American college football has landed Down Under, and a sun-bathed Sydney Opera House provided the ideal backdrop to launch Saturday’s historic season opener at ANZ Stadium. Hawaii is returning the majority of their squad, so they should have some more relative experience, but the Bears just don’t have a lot of talent. 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. The Golden Bears are 7-3 SU and 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games against Mountain West opponents according to the OddsShark College Football Database. Both teams were scheduled to hold open practice sessions at the stadium in western Sydney on Thursday, but two to four inches of rain late Wednesday and overnight forced organizers to keep the players off the turf.
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Among the group who made the trip, Cal alumni Marshawn Lynch showed up.
Organizers say Saturday’s midday game – prime time Friday night in the US – at Sydney’s Olympic stadium is expected to attract a crowd of more than 65,000.
This will be the first college football game played in the Land Down Under since 1987 and also only the second time Cal has played internationally – the first was also in 1987, when the Bears played in Tokyo. Football officials hope it’ll help create an interest in gridiron, but it’s a crowded market. With no other games on this weekend, millions are expected to enjoy the contest played at ANZ Stadium, which is best known for hosting rugby matches. It is the first game of Gridiron involving major U.S. teams on Australian soil since the NFL’s Bronco’s and Chargers played a pre-season game here in 1999.
THE COACHES: Sonny Dykes is the man from Cal.
California is looking to replace Jared Goff who was the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft after leading the team to the first winning season in the Sonny Dykes era. Hawaii is coming off a subpar 3-10 season which involved a midseason coaching change, and new head coach Nick Rolovich will be making his debut against the Bears.
Hawaii was given a chance to practice at the University of New South Wales but because it was about an hour away toward the city and into busy traffic, chose to cancel their practice session and did a walk-through later in the day in preparation for Saturday’s game. “We asked the family it if was OK, and they felt it would be a nice tribute”. The Bears lost quarterback Jared Goff to the National Football League but replaced him with Webb, a graduate transfer from Texas Tech.
A graduate transfer from Texas Tech, Webb played in 23 games with 14 starts over three seasons and career totals of 5,557 yards and 46 touchdowns. Webb returns the favor: This “is what a championship culture looks like, and that is what coach Dykes is developing here”.
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).
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Briefly on Hawaii: Much has changed since June Jones guided the Rainbow Warriors to a berth in the 2008 Sugar Bowl. The Los Angeles Rams selected Goff back in April, and his former school is going through a major rebuilding phase without him back under center.
