Phil Steele Preseason Magazine Shows Love for Pac-12, but Not for Cal
Phil Steele's preseason college football magazine was released this week, and it showed respect for the Pac-12 in general but not for Cal or the Bears' players in particular.
The magazine had the usual suspects as its top four in its preseason national rankings (Oklahoma, Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson), but it had five Pac-12 teams in its preseason top 25. That's more than nearly all other preseason top-25 rankings.
Here is Phil Steele's preseason ranking of the top four teams followed by the six Pac-12 teams that made his top 40.
1. Oklahoma
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Clemson
9. Washington
13. USC
15. Utah
19. Oregon
21. Arizona State
40. Stanford
You will note Cal is not among Steele's top 40 teams, and when you look at his predictions for the Pac-12, you can see why. Steele pegs the Golden Bears to finish fifth in the Pac-12, behind both Stanford and Washington State.
By contrast Athlon has projected Cal to finish third in the North.
Steele also picked Washington, not Oregon, to win the North, and predicts Arizona State to finish third in the South. Those picks go against most projections, but Steele has a pretty good record of getting these things right.
Here is the Phil Steele Pac-12 projected order of finish:
NORTH
1. Washington
2. Oregon
3. Stanford
4 Washington State
5. Cal
6. Oregon State
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SOUTH
1. USC
2. Utah
3. Arizona State
4. UCLA
5. Colorado
6. Arizona
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The Phil Steele magazine also picked a preseason all-Pac-12 teams, and no Cal players were named to the first team.
The absence of Cal quarterback Chase Garbers from Phil Steele's first-, second-, third- or fourth-team all-conference teams is significant, and is no doubt part of the reason Cal is placed so low in his Pac-12 North projections. The Bears' hopes of challenging for a Pac-12 North title depend on Garbers bouncing back from a so-so 2020 season when the Bears finished 1-3 and Garbers finished ninth in the conference in passer rating.
The only Golden Bears player on Steele's second-team all-conference squad is outside linebacker Cameron Goode. Goode was also a second-team all-conference selection by Lindy's preseason magazine and by Athlon.
Cal cornerback Josh Draden was named to Phil Steele's third-team all-conference squad, and Nikko Remigio was also named to the third team as a punt returner.
Fourth-team Phil Steele selections from Cal include wide receiver Kekoa Crawford, center Mike Saffell and linebacker Kuony Deng.
Saffell's inclusion on the fourth team is interesting because he was a first-team all-conference pick by Lindy's, the only Golden Bears player to land first-team honors in any of the three magazines' projections.
Steele's selection of Deng on the fourth team is noteworthy because Steele pegged Deng as a first-team all-Pac-12 member in his 2020 preseason projections.
Deng was moved from inside linebacker spot in 2020 to an outside linebacker position in the offseason. He played on the outside in some situations last season, and will probably be positioned on the inside in certain defenses in 2021. But being an outside linebacker primarily in 2021 is a significant move and seems to suit the body type of the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Deng.
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Cover photo of Cameron Good by Darren Yamashita, USA TODAY Sports
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