Cal is a very young team and even head coach Sonny Dykes admitted they will have growing pains named true freshman Jared Goff his starting quarterback. Cal has issues on defense. Middle linebacker and vocal leader Nick Forbes is doubtful, and defensive end Brennan Scarlett is questionable. It appears that strong safety Avery Sebastian, who had a scary moment during preseason camp when he was hauled off the field and then hospitalized, is going to play.

Cal is not only breaking in two new schemes on offense and defense, both of which are significantly different than what the Bears ran a year ago, it will also start 10 sophomores or freshmen. They should improve as the year goes on, but it will be ugly before it gets pretty.