SAN DIEGO — Kama Kamaka offers the statement without hesitation, without any pretense of sugarcoating what the last year has held for San Diego football.
 
"I don't think we played very well," Kamaka says following a midweek practice when asked to describe the Toreros' tumultuous, shortened Spring 2021 campaign. "There were a lot of things going on…but it's not an excuse for how we played." 
 
A few days later, head coach Dale Lindsey is even more direct in his assessment.
 
"I think it was awful," Lindsey quipped in a recent phone interview. "We're not used to losing two games around here, particularly conference games…it was quite unsatisfying. I have to take most of the blame for that…when we lose, it's coaches and players, not just players."
 
USD won more games than they lost this March and April, marking what would represent a welcome outcome for many programs. Two more, to be exact, tallying a 4-2 record as they navigated perhaps the most logistically challenging season in program history. Yes, the campaign was fraught with the same pandemic-related challenges that the rest of the country faced. But no, the team emphasizes, the circumstances don't excuse the campaign's ultimate result: missing the postseason. And according to Lindsey, "everyone should be mad" about San Diego's projection to finish second in the PFL preseason coaches' poll.
 
Such are the standards at Torero Stadium.
 
"I'm excited to right our wrongs this fall, hopefully play better, win some more games in conference and out of conference," said Kamaka, a three-time All-PFL selection who has played in every game in his USD career and led the Toreros in tackles in back-to-back seasons. "Something that we took away from last season is that you can lose on any given day…we proved that if we don't take care of business and we don't prepare well enough and play well enough on Saturday, we're going to lose games."
 
The Toreros' abundance of accountability is matched only by an ardent belief that their previous season was an aberration, an attitude that has only reinforced their desire to hold the standard for a program that recently went years in between conference losses. They'll attempt to do so with a mixture of returners, new talent, and a cast of players who have ascended the depth chart after waiting in the wings for years to make their mark. And entering the season, there'll be a newfound emphasis on preparedness, a luxury USD wasn't always afforded last year.
 
"When you're playing a game, you gotta be prepared," said Lindsey, now in his ninth season in Alcala Park. "The big difference last year is we were lacking some talent in some spots where we've had it…We've got a lot of young players who are just beginning to understand what it means to play here at USD, and should they mature I think we can be a very competitive team."
 
Graduate student Mason Randall, newly anointed as the starting QB for the second straight year, is back to lead the offense. At his disposal will be three Preseason All-Pioneer Football League selections — wide receiver Michael Carner, tight end Derek Kline, and offensive lineman DJ Wright.
 
"Me being able to lean on (Carner and Kline) in big situations in the game helps a lot," said Randall, who threw for 10 touchdowns and 1,561 yards in 202 attempts this past spring. "DJ's been an all-conference guy for a couple of years now, I know the entire offensive line group looks up to him, he's a big vocal leader for our whole team…he does so much for us on the field but he does a lot for us off the field as well."
 
Kamaka, also selected to the Preseason All-PFL team, will be back to lead the defense, as he has done for each of the last four seasons. He'll be joined by a trio of all-conference defensive players in linebacker Kyle Bilchik, cornerback Michael Hawkins, and safety Hunter Nichols, bringing a cohesive group together for one more season. 
 
"Me, Kyle, Hunter, and Mikey, we've pretty much all been starting for the last three years together, so we're really close," Kamaka said. "On the field we really don't have to talk to each other, we know what each other are doing, the camaraderie we have is really awesome."
 
In discussing San Diego's collective ethos on the gridiron, a common thread emerged between both offensive and defensive players: be tough and gritty, be disciplined, and be ready to do whatever it takes to win.
 
"Tough, and physical, and disciplined," Lindsey said of his vision for this year's team. "Everything about us should always be physical. And the second thing about us should be discipline. If we have those two factors going at any time…we should have a chance to win the game. Those are the only things I know of that have gotten us through some tough times."
           
They'll have a chance to put that to the test right away as they begin their schedule with matchups against three scholarship programs from the Big Sky Conference: Cal Poly in week one, UC Davis in week two, and Montana State in week three. They'll be at home versus the Mustangs and the Aggies, and will hit the road to play the Bobcats in Bozeman. Lining up this trio to begin the year marks a return to the Toreros' customary non-conference slate, and a chance to prove themselves against bigger programs that many San Diego players relish.
 
"Those are teams we've definitely always wanted to play," said Randall, who was recruited by UC Davis out of high school. "With having the success in our conference that we've had, I think a lot of guys have wanted to play Big Sky teams, now we kind of get a taste of that…they're three playoff-caliber teams."
 
Once those games are completed, the Toreros will enter PFL play with vengeance on their minds. Less than 200 days after they fell to Davidson in an uncharacteristic, 31-25 defeat at Torero Stadium, USD will have a chance for the rematch, this time on the Wildcats' home turf in North Carolina. And fortunately for San Diego, the PFL matchup many have had circled on their calendars since the spring is the first one on its conference slate.
 
"I'd say our first game in the PFL is the biggest one," Kamaka described. "Personally, and I think as a team we've had that game against Davidson circled…they beat us in the spring and they've given us a tough past couple of years. We want to take back what's ours and win that game."
 
The matchup will represent the conference favorite (Davidson) going up against the team picked to finish second in the PFL (San Diego), but it won't mark the end of the conference challenges for the Toreros. Ahead of them are matchups against recent PFL addition St. Thomas, Butler, Drake (also the Homecoming game), Presbyterian, Valparaiso, Morehead State, and Stetson. Home games include squaring off against the Tommies, the Bulldogs, and the Beacons, and they'll travel to take on the Wildcats, the Bulldogs (Butler, not Drake), and the Blue Hose before they finish the season on the road opposite the Hatters. Quite the collection of mascots, and quite the array of teams to take on down the stretch.
 
"Everyone's kind of gunning for us," Randall said. "That's no different than any year in the past, we had won the conference the previous (six) years in a row…we're used to other conference teams giving us their best shot."
 
Minutes after he gave a blunt, honest assessment of a year that fell short of San Diego's lofty standards for football, Kamaka spoke freely once again, describing a scene that in its entirety has eluded Torero Stadium for far too long.
 
"We're gonna be juiced up, man," the senior said of the Toreros' first home game on September 4. "It's gonna be awesome to see my friends and family back in the stands, hopefully some students...walking down that ramp is gonna be exciting, all the juices are gonna be flowing. We can't wait."
 
No excuses. None of the weirdness that hung over the spring campaign. Just a chance to right their wrongs and play the way they know they can play. 
 
A shot, they hope, at redemption.