2010 NCAA Football Preview: California
Fans had high hopes for the Golden Bears going into 2009, and were rather disappointed by season’s end. The team had been ranked in the top 20 before the season started once again, and for the fourth time in the last five seasons they did not finish there.
With a team full of talent it was surprising to see the team lose five times by 10+ points. For one reason or another the team could not seem to put it together on a consistent basis. A prime example would be a pair of games towards the end of the season. One week they faced the #14 Stanford Cardinals and beat them 34-28. The victory found them in a ranked position the following week (#19) against the Washington Huskies; this time it was them that came out on the losing end, 42-10.
Consistency was they will undoubtedly need if they are going to be competitive this season. What they will not have to deal with going forward will be high expectations like last season. After the lackluster performance and the departure of a number of players it would not be surprising to see the Golden Bears on the outside looking in for most of the season.
Offense
Losing a player like Javhid Best against the Oregon State Beavers hurt, but it did do one thing of value; it showed them what they had in Shane Vereen. Cal typically is an offense that runs first and passes later and really utilizes the back-up running back well. Up till Best got knocked out due to injury Vereen had not done much, but by rushing for 159, 193, and 92 in the final three games it is highly likely that the team will not be missing Best for long.
He will not get much done if the passing game and blocking does not improve though. Kevin Riley was adequate completing 55% of his passes for 2850 yards and 18 touchdowns with only eight interceptions. As for his receivers you could look as them as no one really standing out or as Riley distributing the ball very well; six players caught more than 20+ passes with the highest number being 43.
The line does have four guys coming back. Sophomore Matt Summers-Gavin will be much better in his second year as a starter and will benefit by moving from guard to tackle. After having worked together for the last season, the group should be able to gel quicker and perform even better than last year (47th in rushing offense; 87th in sacks allowed).
Defense
The unit will benefit greatly from one thing and that is the addition of former NFL coordinator Clancy Pendergast. Pendergast should be able to get the unit to perform better than they did last year.
Inside linebacker Mike Mohamed will return to lead the unit in 2010. Last season he earned all-conference honors by leading the team in tackles with 112 to go with three interceptions; another season like that will have NFL teams salivating over him come draft time. He could end up being joined by one of the top prospects in the nation, five star recruit Chris Martin.
Three starters from the secondary are gone, but for the 111th ranked pass defense that is probably a good thing. Last year’s unit allowed 20 touchdown passes and only reeled in 11 interceptions. A number of players will be competing for time including seniors Darian Hagan, Chris Conte, and Bryant Nnabuife.
Competing in the Pac-10 requires teams to have a sold secondary; there are just too many teams that have quality passing offenses year in and year out. Being able to control the ball with the running of Vereen will help, but the team may not be able to score fast enough to keep up with many teams.
The success or lack thereof for the team in 2010 will hinge largely on what Pendergast is able to do with the secondary and the defense as a whole.
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