward Aschoff has Oregon winning by 12 and Kyle Bonagura has a 1-point upset by Cal. As of 10:30am, 52% of Yahoo Pickem players have Cal at least covering the spread.

Video

Courtesy of Golden Bear Report. You must be a paid subscriber to view their transcripts.

Justin Wilcox

Tim DeRuyter

Beau Baldwin

Ross Bowers

Misc.

• A great feature on the Boston Celtics website talks about the relationship between Jabari Bird and Jaylen Brown. Brown entered Cal as a newbie and was mentored by Bird. Now Jaylen is a second-year veteran in the NBA and gets to mentor his new teammate Jabari.

Brown said he has spent most of his time trying to teach Bird about the off-the-court lifestyle of an NBA player, particularly in relation to the roadblocks Brown experienced as a rookie such as time management, sleep schedule, diet, and routine. Brown, however, doesn’t anticipate that Bird will be affected by all of those challenges, and Bird agrees.

“Being in college for four years, you kind of pick up on those things,” Bird said after his first day of training camp with Boston. “After a while you kind’ve mature. So for me, I feel like I should be able to adapt kind of easily.”

• Wyking Jones addressed BearTerritory after scandals have rocked multiple NCAA basketball teams.

"Without knowing all the details I can only speak for myself, but should these allegations prove to be true, it is unfortunate for the sport of college basketball," Jones said. "As a head coach, I look for high-character young men and staff members who understand the bigger picture – beyond basketball. Integrity is of the utmost importance to me, and it is a large part of the foundation of our team culture."

• Cal’s official website recaps Week 3 of NFL action by Cal players including Jared Goff and Aaron Rodgers who had great performances.
• When Oakland A’s player Bruce Maxwell became the first MLB player to kneel during the National Anthem, he was supported by teammate Mark Canha. Canha learned a lot about inequality at Cal and through his wife, who has experienced discrimination because of her Mexican heritage. Ryan Gorcey talked with Canha about it. (Oh, and Canha hit a walkoff homer yesterday!)

Go Bears!