By George Devine, Sr.

The Pac12 conference season for Cal begins on the road against the Ducks of Oregon on Saturday, September 28. New coach Sonny Dykes and his charges — including true freshman quarterback Jared Goff — will be up against a team ranked as high as #2 in the nation’s polls. Cal’s defense has been suspect this year, and will be up against a team that racked up 687 total yards against Tennessee.

The Bears will need to contain.sophomore Marcus Mariota, who against Tennessee threw for a career-high 456 yards including four touchdowns in a 59-14 win. Mariota went 23/33 and was the first Oregon quarterback to pass for more than 400 yards since Kellen Clemens, who did likewise in 2005. Also challenging the Cal defense will be Johnny Mundt, a freshman tight end who had five receptions for two TDs, and a total of 121 yards, against the Vols. Josh Huff also caught six passes for a total of 125 yards, and scored another touchdown for Oregon. Mundt had replaced Colt Lyeria, who had five catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

After Oregon, Cal’s remaining games for the season will be as follows, with kickoff times to be announced:

October 5 Washington State

October 12 @ UCLA

October 19 Oregon State

October 26 @ Washington

November 2 Arizona

November 9 USC (Joe Roth Game)

November 16 @ Colorado

November 23 @ Stanford