California Golden Bears Football Preview Predictions and Schedule 2011
Has there been a bigger disappointment or a team harder to figure out than the California Golden Bears the last several years? After a 10-3 season in 2006 Cal was predicted to be a BCS Title contender each of the next 4 years yet failed to deliver, in some cases, miserably. It’s been a jekyll and hyde run as of late. No consisteNCy last year. Beating UCLA 35-7 one week and losing to USC 48-14 the next. Beating Arizona State 50-17 one week and losing to Oregon State 35-7 the next. That type of performance falls directly on the head coach, Jeff Tedford.
With Heisman Trophy candidates at running back and potential super star QB’s it’s no wonder expectations for Cal were so high. But this year Tedford will have to prove his worth. The cupboard isn’t empty, but he may be working with the least amount of talent he’s had in years.
Tedford has done a great job at Cal, taking over a 1-10 program and doing nothing but winning year after year on his way to a 72-42 record in 9 years, but you have to wonder if perhaps Tedford has done all he can. His best opportunity to win even a Pac-10 (now pac-12) title is behind him. If he couldn’t do it the last 4 years, it’s highly unlikely he’ll be able to do it with this buNCh. They return 6 starters on offense and 5 on defense but have inexperieNCe at QB and running back and have some major talent to replace on defense. Tedford did some house cleaning with the coaching staff and if all of that isn’t enough to overcome, they’ll also have to play their home Games at AT&T Park in San Francisco while their home stadium is renovated.
Other than playing Presbyterian on September 17th, there isn’t another Game on the daNCe card where you can peNCil in a win. Aside from the usual suspects, now Cal also has to deal with a very good Utah squad. It looks to us like another mediocre year at best. We’re calling for a repeat of last year, 5 wins at most and no bowl appearaNCe for Cal, making it 2 losing seasons in a row, Teford’s only losing seasons at Cal.
From a betting perspective, we’ll likely steer clear of Cal due to their unpredictability. That jekyll and hyde performance isn’t limited to last season. If you take a look at Cal’s records over the last few years Game by Game you’ll find plenty of runs where they looked like world beaters one week and then fell flat the next. No thanks. That type of up and down performance will burn a hole in your pocket.
2011 California Golden Bears Football Schedule
9-3-11 FRESNO STATE
9-10-11 at Colorado
9-17-11 PRESBYTERIAN
9-24-11 at Washington
10-6-11 at Oregon (Thur.)
10-13-11 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (Thur.)
10-22-11 UTAH
10-29-11 at UCLA
11-5-11 WASHINGTON STATE
11-12-11 OREGON STATE
11-19-11 at Stanford
11-26-11 at Arizona State