From The Sports Network
By Brian Mason, College Football Staff Writer
2004 SEASON IN REVIEW: The Golden Bears have going bowling the last two seasons, including last year when they won an amazing 10 games (10-2) and finished 7-1 in the Pac-10. If not for the National Championship USC Trojans being in the conference, the Bears would have come away with the league crown and been sitting pretty in the Rose Bowl. Instead the Bears were given a raw deal and found themselves stuck in the uninspiring Holiday Bowl. California's disappointment in getting overlooked after their impressive campaign left the Bears in a rough spot mentally and it showed when they were trounced 45-31 by Texas Tech in the bowl matchup. Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed a remarkable 66.1 percent of his passes and threw for 2,566 yards, 24 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. One of the most efficient passers in college football, Rodgers had the luxury of having arguably the Pac-10's top receiving corps and a tailback in J.J. Arrington who led the nation in rushing with 2,018 rushing yards and 15 scores.
2005 ANALYSIS:
OFFENSE: Finding a suitable replacement for star quarterback Aaron Rodgers is going to be a major undertaking for coach Jeff Tedford and the Bears. Fortunately there is no better mentor to a quarterback in the nation than Tedford, who has guided some of the most successful signal callers in college football history. Now he will try to mold either juco transfer Joseph Ayoob or redshirt freshman Nathan Longshore into the next great passer that has followed his success to stardom and hopefully for one or both of them a hefty NFL contract, which Rodgers and former Cal quarterback Kyle Boller were both rewarded with after graduating from Berkeley. Ayoob is leading the battle to win the starting nod under center, as he is proving to be strong, accurate and an outstanding athlete. Longshore is more of a pocket passer and still might need one more year to sit back in the offense before taking over and possibly breaking all of the school's passing records. The Bears lost talented wideouts Geoff McArthur and Chase Lyman but youngsters DeSean Jackson (freshman) and Lavelle Hawkins (sophomore) could be even better this season than the aforementioned tandem was last year. The running back situation has been left in great hands and although trying to replace a 2,000-yard rusher is a monumental task, sophomore Marshawn Lynch has the talent to do it, after averaging a whopping 8.8 yards per carry in 2004.
DEFENSE: Many knew that the Bears were going to be a dominant offensive team in 2004, but few predicted they would be as good as they were on defense, ranking second in the nation in run defense and eighth in scoring defense. Unfortunately that may not be the case again in 2005 or at least right off the bat, as only three starters return on this side of the ball for Cal. Inexperience will be evident to start the year, but the Bears have the talent to once again be a force containing the run and forcing opponents into costly turnovers. The defensive line is littered with playmakers, including defensive end Tosh Lupoi who is back for his sixth year in Berkeley after missing all of last season with a foot injury. Juco transfers Mickey Pimentel and Desmond Bishop will likely win the two of the starting linebacker spots for the Bears with both players having superb speed and closing ability. Ryan Foltz is not nearly as athletic as Bishop and Pimentel, but he is a space eater and could be better than most expect. The secondary was a sore spot for Cal in 2004, but it could be an area of strength this year. Harrison Smith and Daymeion Hughes will be that much better at the corners and Donnie McCleskey is healthy once again, which could mean All-American honors are again in his future.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Sophomore Tom Schneider was awful in his freshman campaign, making a mere 9-of-16 field goal attempts. In fact, his accuracy problems and inconsistently could lead to Tedford trying Tony Binswanger at placekicker. David Lonie, who is not going to scare anyone with his leg, will remain the punter and should improve on his average of 40.1 ypp and his 21 punts placed inside the 20-yard line.
OUTLOOK: Almost any other program in college football would be in major trouble if it lost the likes of Rodgers, Arrington, McArthur, defensive end Ryan Riddle and their top four tacklers from a year ago, but that just isn't the case for the ultra deep Bears. Tedford knows how to tutor his quarterbacks and is one of the most prolific offensive minds in all of football. He will have this offense among the best once again in the country and don't be surprised if Lynch takes a shot at rushing for 2,000 yards as he is just that talented. The defense is going to be explosive and ball hawking once again, which also takes some of the pressure off an offense that will have an unproven commodity under center. If the Bears aren't in the top 10 and 9-0 coming into their November 12 matchup with USC, it will be a major disappointment for Cal. The only game that could be a trap for the Bears coming into that highly anticipated matchup is a road tilt against the Oregon Ducks a week prior in Eugene. The Trojans are still the team to beat in the Pac-10, but Cal is hot on their heels and should finish at worst in third place in the league standings.
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