Tag: CAL

5 College Football Power Five Sleeper Teams For 2022

Which teams from the Power Five conferences will be sleepers this year? Which ones will rise up and be dangerous?

Which teams in the Power Five conferences should rise up and be sleepers in 2022? They might not win their respective conferences, but they could make a whole lot of noise.

Did anyone really see Baylor coming as a team that would take the Big 12 Championship and finish in or near the top five?

Who had Pitt winning the ACC title, or Michigan State being a Big Ten power, or Ole Miss finishing 11th in both polls?

We got the Rebels right in last year’s Power Five Sleeper Teams piece. Taking the L on Stanford, squibbed singles on Boston College and Texas Tech, and roped a triple on Purdue.

These teams almost certainly won’t win their respective conference championships, but they should be in for interesting seasons and give their fan bases a good time.

CFN Predictions of Every Game
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC
AAC | C-USA | Ind | MAC | M-West | Sun Belt
CFN Preview 2021: All 131 Teams
2022 Bowl Projections | Preseason Rankings 1-131
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

College Football Power Five Sleeper Teams

ACC: Florida State Seminoles

There was a time not all that long ago when Florida State was automatically considered a national championship contender. It had the talent, the coaching, and everything in place to be special year after year after year.

Jimbo Fisher restored the glory, but it all fell apart in the opener against Alabama to start the 2017 season, and the program never recovered.

FSU Preview | Top 10 Players | Schedule Analysis

The Noles won 78 games, three ACC Championships, and a national title between 2010 to 2016. Since then they’ve gone a putrid 26-33.

Florida State lost 19 games from 1987 to 2000.

Head coach Mike Norvell isn’t going to put the program back into superpower territory just yet, but after years and years and years of painful offensive line play, the Noles might really have a decent front five. At least it’s full of veterans.

[lawrence-related id=548951]

The ground attack and the offense should work just fine, the defense is loaded with experience – the starting 11 should be outstanding if the secondary can rise up – and the schedule works okay.

LSU is a problem in Week 2 in New Orleans, and road games against NC State and Miami are scary, but Clemson and Florida have to come to Tallahassee, and the team should be strong enough to pull off several wins in the 50/50 games.

For a proud program that hasn’t had a winning season in four years, this will seem like when it all starts to turn around.

NEXT: College Football Power Five Sleeper Teams, Big Ten

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Cal Golden Bears Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

Cal College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

Cal Golden Bears Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Cal season with what you need to know and keys to the season.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Cal Golden Bears Preview
Head Coach: Justin Wilcox, 6th year at Cal, 26-28
2021 Preview: Overall: 5-7, Conference: 4-5
Keys To The Season | Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Cal Top 10 Players | Cal Schedule & Analysis

Cal Golden Bears Preview 2022

It really is possible to have a good, winning team in the Pac-12 North.

Oregon State was good enough to go bowling last year. So was Washington State. Cal probably would’ve been able to get to six wins if it hadn’t been hammered with COVID issues before the Arizona game, but it shouldn’t have come down to that.

The program has the potential to rise up, Justin Wilcox really is a good head coach with a strong staff, but …

Enough. It’s time for Cal to start winning more college football games.

26-28 in five seasons and 15-25 in the Pac-12, Wilcox’s teams started out with great defenses, had a little bit of success with two straight winning campaigns, and now it’s just sort of … meh.

The offense was in the middle of the production pack last season, the defense slipped, and there wasn’t any consistency whatsoever. Now the team has to replace just about all the key parts, but there’s hope for a quick turnaround.

The Bears lost five games by a touchdown or less. Most of those were against mediocre-to-bad teams, but it’s not going to take all that much to finally break through.

No, this isn’t going to be a Pac-12 Championship season, but if the defense can get back to its previous form, and the offense confined something to rely on after struggling to average 24 points per game, this can all change in a hurry.

Cal Golden Bears Preview 2022: Offense

For all of its stalls and misfires, in some ways the offense had its best season yet under Wilcox. There was enough of a running game to take over at times – more on that in a bit – and the 5.9 yards per play were the most in five years.

There’s a whole lot of reworking to do with most of the starters gone, but some nice fill-ins from the transfer portal and the depth from last season will play a big role right away.

The running game loses leading rusher Christopher Brooks to BYU, but there was a good rotation with the 220-pound Damien Moore good enough to be the main man in the rotation. Even with all of the changes and shifts on the offense, the line should be good enough to keep pounding away.

This depth of last year will fill in the gaps, there should be a little shuffling of the deck – starting guard Ben Coleman might move to tackle – and everything will be fine as long as the line can continue to keep defenses out of the backfield.

Longtime starting QB Chase Garbers is done, but the spot was filled in fast with the addition of Purdue QB Jack Plummer. He’s a solid veteran who’ll take over without a problem, but the downfield passing game has to emerge even though most of the top targets are gone. However, leading returning receiver Jeremiah Hunter averaged over 18 yards per catch.

Cal Golden Bears Preview 2022: Defense

The Bears is loaded with defensive coaching talent, and now they’ve got the work cut out for them. The D was good overall, but it had a bad knack of not coming up with the big stop in the big moment.

It was awful on third downs, the pass rush was just okay, and it lost all three games when it gave up 200 rushing yards. Like the offensive side, most of the key parts have to be replaced. Also like the offense, there shouldn’t be that much of a concern with a good group seemingly ready to step in and fill the void.

The linebacking corps should be the strength Washington transfer Jackson Sirmon coming in to go along with 240-pound thumper Femi Oladejo on the inside and third-leading tackler Muelu Iosefa. The key will be to replace the pass rushing production of Cameron Goode on the outside, but Orin Patu is a veteran who’s been in the mix.

The line has good size across the from three, with 340-pound Ricky Correia a big body on the nose and Ethan Saunders taking on a bigger role at one end. Getting Xavier Carlton from Arizona State will help the pass rush.

The secondary can hit. Leading tackler Daniel Scott is back after an 82-stop season, and Lu-Magia Hearns is a quick veteran corner. The Bears didn’t get gouged through the air after the first part of last season, but they also didn’t face a slew of high-powered passing games over the second half of the campaign. There aren’t that many on the schedule this year, either.

Keys To The Season | Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Cal Top 10 Players | Cal Schedule & Analysis

Cal Golden Bears: Keys To The Season, Top Game, Top Transfer, Fun Stats NEXT

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Where did the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown go to college?

The Celtics All-Star was a 5-star recruit out of high school.

If you clicked on this headline, chances are you’re like the rest of us on the East who refuse to stay up late for Pac-12 basketball. And that’s your first hint as to where Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown went to college.

The answer is he went to University of California (Berkeley), otherwise known as Cal. A five-star recruit from Georgia and McDonald’s All-American, the explosive athlete only needed one year of college — another reason you might’ve missed him.

Brown started all 34 games for Cal in 2015-16, helping lead the Bears to a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He was the team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder at 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Brown struggled in the team’s first-round loss to Hawaii, scoring just four points on 1-of-6 shooting before fouling out. That was his final college game, as he entered the 2016 NBA Draft and the Celtics selected him third overall. The following year, the team landed Jayson Tatum at the same spot in the draft, forming the dynamic duo that has now led the Celtics to an NBA Finals.

[listicle id=1905205]

[mm-video type=video id=01g4gk0vnc4bqs56jvj0 playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g4gk0vnc4bqs56jvj0/01g4gk0vnc4bqs56jvj0-f7ecf4992c64e742e98f5c5b880e2207.jpg]

Cal Golden Bears Top 10 Players: College Football Preview 2022

Who are the top 10 Cal players going into the 2022 college football season?

Cal Golden Bears Preview 2022: Who are the top 10 players going into the season?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Cal Golden Bears Preview 
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen | Schedule & Analysis 

College Football Rankings, Season Predictions: Pac-12 Spring Version 2022

Pac-12 spring football rankings and predictions with best and worst case scenarios for every team

Pac-12 college football rankings and predictions with the realistic best and worst case records and quick analysis – the 2022 spring version.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

It’s almost like the Pac-12 took a year off to get ready for what’s coming.

Washington certainly took a break, Stanford went to sleep after a decent start, and USC all but put out the Not Interested sign after the season was blown up  with the early firing of Clay Helton.

Arizona is improving – last year was likely a step back to take a big leap forward, even if it’s still going to take another season or so.

UCLA showed glimpses of getting stronger, Oregon State and Washington State had some fun, and Utah got to the top of the Pac-12 mountain.

This year, though, the conference looks like it’s going to improve all the way around before all the things are in place to blast off in 2023.

Lincoln Riley at USC, Oregon settling in with Dan Lanning, Washington about to crank up the O with Kalen DeBoer – the Pac-12 is going to be fun.

Where to the 12 teams appear to be this spring? How good are they?

The Pac-12 spring rankings are based on how good the teams should be and not the final projected records. Keeping in mind that this all could/might/will change when we make the final calls in August …

– 2022 College Football Schedules By Teams: All 131 Schools

NFL Draft Best Picks of All-Time From Every Pac-12 School

Who are the Pac 12’s greatest NFL Draft picks of all-time? Here are the top three best picks from each Pac 12 program.

Who are the best NFL Draft picks from each of the Pac-12 programs. Which players turned into the greatest stars at the next level?

USC is as good as anyone when it comes to cranking out historic NFL draft picks, and the Pac-12 overall isn’t bad, but some programs are shockingly light.

Who were the best draft picks ever from the Pac-12 programs?

This isn’t a list of the top pro players to come from the Pac-12 schools – these are the best draft picks.

If a player had a great run for someone other than the team that drafted him, he gets knocked down a peg, or isn’t on the list at all.

The goal for any draft pick is to get a player who performs at a high level for a long period of time, so longevity matters.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

2022 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings, Analysis
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | OTs | OGs & Cs | DEs & Edge | DTs
LBs | Ss | CBs | 50 Greatest Value Draft Picks Ever
NFL Draft by college over last 5 years: 1-130 rankings

Marshawn Lynch drove doughnuts on a Zamboni to celebrate becoming a Seattle Kraken part owner

Marshawn is doing that hockey

Marshawn Lynch is on a mission to have as much fun in retirement as he did during his NFL career and boy is he succeeding.

From landing roles in Netflix shows and upcoming movies to investing in his own cannabis company, Lynch did not go quietly into the night. Now he’s back in the Seattle pro sports scene as a part owner of the NHL’s Kraken and the way Beast Mode celebrated his new role was entirely predictable.

After donning a Seattle jersey and cap, Lynch bolted straight for the Zamboni at the club’s practice rink and got back to his wild, cart driving ways.

We wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Kraken are -117 on the moneyline Monday night against the Ottawa Senators at Tipico. A boost from Beast Mode might be exactly the edge bettors are looking for. Regardless, any time Lynch shows up at Climate Pledge Arena, it’s sure to be entertaining.

Welcome to the NHL, Marshawn. Hopefully you find the names a bit easier to pronounce now.

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

[listicle id=1877481]

[listicle id=1878165]

Arizona Wildcats vs. California Golden Bears live stream, TV channel, start time, odds

The No. 2 Arizona Wildcats (27-3, 17-2 Pac-12) will be attempting to extend a 16-game home winning streak when hosting the California Golden Bears (12-18, 5-14 Pac-12) on Saturday, March 5, 2022 at McKale Center. It airs at 5:00 PM ET. Arizona won …

The No. 2 Arizona Wildcats (27-3, 17-2 Pac-12) will be attempting to extend a 16-game home winning streak when hosting the California Golden Bears (12-18, 5-14 Pac-12) on Saturday, March 5, 2022 at McKale Center. It airs at 5:00 PM ET.

Arizona won at home over Stanford 81-69 last time out, and was led by Bennedict Mathurin (24 PTS, 57.1 FG%) and Christian Koloko (21 PTS, 10 REB, 2 BLK, 70 FG%).

Cal lost on the road to Arizona State, 71-44, in its most recent game. Its top performers were Jalen Celestine (11 PTS, 33.3 FG%) and Jordan Shepherd (9 PTS, 2 STL, 2 BLK, 30.8 FG%).

Here is everything you need to get ready for Saturday’s college hoops action in Pac-12 play.

Arizona Wildcats vs. California Golden Bears

  • Game Day: Saturday, March 5, 2022
  • Game Time: 5:00 PM ET
  • TV: Pac-12 Networks
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (Watch for free)

Want some action on the College Basketball? Place your legal sports bets on this game or others in CO, NJ at Tipico Sportsbook.

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).

Where Notre Dame, opponents rank in ESPN’s SP+ Rankings projection for 2022

Who is the most surprising to you?

The ESPN SP+ Rankings have grown in interest over the last few years as advanced analytics become more a part of college football not just for coaching staffs, but for fans as well.

If you’re unaware of what SP+ is, our colleagues at Buckeyes Wire gave this explanation earlier this week.

“A predictive formula Bill Connelly uses and includes returning production, recruiting, recent history and other data that — according to ESPN — are built as a “tempo and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football … These are simply early offseason power rankings based on the information that we have been able to gather to date.”

So based off of that information, where does Notre Dame rank nationally and of significant interest, where do Notre Dame’s 2022 opponents rank in the first edition of the SP+ Rankings (subscription required) for this fall?

Oregon Ducks Player of the Game: Running Back Travis Dye

Oregon Ducks running back Travis Dye was one of few bright spots for Oregon on Friday, earning over 200 all-purpose yards.

The performance by the Oregon Ducks on Friday night against Cal was, simply put, inexcusably bad.

Cries for quarterback Anthony Brown to be replaced echoed at near deafening levels at Autzen Stadium, although he redeemed himself with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns – one on the ground and one to Jaylon Redd in the air – to lead Oregon to come from behind victory.

If there was a bright spot to be found, it was junior running back Travis Dye. Dye carried the ball 18 times for 150 yards and a touchdown, also hauling in 69 yards in the air and earning our player of the game award for the second game in a row.

While there weren’t a lot of other strong performers to choose from, both this week and against Stanford two weeks ago, there is no doubt Dye has stepped up in a huge way without CJ Verdell in the mix.

Dye’s 249 total yards ranks high among top single game performances this year in the conference, and his continued excellent on the ground and as a receiver have helped cover for Brown and the rest of Oregon’s stagnant offense over the past two weeks.

[listicle id=10030]