Five Things: North Carolina
Hey, is this thing still on?
Oh. Oh, it *is*? Shit.
Well, that means we're back, and the end of August is the official signal to get back on the ole blogger-horse. You can count on me for at least two game week columns -- These Five Things and The Novel -- at the minimum, plus whatever else is required or pops out of this head of mine on occasion.
A lot's on the line this year. The conference is open just enough -- and the team just veteran enough --for the Bears to take the leap under Coach Wilcox, but all of it starts with going 3-0 in non-conference play.
Here are the five things that'll determine if that happens or not.
1) A tale of two quarterbacks
On the most obvious level, there's the matchup between UNC's Nathan Eliott, and year two of the Ross Bowers Experience. The Bears have a lot working in their favor this week, with UNC traveling for the game and a vast gap in experience between both guys -- Eliott had two trending up games, and two down games for a record of 2-2 last year and a fairly pedestrian 51.4 completion percentage.
On another, though, this point also stands for the up and down nature that Bowers displayed in games last season, and sometimes even within the same game. The same up-and-down nature has reared its head on occasion from the practices, too. Needless to say, should the Bears make any noise in the Pac-12, it'll be because Bowers has steadied himself. This will be most of the Cal fanbase's first chance to look at him in a while, and I, for one, will be very interested in his downfield efficacy and how he handles the run game.
2) The Skill Replacements
It seems like just yesterday I was putting Demetris Robertson in this space. (It wasn't. It was two years ago already.)
With Kanawai Noa and Vic Wharton returning, the top line of receivers should be productive enough, and Patrick Laird will get his fair share of targets too -- it's the guys after that and the current lack of known explosive playmakers that is worth some worry on paper now that Robertson is gone. As I wrote in the offseason, I do believe a combination of guys and internal improvements will step up to fill maybe 60-70% of the void that would be left by D-Rob.
One plus: UNC DB MJ Stewart, who had Robertson essentially locked up, is now in the NFL.
3) UNC Backs versus Cal Front 7
Despite the dramatic improvement of the Justin Wilcox-improved defense, the Bears struggled against both UNC running backs -- Michael Carter ripped off a 47 yard touchdown run in last season's opener, and Jordon Brown kept the chains moving at a steady 4.2 yards per clip when spelling him. Carter just fractured his wrist and will be out for the Cal game, but Nathan Eliott can run some too, something the Bears will have to also account for after giving up 66 yards to Surratt last year.
This matchup might still tilt slightly toward Cal's favor, though -- everyone is somewhat experienced among the linebacking group, and UNC's line lost several linemen to graduation. The real unknowns are Bequette, Chris Palmer, and Zeandae Johnson who'll have a lot to prove collectively in the place of James Looney's departure. Odds look good with Johnson being an impact player, now that he's back from his ACL tear.
4) Cal special teams
As you may have read, the kickers have been... collectively mercurial this offseason, and Dylan Klumph transferred to Arizona, leaving us with inexperience at both special team spots. Beyond the demands of being accurate under pressure, they'll also have the task of keeping UNC receiver Anthony Ratliff-Williams pinned down, which won't be easy -- the 6'1, 205 pound redshirt junior took two kicks to the house last year and was 14th in the country in return average.
5) The crowd
Patrick Laird's summer reading kids will be there. I'll be there, although I can't tell you what state of sobriety, as I'll be fresh off my 27th birthday.
Long story short, if you can, you should be too. It's a big year. Let's get started.