It's Always Sonny in Berkeley - California Golden Bears (NCAA 14)
Introduction
After a long time away from this game, I am coming back and giving it another shot, and finally am looking to get a long-running dynasty running with this one. I'm not huge on rising up the coaching ladder in this game as I don't feel like it's as exciting as CH 2K8 in that regard. I think the bowl system combined with the lack of diversity of teams makes it less desirable to me...it is fun in CH 2K8 to rise up from the lower ranks to the top, and maybe this would be more fun in NCAA Football games to me if you were able to start out in the Football Championship Subdivision (Formerly 1-AA).
I didn't want to play as a powerhouse team, and I wanted a team that would likely present some level of a challenge. I don't think I've really done a long-running NCAA dynasty with a Pac-12 team before, so I was wanting to start a dynasty with a Pac-12 team, and Cal is a good choice as 2013 was Sonny Dykes' first year with the team, so it gives me a good reason to start anew.
In real life, Cal went a woeful 1-11 in 2013 and didn't win a game against FBS competition. In the game, the Golden Bears are rated 84 OVR, so it doesn't seem likely we will struggle to that degree, but it is unlikely we'll be competing for the conference title anytime soon, either.
After a lot of testing, I've opted to go for Matt10's NCAA Community Sliders. I've had a bit of slideritis these last couple weeks, so I am just going to try to stick to this and move forward at this point or I will never get a dynasty started.
With no NCAA Football game on the horizon, ideally I'd like for this to be a long-running dynasty in the some vein as my CH 2K8 dynasty, which I've been chronicling for nearly nine years in real-life time (since March 2008), but time will tell if this will have the same staying power! In some ways, I am/was almost glad the College Hoops franchise was cancelled as it allowed me to get deeper into the legacy mode than I'd ever been able to in the past. Maybe I will be able to do the same with EA's NCAA Football.
I don't plan on utilizing any mods to add the four-team playoff or anything, at least at this point. It's tempting, but I'm not sure I want to risk messing anything else up, and the bowl games are so out of whack in real life compared to the game that I might as well just stick with the way things were and keep it frozen in time.
Berkeley, CA - In six days Sonny Dykes will coach his first game at Cal as the Golden Bears will kick off a new era. Cal will look to recover from last season's 3-9 mark which ultimately led to head coach Jeff Tedford's dismissal last November.
Incoming head coach Sonny Dykes brings an air raid offense to Cal that has fans in Berkeley excited. His Louisiana Tech teams almost exclusively operated out of the shotgun and his teams' featured a high-octane passing attack that resulted in a lot of points being scored.
True freshman Jared Goff will get handed the keys to Dykes' offense for the season-opener, but Zach Kline, Austin Hinder, and Kyle Boehm are pressuring him from behind, and if he struggles, a quarterback change could come in short order as all four quarterbacks played at a similar level in fall camp. Goff will get the nod due to having a perceived higher upside.
Goff will have a dynamic due of receivers to throw to in Bryce Treggs and Chris Harper. Brendan Bigelow is also an effective weapon in the receiving game out of the backfield, and can make some plays in the running game, as well.
The defense is headlined by senior defensive tackle Deandre Coleman. Coleman is a force inside the trenches and should be able to stuff a lot of inside runs with his size and ability. Cal also has an excellent trio of linebackers in Jalen Jefferson, Nick Forbes, and Khairi Fortt.
Cal opens up the season at home against #22 Northwestern on Saturday. Both teams look evenly-matched, but Cal is a slight favorite with the game being in Berkeley. Next, the Golden Bears get a tuneup game against Portland State before hosting #2 Ohio State on September 14th in their final non-conference tilt. The road doesn't get any easier from there as Cal opens up conference action after a bye week against #3 Oregon in Eugene and plays two top 25 teams in their next three subsequent games. Cal closes out the regular season at #4 Stanford. In all, the Golden Bears will face seven opponents ranked in the preseason top 25 poll. It's a difficult schedule for a team that will likely be struggling to become bowl eligible.
Positional Breakdown:
Quarterback: Jared Goff gets the start, but he is not much better than those behind him on the depth chart, so if he struggles he could be replaced. That being said, his skill set is excellent for a true freshman and he should be a star within a few season, so he is the the best pick to start.
Runningbacks: Brendan Bigelow gets the nod at tailback, and Daniel Lasco and Darren Ervin will also see carries. Bigelow isn't a star, but he's effective and should prove to be good enough in an offense that likely will lean towards throwing the pigskin rather than running it. Lucas Gingold is a good fullback, although he likely won't see a lot of action in this offense aside from some short yardage situations.
Wide Receivers: Bryce Treggs and Chris Harper are studs, and Maurice Harris and Trevor Davis are very good, as well. This is a very deep group of wide receivers that should give Goff a lot of help.
Tight Ends: Richard Rodgers is an excellent tight end and an eventual NFL prospect. This offense doesn't feature many multiple tight end sets aside from short yardage situations, but senior Spencer Hagan should be an effective second-teamer when his number is called.
Offensive Line: Center Matt Cochran and right guard Jordan Rigsbee are excellent in the interior of the line, but there's some questions on the outside. Tackles Freddie Tagaloa and Bill Tyndall will have to hold up on the outside in order to give Goff the time he needs to throw.
Defensive Line: Deandre Coleman is a star at defensive tackle and will prove to be a formidable impediment against any opponents' designs of running the football up the gut. Mustafa Jalil is also an excellent defensive tackle, and Chris McCain is an excellent pass rusher at defensive end.
Linebackers: Nick Forbes, Jalen Jefferson, and Khairi Fortt are all excellent linebackers. The linebacking corps is the strength of this defense. All three starters will have a shot at all-conference honors.
Secondary: This unit leaves some to be desired. Michael Lowe and Avery Sebastian are good but not great safeties, but cornerback is definitely the weak point of this defense. This could prove to be a problem against teams with good passing attacks who can take advantage of Cal's weakness in the secondary.
Special Teams: Senior kicker Vincenzo D'Amato and sophomore punter Cole Leninger are excellent at their crafts, and this unit should be one of the best in the conference. True freshman kicker Matt Anderson is also very promising and will get his shot next season after redshirting this season.
12-15-2016, 12:31 AM
