Cal Gets One Measly Vote in Coaches’ Preseason Football Top 25 Poll

OK, who's the culprit? Sixty-five coaches voted in the USA Today Sports AFCA preseason football coaches poll released Tuesday, and one of them put Cal at No. 25 in the rankings he submitted. Who was it?

Three Pac-12 teams – Oregon, USC and Washington -- were ranked in the top 25 of the coaches poll, but none was among the top 10, which suggests respect for the Pac-12 is still lagging.

However, the bigger mystery for today is: Who voted Cal 25th to give the Bears one point in the poll?

Was it Colorado’s Karl Dorrell or USC’s Clay Helton or Washington’s Jimmy Lake or Washington State’s Nick Rolovich or Arizona's Jedd Fisch or Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, who are the six voting members from the Pac-12?

Maybe it was former Cal coach Sonny Dykes, who gets a vote this year as SMU’s head coach. Perhaps it was TCU’s Gary Patterson, who gets a vote and must face the Golden Bears on Sept. 11.

We know it wasn’t Justin Wilcox, because he is not among the panel of coaches who votes in the coaches’ poll.

This mystery may never be solved, and it makes you wonder whether the Golden Bears will get a vote in the preseason Associated Press media poll, which will be released next Monday, August 16.

Mystery aside, the poll does not mean much at this point. The one voting point tied the Golden Bears for 56th in the poll, matching Stanford’s one point. Six Pac-12 teams got more votes than Cal, and six of Cal’s 2021 opponents – including Nevada and TCU – got more voting points than the Golden Bears.

Last year, Cal received five voting points in the coaches’ preseason poll, which tied Cal for 42nd, and the Bears wound up 1-3.

To no one’s surprise Alabama is No. 1 in this year’s preseason coaches poll, getting all but two first-place votes. Also to no one’s surprise Clemson is No. 2, followed by No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 4 Ohio State.

The highest ranked Pac-12 team is preseason conference favorite Oregon at No. 12. USC is close behind at No. 14 and Washington comes in at No. 21. Cal plays all three of those teams this season.

Utah and Arizona State barely missed making the Top 25, coming in 26th and 28th, respectively.

Cover photo of Justin Wilcox is by Kelvin Kuo, USA TODAY Sports.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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