My early thoughts for next season:

@ NW: L; would love to be wrong here, but I think I have to predict the L here

Sac State: W; layup

@ AZ: L; same as above, but just don't see this one happening

CU: W; almost a layup

@WSU: W; almost a layup

UW: W; not at all sold on UW; new head coach; I don't think their D will be able to keep up with our O

UCLA: L; this one could be close at home, but gotta pick UCLA in this one

Oregon: L; if MM had left I would have picked a W here, but not with him

@OSU: W; Beavs have not impressed of late

@USC: W; lots of turnover in that program overall (players, coaches)

furd: L (sadly)

BYU: W

so that puts us at a likely 7-5 - while not great, much better than what we saw last season; I think an 8 win season isn't out of the question, but I just can't see my way to thinking anything better than that; but, with improved QB play that could change things

How clueless do Cal fans have to be to classify any game as "a layup". Unless of course you realize you root for a team that misses layups.

Doesn't mean can't/ won't win those games, but there are no layups for the foreseeable future.

NW: L ["Time difference, we were still groggy. Should've arrived earlier."]
[COLOR="Blue"]Sac State: W[/COLOR] [Close win. "They have a lot of former PAC transfers on their team"]
AZ: L [JUCO transfer hotspot, "Their school is a joke!"]
[COLOR="blue"]CU: W[/COLOR] ["I told you Dykes was a better hire than McIntyre]
[COLOR="blue"]WSU: W[/COLOR] ["I told you Dykes's offense was better than Leach's"]
UW: L [It's Petersen.]
UCLA: L ["Mora will probably leave for the NFL this season!!"]
Oregon: L ["At least our uniforms aren't as ugly"]
[COLOR="blue"]OSU: W[/COLOR] [Total BS pick here, our W/L record in Corvallis...?]
USC: L [Makes us hate Sark even more. "Next year will be our year"]
Furd: L
BYU: L [This would be a trap game if Cal were still allowed to have trap games. We're the trap.]

4-8. Outlook: "We got better this year. We ran more. Our OL & offense could be REALLY good in 2015. Our APR is back to normal. At least we're Cal and we do things the right way."

That's based on my pessimistic view of injuries, potential lack of depth, and little-improved OL play. I hope I'm way off.

The only game I feel confident about is Sac State.

Besides that, we should be slightly favored is the opener against Northwestern -- based on their terrible season after they played us and their offseason implosion.

Every other team should be heavily favored against us.

I don't know how anyone can pick us to beat WSU, OSU, and CU (each of whom absolutely crushed and humiliated us last year), but pick us to lose to Northwestern.

0-16

Am i doing it right?

The Duke!;842304625 said:

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The only game I feel confident about is Sac State.

Besides that, we should be slightly favored is the opener against Northwestern -- based on their terrible season after they played us and their offseason implosion.

Every other team should be heavily favored against us.

I don't know how anyone can pick us to beat WSU, OSU, and CU (each of whom absolutely crushed and humiliated us last year), but pick us to lose to Northwestern.

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um. as a 1-11 team who lost to Northwestern, I don't see how we can be "slightly favored" playing an Away game.

SouthBayPhenom;842304620 said:

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My early thoughts for next season:

@ NW: L; would love to be wrong here, but I think I have to predict the L here

Sac State: W; layup

@ AZ: L; same as above, but just don't see this one happening

CU: W; almost a layup

@WSU: W; almost a layup

UW: W; not at all sold on UW; new head coach; I don't think their D will be able to keep up with our O

UCLA: L; this one could be close at home, but gotta pick UCLA in this one

Oregon: L; if MM had left I would have picked a W here, but not with him

@OSU: W; Beavs have not impressed of late

@USC: W; lots of turnover in that program overall (players, coaches)

furd: L (sadly)

BYU: W

so that puts us at a likely 7-5 - while not great, much better than what we saw last season; I think an 8 win season isn't out of the question, but I just can't see my way to thinking anything better than that; but, with improved QB play that could change things

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I would love to be your bookie..

...OK, so I'm revising my predictions more fitting to the malodorous mainstream of Bear negativity. Our Bears will tzsuch again in 2014, the hot dogs will be cold and expensive, the pee troughs will overflow, and fans will conclude it wasn't Buh afterall. No progress will be made.

NW: L (can't beat the BigTen; we tzsuch)
SacStu: W (barely; tougher than PStu in 2013)
UA: L (no way we beat the new player in the PAC-12 mix)
CU: W (maybe)
WSu: W (close)
UW: L (get real, it's Coach Peterson)
Ucla: L (Bears return to old ways of kissing the Bruin's baby blue asz)
UO: L (no way we play close with Marriota and the fleet of RB's)
OSu: L (tough sledding against Coach Riley)
$uSC: L (close but no cigar)
Farm: L (solid defense)
BYu: L

beeasyed;842304636 said:

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um. as a 1-11 team who lost to Northwestern, I don't see how we can be "slightly favored" playing an Away game.

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Have you read about their offseason? Their players and coaches were testifying against each other. Total mutiny. And this is after a season in which they went from highly ranked to not winning a single league game.

We played 'em close last year. After what they have been going through I feel confident.

But if you are basing things on who we lost to last year -- how can you pick us to beat UW, CU, and OSU? Those guys absolutely crushed us. Northwestern was fairly close.

This thread is giving at least one old man the giggles.

Northwestern: Win
Sacramento State: Win
Arizona: Loss
Colorado: Win
Washington State: Win
Washington: Loss
UCLA: Loss
Oregon: Loss
Oregon State: Win
USC: Win
Stanford: Loss
BYU: Win
Texas Tech: Win

0-0
maybe to be updated later :p

The Duke!;842304642 said:

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Have you read about their offseason? Their players and coaches were testifying against each other. Total mutiny. And this is after a season in which they went from highly ranked to not winning a single league game.

We played 'em close last year. After what they have been going through I feel confident.

But if you are basing things on who we lost to last year -- how can you pick us to beat UW, CU, and OSU? Those guys absolutely crushed us. Northwestern was fairly close.

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b/c Northwestern was the first game at home, you know, before the team gave up on each other, and the staff.

and at the end of JT's last season, Utah slaughtered us too. doesn't mean that it is normal, and you should expect similar results the following season. CU and WSU have been abysmal Pac teams. they do not have the talent to keep up as long as coaching is decent. that's why I picked us to win agains them. [and i did say my W against OSU was a BS pick]

Bobodeluxe;842304648 said:

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This thread is giving at least one old man the giggles.

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:rollinglaugh:
Kinda reminds me of a uDub thread where the "negaDawgs" only predict a Rose Bowl and not a national championship.

I think it'll all depend on when/if we beat a Div. 1A team.

Do it early on, and there could be momentum there.

The players really need to taste a (real) victory.

4-8 if all breaks go the Bears way....... Otherwise another possible one win season. Make no mistake about it, this is a very weak team.

3-9 this season.

Wins in home games against Sac State and Colorado, and a third W over either @WSU or home vs. BYU.

71Bear;842304665 said:

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4-8 if all breaks go the Bears way....... Otherwise another possible one win season. Make no mistake about it, this is a very weak team.

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Maybe so, but I believe it is too early to tell. Art is leading the sheep to water, but will they drink. Internal leadership has to develop, and there are signs. Two more weeks will give more clues.

Wins: Sac State, Colo, WSU or OSU (pick one) + one unexpected bonus win

Basically Cal will go 4-8. I hope for better and I could see more wins if many things fall into place, like the defense and offensive line. However given last season's record, you have factor that in.

SouthBayPhenom;842304620 said:

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My early thoughts for next season:

@ NW: L; would love to be wrong here, but I think I have to predict the L here

Sac State: W; layup

@ AZ: L; same as above, but just don't see this one happening

CU: W; almost a layup

@WSU: W; almost a layup

UW: W; not at all sold on UW; new head coach; I don't think their D will be able to keep up with our O

UCLA: L; this one could be close at home, but gotta pick UCLA in this one

Oregon: L; if MM had left I would have picked a W here, but not with him

@OSU: W; Beavs have not impressed of late

@USC: W; lots of turnover in that program overall (players, coaches)

furd: L (sadly)

BYU: W

so that puts us at a likely 7-5 - while not great, much better than what we saw last season; I think an 8 win season isn't out of the question, but I just can't see my way to thinking anything better than that; but, with improved QB play that could change things

---

5 W. Which ones? I have no idea. The sched is easier this year. Most of the easier teams are early (making it less likely that the injury bug, if we have an infestation, will weaken us for those teams). We have 2 byes, both before away games. We will win one we are not expected to win. Art will have us playing better D and the OL will be better, but where our ground yards will come from is a mystery. Home cookin' will be a bigger advantage this year. [Insert cliches here.]. I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

3-9 would be progress for us, if not injuries. If 4-8, consider that last win the national championship game. But more then likely if say 2-10. I would confidently say 2015 will be a better here. 5-6 wins deff possible and likely.

I think 4 wins is the O/U for meeting expectations this year.

Should win:

Sac St.
Colorado


May Win (50/50):

@Northwestern
@WSU
BYU


Plus one or two potential upsets (<20%):
@OSU
@Arizona
UW
UCLA

No Way:
@USC
Oregon
Furd

So I think you get both the should wins and 2/3 of the may wins for a decent season meeting expectations (or both should wins, 1/3 may wins, plus one upset). Anything beyond that is gravy to me and gets Sonny and the program a little longer leash to get things right going forward. Less than that and I won't be happy. 3 wins and I give Sonny one more year to see if he can get bowl eligible... 2 wins or less and I fire him and hire a whole new staff.

Bowl f*cking game!

beeasyed;842304656 said:

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b/c Northwestern was the first game at home, you know, before the team gave up on each other, and the staff.

and at the end of JT's last season, Utah slaughtered us too. doesn't mean that it is normal, and you should expect similar results the following season. CU and WSU have been abysmal Pac teams. they do not have the talent to keep up as long as coaching is decent. that's why I picked us to win agains them. [and i did say my W against OSU was a BS pick]

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WSU and CU both blew us out of the water last year. Neither game was even remotely close. Not by a longshot. WSU beat us by 22 at home, and CU beat us by 17. And those scores weren't reflective of how bad it really was.

When you consider where we both started, Northwestern imploded far worse than we did. And then they had one of the most tumultuous offseasons in CFB history.

I hope we win all of our games. But realistically, Northwestern is our best shot against a D-1 team. We both went winless in our respective conferences last year, and they have had one hell of a terrible offseason.

A new head coach.

The talent deficit Dykes inherited will require several years to address. Maybe by 2015, this sun will start to rise. Until then, Cal is stuck in the darkness before dawn.....

SouthBayPhenom;842304620 said:

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so that puts us at a likely 7-5 - while not great, much better than what we saw last season; I think an 8 win season isn't out of the question, but I just can't see my way to thinking anything better than that; but, with improved QB play that could change things

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This is fantasy.

12-0 and Goff wins the Heisman....

Go Bears!

emanbears24;842304726 said:

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12-0 and Goff wins the Heisman....

Go Bears!

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:cheer :cheer :cheer :cheer :gobears: :cheer :cheer :cheer :cheer

We have a WINNER

emanbears24;842304726 said:

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12-0 and Goff wins the Heisman....

Go Bears!

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Impossible.

:cheer

Pac12 championship game and two playoff games.

Go all in.

:gobears:

What a horrific exercise. I say three Ws but I hope to see more competitive football.

SonOfCalVa;842304655 said:

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0-0
maybe to be updated later :p

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no numbers out of me till fall , i have and will attend the last two open practices and wait till Fall ... in FALL i will have an in depth break down

okaydo;842304662 said:

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I think it'll all depend on when/if we beat a Div. 1A team.

Do it early on, and there could be momentum there.

The players really need to taste a (real) victory.

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this to me is so crucial need a win out the gate imo would do wonders to come home handle portland st brother and head start off 2-0

socaliganbear;842304685 said:

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Bowl f*cking game!

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this is the minimum to me anything is super face plant fail ,

71Bear;842304716 said:

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The talent deficit Dykes inherited will require several years to address. Maybe by 2015, this sun will start to rise. Until then, Cal is stuck in the darkness before dawn.....

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IF he wants to coach at CAL in 2015 he better make strides in both wins and recruiting ( starting slow) if you don not reload ie get some decent wins and nobody putting 60 points on us getting a few more 4stars that can contribute early in places of need

emanbears24;842304726 said:

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12-0 and Goff wins the Heisman....

Go Bears!

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this is really where thoughts of everyone needs to be F the past (all except TED) im going all wins because one can not be a champion wishing for scraps

ill say give me 2 weeks fall practice then i see where i feel the team is ...

did nw see cinny last year ... out of the opponents this season is anyone versed ( out side of flim) in DC art kaufmans tenendencies?

Re: F the past, etc.....

I suggest the following:

Wish in one hand; s... in the he other and see which fills up first.

A realistic approach tells us the program is near the bottom among all schools in their Big 5 conferences. Four wins and schemes that demonstrate the coaches have a clue would be a huge step forward this year.

In the meantime, we await the bomb known as APR that will soon be delivered to our doorstep (Cal needs a big score from the academic year of 2012-2013 to avoid a penalty because the previous three years were so lousy and the penalties are based on a four year rolling average).

SouthBayPhenom;842304620 said:

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My early thoughts for next season:

@ NW: L; would love to be wrong here, but I think I have to predict the L here

Sac State: W; layup

@ AZ: L; same as above, but just don't see this one happening

CU: W; almost a layup

@WSU: W; almost a layup

UW: W; not at all sold on UW; new head coach; I don't think their D will be able to keep up with our O

UCLA: L; this one could be close at home, but gotta pick UCLA in this one

Oregon: L; if MM had left I would have picked a W here, but not with him

@OSU: W; Beavs have not impressed of late

@USC: W; lots of turnover in that program overall (players, coaches)

furd: L (sadly)

BYU: W

so that puts us at a likely 7-5 - while not great, much better than what we saw last season; I think an 8 win season isn't out of the question, but I just can't see my way to thinking anything better than that; but, with improved QB play that could change things

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Let me be clear. There are NO Lay-ups. If anyone thinks that, they must have been asleep during the 2013 season. Every win will be a hard fought win.

That said:

Probable Wins.
Sac State
Colorado


Pick 'ems:
Northwestern
UA
BYU
Stanfurd (my heart never allows me to choose the 'furd)

Probable Losses:
UW
OSU
WSU
TT
UCLA (only because it is a home game)


Certain Losses:
UO
USC

Overall Results:
If all goes well: 6-6
Most likely: 4-8 (half of the Pick 'ems)
If all goes poorly: 2-10

I don't understand where people are getting that Colorado is a sure win or even a probable win. They blew us out last year. They return tons of players. They actually showed sings of improvement as the year went on (unlike ours) And their coach owns our coach.