This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
California's 2015 football season was never the same after a "GameDay" buildup in Salt Lake City. The biggest question for 2016 is how Cal will perform after Jared Goff's departure to the NFL, and the Bears have an answer.
Goff is quarterbacking the Los Angeles Rams now as the No. 1 overall pick, having lifted the Bears from one win to five and then eight in his three years in Berkeley. Other than throwing five interceptions in a loss at Utah that ended Cal's 5-0 start, he was consistently productive and helped revive the program.
Cal faded in the second half of the season, but finished with a wild victory over Arizona State and beat Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl to finish 8-5.
As it turns out, replacing six receivers might be a bigger problem than finding Goff's successor. Davis Webb arrived this summer as a graduate transfer from Texas Tech and coach Sonny Dykes named him the starter even before the Bears practiced in pads in early August.
It should be a good fit, with Webb coming from the Texas Tech offense that remains in place after Dykes originally helped Mike Leach install it in 2000. Even by mid-July, when Dykes appeared at the Pac-12 Media Days in Hollywood, Webb had made a good impression. This past weekend, he was named a team captain.
"He comes from a culture at Texas Tech … where [quarterbacks] work harder than anybody else in the program," Dykes said. "Davis was part of that. He understands that. He appreciates it and he loves football. … His work ethic has been unparalleled, really."
So throwing the ball should be less of an issue for Cal than catching it, although Dykes likes the available personnel. The Bears' receiving corps "will be built much differently," he said. "We haven't had a lot of catch-and-run guys that can catch a screen pass and turn it into a big play."
The Bears will open the season with the earliest game involving FBS teams and traveling the longest distance. Cal meets Hawaii on Friday (8 p.m. MDT) in Sydney, Australia, and will have a week off to regroup before visiting San Diego State.
"We've got a good plan," said Dykes, whose team left Berkeley a week early. "We've invested a lot of time and resources into making sure we prepare the right way."
Twitter: @tribkurt
California
Coach • Sonny Dykes (fourth season, 14-23)
2015 • 8-5 (4-5 Pac-12).
Pac-12 media poll • Fifth in North Division
Schedule
Aug. 26 • vs. Hawaii*
Sept. 10 • at San Diego St.
Sept. 17 • Texas
Sept. 24 • at Arizona State
Oct. 1 • Utah
Oct. 8 • at Oregon State
Oct. 21 • Oregon
Oct. 27 • at USC
Nov. 5 • Washington
Nov. 12 • at Washington St.
Nov. 19 • Stanford
Nov. 26 • UCLA
* Sydney, Australia