First and foremost, you do not simply replace a talent like Jared Goff, the eventual No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, and expect the same results. The quarterback’s departure is likely to set the Golden Bears back a little because talents like him do not grow on trees. Losing as many weapons on offense won’t help them either.
California Golden Bears Regular Season Win Total Odds at BookMaker.eu
Golden Bears Over 4 Wins -120
Golden Bears Under 4 Wins +100
2015 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS SEASON REVIEW
Cal improved from 1-11 to 5-7 and ended the third year under coach Sonny Dykes at 8-5. So the 2015 journey back into bowl eligibility – which featured a season-ending blowout win against Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl – is considered a success.
However, the Bears remained unable to beat some of the Pac-12’s big names and a four-game losing streak against Utah, UCLA, USC and Oregon sidetracked a very promising 5-0 start. Getting the required six wins for bowl eligibility by knocking off Oregon State was a weight lifted in time for the Big Game. But once again Cal couldn’t get by their Bay Area rival, losing for a sixth straight time to Stanford.
Goff punctuated his career by throwing for 467 yards and six touchdowns against Air Force. He combined for nearly 1,500 passing yards and 17 scoring tosses in the Bears’ final three wins.
WHAT CHANGED
With Goff now a very rich Los Angeles Ram, the Cal program is at a crossroads: Is further improvement under Dykes immediately possible, or are the Bears facing another rebuilding challenge? Defensive improvement was promising in 2015, but there is still plenty of work to be done on that side of the ball.
Dykes understands that the outside expectations for his team will be lowered this season following the departure of Goff and his receiving corps. But the coach isn’t dropping the bar after an 8-5 season. The answer at quarterback may be Texas Tech graduate transfer Davis Webb, who should be a good fit in the Bear Raid offense.
2016 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
Aug. 26: vs. Hawai’i
Sep. 10: at San Diego State
Sep. 17: vs. Texas
Sep. 24: at Arizona State
Oct. 1: vs. Utah
Oct. 8: at Oregon State
Oct. 21: vs. Oregon
Oct. 27: at USC
Nov. 5: vs. Washington
Nov. 12: at Washington State
Nov. 19: vs. Stanford
Nov. 26: vs. UCLA
2016 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN B EARS SEASON PREVIEW
The new quarterback will operate behind a line with four returning starters and will have a stable of new pass catchers to throw at following the loss of six receivers who totaled 265 catches for 3,878 yards and 38 touchdowns last season.
The Bears will look for more balance on offense and utilize a deep backfield. Running backs Tre Watson, Khalfani Muhammad and Vic Enwere each rushed for more than 500 yards last season and the Bears expect to use a committee approach again.
A seasoned defense could be more than enough to give the Bears a decent jumpstart on their season, but they will need to find a way to carry that momentum through the bye week and into one of the nation’s toughest second half schedules. The Bears get Oregon, USC, Washington, Washington State, Stanford and UCLA in consecutive weeks following their bye.
So the Bears better do some damage in the first half of the season, and they have a good opportunity. All six games are within their grasp, but we’ll find out where the program is heading after their opener with Hawaii.
College Football Odds: California Golden Bears Over 4 Wins
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