True freshman Jared Goff, a Marin Catholic product, is currently in a three-way tie for the Cal QB job. (Landov)

By Zac Ellis

The Cal quarterback situation is apparently still up in the air. The Golden Bears released their first depth chart of the season on Thursday, and new coach Sonny Dykes seems to still be mulling his team’s options under center.

The chart lists a three-way quarterback tie between Jared Goff, Austin Hinder and Zach Kline. But perhaps fans can read into the order in which the players are listed. The names aren’t alphabetical, instead appearing as follows: Goff, Kline then Hinder.

None of the three players in the running for the job threw a pass for Cal last year. Kline redshirted during his true freshman season in 2012, while Hinder was a sophomore reserve. Goff, a former four-star pro-style recruit out of Marin Catholic, is a true freshman this season. The Golden Bears are looking to replace starter Zach Maynard, who was 180-of-296 passing for 2214 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 picks last season.

By Zac Ellis

It’s a new era for Golden Bears football, and by the looks of it, things could get very growly. Athletic director Sandy Barbour unveiled the school’s new supplemental logo for all 27 of its athletic programs at a university press conference on Wednesday, and it will adorn the team’s revamped uniforms for the 2013 season, along with new lettering.

While this bear looks mighty fierce, several SI.com staffers have a few complaints. In no particular order:

• Cal claims to be the Golden Bears, yet the logo on the shoulder (below) looks very much like a black bear. Come on, Berkeley folks. You’re better than that.

• The new logo looks kind of like a furry igloo, only with an angry bear face and claws. Look at it.

• This was not selected to be the new logo, and Cal still hasn’t officially changed its name to the Cal Sugar Bears.

Check out the new uniforms after the jump (courtesy of Pac-12):

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Sonny Dykes’ Bears will lumber fast. Real fast. (Norbert von der Groeben/GoldenBearSports.com)

We recognize the goofiness of linking out to something on this same website, but we love you and do not want you to miss Stewart Mandel’s account of his visit to Berkeley, where Messrs. Dykes-and-Franklin are tuning up the Bear Raid:

“Air Raid, Bear Raid — when we got here a label was thrown out there because of the [coaching] tree. We don’t identify it that way,” Franklin said. “Run it, throw it, it doesn’t matter, whereas the true Air Raid is, we’re going to throw it no matter what. We’re going to play fast and find a way to put points on the board.”

This is old news for anybody who watched Louisiana Tech’s Kenneth Dixon (and, until his ACL betrayed him, Tevin King) last season, but we’re going to keep calling it that because it’s fun to say “Bear Raid,” if that’s all right with y’all. And now, the Sonny Dykes preseason quote of the year:

“Our way of doing it, I prefer, is to go fast.“

You don’t say.

DeWayne Walker set the coaching carousel spinning once more with his late departure from New Mexico State. (AP)

Tommy Tuberville’s sitting by the phone* and Jimmy Sexton’s got that particular sparkle in his eye. It can mean only one thing: The coach firin’ season is upon us once more. We’ll be tracking the carousel of progress, right here, for as long as it takes to stop spinning. Raise a glass to times past, won’t you? * Well, not anymore, but never tell us we don’t have the gift of very specific prophecy through throwaway jokes.

New Mexico State [updated 02.01.2013]

• Who’s out: DeWayne Walker, who jumps to the NFL with less than two weeks remaining between now and Signing Day. And not even for a coordinating gig: Walker will coach defensive backs for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Walker released the following statement through the athletic department: “I really appreciate the opportunity that Dr. Boston and New Mexico State gave me to be a Division I head football coach. Unfortunately, I did not get the program as far as I would have liked from a wins and losses standpoint. But, we do have a better locker room, better kids and a better foundation for the program moving forward. There are a lot of people that I want to thank for their support and will be reaching out to those individuals in the coming days. They have helped me in moving the program forward. I am excited about starting a new chapter in my coaching career, as is my family. I wish New Mexico State great success in the future and wish everyone the best. Go Aggies!” • Who’s in: Doug Martin — the one who played at Kentucky, not the one who played at Boise State. Although if Martin The Younger is really so opposed to his excellent nickname, we’re gonna refer to Martin The Elder as coach Muscle Hamster instead. It’s been a whirlwind courtship for Martin and the Aggies: He was announced as offensive coordinator on January 17, temporarily promoted to interim head coach on January 24 and will be officially announced as DeWayne Walker’s successor on Monday, February 4. Martin’s previous head coaching experience consists of a seven-year stint at Kent State, from 2004-2010. Read More…

Stefphon Jefferson has clearly just caught a look at the New Mexico Bowl scoreboard here. (AP)

• My god, it’s full of stats. Just for funsies, and maybe also because we’re football-free until Thursday, here is a list of NCAA bowl records broken by Nevada and Arizona in the 2012 New Mexico Bowl, via Wolf Pack sports info:

-Most plays (combined, both teams): Nevada-Arizona, 188 (Previous, 187, by Auburn-Northwestern in 2010 Outback Bowl).

-Most first downs: Nevada, 39 (Previous, 36—Oklahoma (48) vs. Virginia (14) (Gator, Dec. 29, 1991) (16 rush, 18 pass, 2 penalty); Marshall (64) vs. East Carolina (61) (2 ot) (GMAC, 2001) (9 rush, 25 pass, 2 penalty).

-Most first downs, both teams: Nevada-Arizona, 70 (Previous: 62—North Carolina St. (56) [34] vs. Kansas (26) [28] (Tangerine, 2003).

-Most first downs rushing: Nevada, 28 (Previous: 26—Oklahoma (40) vs. Auburn (22) (Sugar, Jan. 1, 1972); Navy (51) vs. Colorado St. (30) (Poinsettia, 2005).

-Most first downs rushing, both teams: Nevada-Arizona, 38 (Previous: 36—Colorado (47) [24] & Alabama (33) [12] (Liberty, 1969); Miami (FL) (46) [16] & Texas (3) [20] (Cotton, 1991).

An auspicious beginning to the postseason, no?

• Further bowltyme antics. In case you missed it last week, follow along with Stewart Mandel’s Bowl Pickoff right over here.

• Actual playoff happenings. Mount Union continues to do Mount Union things, gaining another D-III championship on Friday night … Valdosta State wrecked Winston-Salem State in the Division II title game … Sam Houston State and North Dakota State will face off for the FCS championship.

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Eyes on the prize, Colby Cameron. (AP)

Our weekly highlight show of lesser FBS luminaries. Non-AQs and independents, be welcome.

• Broncos and Bulldogs and bustin’. If you follow our pre- and midseason Crystal Ball projections, you know how hilariously bad we are at predicting which teams will land in which bowl games. But after a second loss, even Boise State’s new-money brand-name recognition won’t keep the Broncos afloat in the polls. So what does this mean for our early-season busting favorites, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs? Quoth our designated postseason prognosticator, Stewart Mandel: “Louisiana Tech, No. 20 in the standings this week, may be that group’s lone hope, but the Bulldogs need to beat 8-2 Utah State in two weeks, climb at least four spots and hope BCS No. 16 Nebraska loses so that Tech finishes ahead of an AQ champ.” Same as it ever was when it comes to non-AQs with aspirations of crashing the party: Win big, and hope bigger. A perfect run through November won’t be easy for LaTech. Texas State should pose no problem in Week 11, but neither Utah State nor San Jose State are any kind of pushover.

Sonny Dykes, as ever, prefers to marvel at where he’s gotten this team once he gets there, and only then: “If we go and do not play well Saturday, Texas State will beat us and that will end all of the discussion. We have to worry about playing well this week, and like I said, when it is all over with, we will kind of look up and say, ‘Wow, here we are.’”

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Can Quinton Patton and Louisiana Tech shake off Johnny Football and bully through the WAC? (AP)

Our weekly highlight show of lesser FBS luminaries. Non-AQs and independents, be welcome:

We made the trek to Shreveport last week in the hopes of being on the scene when 2012′s best chance for a BCS bust really took shape. We came perilously close to getting our wish; but for a blocked extra point attempt here and a successful two-point conversion there, America would be staring down the real possibility of another WAC team in a BCS bowl game.

Right now, it’s hard to imagine that being the case. We said in our midseason Crystal Ball segment, and several of our colleagues agreed, that the odds for an upstart squad in a big-money game this season look grim, with Louisiana Tech and Boise State each carrying a loss from their highest-profile nonconference games and Ohio undefeated but eking out wins against the likes of UMass, Buffalo and Akron. Is there a spark of hope for any of our precious Profiteroles?

Maybe. The Broncos enjoy the benefit of name recognition after their last several seasons, and popped up at No. 22 in the first set of BCS standings released Sunday. It’s their 38th straight such appearance, and the longest active BCS rankings streak in the FBS. Could they climb into that all-important No. 16 spot ahead of an AQ conference champion? Could Louisiana Tech, with a stronger nonconference schedule and blowouts the rest of the way, jump the Broncos?

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Here is Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M quarterback and noted mutant, doing a football thing. He’s pretty good at these. (AP)

SHREVEPORT, La. — The nation’s best hope to bust the BCS is no more. One-loss non-AQ teams don’t get invited to the big-money games. It just isn’t done, dahling. Heading into Week 7, three undefeated mid-major teams clung to aspirations of posh January destinations. Right now, it’s hard to imagine any of them  making the trip. The Ohio Bobcats move to 7-0 but continue to play close games against lowly competition. The UTSA Roadrunners (they were, technically, undefeated! No, YOU shut up) got pummeled by Rice. And the Bulldogs, winners on the road in the ACC and Big Ten, fell short in a virtual home game, 59-57, against SEC newcomer Texas A&M.

It’s how short, and how the Bulldogs got there, that’s the story. “Those who left early,” said Sonny Dykes in his postgame press conference, “ought to be ashamed of themselves.” We quite agree.

We’ll talk a lot about Colby Cameron tonight, maybe because we’re still feeling the echoes of seeing Nick Florence have a career day and still go home with a loss. Cameron has a lot to be proud of tonight. So does Quinton Patton, his primary receiver, who caught four of his touchdown passes. “A whole lot of things happened in that football game,” said Kevin Sumlin afterward, “and it could have gone either way.”

But we must first spend some words burnishing the hatchling legend of Texas A&M quarterback and utter mutant Johnny Manziel, who as a redshirt freshman set program and SEC records for total offense with tonight’s 576-yard performance. Before the arrival of Manziel, the Aggies had recorded 13 400-yard performances in school history. Manziel has now recorded three such games in six tries as a college football player. His rushing output (181 yards) and the aforementioned 72-yard dash were both career efforts. It can be goofy to laud career days from freshmen, who have almost no body of work with which to compare new games, and to goggle at offensive stats against defenses like Louisiana Tech’s, but we think you’ll agree this calls for just a bit of decorous celebration.

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• Expect to see this discussed in tonight’s vice presidential debate. Finally, an NCAA crackdown on the scourge of inartfully faked lens flares.

In addition to Instagram, coaches can’t use the Add-A-Kitty app. Altering the photo with a cat would make it a no-no: twitter.com/RazorbackRules…

— RazorbackRules (@RazorbackRules) October 10, 2012

• Hair news of vital importance. Here is a news release from Stanford that we feel compelled to reprint in its entirety:

STANFORD, Calif. – The mullet that once graced the head of defensive end Ben Gardner has returned.

“I didn’t want to bring it back, to be honest,” Gardner said. “I cut it last year after the final game of the regular season, and then we ended up losing the Fiesta Bowl. You wouldn’t believe all the crap I took from teammates blaming the loss on my lack of mullet.

“At the end of the day, they kind of convinced me they needed it. I brought it back for one more final hurrah. I’m going to keep it to the end of the bowl. Maybe we’ll cut it in the locker room after the game.”

So, just so we’re straight, the mullet was to blame for the 41-38 overtime loss to Oklahoma State and not Cowboys’ receiver Justin Blackmon?

“According to the other 100 guys in the locker room, it was my mullet,” Gardner contested.

Our very best wishes to Mr. Gardner in all his coiffure-related endeavors.

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“Psst. Hey, Colby Cameron, lookit me! I’m an AP Poll voter! I’m gonna slot Texas Tech in over you, no matter what!” (AP)

• Sonny Dykes will remember your insolence. It’s fruitless to worry over college football polls when one has no power to change them, but what else are we going to do at this hour on a Monday morning? We have followed the progress of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs with interest since seeing them come perilously close to knocking off TCU in last season’s Poinsettia Bowl. They are currently 4-0 and have beaten Illinois and Virginia in nonconference play over the past two weeks (earning $1.6 million for those two road trips). They are not even close to cracking the AP Top 25, or the exercise in mass self-delusion we continue to refer to as the Coaches’ Poll. This is stupid and gross. Would you like to know more? Peruse our favorite Monday read, Bryan Fischer’s Poll Attacks.

• Or an Urbz-Dantonio glower-off, at 20 paces, at dawn. Ohio State doctored game footage it sent to Michigan State, says Michigan State’s defensive coordinator. “MSU associate athletic director John Lewandowski said MSU athletic director Mark Hollis and Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith settled the issue between them, with no Big Ten involvement,” says the Detroit Free Press. We imagine this matter was resolved with one extremely tense game of Hungry Hungry Hippos. (Did you know they make a travel version of this game now? We have one in our guest room. It’s like a little terrarium of potential sibling warfare. This post is in no way sponsored by Hasbro, which would not approve of some of the words we said to our little brother over the last marble.)

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