Introduction: The California Golden Bear football program got out to a fast start in 2010 scoring 52 points on each of their first two opponents, but in their third game in Reno 13-1, 8-1 Nevada laid down 52 on the scoreboard to win 52-31. Cal bounced back by continuing their success at home by beating 4-8, 2-7 UCLA and 6-6, 4-5 Arizona State easily to improve to 4-0 in Berkeley; however, 12-1, 9-0 Oregon won a thoroughly competitive 15-13 to trigger a three-game home losing streak in the month of November. The Bears hope to ride early-season success this year to a bowl game while not crumbling down the stretch.
Offense: The 94th-best passing offense in 2010 with senior quarterback Kevin Riley at the helm was hugely disappointing. It ended with Riley leaving in the first quarter with a knee injury at 5-7, 4-5 Oregon State to end October. In a 35-7 loss to the Beavers, then junior Brock Mansion got his first significant action with California completing 14-of-24 passes for 141 yards. The QB play only got better the next week with him throwing for 171 yards at 2-10, 1-8 Washington State, two yards less than what he threw against 12-1, 8-1 Stanford two weeks later. A sluggish 10-for-28 performance against the Ducks for 69 yards wasn't all bad as he didn't turn the ball over. Actually Mansion threw two touchdowns and five picks during nearly five full games. Stud running back Shane Vareen moved onto the NFL this season, but the Bears' second-leading rusher Isi Sofele ran for 338 yards on 69 carries. Those numbers should improve this year. The only game he didn't have any rushing attempts was against Oregon who allowed 124 yards, 112 coming from Vareen.
Defense: The Ducks' offense had only been scoreless through three quarters last season before California held Oregon scoreless in the first and fourth quarter in November. The Bears lost defensive pass rusher Cameron Jordan, but return seniors D.J. Holt and Mychael Kendricks along with a host of other players. Other big names are seniors safety Sean Cattouse and defensive end Trevor Guyton who will be pests for opposing offenses. Second-year defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergrast brought a 3-4 defense that trumped all expectations helping Cal finish 18th nationally in total defense while placing third in the Pacific-10 Conference in points allowed. The secondary was thought to be the worst part of the defense a season ago and while that may have been true because the Bears were pretty stout in all areas, only 2010 starting cornerback junior Marc Anthony returns which has offenses anxious to see how the Cal secondary holds up this year.
Special Teams: Senior place kicker and punter Giorgio Tavecchio and Bryan Anger will be critical elements to the team's success. The forgotten cogs of a football team were among the most reliable Bears last season. Tavecchio has been pretty reliable all of his three years in Berkeley. After being perfect on 25-of-25 extra points in 2008, the next two seasons saw three misses in 54 attempts. As for field goals a short field goal could have propelled California to their biggest win last November against Oregon. Tavecchio missed a 29-yarder in the fourth quarter that would have put them ahead 16-15. Overall last year saw him sink 11-of-16 field goals. Tavecchio pushed 53-yard and 47-yard field goals through the uprights during the final game last season against 7-6, 5-4 Washington who scored a touchdown as time expired to win 16-13. The unsung hero of the Bears may have been Anger who booted 62 punts for an incredible 45.6-yard average. None were better from a distance perspective than an average of 54.3 yards including a long of 71 yards (kicked a 76-yard career-long punt in his freshman year and booted a 72-yarder his sophomore season) against Stanford.
Expectations: Three ESPN televised games at Oregon, against 8-5, 5-4 USC and at Arizona State will demonstrate whether California's a player in 2011 or a pretender. With the defense and special teams rocking last seaon and likely be the stronger parts again this season, will the offense be able to get on a roll too this year? The Bears trek begins with 8-5, 5-3 Fresno State before an interesting non-conference conference non-conference game at 5-7, 2-6 Colorado (yes I meant to type that) and another compelling game with 2-9, 1-5 Presbyterian College of the Big South Conference. A 3-0 start is expected, but with the vast amount of question marks concerning Cal's offense, will they be able to cash in on wins and more importantly fare better in the Pacific-12 Conference than an eighth-place finish in the Pac-10 last season? Probably as bowl eligibility should be attainable.
