This particular Bears team, with a wealth of talent returning from their previous season, had a good amount of preseason hype surrounding it, with the preseason AP Poll ranking the Bears 9th, while the Coaches Poll rated them 12th, their highest ranking since 1952. After a season-ending injury in the first game of the 2005 season, sophomore Nate Longshore was named the starting quarterback for the Bears over Joe Ayoob, who had struggled in the 2005 games that he had started. After a very impressive season, Cal also launched a program to officially campaign for running back Marshawn Lynch to win the Heisman Trophy.