When Oregon and Arizona meet Friday night at Levi s Stadium in the Pac-12 championship game, Sonny Dykes will know his Cal team scored 86 points this season against the two best teams in the conference.
And gave up 108.
Yes, those were the 2014 Golden Bears, able to score points in bunches, generally unable to prevent the opposition from scoring even more.
Cal s second season under Dykes ended at 5-7 and short of bowl eligibility after a 42-35 loss Saturday to BYU. The Bears made substantial improvement from 1-11 a year earlier, but after a 4-1 start to this season faced seven bowl-bound teams in their final eight games and lost to all of them.
When you go from where we were last year, a lot of things have to change, Dykes said. We knew it wasn t going to happen overnight.
It didn t, but 17 players who started Saturday are expected back next season. Leading the parade is quarterback Jared Goff, who has thrown 53 touchdowns in his first two seasons and will direct an offense that should continue to prosper.
We have so many players coming back next season it s hard not to be excited, Dykes said.
How much higher the Bears can climb in 2015 will depend largely on how effectively they can fix a defense that allowed 30 points or more in each of their final 10 games.
In particular, Cal must improve a defensive secondary that was riddled by more passing yards (4,406) and passing touchdowns (42) than any Football Bowl Subdivision team in history. The Bears defensive backs – mostly freshmen and sophomores — had more pass interference penalties (15) than interceptions (9).
Dykes said Monday on his radio show that the Bears intend to added seven or eight new defensive backs through recruiting, perhaps as many as three of them from the junior college ranks. They have commitments from two so far, including Derron Williams-Brown, safety from Mesa Community College in Arizona, who will arrive with three years of eligibility.
Cal s recruiting class currently is rated 11th among Pac-12 teams by Scout.com, but Dykes is optimistic that will improve by Feb. 4, the start of the signing period.
I think people see our program is improved and getting ready to take the next step, he said. As a result, the kids are much more receptive than they have been.
The Bears need to assist their secondary with a better pass rush, which should be partly remedied by the return of defensive end Brennan Scarlett, who missed the final seven games with a knee injury.
On offense, the line must replace two senior starters – center Chris Adcock and guard Alejandro Crosthwaite – but is beginning to build depth.
Developing our offensive line is the next step in improving our football team, Dykes said. I thought we played much more physical this year. We need to continue to get bigger and stronger.
Few programs in the country will boast the collection of returning skill players Cal expects back. The Bears scored 61 touchdowns this season, and players who had 60 of those will return.
It starts with Goff, second nationally this season with 3,973 passing yards. He has a chance to be one of the best quarterbacks in college football, Dykes said.
Running back Daniel Lasco rushed for 1,115 yards and scored 14 touchdowns, and receivers Kenny Lawler, Bryce Treggs and Chris Harper each caught at least 52 passes and combined for 21 TDs.
Lasco said there will be no shortage of offseason motivation.
We have it in us to go out there and be a great team, Lasco said after the BYU game. It s hard to sit here and say goodbye to the seniors and have this bad taste in our mouths.
We re going to have it until next year, just like last season. It s hard to refocus. We will in time.
