Cal Football 2012 Predictions

The world is a mere week and a half away from the start of the 2012 Cal football season, and we here at SCF have pretty much reached the apex of possible human excitement levels.

Here are our game-by-game predictions for the upcoming campaign. Feel free to reach out to Chris to let him know what you think of his 4-8 prognostication in the Comments section below.

	Chris	Brian	Finn	Stephen	Gerald
vs. Nevada, Sat., 9/1	Cal 42-28 - Emotion of New Memorial Stadium pushes Cal to an easy win	Cal 38-28 - Too bad this wasn't the home game in 2010	Cal 24-10 - Cal trails at halftime before putting it together in an embarrassing start to the season	Cal 35-17 - Cal christens new Memorial Stadium with a convincing win	Cal 42-20 - There is no way that the Bears lose their first game in their new digs, right? Plus, this is a Wolf Pack team that gave up 21 points in nine minutes in their home finale to Louisiana Tech last year
vs. Southern Utah, Sat., 9/8	Cal 55-15 - Young guys garner some much needed experience	Cal 45-21 - Closer than it looks at halftime before a big special teams play turns it into a rout	Cal 52-6 - Cal wows fans with mega route after lackluster first game; Allen scores 3 TDs	Cal 40-10 - Coming off the field fully healthy is biggest key for this matchup	Cal 60-10 - Is it time for Ohio State yet? And as the fans at Memorial Stadium suffer, the rich alums atop the University Club on the west side of the new stadium will have a grand old time watching the battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy
@ Ohio State, Sat., 9/15	Ohio State 31-7 - Cal's penchant for road stinkers continue	Ohio State 45-16 - Maynard turnovers make it non-competitive by halftime	Ohio State 20-17 OT - Fans who made trek to Horseshoe leave heartbroken after Bears blow 17-3 halftime lead in OT	Ohio State 32-30 - Early game jitters too much for Bears to overcome	Ohio State 28-27 - I can only dream
@ USC, Sat., 9/22	USC 60-6 - Ditto	USC 34-23 - Cal will play them tough, but USC's superiority will show as the game goes on	USC 48-10 - No. 1 Trojans obliterate Bears; Maynard commits 4 turnovers; Allen leaves game in second quarter with injury	USC 45-17 - Not as bad as 2010, but game decided after first quarter	USC 56-17 - “Let’s put those motherfuckas on the mat ya’ll.” Nope
vs. Arizona State, Sat., 9/29	Cal 27-21 - Home game makes the difference in this one	Cal 35-21 - Important to have a home game to bounce back here	Cal 21-20 - Bears eek one out at home behind huge game from Sofele; Allen does not play with torn ACL (out for season)	Cal 30-16 - Team puts two losses behind it and takes out frustration on ASU	Cal 28-13 - Todd Graham submits his resume to Sandy Barbour after this one, finally figuring out that Tempe (and Phoenix and the whole of Arizona) is actually more boring than Pittsburgh
vs. UCLA, Sat., 10/6	Cal 31-17 - Two losses in a row to the little sisters? Not gonna happen	Cal 24-17 - UCLA will fail to win for the first time in 14 years at Memorial	UCLA 30-14 - History repeats itself as Maynard chucks 3 interceptions and Bruins run all over Cal	Cal 28-17 - Spirited Memorial Stadium crowd helps Cal get off to fast start and never look back	Cal 38-17 - Like his exit, Jim Mora’s return to the Bay Area won’t be a happy one
@ Washington State, Sat., 10/13	Washington State 38-34 - The most exciting game of the year comes down to a costly turnover (or two) in the fourth quarter	Cal 33-17 - Cal has a penchant for big yardage plays in the Palouse	Washington State 35-20 - Cougars throw for 400 yards as Bears fall below .500, Cal AD Barber issues statement in support of Tedford	Cal 35-14 - Maynard turns in best performance of the season as Cal rolls	Cal 45-38 - The Palouse splits in half after this barn burner. Lots of big plays in this one (thanks Mike Leach), but the Bears have too much talent for the folks from Pullman
vs. Stanford, Sat., 10/20	Stanford 28-21 - Are the Cardinal more than just Luck? I believe so	Cal 30-19 - Cal shows some heart, avenges home pummeling in 2010 (think Cattouse, meet Luck)	Cal 24-21 - Last-second field goal gives Cal epic win in Big Game, Tedford carried off field by players	Cal 17-15 - Defense comes up big to secure nail biter; fans begin looking ahead to Oregon matchup as possible ticket to conference championship game	Cal 27-24 - To quote Joe Starkey after John Elway drove Stanford to a go-ahead field goal in the 1982 Big Game: “Now, this is the Big Game.” What did that even mean?
@ Utah, Sat., 10/27	Utah 17-10 - Cal's road roes rear its ugly head again	Utah 24-20 - If Aaron Rodgers couldn't win at Utah, can Zach Maynard?	Cal 21-10 - Bears continue to build momentum behind strong performances from Maynard, CJ Anderson	Utah 21-14 - Classic trap game with team riding high after Big Game victory and four-game winning streak	Cal 28-24 - This is a metaphor for Obama v Romney, right? If so, Zach Maynard outperforms Jordan Wynn
vs. Washington, Fri., 11/2	Washington 38-24 - Keith Price (assuming his stickman-ish body holds up) shows why he's the top QB in the North	Cal 27-20 - Cal fired up to get revenge on Tosh, and being at home helps	Cal 9-3 - Cal wins old-school, rain-soaked game under the Friday night ESPN lights to become bowl eligible; Anderson rushes for 150 yards	Washington 35-21 - Fans riled up for return of Tosh, but another primetime dud by Cal on ESPN	Cal 33-20 - Tosh who? But really, let’s hope that revamped Huskies defense continues to give up 450 yards a game like it did in 2011
vs. Oregon, Sat., 11/10	Oregon 27-24 - Many will predict blowout, but Ducks squeak by	Oregon 35-10 - No fake injuries will help Cal here	Oregon 35-13 - Oregon brings Cal back to earth, snapping 3-game win streak	Oregon 27-10 - Not enough offense to make upset aspirations even remotely possible	Oregon 33-30 - This will be closer than the experts predict and without the controversy this time. Or De’Anthony Thomas is going to have a field day
@ Oregon State, Sat., 11/17	Oregon State 31-20 - Probably the easiest game to predict all season	Oregon State 28-18 - A road game finale against the Beavers has L written all over it	Cal 24-14 - Maynard throws for 300 yards and 2 TDs as Cal finishes season strong	Oregon State 30-10 - Cal ends season on four-game losing streak in rainy Corvallis	Cal 31-20 - Who says Cal can’t win on the road? The Bears mauled the Sun Devils in Tempe to close out last season. Is Corvallis that much tougher?
Record	4-8 (2-7) - no bowl	7-5 (5-4) - Sun Bowl	7-5 (5-4) - Holiday Bowl	6-6 (4-5) - Hunger Bowl	9-3 (7-2) - Alamo Bowl