ESPN College Football

On the low end of the bell curve, California's wide receivers will probably be productive. But youth, packaged with a new offensive system, might mean they'll need another year to get up to speed.

On the high end of the bell curve, California might have one of the most explosive wide receiving corps in the Pac-12.

It's that wide open when you measure the depth and potential of the youngsters.

Chances are, they'll probably fall somewhere in the middle. But there is no disputing that new coach Sonny Dykes has some very good talent at the position that can't wait to break out in the new "Bear Raid" system.

"It's an interesting group," Dykes said. "We've got a lot of different kinds of guys. We've got longer guys with great ball skills. We've got big guys. Fast guys. A lot of range."

In the pro-style attack of former head coach Jeff Tedford, Keenan Allen was the guy -- totaling 205 catches, 2,570 yards and 17 touchdowns in a three-year career. It didn't hurt that his brother was the quarterback. But relations aside, Allen was the kind of talent that it didn't matter who was throwing the football, he was going to be the primary receiver.

In the new system, there is room to spread the wealth. Sophomore Bryce Treggs (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) is fast, shifty and good in space. Redshirt freshman Kenny Lawler might be the most complete of the bunch at 6-3, 185, with the ability to stretch the field.

"We didn't know at first what we were getting with him," Dykes said. "But he came in and had as productive a spring as anybody. He was really good at going to get the football and he has some outstanding ball skills. He still needs to learn to play the position. But he's been a pleasant surprise."

Sophomore Chris Harper (6-0, 165) was second only to Allen last year, catching 41 balls for 544 yards and two touchdowns. Injury, however, limited him this spring.

"We didn't get a great chance to evaluate him," Dykes said. "But we're starting to get a sense now for how he moves and we're pleased. Athletic, quick guy.

Then there is sophomore Darius Powe (6-3, 212), sophomore Maurice Harris (6-3, 205), sophomore Maximo Espitia (6-2, 215), former tight end, sophomore Richard Rodgers and about five or six other players who could be impact guys.

It's a unit loaded with youth -- which also means it will grow up together and might eventually emerge as one of the top receiving corps in the league.

But first things first.

"We still need a quarterback," Dykes said.

Oh yeah, details.

"From a talent standpoint, the ingredients are all there," Dykes said. "Maurice Harris has a chance to do some good things. Richard Rodgers has lost about 25 pounds. If he's good at inline blocking, we'll stick him out there and let him block. But that's not really his strength. His strength is being able to run routes and cover people up with his body."

There is room for cautious optimism that personnel is a silky fit for what Dykes wants to bring to the Bears.

"I think we have the makings of having a pretty good offense," he said. "There are question marks at spots. We have to stay healthy at running back. We probably need to get some depth from a true freshman, which is never a good thing. But there are reasons to be optimistic."

Every game counts. But some games count more. Or tell us more.

We're going through the Pac-12 and picking out one game that seems most important -- or potentially most revealing -- for each team from our vantage point today.

And then we'll let you vote from a list of potential options.

We're going in reverse alphabetical order.

California

Most important game: Nov. 9 vs. USC

Why it's important: This was the most difficult call -- at least for me -- so far.

You could make a case for the season opener against Northwestern. A win over a likely nationally ranked Wildcats team would give new coach Sonny Dykes some early momentum. Also, a victory would contrast well with the horrid opener a year ago, a loss to Nevada, that ruined the opening of newly remodeled Memorial Stadium.

That was my initial thought.

But then there are two big road games against the top two teams in the North Division: At Oregon on Sept. 28, which also opens the Pac-12 schedule, and, of course, the Big Game on Nov. 23 at Stanford, which concludes the regular season.

Either would be huge wins. The reason I'm not tapping them is because I think the Bears' chances are remote in each. Oregon and Stanford are top-5 teams, and both are road games.

I don't think the "Most Important Game" is necessarily about beating the best team on the schedule. Or even a rivalry game. Or the opener for a new coach.

Here's why I think Cal fans should circle the USC game in red.

• The Bears haven't beaten the Trojans since their memorable triple-overtime win in Strawberry Canyon in 2003, which was a landmark win that heralded the Bears' climb to respectability and beyond under Jeff Tedford. It would be valid then to freight a Dykes victory with optimistic symbolism.
• It's the final home game of the 2013 season, which means the home fans would carry a sweet memory of cheering (and jeering) into the offseason.
• If you believe it's not how you start but how you finish, this would be a good lead-in for a strong finish.
• My impression, developed over a few years of covering the conference, is Cal fans really don't like USC, and that dislike is almost equal to their dislike of Stanford.

I also think it's a much more winnable game for the Bears than road dates at Oregon or Stanford. And, as an added bonus, a win might spell doom for Trojans coach Lane Kiffin, which could inspire hours of message board gloating. Not that Cal fans would ever, ever do that.

In terms of football stuff, beating USC would not only make up for years of frustration in the series, it would offset the horrid performance at USC last year, when Cal was outgained 488 yards to 250 in a 27-9 defeat.

Further, set the whole thing up based on the schedule, which is among the nation's toughest next fall. If the Bears' goal is to get back to a bowl game, where do you flag the necessary six wins? Hard to find.

But let's just say the Bears have four wins when USC comes to town. Beat the Trojans, and a trip to Colorado is all that stands in the way of bowl eligibility. Then the Stanford game becomes pure gravy, with a puncher's chance in a rivalry game when the Cardinal might be playing for huge stakes.

Stakes that Bears could smash to bits. Heck, Stanford might be caught napping, looking ahead to a date with Notre Dame.

But a Cal team that comes to the Big Game with a victory over USC under its belt would have a much better chance at a huge upset than one that's limping into the final weekend.

So Stanford will always be the Big Game for Cal. But USC is the Most Important Game in 2013.

With recruiting behind us and most schools in the swing of spring drills (the last of the bunch kick off next week), the Pac-12 blog thought it would be fun to examine each team's chances of winning its respective division.

This is not whether the team of the day can win the Pac-12. And we're not predicting any winners. Rather, this is our take on the team's chances of winning the North or South.

Buy or sell California winning the North?

Ted Miller

Sell: We don't want to squelch California fans' optimism. This team has some intriguing talent on both sides of the ball. But there's a lot weighing against it challenging for the top spot in the North Division, starting with … the North Division. It's brutal.

The Bears seem like a long shot to break the top four, with Stanford and Oregon at the top and Washington and Oregon State looking like top-25 teams. In fact, the basement dweller might still be thinking bowl game into the final weeks of the season. Washington State looks like the main rival this year for the Bears.

Just consider: You've got a team coming off a 3-9 season with a new coaching staff, significantly new systems on both sides of the ball, a new starting quarterback and a brutal schedule.

There are eight teams with legitimate top-25 potential on the slate, and three are among everyone's national title contenders: Ohio State, Oregon and Stanford. The South Division misses -- Arizona State and Utah -- are a decided mixed bag.

An enthusiasm bump for coach Sonny Dykes can only do so much. There's a reason coach Jeff Tedford was fired after 11 seasons: The program had plateaued and started a downward trend. Hard to correct that in a single year.

It's reasonable to put a long-term buy rating for the Bears under Dykes, particularly with sparkling new facilities bolstering recruiting. But for the short-term investor, we suggest a buyer beware.

Kevin Gemmell

Sell: I'm selling, too. However, it's not because California is installing new systems on both sides of the ball. We saw last year what kind of a jump start new coaches running new systems can bring to a program. Three of the four new coaches in 2012 with their newly-installed systems -- Rich Rodriguez, Todd Graham, Jim Mora -- had immediate success and went to bowl games. Heck, the Bruins won the South with complete offensive and defensive overhauls. So there is precedent.

Plus, we've seen that having a first-time starter at quarterback doesn't necessarily mean a one-year death sentence for a program anymore. From Brett Hundley and Marcus Mariota to Kevin Hogan and Taylor Kelly, we saw what first-time starters are capable of.

I don't see either of these as Cal's major obstacles.

The reason I'm selling the Bears is because I don't think they can win the division with the current level of competition within the North. Ted used the word brutal. That's generous. Barbarous might be a more apt description. And I just don't see a scenario this year where they beat three of those top four teams Ted mentioned.

I will say this, however. The Bears are going to spoil someone's season. I don't know if it will be Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State or Washington, but I wouldn't rule out Cal knocking off one of those teams along the way. Because the talent is there on both sides of the ball to catch one of those teams off guard. And I wouldn't count them out of a bowl berth, either. But I don't see the Bears knocking off enough of those top-end teams to earn a spot in the conference title game.

California cornerback Stefan McClure talks about coming back from a knee injury, the firing of Jeff Tedford, new coach Sonny Dykes and the Bears' new defense.

BERKELEY, Calif. -- While California has hired two coaches over the past 12 years, it didn't hire them to do the same job.

Jeff Tedford took possession of a dilapidated and unlivable house on college football's skid row in 2001. Sonny Dykes this winter moved into a nice home in a posh neighborhood that needs some minor interior renovations.

Sure, Cal went a dreary 3-9 last season, its second losing season in three years, which got Tedford fired. But he took over a program that went 1-10 in 2001, played in a crumbling stadium that averaged 30,000 in attendance and featured some of the worst facilities in major college football.

Dykes has inherited a team that went 82-57 under Tedford and plays in front of 55,876 fans even during a 3-9 season. And the facilities? Sparkling. Brand freaking new. Among the best in the Pac-12 and the nation.

Tedford made the Bears respectable and then made a push for the top of the Pac-10. That initiated the process -- glacial in pace -- of facility upgrades. But he couldn't reach the top of the conference. The program plateaued and then reversed course. In 2004, it seemed certain Tedford would get the Bears to their first Rose Bowl since 1959. In 2012, the Rose Bowl seemed infinitely far away, and it didn't help that stricken Old Blues had to watch crosstown rival Stanford win the darn thing.

Enter Dykes.

"Jeff had a rebuilding job. His job was different," Dykes said. "He made this place credible. He made people take notice and say, 'Cal is a good job. You can do things at Cal.' If it hadn't been for his success, we wouldn't be sitting in this facility right now. He did a great job with the program. They kind of fell off the last couple of years, but he's what made this place a good place."

Dykes is expected to make it a great place.

That won't be easy. Stanford and Oregon are in the way, for one. Washington and Oregon State, potential top-25 teams in 2013, also are looking to take the proverbial "next step." And that's just the North Division.

Further, there are some things that need to be cleaned up, not the least of which is team academics.

Cal is the nation's most celebrated public university. It's difficult to walk around campus without running into someone wearing a Nobel Prize medal. Yet the football program not only ranked last in the Pac-12 in graduation rate last season at 48 percent -- 5 percent behind No. 11 Arizona -- it ranked second worst among automatic qualifying conference teams, 1 percent ahead of Oklahoma, where folks believe the Nobel Prize is something a person gets for visiting the "Rock Rose Capital of the World."

On the football side of things, the Bears seemed mired in a general malaise over the past few seasons. Quarterback play, upon which Tedford built his strong reputation, was mediocre to bad post-Aaron Rodgers. Further, when Cal lost, it didn't mess around. Over Tedford's final four years, the Bears lost 16 games by at least 17 points. That happened while the Bears nonetheless remained a major pipeline to the NFL.

Top-to-bottom talent didn't seem like the problem. It seemed like the Bears had become a bit of a head case. Chief among Dykes' first-year tasks is creating a mentally tougher team.

"This is not a traditional rebuilding job," Dykes said. "But some things do need to be rebuilt. I think the psyche needs to be rebuilt. Maybe expectations need to be rebuilt. We need to do a good job of balancing athletic and academic success."

As for X's and O's and quarterback woes, Dykes and his spread-guru offensive coordinator Tony Franklin averaged 51.5 points per game last season at Louisiana Tech, with quarterback Colby Cameron ranking 22nd in the nation in passing efficiency while throwing 31 TD passes with just five interceptions.

Too pass-happy? The Bulldogs averaged 227 yards rushing, which ranked 17th in the nation. Dykes, who also coached Nick Foles as Arizona's offensive coordinator before going to Louisiana Tech in 2010, has the offensive bona fides, without question.

In terms of putting it all together at an elite academic institution -- Cal fans might want to cover their ears -- Dykes sees a pretty good model playing ball a bit to the south.

"The thing Stanford has done is they've done it the right way," he said. "Their kids are graduating. They've proven you can have high academic standards and still have success on the field."

Dykes says his charge is "not about building a team; it's about building a program." That means creating a culture aimed at long-term and high-level success.

Yes, more than a few Old Blues have related to Dykes their singular wish to experience a Rose Bowl before they die. Tedford used to joke that many Cal fans wanted the Rose Bowl more than a national title.

Tedford took over a team that hadn't posted a winning season in eight years. He made winning seasons the standard. Now Dykes is charged with pushing the Bears back into the national rankings and into the Pac-12 title picture, while maintaining high academic standards.

And if he produces a Rose Bowl victory, they'll probably build a statue of him outside remodeled Memorial Stadium.

California Bears linebacker Nick Forbes talks with Ted Miller about former coach Jeff Tedford, the new 4-3 defense and the QB competition.

California quarterback Allan Bridgford has decided to make his departure from Cal official. After taking a hiatus from the team last week to decide his future, the school announced Monday that Bridgford would leave the team.

“I was recruited by former coach Jeff Tedford to play quarterback in a pro-style offense that was tailored to my strengths, which are my abilities to make all the throws, my decision making and my leadership," Bridgford said in a statement released from the school." As the team’s most experienced quarterback, I expected to take the majority of reps this spring. But after having limited reps in the first four spring practices, I met with both offensive coordinator Tony Franklin and head coach Sonny Dykes. It was made clear to me that they had decided to go in a different direction. Therefore, it is time to move on and find a school where I can play right away and hopefully for two seasons if I’m granted a sixth year of eligibility."

Of the quarterbacks who started spring ball, Bridgford was the only one with game experience. Last year he backed up Zach Maynard and appeared in four games, completing 31 of 68 passes for 277 yards with one touchdown and three picks.

But it seems pretty clear he's not the best fit for Dykes' system, which led the nation in total and scoring offense last season when Dykes was the head coach at Louisiana Tech.

“We wish Allan all the best both on the football field and in the classroom,” Dykes said in a statement. “He is a quality quarterback that should have success in an offense suited for his skill set. His contributions to Cal football over the past four years are appreciated, and we are pleased that he has decided to graduate from Cal this summer."

From spring reports, it looks like Jared Goff, Zach Kline and Austin Hinder are getting the bulk of the work. Kyle Boehm worked just one series in a weekend scrimmage with three attempts while Goff had 23 attempts, Kline had eight and Hinder had 10.

Five guys are hurling balls inside Memorial Stadium, each getting plenty of chances to impress new California coach Sonny Dykes. But the Bears don full pads on Friday, which means a winnowing process at quarterback will begin in earnest.

Dykes said he wants to narrow the competition as quickly as possible, eliminating two or three guys by the end of spring. Perhaps even one will emerge and be anointed. That would make things easy.

"The thing you want to do is give everybody an opportunity," Dykes said. "You want to make sure everybody has enough of a chance to show what they can and can't do. After that, you've got to start being more careful with who you're giving more reps to."

The initial impressions from Allan Bridgford, Zach Kline, Austin Hinder, Kyle Boehm and Jared Goff? Dykes' up-tempo, spread offense is easier to learn than the pro style offense Cal ran under Jeff Tedford. Bridgford termed it "very simple."

And the pace in practice is much quicker.

"Last year, I felt like I was standing around for 30 minutes before I'd be up again," Bridgford said. "I'd have to get warmed up. Now we're bang, bang, bang with each getting their reps. It's good."

Bridgford is the senior with game experience, though not all of it good. Kline is the touted redshirt freshmen many fans were clamoring for last year. Goff is the touted true freshman who has arrived early to enter the fray. Hinder, a junior, and Boehm, a sophomore, are two former touted recruits looking for new life under Dykes after failing to make a mark under Tedford.

There's been plenty of "touted" with Cal quarterbacks over the past few years, but little in the way of game day excellence and consistency. A big reason Dykes is sitting in the big office in Berkeley is because he's viewed as an offensive innovator who's good with quarterbacks. You know, like Tedford was once viewed.

Goff is the wildcard. USC started Matt Barkley as a true freshman, and the success of redshirt freshmen quarterbacks last year -- Texas A&M's Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and Oregon's Marcus Mariota, to name two -- probably makes it less nerve-racking for a coach to go young behind center.

Still, there's a huge difference between "true" and "redshirt" for a freshman.

"Goff's got talent," Dykes said. "There were times he looked like a kid who ought to be going to the prom. And other times when he looked like a Division I quarterback."

There are more than a few observers who believe Kline has the inside track. With practices now open -- they were locked down under Tedford -- those observers can arrive at more educated opinions. At this early juncture, it's probably too early to provide much of a stagger, and the quarterbacks themselves are offering no inside information.

Said Kline, "All these guys are studs. I have no idea. I'm just trying to compete."

Kline, who has rethought the "I play guitar for Guns & Roses look," called the offensive transition "smooth." That's not surprising, of course. He's not likely to say, "This new offense is horrible." But he was willing to gently contrast his newfound enthusiasm to what preceded it.

"It wasn't that we weren't hard workers before," he said. "We were hard workers. It just wasn't clicking, you know what I mean?"

The Pac-12 blog suspects many Cal fans know exactly what you mean, Zach.

As for the competition, Kline sees it this way: "It's going to be a huge battle. It's going to be an interesting spring."

We're looking at some of the top individual performances in the Pac-12 in 2012.

Up next: The Zach Attack (The player, not the band from "Saved by the Bell").

Who and against whom: In one of the few highlights of the year for Cal, quarterback Zach Maynard blew up against No. 25 UCLA -- showing accuracy and poise in leading the Bears to a 43-17 blowout/upset win.

The numbers: Maynard completed 25 of 30 throws (83 percent), he tossed four touchdowns and threw for 295 yards. He also ran for a touchdown, making it a five-score day.

A closer look: It had been a pretty crummy season so far for the Bears (and the crumminess would eventually continue after a modest two-game win streak in the middle of the season). Losers of four of its first five, Cal's only win had come against FCS Southern Utah. So with No. 25 UCLA coming to town -- the Bruins conversely had won four of their first five -- there weren't many predicting an upset ...

Except Ted Miller, who from time to time likes to remind me of this:

Ted Miller: There is every reason to believe UCLA will win this game, based on the play of both teams so far. Call this one a hunch. California 31, UCLA 28.

Golf clap, Mr. Miller.

Maynard was throwing darts, connecting twice for touchdowns with Keenan Allen and once to Brendan Bigelow and C.J. Anderson. The Bears took a 10-7 lead in the second quarter on Maynard's touchdown to Anderson and the Bears never looked back. The defense took advantage of a sloppy Bruins offense and forced four interceptions (three from Kameron Jackson, which could merit its own top performances post). Maynard's 1-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth was the icing. (Anderson's 68-yard touchdown run with 1:32 left was the cherry). While both teams ended up on different ends of the spectrum, the Bears and Maynard were able to put it all together and give soon-to-be-departed coach Jeff Tedford his final victory over a Top 25 team.

Happy Friday.

• Arizona stays in-house to hire a new safeties coach.
• Arizona State changes the date of its season-opener.
• Former California coach Jeff Tedford reflects in his first post-firing interview.
• Former Colorado coach Dan Hawkins is headed to Canada.
• A couple of former Oregon Ducks are getting together in the NFL.
• Oregon State will play its spring game at night.
• Checking in with Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason.
• Is UCLA ready to overtake USC?
• USC LB Dion Bailey will miss spring practices, which
• Former Utah DT Star Lotulelei leads the DT draft class.
• Reviewing a radio interview with Washington coach Steve Sarkisian.
• Washington State coach Mike Leach gives a speech.

Two big names have rejoined Pac-12 teams at coordinator. But which is the stronger hire? Clancy Pendergast as USC's defensive coordinator or Dennis Erickson as Utah's co-offensive coordinator? Your bloggers debate:

Ted Miller: Not to sound optimistic about USC or anything, but I believe the Trojans defense will be significantly improved next fall. And not to be positive about Lane Kiffin or anything, but I think Kiffin made a good hire with coordinator Clancy Pendergast.

Pendergast brings two things of note. First, his NFL background will appeal to USC's present and future players. Second, he knows the Pac-12 and its wide variety of offenses. There won't be a learning curve.

Sure, Cal's defense slumped this past season, surrendering 33 points and 441 yards per game. But everything around the Bears program slumped this season, which is why Jeff Tedford lost his job. The previous two years, however, Cal had an A-list defense.

In 2010, his first year in Berkeley, Pendergast's crew ranked third in scoring defense, first in total defense, third in pass-efficiency defense, second in yards per play and second in sacks. You might also recall the 15-13 loss to Oregon, the best defensive performance against the Ducks that season.

His second year, the Bears ranked fourth in scoring defense, first in total defense, second in pass-efficiency defense, second in yards per play and third in sacks.

Those numbers have to encourage USC fans. And, by the way, the further good news is Pendergast no longer will be coaching against USC, the team that seemed to give him the most trouble. The Trojans scored 48, 30 and 27 points against him the past three seasons.

It will be interesting to see how Pendergast's base 3-4 scheme is adapted by the Trojans personnel. Does Morgan Breslin (or Devon Kennard) simply take his hand off the ground and become an outside linebacker, or will the shuffling become more extreme? There are plenty of intriguing options.

Pendergast has a nice core coming back -- eight starters, including some talented youngsters. I expect him to develop a unit that ranks in the top third of the Pac-12 next fall.

Kevin Gemmell: Ted's right -- at least for the immediate future. Pendergast is certainly a stronger hire for 2013 than Dennis Erickson for Utah. Few would dispute that USC has more talent on defense than Utah has on offense, especially with the influx of high-end recruits. So for the immediate future we can probably assume USC's will look like the better hire early on.

But when you look at the potential long-term affects that Erickson could have on Utah, I'm leaning his way. For starters, his co-offensive coordinator, Brian Johnson, isn't going anywhere. He's not using Utah as a stepping-stone gig for a job elsewhere. He's a Utah guy through and through -- so he's going to be around until someone tells him to leave. So the more he can soak up from Erickson in these first few years, the better it's going to be for Johnson and Utah.

Second, Erickson isn't looking to go anywhere, either. If he wanted to be a head coach again, he need only cast a shallow net and someone would hire him. He's in a situation now where he doesn't need to control a locker room, he doesn't have to do the news conferences and he doesn't have to be the public face of the program. He can just grind on film and be a coach. Johnson should not feel threatened by this hire. And in the dozen or so times Johnson and I have talked, he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would take this personally.

So assuming there are no ulterior motives, Utah is getting a veteran head coach who has won national championships and been a three-time coach of the year within the conference. Not a bad addition.

He can essentially be the head coach of the offense while Kyle Whittingham focuses on what he knows best -- which is defense. With all of the issues the Utes had on offense last year -- the injuries, a first-year coordinator, the inability to fill holes on the offensive line -- Whittingham probably spent more time troubleshooting that side of the ball than he'd prefer. So this move benefits both sides of the ball.

Erickson's presence means a sounding board for Johnson. But more importantly, he's there to shoulder a lot of the burden. I'm guessing there isn't a blitz package, locker room problem or PR mistake that Erickson hasn't seen a few times throughout his career. I'm not expecting a huge leap forward from the offense in 2013 because the Utes still lack the top-to-bottom depth needed to hang out at the top of the stat sheet in this offensive-heavy conference. Johnson would have taken the brunt of the criticism all alone. And two straight years of that could dent his confidence. Now he's got someone to shoulder the load through what will likely be another bumpy offensive season.

But in two seasons? Three seasons? You could see Utah in the upper half of the league. And if the defense continues to mature and evolve under Whittingham (they were second in the league against the run last year) Utah could be a dangerous player in the South Division.

Consider Erickson's hire an investment for the future. And it's a safe bet you're going to see a return.

I think I was in love once.
Really? What was her name?
I don't remember.
That's not a good start.

• Time for Arizona to get busy recruiting in state.
• We'll know more about Todd Graham the recruiter with his 2014 class.
• Some more on Jeff Tedford's settlement (this ties in to the USC link).
• Some more on Colorado and Nebraska renewing their rivalry.
• Ducks in elite territory with four-straight BCS appearances.
• Is the new Oregon State logo flying around the Interweb legit?
• A Q&A with Stanford offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren.
• Datone Jones getting plenty of pre-combine buzz.
• An argument for Lane Kiffin to hire Tedford as offensive coordinator.
• Dennis Erickson's presence doesn't mean a complete overhaul.
• Looking at Washington's running back situation.
• Ken Wilson was tapped to be Washington State's linebackers coach.
• The Pac-12 blog has officially arrived! Our top 25 countdown has made the latest Jon Wilner College Hotline.
• It's been a year since this became official. Happy anniversary. Would it kill you to say "I love you" every once in a while?

The squatters in their rags nodded among themselves and were soon reckoning him correct, this man of learning, in all his speculations, and this the judge encouraged until they were right proselytes of the new order whereupon he laughed at them for fools.

• Some film of a late Arizona DB signee.
• Arizona State has lost an assistant coach to North Carolina.
• Is the Sonny Dykes hiring at California similar to the hiring of Jeff Tedford.
• Colorado battled some negative recruiting.
• Some awards for some Oregon folks, including a guy with a familiar name (and smirk!).
• Is this Oregon State's best recruiting class?
• An evaluation of former Stanford tight end Zach Ertz.
• A look at UCLA's defense.
• More on the firing of USC running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu.
• More on Dennis Erickson joining Utah's staff as co-offensive coordinator.
• Former Washington Huskies football player Johnie Kirton died of acute methadone intoxication.
• Remembering former Washington State coach Jim Sweeney.

I met a girl who sang the blues, and I asked her for some happy news, she just smiled and turned away;
I went down to the sacred store where I'd heard the music years before, but the man there said the music wouldn't play.

• Looking back at Arizona's 2008 recruiting class.
• ASU remembers Tyrice Thompson.
• Cal and former coach Jeff Tedford reached a settlement on his contract.
• Colorado's recruiting class will fill the gaps.
• Some more on Dontre Wilson flipping from Oregon to Ohio State.
• Is this Oregon State's quarterback of the future?
• A Stanford commit earned All-State honors.
• A UCLA mailbag with some recruiting answers.
• A Q&A with USC's Jawanza Starling.
• Utes set to sign a solid recruiting class.
• A closer look at the UW commits in the secondary.
• WSU starting to make recruiting inroads in Los Angeles.

California (3-9, 2-7)

Grade: F

MVP: Cornerback Steve Williams, who was voted defensive MVP by his teammates, shared the team lead with three interceptions and led the Bears with 13 pass defenses. He ranked third on the team with 80 tackles and added seven tackles for a loss and a forced fumble.

What went right: The renovated stadium looked great on Sept. 1 when the season opened. The Bears played a highly competitive game they probably should have won at Ohio State, which went undefeated. A two-game winning streak the first two weekends of October, including a blowout win over UCLA, briefly -- falsely -- suggested the potential for a midseason turnaround. It seemed as though there was a real effort to handle Jeff Tedford's firing with as much respect as possible, considering his substantial contribution to the program over 11 years.

What went wrong: The 31-24 loss on opening day to Nevada set the dismal trajectory for the season, one in which Tedford was fired after suffering though his worst season in Berkeley. The low point clearly was the spineless effort in the season finale at Oregon State, when the Bears, surely knowing that Tedford was likely to be fired, decided not to show up during a 62-14 drubbing in a dreary, continuous rain. The Bears were bad on both sides of the ball, but ultimately the lack of improvement from inconsistent quarterback Zach Maynard -- not unlike the other post-Aaron Rodgers QBs, from Joe Ayoob to Nate Longshore to Kevin Riley -- doomed Tedford, whose reputation was built on his success with quarterbacks.

Outlook for 2013: The Bears not only will be rebuilding next fall under new coach Sonny Dykes, they face a brutal schedule that could make things look worse than they are. The nonconference schedule includes visits from Northwestern, a sure Top-25 team, and Ohio State, a national title contender. Further, the Bears, per masochistic scheduling demands made by the school, insist on playing UCLA and USC every year. Let's hear it for the weekender! Who cares about the Rose Bowl?! Cal also takes road trips to Stanford and Oregon, which benefits significantly from Cal and Stanford demanding games with USC and UCLA every year. The Ducks and Cardinal will be ranked in the preseason top five, meaning Cal may play three top-five teams this season, as well as several others who likely will end up ranked. It might be the nation's toughest schedule. Aside from the schedule, Dykes needs to find a quarterback and will be switching the Bears from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense. There's some nice pieces coming back -- most notably some promising young receivers, as well as defensive end Deandre Coleman and running back Brendan Bigelow -- and 2012 set the bar low, but next fall is unlikely to produce enough wins for a bowl berth.