Football is nearly here. The Cal Football Countdown has reached 41 days remaining, with 11 days until Cal reports to camp, 12 days until fall camp starts for the Bears. Media day for the Pac-12 is Wednesday, an oasis for the barren summer of hot-takery.

With that, we're going to examine, a handful of thoughts and questions in the 3-2-1 format (three thoughts, two questions, one prediction)

1. The Offense will be Questioned

If it hadn't already been beaten to death by now, there will be more questions about the offense than ever, especially on the broader stage that media day provides.

There's a different viewpoint to be had in Hollywood, as Cal's the only Pac-12 school bringing two defensive players, who can speak to offensive improvement, especially with newcomers. Cal's 2019 class is all in, without any attrition, and who better to talk about the contributions of guys like Kekoa Crawford, Trevon Clark, and Decarlos Brooks than two of the guys tasked with covering/tackling them in Evan Weaver and Camryn Bynum.

2. The Next Steps for the Defense

For a defense that ranked among the best in the country a year ago, there's still room for improvement. Where that comes from is up in the air.

Cal's biggest areas for improvement from 2018 are shoring up the run defense against power teams and developing an edge rushing threat. Again, Cam Goode and Kuony Deng should provide two excellent pass rushing pieces on 3rd downs. Joey Ogunbanjo is back with the team. Nick Alftin is a massive athlete full of potential. Orin Patu added size in his lower body, to the point where it doesn't look like his legs are toothpicks anymore. There's depth at the position that wasn't there before.

Whatever changes in run defense there are should be telling. Siu Fuimaono should be the frontrunner to start at nose, but how the Bears utilize their nickel package and who they utilize in it, when teams are more frequently sticking with 11 and 10 personnel, will be interesting to learn about.

3. Benefits of a Longer Workout Regime

Cal had their spring ball earlier than every single Pac-12 school not named Arizona State, which allowed for a longer strength and conditioning regimen. Torre Becton put it like so back in April:

"We get this next five weeks to build on the first five weeks (of strength and conditioning that happened before spring ball), having seen how they performed, then that kinda catapults us into summer training. This is gonna be real good, because instead of having a nine-week summer, we’ll essentially have a fourteen or fifteen week summer. More time with me and the staff."

You can see some of the effects of it already, via Twitter. Guys like Patu, Nikko Remigio and Matt Cindric have all looked bigger. Weaver has been in Becton's 'need for speed' group as he leans out. It's year three for Becton, and with a senior-laden group on defense, the foundation is already in place in Becton's Build-a-Bear workshop.

1. Will Cal place above 5th in the Pac 12 Media Day Poll?

Most projections I've seen this offseason put Cal at 5th in the North division, where they finished the previous two seasons. How the media day poll shakes out should be telling about Cal's perception in the Pac-12. The Cheez-It Bowl was the last time many of the people voting in this poll saw the Bears, and it didn't leave a great impression for the Bears heading into 2019. Whether that impression continues to last is the question.

(The Cal Rivals ballot will be out Tuesday as part of Day 39 of the countdown)

2. How many preseason all- Pac 12 players will Cal have?

For the first time in a while, the Pac 12 had a media vote for preseason all Pac-12 teams. Cal had one 1st team all-Pac 12 player a year ago (Jordan Kunaszyk), one 2nd team player (Evan Weaver) and four honorable mentions. They're likely to get more than that this preseason, with Weaver, Bynum, Ashtyn Davis, and Luc Bequette all among the top returning players in the conference. The question is how many?

(The Cal Rivals ballot for this will be out Wednesday, prior to Media Day)

1. Over/under on four minutes into his podium session: Mike Leach launches into a story that gets the majority of the room to audibly laugh

This isn't a Cal related prediction, but I'd take the under here. Leach's podium sessions are the most entertaining, as he'll answer just about anything candidly. Last year, he was asked about how they recruit kids to Pullman, and it turned into an anecdote about him getting flipped off in LA traffic as he traveled to Media Day. I'm taking the under here.