Cal Wins Big; HeisMendoza; Toughest Job; Paul Wiggin; Bowl Viewing Guide

Cal football will be in good hands with former Golden Bear defensive lineman Tosh Lupoi as its new head coach.

Lupoi is quite possibly the best recruiter in college football. He's also earned his stripes as a strong defensive coordinator at Alabama, Washington and Oregon, after earlier serving as an assistant at Cal.

His appointment is rightfully being viewed by Bear alums with more enthusiasm than Stanford's recent hire of Tavita Pritchard is being acknowledged by Cardinal fans.

Like Pritchard, Lupoi doesn't have head coaching experience. But he has at least three distinct advantages--1) successful experience as a coordinator; 2) diversity of experience in different systems under head coaches Nick Saban, Steve Sarkisian and Dan Lanning; and 3) demonstrated ability to recruit in the NIL/transfer portal era.

Congrats also to Lupoi and GM Ron Rivera (pictured above) for securing a commitment from star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele to return to Cal next season.

Sagapolutele completed 64% of his passes for over 3000 yards and 17 TDs as a true freshman this year. There was a ton of interest in JKS from other schools, including some of the iconic brands in college football, but Cal acted quickly and decisively to keep him in Berkeley.

It was probably quite expensive but, in the new world of NIL and the transfer portal, worth it.

HeisMendoza: One that did get away from Cal, quarterback Fernando Mendoza, won the Heisman Trophy Saturday. The former two-star recruit and fourth QB on the Cal depth chart, transferred to Indiana this year and led the Hoosiers to a perfect season, Big Ten championship, No. 1 ranking, and top seed in the College Football Playoff. 

Mendoza gave a number of emotional interviews this year, but his Heisman acceptance speech, praising his mother--who suffers from multiple sclerosis and wrote a touching letter to her son last week in the players' tribune--was the topper. 

He ended with this message to other unrecruited athletes: "I want every kid out there who feels overlooked, underestimated to know, I was you. I was that kid, too. I was in your shoes."

Heartwarming story and well deserved honor for an impressive young man.

Toughest Job: A year ago, the Athletic polled 50 people in college football and asked a simple question: "What are the top five coaching jobs in the country?"

This year, they flipped it and asked a mix of head coaches, assistant coaches, personnel staffers and administrators "What are the five toughest jobs in college football."

The winner at No. 1 was Stanford.

According to the Athletic pollsters, "the most recent headwinds across the sport have left Stanford in the wilderness. The university's administration was late to adapt to NIL. Rigorous academic and admissions standards make it difficult to add talent through the transfer portal. And the latest wave of realignment resulted in the Cardinal landing in the ACC--an unnatural fit with no real connection to the rest of the schools in the league besides its rival Cal."

All true.

No one said it was going to be easy. Hopefully a little (Andrew) Luck and a healthy helping of Tavita Pritchard will prove it can be done.

RIP Paul Wiggin: One man who had that "toughest job", former Stanford coach Paul Wiggin, passed away yesterday at the age of 91.

Wiggin was a two-time All-American at Stanford and a head coach for both the Kansas City Chiefs and his alma mater. He was the coach when Cal ran the famous "Play" to win the Big Game in 1982.

I had the pleasure of working closely with Paul when I was Associate Athletic Director at Stanford. We became good friends. His daughters babysat my daughters.

He was one of the finest men I've ever known.

Bowl Watch: Every year we attempt to winnow down the 41 college football bowl games down to a reasonable number that are worth watching. Games that justify spending three-and-a-half hours of your time during the holidays. 

The list seems to be getting shorter every year due to 1) the expansion of the College Football Playoff; 2) more and more top players opting out of non-playoff bowls, ostensibly to avoid risking injury and getting ready for the NFL draft; 3) top teams opting out, as is the case this year with Notre Dame, Iowa State and Kansas State; 4) coaching changes that leave many teams operating under the direction of interim coaches.

Despite all that, there are several games that merit your attention, assuming the "name" players show up. 

The first desirable game already took place last Saturday, with Washington beating Boise State in the LA Bowl. This reportedly will be the last LA Bowl, as the game has decided not to continue because its anchor conference, the old Pac-12, is being replaced by a facsimile the bowl considers sub-standard.

So here are the games we recommend, starting with this weekend's playoff first rounders:

Dec. 19

College Football Playoff, Alabama (10-3) at Oklahoma (10-2), ESPN/ABC, 5:00

Even though we feel Alabama has no business being in the playoff, we like their chances against Oklahoma, a team that has struggled offensively all year. If Bama QB Ty Simpson can revert to his productive early season form, the Tide should prevail.

Dec. 20

College Football Playoff, Miami (10-2) at Texas A&M (11-1), ESPN/ABC, 9:00 am

We don't like either of these teams very much, but since Texas A&M is at home, and Miami QB Carson Beck can always be counted on to throw an interception at the worst possible time, we expect the Aggies to win this one.

College Football Playoff, Ole Miss (11-1) vs. Tulane (11-2), TNT, 12:30

Despite the loss of sleazy head coach Lane Kiffin, the Rebels should have no trouble with Tulane, a team they destroyed 45-10 earlier this season, unless the numerous distractions take a toll. Pete Golding, the former defensive coordinator who is now in charge, has a direct, non-glamour boy approach that should come as a welcome change to the Ole Miss players.

College Football Playoff, James Madison (12-1) at Oregon (11-1), TNT, 4:30.

Lots of coaching changes on tap, as JMU head coach Bob Chesney is leaving for UCLA and both of Oregon's coordinators are taking new head coaching jobs elsewhere--offensive coordinator Will Stein at Kentucky and, as noted above, defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi at Cal. Despite Chesney's coaching talent, his team will be totally outmanned in this one.

Dec. 24

Hawaii Bowl, Cal (7-5) vs. Hawaii (8-4), ESPN, 5:00

A dream matchup for the bowl between hometown Hawaii, led by star quarterback Micah Alejado, vs. Cal, led by local product Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.

Dec. 27

Pop Tarts Bowl, BYU (11-2) vs. Georgia Tech (9-3), ABC, 12:30

Another matchup of top QBs, this one featuring BYU freshman Bear Bachmeier against ACC Player of the Year Haynes King. It also features two coaches who spurned other offers to stay at their alma maters--BYU's Kilani Sitake turned down Penn State and Tech's Brent Key was pursued by a number of schools.

Gator Bowl, Virginia (10-3) vs. Missouri (8-4), ABC 4:30

Virginia lost out on the College Football Playoff after getting upset by a five-loss Duke team in the ACC Championship game, spoiling a Cinderella season. Missouri started fast, finished slow, but managed to hold onto head coach Eli Drinkwitz, who (like the coaches noted above) was pursued by several schools.

New Mexico Bowl, North Texas (11-2) vs. San Diego State (9-3), ESPN 2:45

A classic matchup between the No. 1 scoring offense in the country vs. the No. 5 scoring defense. North Texas appeared to be the better team in the American Conference Championship game against Tulane, but blew a chance at the playoff by turning the ball over five times.

Dec. 30

Music City Bowl, Tennessee (8-4) vs. Illinois (8-4), ESPN, 2:30

Two good, solid teams. Nothing better to do on Dec. 30.

Alamo Bowl, USC (9-3) vs. TCU (8-4), ESPN 6:00

This one should be a shootout between two of the highest scoring offenses in college football. The Trojans have a stellar group of receivers perhaps only exceeded in quality by Ohio State.

Dec. 31

Reliaquest Bowl, Vanderbilt (10-2) vs Iowa (8-4), ESPN, 9:00

Heisman Trophy finalist Diego Pavia alone is worth the price of admission. Pavia passed for 3,192 yards and 27 TDs, and rushed for 826 and another 9 TDs, as Vandy averaged 39 points per game. Iowa's defense will provide a good test, as the Hawkeyes allowed only 15 ppg.

Sun Bowl, Duke (8-5) vs. Arizona State (8-4), CBS, 11:00

ACC Champ Duke has a productive quarterback in Darian Mensah, the transfer from Tulane who reportedly got over $3M to switch schools. The San Luis Obispo native completed 68% of his passes for 3,646 yards and 30 TDs, with only 5 interceptions. ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt, who was plagued by injuries throughout the '25 season after a stellar '24, has entered the transfer portal.

Citrus Bowl, Michigan (9-3) vs. Texas (9-3), ABC, 12 noon

An interesting battle of under-achieving teams and over-hyped quarterbacks, The Longhorns were supposed to be the best team in the country and QB Arch Manning was the pre-season Heisman favorite. Michigan's Bryce Underwood was the No. 1 recruit in the country. In the past week, of course, all of this has been overshadowed by the sad saga of Michigan's former coach, Sherrone Moore, who was fired with cause because of an improper relationship with a staff member, and then arrested for breaking into her apartment and brandishing a knife. The married father of three has blown a $6M gig, one of the best jobs in the country, and in all likelihood will be going to prison.

Las Vegas Bowl, Utah (10-2) vs. Nebraska (7-5), ESPN, 12:30

This will be the final game in the storied career of Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, who for my money has always been one of the best coaches in the country. His first season as head coach, 2004, he brought Utah to the Emerald Bowl, where we hosted him for a week in San Francisco. Great guy. And his team demolished heavily favored Georgia Tech. He should have no trouble going out with a win against Nebraska.

Jan. 2

Liberty Bowl, Navy (10-2) vs. Cincinnati (7-5), ESPN, 1:30

This could be an interesting game. Navy quarterback Blake Horvath is a dual threat along the lines of Vanderbilt's Pavia. He is the first player in Navy history to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 1,000 yards in two seasons. This year he completed 62% of his passes for 1390 yards and 9TDS, and rushed for 1040 yards, a 6.0 average, and 14 scores. Cincy's Brandon Sorsby isn't bad, either, throwing for 2800 yards, 27 TDs, and rushing for 580 and 9.

Holiday Bowl, Arizona (9-3) vs. SMU (8-4), Fox, 5:00

Two solid teams with fine quarterbacks and coaches on the rise. Arizona's Brent Brennan, who did an excellent job at San Jose State, struggled in his first year leading the Wildcats but turned things around this season. SMU's Rhett Lashlee was pursued by a number of other schools but decided to stay at SMU. QBs Noah Fifita (Arizona) and Kevin Jennings (SMU) are both fun to watch.

(We'll handicap the rest of the CFP games--scheduled Dec. 31, Jan. 1, 8, 9 and 19--in future posts).

Note: The Inside Track will be on Christmas vacation next week, but will resume publishing on Dec. 29. Happy Holidays, everyone!