Last season, the Bears finished with an average 7-6 record, good for 5th in the Pac-12 North. The Bears lost in the Cheez-it Bowl to TCU 10-7. In his second year as coach of the Bears, Justin Wilcox slightly improved from a 5-7 record in 2017.
Prestige Ranking (for a theoretical NCAA Football 20): 3 Star
If you would actively play as the Cal Bears in NCAA Football 2020 you are weird. Go play with a six-star team like a grown-up.
Key Players: Offense
- QB: Chase Garbers
- QB: Devon Modster
- RB: Christopher Brown Jr.
- RB: Marcel Dancy
- WR: Jordan Duncan
- WR: Jeremiah Hawkins
- OL: Jake Curhan
- OL: Michael Saffell
Garbers led the way for the Bears last season but put up some pretty mediocre stats. Only passing for 1,506 yards and 14 touchdowns is already disappointing, but when you add on 10 interceptions… Insert Modster, a transfer from UCLA. The Bears have some options at QB and this summer, we shall have a QB battle.
The Bears don’t have the speed of a traditional Cal Bears team. Brown Jr. is a big, 6’1 and 230-pound bruiser and their wide receivers are more long than speedy. The big question, will that young offensive line be up to the task?
Key Players: Defense
- DE: Luc Bequette
- LB: Evan Weaver
- LB: Cameron Goode
- CB: Camryn Bynum
- S: Jaylinn Hawkins
The Bears have a sneaky good (great) defense. They ranked second in FBS with 21 interceptions. Also, over their last seven games, they held their opponents to just under 15 points-per-game (14.9). The unquestionable leader of this defense is Evan Weaver, who led the Bears with 159 tackles last season. Another name to watch out for his Kuony Deng, the number one JUCO OLB from last season. If the Bears are to have any success this season, the defense will lead the way.
Key Players: Special Teams
- P: Steven Coutts
- K: Greg Thomas
#ForTheBrand
Key Loss: Patrick Laird
When you have an offense that struggles already, getting rid of 1,200 yards from scrimmage and nine total touchdowns is a huge blow. The Bears will need to look to their younger backs for this type of production.
Key Addition: Kuony Deng
Mentioned before, Deng was the number one LB in JUCO last season. Adding a player with this type of talent to an already stacked defense will be huge for the Bears if they want to make a run in the Pac-12.
Wins the Pac-12 If…
They need the offense to step up. Whoever wins the QB competition between Garbers and Modester needs to play at a high level. The defense is already set. If they can find some playmakers on offense, they can make a run in the Pac-12.
Alcohol Prediction: White Claw
Idk, what do people from California drink? Perhaps a nice Rosé? But Bears have claws, so we are going with the White Claws.
Outlook: 8-4
I think this team can surprise some people. Unfortunately, their offense is not good enough to warrant a Pac-12 championship. Its a shame, that defense is so good.