2011 California Football Predictions
Written by Steve Janus
It was an up and down season for the California Golden Bears in 2010. They ended up finishing the year 5-7 overall and 3-6 in conference play. They nearly pulled off the upset of the year at home against Oregon, but ended up losing 13-15. It was the only conference game that the Ducks didn’t win by 10 points or more. One problem for California last year was their inability to play well on the road. They went just 1-4 away from home. That is a big concern heading into the 2011 season, as the Golden Bears must play all their home games at AT&T Park in San Francisco as Memorial Stadium undergoes renovations.
Not only will head coach Jeff Tedford have to find a way to get his team to play well in unfamiliar territory, he will have to do it with just 12 starters back from last season. To get a better idea of what the Golden Bears will look like this season, let’s see who they plan on sending to the field on both sides of the ball.
Offense:
The Golden Bears suffered a huge blow last season when senior starting quarterback Kevin Riley went down against Oregon State. Riley had completed 60% of his passes for 1,409 yards with 13 touchdowns to just six interceptions. Backups Brock Mansion and Beau Sweeney filled in for Riley over the final four games, but neither impressed. Heading into the fall it looks like junior Zach Maynard will get the first crack at the starting job. Maynard redshirted last season after transferring from Buffalo. Maynard showed some great mobility (300 rushing yards) as a starter for Buffalo in 2009, which should give the Golden Bears a whole new dimension this season.
Maynard’s ability to gain some yards on the ground will be a big plus with the loss of running back Shane Vereen, who decided to skip his senior season to play in the NFL. Vereen ran for 1,167 yards and 13 touchdowns, and also caught 22 passes for 209 yards and three more scores. Junior Isi Sofele finished second on the team with 338 yards in 2010, and will be counted on to take over the top spot this season.
While the Golden Bears lose a couple of talented players at quarterback and running back, they bring back their top two leading receivers from 2010 in senior Marvin Jones and sophomore Keenan Allen. Jones led the way with 50 receptions for 765 yards to go along with four touchdowns, while Allen really impressed as a true freshman with 46 catches for 490 yards and five touchdowns. Senior wide out Michael Calvin and senior tight end Anthony Miller also return , giving California a potent receiving corps if they get someone to step up at the quarterback position.
Up front the Golden Bears should have one of the top offensive lines in the PAC-12. They bring back one of the top tackles in the conference in senior left tackle Michael Schwartz. Junior Matt Summers-Gavin played in just four games because of injury last year, but will be a force at left tackle if he can stay healthy. They also add junior college transfer Matt Williams at right tackle, and many believe this kid is going to surprise a lot of people this season. If junior Dominic Galas can step in and play well at center, this unit will have no trouble improving on their numbers from last season.
Defense:
The Golden Bears could go through some growing pains up front on the defensive line this year, but the future really looks bright. Senior defensive end Trevor Guyton will step in and start this season after recording 4.5 sacks in backup duty last year. Sophomore DeAndrew Coleman returns at the other end spot after a solid freshman season. The key to this unit will be freshman nose tackle Viliami Moala, who could be a beast in the middle at 350 lbs. They also add three more talented freshmen defensive linemen in Todd Ban, Brennan Scarlett, and Mustafa Jalil.
At linebacker California returns two talented senior inside linebackers in Mychal Kendricks and D.J. Holt. Kendricks led the team with 8.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss, while Holt finished second on the team with 85 tackles. On the outside redshirt freshman David Wilkerson and true freshman Cecil Whiteside are expected to make their way into the starting unit, and if they live up to expectations this unit will be one of the best in the PAC-12.
In the secondary the Golden Bears bring back starting corner Marc Anthony and senior strong safety Sean Cattouse, but will have to find two more starters to team up with them this season. Heading into the fall it looks like sophomore Steve Williams has the edge at the other corner spot, while senior D.J. Campbell figures to step in at free safety. With all the talent they have coming back and are adding up front, this unit won’t have to be great for the defense to really cause problems this season.
PAC-12 Prediction: 4th PAC-12 North - I think the Golden Bears come into the 2011 season a bit underrated, but with no true home games this season I have a hard time seeing them competing for the division title. I think they could still finish right around 4-5 in the PAC-12 and 6-6 overall.
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