Across town, California held a final, closed workout except for the curious eyes of a half-dozen or so Sydney police officers wondering what all the fuss was about.
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Cal vs. Hawaii live stream and TV information for Friday’s “Sydney Cup” matchup from Australia. A crowd in excess of 50,000 is expected.
Where: ANZ Stadium, Sydney Australia (capacity: 83,500).
History making: It’s the first American football game in Australia since 1999 (Broncos vs. Chargers) and first college game there since 1987 (Brigham Young vs. Colorado State).
THE COACHES: Sonny Dykes is the man from Cal. For the Golden Bears to contend in the Pac-12, they’ll need improved results from a defense that has to replace safety Damariay Drew (season-ending knee injury) and linebacker Hardy Nickerson, who transferred to IL after leading the team in tackles last season. Expect a comfortable Cal victory after an up-and-down first half. Since 2011, they are 7-0 SU and 5-2 ATS when favored by at least 17 points, but that includes a 3-0 ATS mark when the spread is 20 or more. Cal opens the season against Hawaii on Saturday in Australia – or Friday at 10 p.m. ET. Hawaii is now in rebuilding mode this season and first year head coach, Nick Rolovich, will have his work cut out for him to try and improve an offense that averaged just 17.6 ppg (ranked 118) while giving up an average of 35.6 ppg (ranked 105th). “There was maybe no one more who was a supporter of the athletic department”, Rolovich said Friday. “We asked the family it if was OK, and they felt it would be a nice tribute”.
The Bears lost Goff to the NFL Draft as he was the No. 1 overall pick of the Los Angeles Rams.
Coming off one of its best seasons in years, Cal football experienced an offseason shrouded in questions regarding the replacement of crucial players who departed the team.
THE INTERNATIONALS: First-year running back Genta Ito is from Inabe, Japan and moved to Hawaii after attending Santa Monica College in California for two years. The Rainbow Warriors also have a new leader on offense and after winning just three games a year ago, it might not be such a bad thing. “The big thing for us was just how it was going to fall in our schedule”, Dykes said.
Did you know: Three East Bay natives are projected to start for Hawaii: senior quarterback Ikaika Woolsey (Rodeo), senior cornerback Jamal Mayo (Oakland) and junior defensive end David Manoa (Hayward). He is bringing back fun to Hawaii with a lot of off-season activities to keep the team loose.
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Cal’s offense has indeed stolen the show in recent seasons with Goff at the controls.
