California Golden Bears – Page 7

And then there were 2: Stanford and California to leave Pac-12 for ACC

Stanford and Cal are joining the Atlantic Coast Conference. Oregon State and Washington State are homeless. College football makes zero sense.

Fans of the Oregon State Beavers and Washington State Cougars might be a bit frustrated waking up on Friday morning.

They are now officially the last two members of the Pac-12 standing.

It was reported by multiple outlets on Friday morning that the ACC officially voted to extend invitations to the Stanford Cardinal, California Golden Bears, and SMU Mustangs for the start of the 2024 season. This means that over the past month, eight of the 10 remaining Pac-12 teams have decided to jump ship and search for greener grass.

What comes next for the Beavers and Cougars is unclear, but a move to the Mountain West seems to be the best option, unfortunately.

On Friday morning, college football fans across the nation reacted to the news as they woke up for the day. Here are some of the best reactions that we saw:

ACC reopens conference expansion discussions

The potential expansion of the ACC is still on the table accoridng to new reports.

It’s been just under three weeks since Oregon and Washington joined the Big Ten while Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah all decided to move to the Big 12 following the 2023-2024 academic and athletic calendar.

The departures left California, Stanford, Oregon State, and Washington State in the Pac-12 and in the difficult situation of finding their own new conferences in time for the 2024-2025 school year.

Quickly after the series of departures, California and Stanford engaged in discussions with the Atlantic Coast Conference about potentially joining the East Coast-based conference. In addition to Cal and Stanford, the ACC was also looking at potentially adding SMU, which is currently a member of the American Athletic Conference.

Ultimately, those discussions would come to a halt after Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, and NC State all objected to potential expansion.

However, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, discussions regarding expansion have started again.

On Wednesday, Thamel reported on X that “the potential additions of Cal, Stanford, and SMU to the ACC are again under serious consideration.” He also reports that a group of ACC presidents met on Wednesday to discuss the trio of schools and potential financial models that could come with their additions.

Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger followed up that report with one of his own, noting that the ACC would make $72 million in additional revenue from ESPN if the conference were to add all three universities.

Believed to be a long shot just days ago, expansion remains a legitimate possibility as new financial models have been socialized with league administrators. The models show a financial boon of roughly $72 million in annual additional revenue for the conference, sources tell Yahoo Sports.

Dellenger also reports that Stanford and Cal have proposed to the ACC that they would be willing to take “significantly reduced revenue distribution,” while SMU would be willing to take zero distribution revenue from the conference for up to seven years.

Over the next several days, the ACC’s presidents are expected to meet and discuss the potential revenue distribution formats. “We will be ironing that out over the next 72 hours,” an ACC league administrator told Dellenger. The results of those discussions will likely determine the fate of Cal, Stanford, and SMU.

There is no timeline for a potential decision from the ACC. For the conference to expand, at least one of the opposing votes from Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, or NC State will have to become in favor of expansion.

While Cal and Stanford may be on the verge of finding their next respective homes, the futures of Oregon State and Washington State remain in limbo. The AAC or the Mountain West Conference remain the likely destinations for the two Pacific Northwest universities.

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McKade Mettauer thinks the offensive line can be ‘much better’ than a season ago

Oklahoma’s McKade Mettauer hopes and the offensive line can take their game to another level in 2023.

The [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners[/autotag] offensive line in 2022 was a solid group. One of the mainstays on the line was transfer [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag].

Mettauer transferred in from the [autotag]California Golden Bears[/autotag] where he was a three-year starter.

His first year in Norman was solid. One thing he was, was consistent. That’s something [autotag]Bill Bedenbaugh[/autotag] loves in an offensive lineman.

Mettauer is someone the coaches feel can take his game to another level. Brent Venables has mentioned in the past he looks different this year and more sure of himself on the practice field.

Mettauer told reporters, he feels this year’s offensive line has the ability to be “much better” than a season ago.

“We have to prove ourselves every day and make sure we’re in good enough shape and taking our reps seriously every day so we can have a standout o-line as we should,” Mettauer said. “I think what is different than last year, is our skill level is a lot different. I mean we had Anton (Harrison), Wanya (Morris) and Chris (Murray) who are really good guys but we have the same if not better skill set it’s just in different areas for each person.”

With the talented running backs, if this offensive line can be better than a season ago, this running attack could be the best in the nation. That would also help them close some games they were unable to last season.

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Cal and Stanford remain expansion free agents as ACC stalls on potential expansion talks

The ACC has reportedly hit some snags on adding Cal and Stanford. Will the Big Ten swoop in and grab them?

If the Big Ten has an eye on one more possible expansion to the west coast, then the news out of the ACC could be worth noting. According to multiple reports, the ACC’s discussions on exploring the potential additions of Cal and Stanford have hit a bit of a rough patch as the conference fails to collectively agree on the value of adding two of the four remaining schools from the Pac-12.

While Cal and Stanford would be great academic additions to the ACC, and the Olympic sports power that would be added with the two schools is unquestioned, the financial boost that would be generated is not nearly attractive enough to enough schools currently in the ACC to move the process any further.

According to a report from ESPN, one school that has been pushing hard for the additions of Cal and Stanford has been Notre Dame. While the Irish are a football independent and showing no signs of being ready to abandon that, Notre Dame is a member of the ACC in all other sports (except for ice hockey, where they are a Big Ten member). The same report suggests Notre Dame’s vote has been scrutinized because of its football independence.

“But multiple athletic directors have questioned why anyone in the league would listen to Notre Dame because the Irish remain so steadfast in remaining independent,” ESPN reports.

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Reading deeper into the ESPN report seems to suggest the ACC is exploring this potential expansion move almost for the sake of expansion to keep up in the numbers race. And that is probably not the most convincing reason to expand.

The ACC also has a deadline approaching for schools to inform the conference of any intent to leave the conference. That deadline is Tuesday, Aug. 15. Florida State has been the most vocal about their uncertainty of the long-term sustainability as a member of the ACC. So if the Big Ten is looking to get to 20 members, the next few days could be wildly entertaining.

If Cal and Stanford are not going to be invited to join the ACC, then the Big Ten could still be the most logical landing spot for the two schools. The Big Ten is already adding USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington in 2024. The additions of Cal and Stanford would not move the needle much more on the football side of things, but there does not seem to be a better landing spot for the two Pac-12 schools than the Big Ten.

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Reports say ACC, not the Big Ten, reviewing possible additions of Cal and Stanford

Reports say the ACC, not the Big Ten, could be thinking about adding Cal and Stanford.

If the most logical place for Pac-12 leftovers Cal and Stanford was supposed to be the Big Ten, then the ACC may be trying to proactively fly in to scoop up the Bears and Cardinal before the Big Ten has a chance. The Associated Press has reported the ACC is reviewing the possibility of adding Cal and Stanford to the conference.

Cal and Stanford are the two most attractive expansion candidates from the four remaining Pac-12 members. Academically, the two schools would be good fits for the Big Ten and ACC. Geographically, the Big Ten would now make more sense compared to the ACC if only because the Big Ten is about to have four west coast members in 2024, alleviating a good amount of travel expense concerns for a school like Stanford in particular.

The Big Ten will be adding USC, UCLA, Orgeon, and Washington in 2024. At the same time, the Big 12 will welcome Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah to the conference.

According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, the next 24 hours could be very interesting for the possible expansion of the ACC to include Cal and Stanford.

Sources: In the next 24 hours, there’s two calls for the ACC to vet and have early exploratory discussions on the potential addition of Cal and Stanford. One is for ACC athletic directors and the other for the league's presidents and chancellors.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 7, 2023

The Big Ten may not be done with expansion just yet, but Cal and Stanford figured to at least be on the radar for any future move by the conference. But if the last two California schools from the Pac-12’s remains do end up aligning with the ACC, that would seem to bring any possible Big Ten expansion to a halt, for now.

There is still an eye on the developments with Florida State, which has made it clear it would not blink twice leaving the ACC if it was deemed beneficial and necessary. And if Florida state left, and the Big Ten was the landing spot, the Big Ten would likely add at least one more member to get to an even 20 members. North Carolina and Virginia have been thought of as potential targets before. And, of course, there is always Notre Dame sitting out there.

Whatever the fate is for Cal and Stanford, there is still a question of what happens to Oregon State and Washignton State, the other two leftovers in the Pac-12 following the devastating expansion blows dealt by the Big Ten and Big 12 last week.

According to the same AP report, the American Athletic Conference has expressed an interest in adding all four schools to its membership. The AAC is not the only Group of Five conference investigating the Pac-12 schools still without a home. The Mountain West Conference is reportedly reviewing the possibility of adding Cal, Stanford, Oregon State, and Washignton State.

So will Penn State be getting any more new conference foes to look forward to? We’ll wait to see how this all shakes out, because nothing is ever a done deal when it comes to conference realignment.

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Cal hopes to be travel buddy/wingman for Stanford, as UCLA was for USC

UCLA will be in the #B1G only because it is attached to USC. Can Cal get into the Big Ten purely due to being Stanford’s partner?

With the Pac-12 being reduced to the Pac-4 and very possibly arriving at the end of its existence, the University of California at Berkeley faces some big decisions.

It also faces the reality that it has little control over whether it is invited to the Big Ten.

As you might be aware, Cal-Berkeley is drowning in debt. UCLA will be subsidizing Cal with the television money the Bruins get from their Big Ten deal. The UC Board of Regents, which — at least theoretically, could have blocked UCLA’s move to the Big Ten — will make sure that happens as a condition of UCLA’s Big Ten membership. Getting some of UCLA’s money is good, but that can only go so far. Cal athletics is in dire shape. Football and men’s basketball have been abysmally bad in recent years and have drawn few fans. The athletic department is in disarray. Leadership has been lacking.

The condition of Cal athletics is so poor that Cal — if it gets an invite to the Big Ten — will be invited only because of three aspects: the Bay Area media market, Cal’s academic profile and Stanford.

If UCLA is in the Big Ten primarily because it’s a travel partner for USC, Cal would make the Big Ten primarily because it would be a travel partner and geographical addition to complement Stanford.

Let’s consider the reaction to the death of the Pac-12 and how Friday’s events — creating a Pac-4 — reshape reality for the Golden Bears:

Big 18 coming? Big Ten reportedly exploring more expansion involving Pac-12 members

Could the Big Ten soon have 20 members? The discussions about the next potential moves are reportedly underway.

With the Pac-12 seemingly on the brink of a catastrophic implosion, the Big Ten could once again be ready to pounce on the right opportunity. Already with USC and UCLA ready to join the Big Ten in 2024, the Big Ten has reportedly started the exploration of potential expansion moves involving up to four additional Pac-12 schools.

According to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports, a group of Big Ten presidents have started the exploratory discussions on expansion with a focus on the possibility of adding Oregon and Washington as a primary move, and Cal and Stanford as a secondary move on top of that. Wetzel does note these discussions are in the early stages and no moves are considered imminent, although things can move rather quickly when it comes to realignment changes, and a lot can happen behind closed doors when nobody is looking.

The Big Ten may be wise to hold off for the moment until seeing where the dust is about to settle with the current Pac-12 membership. Colorado recently announced it will be heading back to the Big 12 in 2024, the same year USC and UCLA join the Big Ten. That will leave the Pac-12 with just nine members. The focus now appears to be on Arizona and Arizona State’s future with Big 12 rumors as hot as they have been. A loss of Arizona or both Arizona schools would be a potential death blow to the Pac-12 once and for all, leaving schools like Oregon, Washington, Cal, and Stanford up for grabs.

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The Pac-12 is also still attempting to secure a media rights package that will keep its remaining members, and potential future members, satisfied with the conference’s long-term vision and security. But it may be difficult selling everyone on the benefits of a package relying so heavily on Apple TV+ streaming subscriptions resulting in $20 million per school at a time when the Big Ten and SEC schools are each pulling in $50 million per year on their respective media rights packages.

If you are Oregon or Washignton and you have to decide between a questionable $20 million media rights deal or a rock solid package like the Big Ten’s, it should be an easy decision.

The move to add USC and UCLA always felt a bit incomplete from the Big Ten’s perspective, so word of potential expansion with more Pac-12 members has never had reason to go away. Adding to the California footprint with Cal and Stanford would certainly be great fits for academics, but there would potentially be more to gain with the additions of Oregon and Washington, which is why those two schools appear to be the higher priority for any possible Big Ten expansion to come.

There are some concerns about the future of a Big Ten with up to 20 teams, of course, and those will certainly be part of the discussions. But there are also ways to go about expansion that makes sense for everybody, especially if the paydays continue to be as rich as they have been.

As is always the case with conference realignment headlines, stay tuned. Things could happen quickly or drag on into the fall and winter months.

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Assessing each remaining school’s Pac-12 panic meter

With Colorado officially shuffling back off to the Big 12, the Pac-12 appears in jeopardy. What is every remaining school’s panic meter?

After proclaiming to the world at Pac-12 media days that the Big 12 wasn’t a threat, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff and his conference might officially be in a world of hurt.

Less than a week later, the Colorado Buffaloes formalized a move to the Big 12 beginning in 2024. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Colorado is the first Power Five team that has left and then subsequently returned to a conference of its own volition.

This latest defection from the Pac-12 could signal the beginning of the end for the conference. Right now, the league feels like a serious house of cards.

Maybe all of this was inevitable after the Big 12 beat the Pac-12 to the punch in media rights negotiations. Following Oklahoma and Texas‘ announced moves to the SEC, the Big 12 did something it had failed to do much of over the previous decade: It grew proactive in a hurry.

Under the direction of then-Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, the league’s presidents and chancellors voted to accept BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF as new members into the conference. Current Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark finalized a six-year, $2.28 billion media rights agreement with ESPN and Fox Sports.

Now, Kliavkoff’s inability to present a potential media rights agreement that the Pac-12 membership finds satisfactory might lead to the dissolution of the conference.

While talks of more conference realignment rev up among both Big 12 and Big Ten circles, where does all of this leave the remaining nine members in the Pac-12?

What’s every school’s panic meter? Is there any legitimate fear of winding up in a Group of Five situation where per-year media rights payouts take a major dip?

Using the following scale, let’s break down where each Pac-12 program fits into the panic equation as the next puzzle pieces unfold out west:

3: Add members now! Keep this band together or else.
2: It’s time to explore the jump while there’s still slots.
1: Chances are, we’ll land on our feet.
0: No need to panic. There’s always a spot for us.

Athlon Sports picks best expansion fits for Big Ten for Pac-12 members

Athlon Sports says these schools would be in the best possible situation in the Big Ten if the Pac-12 crumbles.

Penn State will have two new schools to call Big Ten opponents beginning in 2024 when USC and UCLA officially join the conference.

The additions of the Trojans and Bruins will bring the Big Ten’s membership to 16, but there could be more moves to come as the Pac-12 braces for the loss of Colorado. Colorado’s decision to return to the Big 12 in 2024 has put the West Coast conference in a troubling spot, and the Big Ten could see additional expansion candidates to consider as a result.

Oregon and Washington are two potential expansion candidates that could be viable options for the Big Ten, but Athlon Sports believes there are a handful of Pac-12 members that could see the Big Ten as their best fit moving forward should stability in the Pac-12 not be feasible.

“It’s no secret Oregon and Washington want to get into the Big Ten,” Steven Lassan writes for Athlon Sports. “Adding the Ducks and Huskies would give the Big Ten two more West Coast powers and strong brands to team with USC and UCLA.”

This has been the common theme when it comes to discussing Oregon and Washington as potential Big Ten expansion targets. Odds are probably good that the two would come as a package as opposed to one or the other. But there could be other expansion candidates worth investigating that would be good fits.

What about Stanford and Cal? Or could the Big 12 be on the horizon for California’s other two Pac-12 members?

“Adding a strong academic school would certainly appeal to the Big Ten presidents,” Athlon Sports says. “If Stanford doesn’t get a Big Ten invite, it would need to hope for an invite to an 18-team Big 12 with California.”

You can see what conferences would be the best fits for the Pac-12’s other members via Athlon Sports.

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Pac-12 Preview: Is Justin Wilcox coaching for his job in 2023 at California?

Can the Golden Bears get to a bowl game for the first time since 2019? If they don’t, will Justin Wilcox be around in 2024?

As June starts to roll into July, and July eventually leads us to the start of fall camps at the beginning of August, the 2023 college football season will be here before we know it. What a season it projects to be in the Pac-12 Conference, as well. With a handful of College Football Playoff contenders, and a group of Heisman Trophy candidates leading their prospective teams, we could be set up for one of the best football seasons out west that we’ve seen in decades. To help get us prepared, we at Ducks Wire wanted to go through each team in the conference and give a comprehensive breakdown of each school, breaking down their 2023 outlook. Welcome to our Pac-12 Previews. New editions will be published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday leading up to the start of fall camp.

Check out our previously published previews: Arizona Wildcats — Arizona State Sun Devils — California Golden Bears

Time might be running out for Justin Wilcox in Berkeley.

After posting a losing record in his six years coaching the Golden Bears, it may be put up or shut up time for the former Oregon Ducks defensive back who reportedly turned down an opportunity to coach at his alma mater a couple of years ago. The talent on the field is not good enough to compete with the top teams in the Pac-12, and the recruiting is nowhere near good enough to build a winning roster down the road.

While there are games on California’s schedule this year that are certainly winnable, it feels like anything short of a bowl-eligible season — something Cal hasn’t had since 2019 — could result in a change at the top next offseason.

There are transfers who could end up being really solid pieces for the Golden Bears this year, but whether or not a few talented players can make a big enough difference to get Cal above six wins is yet to be determined.

Here is our full preview for the Golden Bears ahead of the 2023 season.