Know Your Enemy: Cal Prepares For First Meeting With Grambling State
The California Bears will open the 2015 season at home against Grambling State, who brought the band with them. The most casual of college football fans may not be too familiar with Grambling State, but it's one of the more well-known programs out of the SWAC. The program has gone through some rough patches over the years, but things are starting to look a bit brighter.
Series History
This will be the first meeting between the two programs. Grambling State is 3-15 all-time against FBS opponents.
Head Coach
Broderick Fobbs (7-5 all-time record, 2nd season)
Fobbs took over as Grambling state head coach in 2014. Tasked with the mission of returning the Tigers back its usual SWAC contender status, Dobbs had his work cut out for him. Winning just one game before his hire, Grambling State put together a seven-win season in the first season with Fobbs, an alum of Grambling State. The former Tigers running back has made multiple stops as an assistant coach before landing the head coaching gig.
Grambling State on Offense
On offense, Grambling State will have three wide receivers back in the field, looking to find cracks in Cal's defense. Senior Chester Rogers, sophomore Chad Williams and junior Verlon Hunter all should get in the mix when Grambling State has the football. Johnathan Williams will be the one throwing them the football, too. Williams helped lead the offense to 32.2 points and 403.9 yards per game last season as the offense began to regain form. Williams appeared in nine games for the Tigers, in which he passed for 2,454 yards and 18 touchdowns. He is also known to take off and run with the ball. Williams rushed for 484 yards and eight touchdowns last fall. He should continue to be a dual threat for Grambling State as the Tigers look to find a more durable solution in the running game.
Grambling State on Defense
Grambling State is not likely to pose much of a threat to Cal's offense. The Tigers ranked 108th out of 121 FCS programs a year ago in passing defense. Passing just so happens to be Cal's specialty. Senior defensive back Nicholas Peoples is one of the top defensive players coming back this season for the Tigers. He recorded 64 tackles (more than any other returning player) and a pair of interceptions last fall. He will be joined in the defensive backfield by senior defensive back Mike Roach. These two will have to be prepared for a lot of running around, because Cal will likely be trying to move down field in chunks through the air.
The Tigers also have some holes to plug up front in the defense after losing a handful of players to graduation. Grambling State loses a pair of top linebackers from 2014, but returns senior Henry Taylor after a promising offseason in practices and workouts. Taylor can be found playing alongside junior Arkez Cooper, who recorded 36 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 2014.
As far as opening weeks of the season go, this is a good opportunity for the Bears to get the season started on the right foot. The Bears are 7-3 in their last 10 season openers and will be looking to improve on that mark tomorrow against the Tigers at 2 p.m. PT.
Kevin McGuire is a Philadelphia area sports writer covering the Philadelphia Eagles and college football. McGuire is a member of the FWAA and National Football Foundation. Follow McGuire on Twitter @KevinOnCFB. His work can be found on Examiner.com.