Goff led Cal to an 8-5 record last season.
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Quarterback Davis Webb was a more than capable replacement for Jared Goff, throwing for more than 400 yards and four touchdowns in his first game for Cal after arriving from Texas Tech.
Both teams were scheduled to hold open practice sessions at the stadium in western Sydney on Thursday, but falls of up 50 to 100 millimeters of rain (two to four inches) late Wednesday and overnight forced organizers to keep the players off the turf.
Webb will have a talented trio of running backs to hand-off to, starting with junior Tre Watson.
“Phenomenal, I was energetic”, Muhammad said of his 34-yard TD run in the second minute of the game. The Rainbow Warriors also has a solid offensively. In particular, five-star true freshman Demetris Robertson could be a name to watch. Cal is favored in this game by nearly three touchdowns, and in the last three games where Cal is favored by 20 or more points, they are 3-0 against the spread. Will the Rainbow Warriors cover as huge underdogs? RG Dejon Allen leads an offensive line that returns the majority of its members from a year ago. Now that he’s in charge of the entire defense, his greatest challenge will be bulking up a front seven that got bullied last season.
Prediction: Cal is favored by 19.5 points. The Pick Center also has the odds of the teams scoring less than 64 at 53.4 percent.
Webb, Cal QB – The 6-foot-5, 230-pound senior has very good size and a big arm. In three seasons he threw for over 5000 yards and 46 touchdowns.
Webb is on watch lists for the Maxwell Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
Marshawn Lynch has a new gig: Cal scout-team running back.
In fact, they’ve traveled less than the Golden Bears.
The offense did its job, especially wide receiver Chad Hansen and new quarterback Davis Webb who became more and more confident as the game wore on, but the defense remains more a question mark than a brick wall.
In the receiving game, Hawaii returns eight of nine players (Quinton Pedroza) who caught at least 10 passes previous year.
A few possessions later it was Hawaii who scored in the air with Marcus Kemp showing off his moves to make it 7-7. He took the Bears 85 yards in eight plays and finished it off himself – with his legs, not his arm. After losing the coin toss and Cal chose to receive, Hawaii tried an on-side kick that the Bears were able to recover at midfield.
If there is a game to be played in Australia, it makes sense to send Hawaii down to play in said game.
Moore is a preseason candidate for the 2016 Outland Trophy and Vince Lombardi Award.
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And while I might not possess the discipline to stay away, I do maintain the principle of not laying three touchdowns with a mediocre-at-best team.
