Cal vs. Tennessee

[soybean]

who ya got?

i was gonna do a pick em' thread but everyone else has a cupcake opponent.

i go cal. justin forsett+jahvid best+longshore+jackson= nasty.

[KCJ58]

Craig Stevens will catch a touchdown pass mark it down

[Turtlepower]

Cal will win. SEC home-field advantage was a huge reason for that win and Desean Jackson will smoke Tennessee.

[JeffSamardzijaIRISH]

I got Cal. Last year Longshore was a first year starter, and you could tell in that game that he was lost. This year's gonna be real different. DeSean gonna burn these guys for 100+ recieving and a PR TD.

[Im_a_Romosexual]

Tennessee. I think Cal is the better team, but Tennessee finds a way to win.

[neko4]

I'll go w/ the philosophy i got with almost everygame involving an SEC team, SEC Dominance

[RyanLeaf#1]

Have to study this one a little bit, but I always end up pullin for Ainge. But I have to look into this game a little more.

[OhioState]

Tennesse, i just have a feeling

[duckseason]

Given the Vol's losses both up front and at the corner positions, along with the revenge factor of which the flames will only be stoked by playing at home, I'm expecting Cal's offense to light up the scoreboard with myriad big plays. Whether or not Tennessee will be able to keep up is debatable, and I don't doubt their capability. Especially considering that Cal lost just as much from their defense of a year ago. Like most games, this will come down to who comes out with more fire and who wins the turnover battle. All things considered, this is a pretty even matchup on paper. But I've got to give the edge to Cal. We all saw how big a factor home field advantage was in this game last year. And you've got to give them the edge with the special teams.

My prediction-

Cal 34 Vols 27

[doingthisinsteadofwork]

Originally Posted by soybean

who ya got?

i was gonna do a pick em' thread but everyone else has a cupcake opponent.

i go cal. justin forsett+jahvid best+longshore+jackson= nasty.

Montgomery is 2nd on the depth chart and Best is 3rd.
And yes I'll say Cal.

[23trufant]

Would have gone Tennesse but Ainge broke his pinky and he hasnt been playing so im going with CAL

[TouchdownUSC]

i think Cal will win this one by a couple of scores. too many weapons

[Canadian_kid16]

31-21 Tenn is my prediction

[etk]

I think Cal is overrated, gimme Tennessee. Is Eric Berry starting?

[volman88]

I think that so much has been said about desean jackson that the tennessee secondary will make him a non factor, but I believe it will be close, but you know i gotta go with my vols winning.

24-28 vols

[duckseason]

Originally Posted by volman88

I think that so much has been said about desean jackson that the tennessee secondary will make him a non factor, but I believe it will be close, but you know i gotta go with my vols winning.

24-28 vols

That would be quite the accomplishment. Especially considering their lack of game experience. If they do shut him down, it'll likely be at great cost. Hefney can't do it all and the others are mostly unproven. Cal does have other legitimate weapons and Longshore is savvy enough to take what the defense gives him. And let's not forget about Justin Forsett. The loss of Turk McBride and Justin Harrell in the middle is big. I love the Vols' LB corps, but they can't do it all. I guess we'll see if some of the new guys step up, but for the first game of the season to be clear across the country against one the nations best offenses, I have my doubts. Tennessee's offense needs to be sharp in this one and I think will definitely need to win the turnover battle in order to pull out the win.

I think the biggest factor of all is the game last year and how the Cal players feel about it. If you listen to them talk about it, they are still very heated. It's all they heard about all last season and throughout the summer. They want nothing more than redemption. I expect to see a very fired up Cal team, and we'll just have to see if the Vols can match that energy.

[619]

Originally Posted by etk

I think Cal is overrated, gimme Tennessee. Is Eric Berry starting?

cal is not overrated if anything they are underrated cuz they are not yet considered an elite football program..i got cal and desean will light em up cuz i hear the SEC likes to play a lot of man to man coverage

[etk]

Originally Posted by 619

cal is not overrated if anything they are underrated cuz they are not yet considered an elite football program..i got cal and desean will light em up cuz i hear the SEC likes to play a lot of man to man coverage

You are entitled to your opinion, but I respectfully disagree. Cal lost 23 lettermen and has only 13 returning starters. They also have the toughest schedule of the big Pac 10 programs. I don't think Forsett is the answer this year and Longshore is inconsistent. Their receiving corps can't do it all, while the defense is young facing an experienced Senior QB in Ainge. I think Cal will be lucky to finish 4th in the Pac-10 and could be facing a disappointing year with all the hype they're getting.

[Cashmoney]

gotta go with the vols on this one. they usually always win their opener plus they always do better when less is expected of them. plus we should be able to stop jackson like we stopped marshawn last year.

[JeffSamardzijaIRISH]

Originally Posted by etk

You are entitled to your opinion, but I respectfully disagree. Cal lost 23 lettermen and has only 13 returning starters. They also have the toughest schedule of the big Pac 10 programs. I don't think Forsett is the answer this year and Longshore is inconsistent. Their receiving corps can't do it all, while the defense is young facing an experienced Senior QB in Ainge. I think Cal will be lucky to finish 4th in the Pac-10 and could be facing a disappointing year with all the hype they're getting.

Mr. Ainge has a broken pinky. That may be the little edge Cal needs to rip this team apart.

[Michigan]

I'm goin 28-24 Tennessee. They're about even on paper, but the image of last year's complete domination is still lingering in my head.

[doingthisinsteadofwork]

Originally Posted by etk

You are entitled to your opinion, but I respectfully disagree. Cal lost 23 lettermen and has only 13 returning starters. They also have the toughest schedule of the big Pac 10 programs. I don't think Forsett is the answer this year and Longshore is inconsistent. Their receiving corps can't do it all, while the defense is young facing an experienced Senior QB in Ainge. I think Cal will be lucky to finish 4th in the Pac-10 and could be facing a disappointing year with all the hype they're getting.

Except for the fact that Forsett has already proven to be a good college RB and we have other RBs that are highly talented.(Montgomery,Best,and Slocum)Not to mention our offense was never that reliant on Marshawn Lynch in the first place.If anything our offense will be better than last years due to the fact that we will be going back to the offense we ran before last year which relied soley on the play,had no consistency and relied on Desean Jackson fro the most part.With this offense we will be able to get better production both our of the Longshore and our other WRs that are not Desean Jackson.

[mqtirishfan]

Tennessee. I think Berry starts and shows right away he'll be a top CB in the NCAA ranks.

[Sniper]

Cal is my pick

[volman88]

Ainge's broken pinky will not be a factor.