With all the anticipation, excitement and expectations for the season converging at Memorial Stadium on Saturday as Cal football kicks off against UCLA to usher in its new era, first-year head coach Tosh Lupoi and the Bears are focused on keeping the main thing as the main thing. And that main thing is themselves.
"I think that just depends on personal expectations," Lupoi said Tuesday morning when asked how he balances the anticipation of this moment for Cal with the actual football played between the white lines.
"This is a great challenge, a great Big Ten opponent coming in … and then you dial into what matters, right? Of us, how we're playing, our opportunity to display our culture, to kick off the new era of Cal football, and don't really put a lot into what anybody else's expectations are. Just really declaring what we want to go accomplish and how we want to get there, and keep the main thing, the main thing, every day."
The Bears' dedication to being internally focused has gone so far as to extend their training camp all the way into Monday, which Lupoi conceded leaves them a little behind on their game preparation for the Bruins. But while Lupoi and the Bears remain fixated on the happenings inside the locker room, the buzz outside those walls is loud.
With Cal Athletics raking in a record $88.5 million in donations from July 2025 through June 2026, its transfer class ranking 14th in the nation per 247Sports, and team general manager Ron Rivera touting his belief in the program, a lot of optimistic eyes are watching to see if the Bears can flip the script on what's been a long run of low-level bowl games and tepid mediocrity.
#thing #anticipation
"I think that just depends on personal expectations," Lupoi said Tuesday morning when asked how he balances the anticipation of this moment for Cal with the actual football played between the white lines.
"This is a great challenge, a great Big Ten opponent coming in … and then you dial into what matters, right? Of us, how we're playing, our opportunity to display our culture, to kick off the new era of Cal football, and don't really put a lot into what anybody else's expectations are. Just really declaring what we want to go accomplish and how we want to get there, and keep the main thing, the main thing, every day."
The Bears' dedication to being internally focused has gone so far as to extend their training camp all the way into Monday, which Lupoi conceded leaves them a little behind on their game preparation for the Bruins. But while Lupoi and the Bears remain fixated on the happenings inside the locker room, the buzz outside those walls is loud.
With Cal Athletics raking in a record $88.5 million in donations from July 2025 through June 2026, its transfer class ranking 14th in the nation per 247Sports, and team general manager Ron Rivera touting his belief in the program, a lot of optimistic eyes are watching to see if the Bears can flip the script on what's been a long run of low-level bowl games and tepid mediocrity.
#thing #anticipation
8 days ago
