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Fox Sports
2 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
2025 California Football Predictions: Golden Bears Ranked 54th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 California Football Predictions: Golden Bears Ranked 54th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 9:10 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where California lands in my Ultimate 136. Team ranking: 54 Last year's ranking: 68 Top player: LB TJ Bush Jr.: First on team last season for Liberty with 9.5 TFL and 5.5 sacks; 14 games as a true freshman for Liberty in 2023, career totals of 32 tackles, 7 TFL and 2 sacks. [Cal's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: Devin Brown might give head coach Justin Wilcox a bit of what he lost in Fernando Mendoza to Indiana. But the Brown we saw at Ohio State did not look like the highly-touted recruit we saw out of Corner Canyon High School. And that's why 5-star and true freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele might end up taking over at some point for the Golden Bears at QB. ADVERTISEMENT But this team will be defined by what it lost in the transfer portal rather than what it gained: RB Jaydn Ott is at Oklahoma. Tight end Jack Endries is at Texas. Wide receiver Nyziah Hunter is at Nebraska. Still, that's not as bad as it could be because Cal's schedule is sawft. There isn't a preseason top 25 opponent on it! And to make the point as clear as the sky above the Pacific Ocean on a cloudless day, here's the schedule in its entirety: AUG 30 at Oregon State SEP 6 Texas Southern SEP 13 Minnesota SEP 20 at San Diego State SEP 27 at Boston College OCT 4 Duke OCT 10 OPEN DATE OCT 17 North Carolina OCT 24 at Virginia Tech NOV 1 Virginia NOV 8 at Louisville Nov 15 OPEN DATE Nov 22 at Stanford Nov 29 SMU Now, look at that and tell me Wilcox can't find Cal's first double-digit winning season since 2004. [Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here] California Win Total Odds: Over 5.5 (+116) Under 5.5 (-142) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football California Golden Bears share
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
High school lacrosse: Canton girls lacrosse team's run ends in loss to Cold Spring Harbor in state final
Jun. 14—CORTLAND — This year proved to be a breakthrough season for Sage Blevins and her Canton girls lacrosse teammates. Yet competing in the school's first state final in the sport, the Golden Bears simply met their match in perennial power Cold Spring Harbor of Section 8. Advertisement Ryan Reynolds scored five goals and assisted on two others and Ruby Spielberger supplied four goals to spark the Seahawks to a 19-6 victory in the Class D title game on Saturday morning at SUNY Cortland. With the win, Cold Spring Harbor claimed its second consecutive state championship. Canton, also the first team from Section 10 to reach a final four in girls lacrosse, finishes its season at 17-2. "We did as much as we could and fought and left it all on the field," Canton co-captain Sage Blevins said. "That's all we can ask for." Cold Spring Harbor (17-3) seized the initiative from the start and quickly took control. Advertisement "It was tough," Blevins said of the Seahawks' defensive pressure. "You've just got to work around it and move it (the ball) to the open people." After Cold Spring Harbor jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a goal each from Spielberger and Olivia Maluda within the first two minutes of the game, Blevins scored to draw Canton within a goal. Following an unassisted goal by Maluda for the Seahawks, Elena Abplanalp scored a goal, with Olivia Francey assisting, to draw the Golden Bears within 3-2. But Cold Spring Harbor would respond by generating a five-goal surge to close the opening quarter on two goals from Kelly Callaghan and single tallies from Spielberger, Sienna Koke and Maggie Spehr to build an 8-2 advantage. Advertisement Reynolds opened the second quarter by scoring 46 seconds in and after Blevins scored a goal 37 seconds later, with Vivian Coburn assisting, Reynolds struck again in just 10 seconds by winning the faceoff and scoring an unassisted goal to restore a six-goal lead at 9-3. Canton would close within eight goals at 12-4 later in the quarter, but would get no closer and Cold Spring Harbor would go on to build a 14-4 advantage through the first half. "It was hard-fought game, we knew they were going to be good," Canton coach Murphy Liggio said of Cold Spring Harbor. "We set a couple team goals that we kept to ourselves, we just went in thinking that and we said 'have fun today.' We never made it this far before and we're excited to be here and we wanted to be competitive, but we wanted the girls to have fun, too. So I'm proud of what they did." Reynolds, who also dominated on the faceoff circle, would produce two more goals in the third quarter to forge a 16-6 lead, with Mamie Coburn and Olivia Francey each scoring a goal for Canton. Advertisement Overall, Reynolds won 21 of 28 draw controls on the day to set the tone for Cold Spring Harbor. "It definitely unfolded the way we wanted it to," Reynolds said of the game. "Again, winning this (title) again is not something I could have even dreamed about at the start of training camp." Maluda scored two goals and assisted on five others for the Seahawks and Spehr and Callaghan contributed three goals each. Blevins finished with two goals and an assist for the Golden Bears, while Francey scored a goal and assisted on two others. Canton, which won the Northern Athletic Conference's Central Division title, went on to repeat as Section 10 champion by besting Malone. Advertisement After opening its state playoff run with a 14-1 win over Section 7's Plattsburgh in the first round, the Golden Bears defeated Albany Academy for Girls, 16-3, in a state quarterfinal. Canton advanced to the final by downing Section 4 champion Waverly, 15-8, on Friday. "Absolutely, it was a huge breakthrough season for us, our seniors led the way," Liggio said. "We've had them for four or five years, so we've just been chipping away every year and we've been lucky to bring that same group back and just keep making progress. "And this year we started and you don't know what you're going to have going into the season. But we went with it, we came out strong at the beginning of the season and we just kind of kept rolling and they kept the momentum going." Advertisement The 17 wins is also the most recorded in Canton program history. "Yes, very special to me, I'll never forget it," Blevins said of the season. Blevins, one of eight seniors on the team, attends Heuvelton, but decided to play lacrosse at Canton this season. "It was great," Blevins said. "For my first time being on this team it was such an awesome experience and everybody on the team is just so amazing. It was just awesome." Liggio hopes the experience of making a memorable run through the state playoffs to reach the state final four will resonate and prove valuable not only for the team, but for the program as well. Advertisement "Huge, those girls are going to be hard to replace," Liggio said. "They're eight very strong leaders, you know we look to some more than others, but they all have a very special spot on our team and they lead in different ways, whether it be on the field or off the field. Whether on defense or attack, they're strong personalities and they just mesh well together, and they're really good at including the younger girls, which is huge." "They show the younger girls what to strive for and that's huge for us, too. So hopefully they've paved that way and showed the younger girls what to do and we can capitalize on it."
Al Arabiya
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Cal Athletic Director Jim Knowlton Announces His Retirement
California athletic director Jim Knowlton is retiring after seven years on the job. Knowlton announced on Monday that he will step down officially on July 1. Knowlton was in charge during a tumultuous time dealing with COVID, the emergence of NIL, and conference expansion that forced the Golden Bears to join the ACC after their longtime home in the Pac-12 fell apart. Knowlton was named Cal's athletic director on May 21, 2018, and the Bears captured 10 national championships during his tenure and had more than 100 athletes compete at the two Summer Olympics during his tenure. 'It has been an incredible honor to serve at the University of California, Berkeley, the No. 1 public university in the country,' Knowlton said in a statement. 'The expectation of holistic excellence helps to drive everyone associated with the university, and our department is no exception. The combination of a world-class education, athletic excellence, an inclusive community, an awe-inspiring location, and most importantly, truly special people make Cal a magnificent place to serve.' The Bears didn't have as much success in the high-profile sports. The football program qualified for four bowl games in his seven seasons but hasn't had a winning record since 2019. Knowlton hired two men's basketball coaches, and neither one has had a winning season. He hired Mark Fox in 2019 and fired him after four seasons with a 38–87 record. The program has shown some signs of improvement under Mark Madsen but has only a 27–38 record to show for it. He also hired Charmin Smith to coach the women's basketball program in 2019. She had a losing record in each of her first four seasons before making progress the past two. The Bears went 19–15 in 2023–24 and then made the NCAA Tournament this past season, going 25–9 after losing in the first round. UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons named current deputy athletic directors Jay Larson and Jenny Simon-ONeill as the new co-directors of the program.
Reuters
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Cal AD Jim Knowlton announces retirement
June 16 - Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton announced his retirement on Monday after seven years at Berkeley. Knowlton will stay on through July 1. Deputy athletic directors Jay Larson and Jenny Simon-O'Neill have been appointed co-directors for Golden Bears athletics. Under Knowlton's leadership, Cal captured 10 national championships and appeared in four bowl games in football. "It has been an incredible honor to serve at the University of California, Berkeley, the No. 1 public university in the country," Knowlton said. "The expectation of holistic excellence helps to drive everyone associated with the university, and our department is no exception. The combination of a world-class education, athletic excellence, an inclusive community, an awe-inspiring location and, most importantly, truly special people, make Cal a magnificent place to serve." UC Berkeley chancellor Rich Lyons announced he will use the transition period to install a new leadership structure. Ron Rivera, former NFL head coach and All-American linebacker at Cal, was hired on March 20 as the school's first football general manager. Though Rivera reported to Lyons, Cal football coach Justin Wilcox reported to Knowlton. Prominent Cal donors have called for Rivera to be put in charge of the entire Golden Bears program. --Field Level Media
Associated Press
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton announces his retirement
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — California athletic director Jim Knowlton is retiring after seven years on the job. Knowlton announced on Monday that he will step down officially on July 1. Knowlton was in charge during a tumultuous time, dealing with COVID, the emergence of NIL and conference expansion that forced the Golden Bears to join the ACC after their longtime home in the Pac-12 fell apart. Knowlton was named Cal's athletic director on May 21, 2018, and the Bears captured 10 national championships during his tenure and had more than 100 athletes compete at the two Summer Olympics during his tenure. 'It has been an incredible honor to serve at the University of California, Berkeley, the No. 1 public university in the country,' Knowlton said in a statement. 'The expectation of holistic excellence helps to drive everyone associated with the university, and our department is no exception. The combination of a world-class education, athletic excellence, an inclusive community, an awe-inspiring location and, most importantly, truly special people, make Cal a magnificent place to serve.' The Bears didn't have as much success in the high-profile sports. The football program qualified for four bowl games in his seven seasons but hasn't had a winning record since 2019. Knowlton hired two men's basketball coaches and neither one has had a winning season. He hired Mark Fox in 2019 and fired him after four seasons with a 38-87 record. The program has shown some signs of improvement under Mark Madsen but has only a 27-38 record to show for it. He also hired Charmin Smith to coach the women's basketball program in 2019. She had a losing record in each of her first four seasons before making progress the past two. The Bears went 19-15 in 2023-24 and then made the NCAA Tournament this past season, going 25-9 after losing in the first round. UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons named current deputy athletic directors Jay Larson and Jenny Simon-O'Neill as the new co-directors of the program. ___ AP sports:
