SB Nation - Jahvid Best

Bowl Games Gameday Thread: December 23rd, 2009

Drew K — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:45:08 -0000

Last nights contest between BYU and Oregon State was pretty one-sided... let's hope to see a more balanced contest tonight. On that note, this evenings game will feature another Pac-10 team versus another MWC team. The Utah Utes finished 3rd in the Mountain West Conference (6-2) but had an overall record of (9-3) and are ranked # 23 in the Nation, while the California Golden Bears finished 6th in the Pac-10 (5-4) with an overall record of (8-4) and are unranked but were at one point in the year ranked # 6 in the Nation. Utah has been to eight straight Bowl Games and this will mark California's 6th straight appearance to a bowl game. Being that alot of folks on NinersNation are Cal fans, I am sure that there will be a bunch of folks watching tonight so we hope to have more participation. Below the jump, we will take a look in to some of the key players, prospects, stats, and other information regarding the game...

# 23 UTAH UTES VS. CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS

SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL PREVIEW

UTES:

Key players to watch for the Utes:

[# 36] Eddie Wide RB 5'10" 195 (Junior):

Wide broke the 1000 yard mark for the first time in his collegiate career. There will need to be plenty of balance between run and pass for the Utes to come out of this game with the W. Look for Wide to get a Wide variety of touches tonight. His 2009 stats are: 182 Carries, 1032 yards, 5.7 yds/att, 12 TD's, and 1 TD receiving.

[# 68] Zane Beadles G 6'4" 305 (Senior):

Very versatile offensive lineman. Beadles knows how to play just about every position on the line. He has played both Tackle and Guard and has played them both very well. Being that the Niners may need a Guard in the upcoming draft, we all should be watching how well he plays against the Bears defensive line this eve before Christmas Eve.

[# 16] David Reed WR 6'0" 190 (Senior):

Reed is probably the most valuable player on this team. I suspect that true freshman QB Jordan Wynn will be zeroing in on Reed a bunch tonight. Reed will most likely be matched up against one of the top rated CB's in the nation tonight in Syd'Quan Thompson. This will be the most intriguing matchup of the evening. Reed's 2009 stats are: 75 receptions, 1085 yards, 14.5 a rec, 5 TD's.

[# 85] Jereme Brooks WR 5'7" 170 (Junior):

Brooks gives Wynn a great second read option. Brooks is a small, shifty, hard to cover small guy. If the Bears aren't careful, they will get burnt by Brooks. His 2009 stats are: 49 rec, 620 yards, 12.7 a rec, 6 TD's.

Led by Coach Kyle Whittingham (5th year, 46-17)

GOLDEN BEARS:

Key players to watch for the Bears:

[# 13] Kevin Riley QB 6'2" 221 (Junior):

I believe that Riley will have to be a factor in this game to give Cal any hopes of walking away from this bowl game with a win. I think he will more than likely return for his senior year to try and make a name for himself in the 2011 Draft. His 2009 stats are: 54.6% comp rate, 2636 yards, 7.6 per pass completed, 17 TD's, 6 INT's.

[# 34] Shane Vereen RB 5'10" 198 (Sophomore):

Vereen will be one to watch for the future. The Golden Bears have produced some pretty decent running backs within the last few years. With Jahvid Best still out in the this one with the severe concussion and back injury, Vereen will be the feature back. He actually will have finished the season with just 30 yards less than Best, although Best has played in 3 less games due to injury. Here are Vereen's 2009 stats: 163 attempts, 830 yards, 5.1 an attempt, 10 TD's.

[# 1] Marvin Jones WR 6'2" 190 (Sophomore):

Another guy that won't be coming out this year but has the potential to be a draft pick in 2011 or 2012 should he stay his Senior season. Jones has been the number one target as far as receivers are concerned this year; things should stay the same for this game as well. Here are his 2009 stats: 38 receptions, 607 yards, 16.0 a reception, 6 TD's.

Syd'Quan Thompson CB 5'9" 187 (Senior):

Thompson will probably be a 2nd round to 3rd round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft this year. He more than likely will shadow WR David Reed this evening. Thompson will need to be very effective against both the pass and run tonight. He has a very good opportunity to shine tonight and make himself a solid 2nd round pick candidate. Thompson will also be doing some returns tonight too...he is very exciting and electric when he has the ball. He has 250 career tackles which is a lot, 1 fumble forced, and 7 INT's (the majority of those coming in 2008).

Led by Coach Jeff Tedford (8th year, 67-34)

WHEN: 8:00 PM ET, 5:00 PST

WHERE: QUALCOMM STADIUM, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

TV: ESPN & ESPN-HD, ESPN 360

SATELLITE: SIRIUS, XM

OMG it's game day!

JazzyUte — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:15:26 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

1 day ago: Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, left, and California coach Jeff Tedford share their thoughts prior to a press conference where they discussed their Poinsettia Bowl NCAA college football game Tuesday Dec. 22, 2009 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

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Took forever, didn't it? But we're only a few hours away from the last game of the season. So, that means you better soak it all up because football ends around 9:30 tonight and won't return for a very, very long time.

Because of that, this better be a damn good game or it's going to be difficult getting through the next few months knowing how this season ended (back-to-back losses, a loss to BYU, no real good wins, blah). Luckily, the Utes have a legitimate shot at winning their ninth straight bowl game and it seems a good portion of the media is actually buying the Utes' hype this time around (which didn't happen during the Oregon/TCU/BYU games).

Whether that means anything, though, hinges on just how good the Utes play tonight. They can't struggle through long stretches like they did in all three of their losses. I believe if they are going to win, they either need to jump on Cal early or keep the game close throughout. A comeback, especially if they fall behind by two-scores, could be asking for too much.

Specifically what they need to do after the jump.

For starters, the offense has to find some consistency. They were getting things done early against BYU in their last game and then Jordan Wynn got his bell rung and wasn't the same the rest of the game. I also think play calling has to improve, as well, because it was pretty awful at times last month.

If you're going to run the wildcat, please shake things up. Put Terrance Cain in to do it because he at least poses a threat to pass. But the current makeup of it is just not getting it done.

Beyond that, though, the defense needs to keep Cal's running game in check. Utah's run defense has struggled at times this season with athletic running backs and fortunately, Jahvid Best, the more athletic back compared to Shane Vereen, is out with injury. Well I shouldn't say fortunately, but you get the point. Best is the type of player who can feast on the Utes' defense. Vereen, though, I haven't seen and I'm not sure if his style exploits their weakness.

It's also important special teams comes to play. They have played a role in every one of Utah's losses this season and if they're bad again, the Utes won't win this game. This probably concerns me more than Wynn or the defense stepping up and stopping Vereen. Because from what I've seen, Utah just is not capable of overcoming special teams deficiencies in games against good opponents. And while Cal might not be ranked, they're a pretty good team capable of beating the Utes - Best or not.

Ultimately, the Utes can't slack off here. Cal might be one of the better opponents Utah has faced in a bowl game as of late (not counting Alabama, obviously) and that means they'll need to step up with their best effort of the season. Just keeping it close might not be good enough because they've kept it close in two of three defeats and it did absolutely nothing to help them down the stretch.

But if they do keep it close, it will come down to a few plays here and there and that's where the Utes need to take advantage of each Cal mistake and try to not make any of their own. Because, in a close game, all it takes is one or two mistakes to cost you the game.

Now let's hope they go out and win this one and finish a rebuilding year with a fairly respectable 10-3 record and top-25 finish. It might not be exactly what we had hoped for, but a win here would salvage this ho-hum season.

Get it done, Utah.

Poinsettia Bowl Preview: No. 23 Utah vs Cal

Michael Rueckert — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 07:52:16 -0000

More photos » by Colin E. Braley - AP

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Next Game

Utah Utes
@ California Golden Bears

Wednesday, Dec 23, 2009, 5:00 PM PST
San Diego County Poinsettia Bowl - Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA

Q+A about Poinsettia Bowl

posted by Jeremy Mauss 2 days ago

2 comments | 0 recs

Poinsettia Bowl Q&A with California Golden Blogs

posted by Jeremy Mauss 2 days ago

0 comments | 0 recs

Cal's RB Jahvid Best Out for Poinsettia Bowl

posted by Jeremy Mauss 5 days ago

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Complete Coverage >

When it comes to bowl games, the Utes are as good as it gets. Utah will be looking to extend the nations longest bowl game win streak Wednesday night as they face the (8-4) California Golden Bears. The Utes have won 8 straight bowl games, which has included wins over Alabama, USC, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh. The (9-3) Utes will also be looking to reach the 10 win mark on the season.

Utah will be going up against their former offensive coordinator, Andy Ludwig. Being the Utes offensive coordinator last season, he knows their team well. The defensive minded Kyle Whittingham however, knows his style of play well too. We will have to see how much that plays into the game.

Cal will be without their best player, Jahvid Best who is still recovering from his fall against Oregon State. His replacement, Shane Vereen, is very good though so Cal shouldn't have too much of a drop off. He is slower than Best, but is a bit more elusive. Utah struggled defending the run against Oregon and TCU but did a good job against BYU.

The biggest question for Cal is what team will show up to this game? Will the Cal squad that beat Stanford and Arizona play, or the one that was crushed by Washington? The Utes are hoping that it is the latter. Cal can be a dangerous team, who entered the season hoping to win the Pac-10.

In a statistical comparison between the two teams that we did, it was determined that Cal is a better offensive team while Utah is the better defensive team. The margin of victory for Cal offensively was very slim however. Statistically it appears that Utah has the edge. Utah is a 3 point underdog however.

Look for Jordan Wynn to have a big game passing the ball. Cal has a weak secondary which allows 260.1 yards over the air. Wynn will be in familiar territory playing his third game in Qualcomm Stadium where he was (2-0) as the quarterback of Oceanside High School.

The Mountain West is having a great start to the bowl season with a (2-0) record thus far. Utah is looking to continue the statement by giving them a third win. This is another big MWC vs Pac 10 matchup who are developing a great and competitive rivalry.

I'm expecting a great and close game, but I think Utah wins. The Utes are just too good in bowl games for me to doubt them. Both teams should come out inspired, looking to end their season with a win, rather than a 2 game losing streak.

It's the bear necessities - question and answer period with Berkeley's finest

JazzyUte — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:00:01 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

Uh...I think we took a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

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I love the internets. Twenty years ago, it actually took effort to round up some resident know-it-all to get answers about a topic you're not entirely familiar with. And truth be told, I don't know much about Cal football. Except their coach before Jeff Tedford is currently the athletic director down in Provo. Oh and their offensive coordinator is some guy named Andrew Ludwig.

Whoever that is.

So, knowing I had Cal Berkeley connections a mouse click away, I caught a cyber wave on over to the best damn Pac Ten blog known to man (early-90s internet lingo FTW!) and asked them a few questions about today's game and how in the hell California went from sixth nationally to losing by a billion points to one of the Washington schools.

In fact, I actually answered some questions of my own. If you're interested in what I had to say (doubtful) go check it out and ignore the obvious confusion in copying and pasting my answers to the appropriate questions. Apparently the university can produce the scientific director of the Manhattan Project, yet their students still haven't figured out how to properly align answers to the corresponding questions.

I keed!

Anyway, the good stuff is after the jump!

1. Cal was quietly floated around as the team to dethrone SC in the Pac Ten. Didn't happen. Why?

Cal was over-hyped in the preseason. By everyone. The media gave Cal too much benefit of the doubt and focused too much on Jahvid Best and nobody else. Cal had huge question marks regarding its offensive line, its QB, and WRs. On defense, there were huge question marks regarding the linebackers. All those units have not performed well at various times during this season and can probably be described as just average. Football is a team game and you need talent at all the other positions too to win games. I think the mass media forgot about that. They focused solely on our Heisman candidate Jahvid Best, and kept saying he could carry the team. Not true. But many Cal fans bought that sell, and are now horribly disappointed with our season and our fall from the top 10.

2. Most Ute fans were apathetic to Andy Ludwig's leaving for Kansas State (before turning the car around and heading back out west). What's the general consensus among Cal fans regarding his first season? And yes, I'm asking you to speak for most your Golden Brethren.

Honestly, with most college football fans in general, few of us are qualified to truly and accurate critique offensive playcalling. Nevertheless, the consensus with Cal fans is that he's done a pretty good job. There have been a few games where Cal fans have been left scratching their head and puzzled, but for the most part, the playcalling has seemed to be productive and strategic. He obviously hasn't wowed us all but we're also not wishing he wasn't here.

3. While at Utah, Ludwig ran more a spread option-style offense in the mold of what we see from Urban Meyer teams. Obviously that isn't the case now. What's Cal's style?

Cal's style now is what I could consider a sort of hybrid power running and spread passing attack. I say "hybrid" because the offense doesn't incorporate all elements of a solely pro-style offense and nor does it incorporate all elements of a solely spread offense. For example, Cal doesn't really pass out of your traditional professional I-formation formations. And nor do they really run out of the spread formations. What Ludwig has done, is really adopt an offense that has two styles. When Cal wants to pass, it goes into a spread offense. When Cal wants to run, it goes into a more traditional professional I-formation power type of offense. So depending on the gameplan or the game situation, you can see the Cal offense vary considerably in their looks and formations. It's probably even fair to say that Cal really doesn't have a strong offensive style because the formations and tactics seem to change so much.

4. With Jahvid Best out, who will the offense fall back on? Does this concern you or can they plug in someone to feel the role?

Cal's second runningback is Shane Vereen. Although not having Jahvid Best does suck, I'm not sure that it will really hurt. Shane Vereen is a very talented runningback despite his different running style. I would describe his style as more of a power type of runningback. I don't mean that in the sense that he's going to run everyone over like Jerome Bettis, but he's going to grind out that yardage despite poor blocking. He may not hurt you with his speed, but he will hurt you with his ability to just squeeze out that extra yard or two when he has no business getting that extra yardage.

5. How's Cal's defense? They seem just as inconsistent as your offense. True?

Sort of. Cal's defense is consistently good against the run, and consistently inconsistent against the pass. Cal has always been a stop-the-run-first defense. Even the best rush offenses rarely rush for more than 100 yards and greater than a 3 yard average on our defense. However, when it comes to passing, that's where the defense fails. Aside from Syd'Quan Thompson, our All-American cornerback, opposing QBs have usually been able to have pretty good games against us more often than not. Our zone defense has been picked apart fairly methodically by many mediocre offenses. The cause for this weakness is presumed to be from lack of talent and experience.

6. Would you support the Pac Ten expanding to Utah & Colorado or Utah & BYU?

If the Pac-10 were to expand, I think either of those options would be fine ones. Colorado probably fits in with the Pac-10 schools a bit better, while bringing in Utah/BYU would preserve the conference's 'pod' scheduling. Honestly, though, I'm not terribly enamored with the idea of expansion. I know many Cal fans are, for all the same reasons that the ACC expanded recently. Still, there's no one of Miami's caliber for the Pac-10 to go and grab out West (Utah, BYU and Colorado might all fit in with the Pac-10, but they would only serve to make the conference bigger, not better), and I look at the ACC as more of a cautionary tale than anything. Their title game has mostly been a sparsely-attended dud, and not only did the increased conference size mess up their football round-robin (something I'm quite fond of in the Pac-10), but it also messed up their basketball double-round-robin too. Expansion might help the Pac-10 in terms of income, but I think it would ultimately dilute the product on the field, and until I see evidence to the contrary, I can't support expansion.

7. I noticed a mixed reaction to the news you guys were playing the Utes due to the location and the fact the game is on a Wednesday. Has that changed at all? Or are we going to hear, like what we heard after the Sugar Bowl earlier this year, that you guys didn't really want to be there?

It won't happen. The alternative to San Diego was El Paso, and unless our players have a little of the Ron Mexico in them, no one was really enthusiastic at the prospect of the Sun Bowl. No, if Utah beats us, it'll be the same thing that's happened in every one of our losses--total dysfunction in every significant aspect of the game. Oh, and Utah being better than us. Which would suck, but wouldn't surprise me at all.

8. Don't you just hate BYU?

Seven dollars is more valuable to me than a degree from BYU.

9. Prediction!

Well, if the Cal team that played against Stanfurd shows up for the bowl game, I think Cal has a great shot at winning quite solidly. On the other hand, if the Cal team that showed up against Oregon, USC, Oregon State, or Washington (the teams that beat Cal by a combined score of approximately 150-30), then Cal is screwed. I think the Cal players are disappointed that they're not in the Sun Bowl playing Oklahoma. The last time Cal went bowling and were disappointed about where they were bowling was in 2004 when we played Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl. We lost that game in a worse fashion than the score suggests. So, I'm not thinking Cal is really going to show up for this game. I wouldn't be surprised if Cal loses. I'm going to guess that it's going to be a Cal loss, 27-31.

10. How many times has Ludwig tried the reverse on a third and short this season?

Actually, this hasn't happened at all this season. I don't think there has been a tendency this year that most Cal fans have really hated.

Fin

I'd like to thank California Golden Blogs for the information. Now hopefully they spend tomorrow crying in their tea-cups (they drink a lot of tea in Berkeley, right?).

Golden Nuggets: Movie Makin', Movie Movie Makin'

Berkelium97 — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:00:21 -0000

Update: There is a moderate chance that Syd won't play Wednesday. If he does play, it sounds like he won't play as much as he normally does. Hill is still out with his shoulder injury, leaving Cal very thin at cornerback this week.

Eddie Young's father plans to release a documentary to show what it takes to succeed academically and athletically in college sports.

Henry Young - whose older son, Sean, played wide receiver at Cal - began gathering video about six years ago, as Eddie and his prep teammates worked out or interacted with teachers and counselors. Henry and his camera became omnipresent at bustling Berkeley High.

There were nearly 3,000 students at the school, more than those teachers and counselors sometimes could handle. Henry Young saw kids slipping through the system, prompting him to get involved in more than merely Eddie's life.

He often personally escorted student-athletes to guidance counselors - and made sure they asked the right questions.

"A lot of kids were ineligible and didn't have anyone at home to support them," Henry Young said. "I was basically trying to give the kids some tools they could use. I was trying to tell them, 'Listen, you're in charge here. If you don't take control of your life, you're not going to be successful.' "

His filmmaking journey stretched into Eddie's time at Cal. One prime figure is former Bears wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins, now with the Tennessee Titans. Hawkins was raised by his grandmother in housing projects in Stockton - a "pretty rough" environment, as Henry Young put it - but emerged to make it through Cal and reach the NFL.

Young interviewed Hawkins' grandmother, uncle and brother in an effort to portray the difficult circumstances he faced.

The piece ultimately will touch on many people and many issues, taking a broader scope than "Hoop Dreams" did in shadowing two aspiring basketball players through their inner-city youth in Chicago. Young hopes his film drives home several messages, from reminding athletes of the long odds of going pro to showing them coaches are not always mentors to illustrating the value of embracing schoolwork, rather than simply trying to stay eligible.

After the jump we have a recap yesterday's bowl events (with pictures!) including the zoo visit and Make-A-Wish Foundation visit, practice/injury updates, Ted Miller's bowl prediction, Cal-Kansas info, and more.

Cal Football

Nyan Boateng wishes he could have done more in his career at Cal and hopes to have a shot at the NFL. He is frustrated, but embraces every opportunity he gets. His next big opportunity is the combine in February.
Tedford didn't accompany JRoss, Best, and others on their trip to the zoo yesterday. "You've seen one elephant, you've seen them all" he said. Others like Marvin Jones missed the visit in favor of catching up on some sleep. Because practice was earlier than originally scheduled, JO wasn't able to see any of it. He found out that Matt Summers-Gavin will miss the game, however. Syd continues to rest his ankle, but he should play Wednesday.
Click here for a photo gallery of the Bears' trip to the zoo. When else can you see a cheetah, a golden retriever, and Tepper in a single photo?
Here's a photo gallery from the visit to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. MSG, Best, Spencer Hagan, Allan Bridgford, and Tad Smith were present at the event. They handed out souvenirs, signed autographs, and posed for photos. Great job, guys!
CalBears.com recaps yesterday's events: the zoo trip, Make-A-Wish visit, and practice.
Ted Miller predicts a 28-24 Cal victory. He thinks they will bounce back and avenge their loss to Washington.

Cal Basketball

DJ Seeley is not making the trip to Kansas. He will miss the game to attend the funeral of his great aunt. Everyone else is healthy and ready to play in Lawrence.
Though Cal gets no love from the human polls, the computers give the team some love. With the toughest strength-of-schedule in the land, Cal comes in at 11th in the CollegeRPI.com rankings and 14th in the Sagarin ratings.

Cal Swimming

Cal running back Best out for Poinsettia Bowl

JazzyUte — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:21:26 -0000

More photos » by Tony Avelar - AP

3 months ago: California running back Jahvid Best breaks a tackle by Maryland defensive lineman Justin Anderson in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/ Tony Avelar)

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Not that I'm surprised by this news. But does it change your predictions for the game? Best was, without a doubt, one of the best running backs of the season and his loss will not be easy to get over for a Cal team that struggled greatly at times on the offensive end this season.

While I think Utah stands a better chance of winning with Best not playing, it's still going to be an extremely tough game that comes down to whether or not the Utes can move the ball on the offensive end.

Golden Nuggets: Ludwig vs. Utah

Berkelium97 — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:03:26 -0000

Andy Ludwig's recent departure from Utah makes the Poinsettia Bowl an intriguing matchup.

"It's kind of fun, but it can be distracting, because I'm not just watching x's and o's," Ludwig was saying this week. "Every player's got a story, and I know most of those stories."

That's why the story of this bowl game, as much as anything, is Andy Ludwig vs. the Utes. Mix in the longtime friendship between him and Ute coach Kyle Whittingham, the reunion with the offensive coaches he supervised for four seasons and the mixed views of his schemes in Salt Lake City, and we have the makings of an intriguing evening in San Diego.

"Fun for you, maybe," Ludwig clarified for a visitor, smiling.

As for himself, Ludwig again must find ways to attack Whittingham's aggressive defense -- having lost to the Utes in previous existences with Fresno State and Oregon -- and figure out his own offense, the group that averages 29 points but never scores 29 points, exactly.

"We either scored 50 or three," Ludwig said, barely exaggerating. "If I could explain it, I'd fix it."
...

Among fans, little sense of loss was publicly registered last December when Ludwig announced he would be leaving (initially, joining the Kansas State staff, before moving again in February) after the Sugar Bowl. Partly because of having to follow the dynamic Alex Smith/Urban Meyer offense, Ludwig never was embraced.

Even last season, when Utah won every game, much of the credit went to senior quarterback Brian Johnson for directing rallies against Oregon State and Texas Christian and orchestrating a no-huddle offense that stunned Alabama in the first quarter.

That scheme was Ludwig's parting shot. Yet, true to his self-effacing nature, he described the strategy as his effort to "take the coaches out of the game."

Whittingham ("Andy did a very good job for us") and Johnson ("He definitely made me the player that I was") need little prompting to praise Ludwig's contributions. After a season when Whittingham took some duties away from Dave Schramm, Ludwig's successor, and Utah five times settled for field goals in a loss to BYU, perhaps the glee in Uteville regarding the departure has lessened somewhat.

In any case, Schramm and play-caller Aaron Roderick now have to live up to Ludwig's 4-0 bowl record with the Utes, with averages of 32 points and 438 yards.

After the jump we have more on the decision to seat Best for the bowl game as well as his thoughts on his post-season plans, more previews of the Cal-Utah matchup, 20 questions with Max Zhang, and more.

Cal Football

SFGate recaps the decision to keep Best out of the bowl game. With the bowl decision made, Best's final decision for the season is whether or not the 2009 season will have been his last with Cal. Right now he says he's on the fence about the decision.
JO's Wednesday night update brings more bad news: Matt Summers-Gavin has not practiced at all and is day-to-day with his concussion. Tedford spoke with all the team's juniors about declaring for the NFL draft. Not surprisingly, Best is the only one interested so far. Though JO says Cam Jordan has good measurables, he has no interest in declaring for the draft this year.
ESPN's Bowl Dash predicts a 24-21 Utah victory. This yet another prediction that expects Utah will be happy to be at the bowl game while Cal will be ambivalent.
After battling through a virus that left lesions on his brain and spinal cord, Utah DT Kenape Eliapo will return in the Poinsettia Bowl. He is expected to play about twenty snaps.
Buster Sports hands out various Pac-10 awards. Cal's only mention was part of Best's "Play we loved/hated seeing" award for the leap that led to the concussion that ended his season.

Cal Basketball

Farudo does 20 questions with Max Zhang. Max talks about everything from his favorite food, his least favorite sport, and which has better looking girls: China or Berkeley.

Women's Volleyball

Hana Cutura and Carli Lloyd earned All-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

Ranking the 2009 Pac-10 Football MVPs: Part I

Avinash — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:00:29 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Mike Mohamed had some big plays this season. Was it enough to be a Pac-10 MVP?

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In case you missed it, here's Part 1: the LVPs of their respective teams.

This post got too long, so I had to split it into three. Here are the honorable mention categories and the Pac-10 players and units ranked #30 thru #21 (#20-11 coming this afternoon, #10-1 coming Friday morning). Let's dive into it.

Honorable Mention

Jeff Locke, Reid Forrest: You know your team's in trouble when your punters are higher than anyone on your offense. And in Forrest's case, you know your team is royally fucked when your punter is the only one on your team who appears on this list.

Donald Butler: Didn't really do anything spectacular this year, but 96 tackles will get you on this list.

Daniel Te'o-Nesheim: So will 9.5 sacks and 12.5 TFL. Too bad the Huskies defense ranged from 'sheer brilliance' to 'human atrocity'

Ed Dickson: I'll be nice as possible about this--FUCK ED DICKSON. AGGGGGHHHHHHHHH.

Damola Adeniji: Despite all the production of James Rodgers, he wasn't Canfield's main target on 3rd down. Probably because secondaries keyed in on Rodgers, Adeniji racked up 27 catches in that situation, 21 for first downs, 5th in the country. Only 49 catches overall, but considering he only had 1 last season, I'll say this is a slight upgrade.

Chris Polk: Finished this season on a tear: Five ninety+ yard games and a 1000 yard season overall. Hard to measure his impact though, since the Huskies lost three of those games and Locker and the defense were the focal points of the other two.

Trojan offensive line: Lost season for these guys. 17 sacks allowed, 40 tackles for loss allowed, only a top 40 rushing offense. Ho-hum for them. I would've dreamed of something like this for the Bears.

Mike Mohamed: Cal's most productive defensive player on a not-so-great defensive unit. You have to give massive props for a 100 tackle season (his 104 tackles were tops in the Pac-10). And he saved another Cal season from sliding into disaster with a crucial interception in the Big Game.

Kyle Williams, Dmitri Nance: Solid production considering their quarterback struggled to complete half of his passes. Plus I feel bad for Williams ending his career like that.

Syd'Quan Thompson: If Cal had ONE guy (Hagan, Hill, Nnabuife, Conte, Rope Guy, someone) step up at corner on the other side of the field, who knows how our season turns out. We sure as hell don't get lit up by Oregon, USC or UDub on defense (Syd's limited ability in the final game pretty much assured we were screwed against Locker).

He was still a fabulous open field tackler when he got the chance, and when quarterbacks threw to his side of the field, he usually shut down. Like Asomugha in Oakland, that kind of effort only gets rewarded with first team All Pac-10, and minimal impact on the box score. So while his talent is easy enough to gauge, it's really hard to measure his value. Which is why he's honorable mention and not on the top 30.

After the jump, here's #30-21. If there are any thoughts of players or units left off, or guesses as to who will end up in the top 20, leave them in the comments.

#30 Damian Williams, #29 Joe McKnight

via theoraclesays.files.wordpress.com

These two are actually the first since Bush and White to break 100+ all-purpose yards a game since Bush and Leinart. Solid seasons, but other than McKnight on the final drive against Ohio State and Williams tearing up Notre Dame, how many moments do you remember concerning these two? That kind of year for the Trojans. It's up in the air whether either will return too.

#28 Ryan Whalen

via www4.pictures.zimbio.com

6th in the Pac-10 in receptions, turned into Luck's best passing threat when Owusu went Section Eight in the biggest games. Thought about ranking him higher, but I don't have any Whalen moments to really justify putting him further up. Perhaps the Cardinal fans can refresh my memory...oh, wait, there are no Cardinal fans. #28 it is.

#27 Arizona's receiving corps (Turner, Criner, Roberts, Dean, Douglas)

via www.azstarnet.com

Five guys with 30 catches or more? Now that's spreading the wealth around. By contrast, Cal had only one receiver (Jones) catch more than 30. Obviously, Cal isn't built to be a passing offense, but still, this is a far cry from two-three years ago. Sigh.

#26 UCLA's secondary

via images.ocregister.com

I know Rahim Moore led the nation in picks, and Alterraun Verner had another fine year--but how good are these guys? Other than shutting down Jonathan Crompton and whoever the hell Kansas State's quarterback is, the Bruins pass D has been surprisingly average. Even Kevin Riley burned them deep. I repeat, KEVIN RILEY BURNED THEM DEEP. Does this happen to good secondaries?

Oh well...at least Moore is capable of that "deep, longing, alluring, penetrating, soul-piercing, heart-tugging look".

#25 Tyson Alualu

via cache.daylife.com

Kind of hard to say how bad the Bears defense would've been without Alualu cracking apart the line. His efforts alone helped shut down Minnesota's passing game in a tight 4th quarter. Extra linemen often were forced to commit to him, and it opened up the rest of the front to get after Arizona and the Furd's high powered offensive attack.

Unfortunately, he never really had a Mebane-like force on the line--he couldn't really disrupt the passing attacks the way his predecessors did How much of that was dictated by scheme or by his own pass rush methods is beyond my knowledge, but Cal's pass rush was far weaker than anticipated, far weaker than the 27 sacks they put up this year.

Still a great season for Tice though--Cal's run defense was top-tier, and a lot of that had to do with #44.

(Story that really depressed me this week: Bear Insider's look at how close Ndamukong Suh came to being a Golden Bear. Imagine Alualu and Suh coming together in the 3-4 the last two seasons, particularly last year. I'm getting bummed out now.)

#24 Jahvid Best

via www.pe.com

For a guy who was supposed to be a Heisman hopeful, it's shocking to see Best not even crack the top 20. But that's how it is in a frustrating season for Jahvid, whose season seemed to peak in Minneapolis. Still had some spectacular runs, but running behind the crappiest offensive line in the Tedford era, it could've been way, way better.

#23 Chris Owusu

via a.espncdn.com

A menace for us, and a big game-changer for the Furd, having huge returns on almost every opponent this year. Surprisingly (and stupidly), everyone in the Pac-10 continued to kick to Owusu long after he demonstrated he would outrace their coverage to the end zone. The Furd ranked 3rd in the country in kickoff returns, mostly due to Owusu's skills.

He gets bumped down a bit because if he could just hang onto a few passes (he dropped big catches in EVERY conference loss), the Furd are going to Pasadena.

#22 Kai Forbath

via tnjn.com

Laugh all you want that a kicker cracks the top 25. When a Bruins fan describes him as your most consistent player...well, that says a lot.

Take a look at the games Forbath swung this season.
~13 of UCLA's 19 points in a 4 point win over the Vols in Rocky Top
~11 of UCLA's 23 points in a 10 point win over the Sun Devils
~6 of UCLA's 24 points in a 1 point win over the Huskies
~11 of UCLA's 23 points in a 14 point win over K-State.

Add in these stats
~26 field goals, second most in the country behind Alabama's Tiffin
~99th scoring offense in the country

Not hard to say Forbath was UCLA's offensive MVP this season, isn't it? Switch Forbath with an average kicker and the Bruins win four games? Three?

#21 Shane Vereen

via dlerium.smugmug.com

(Image from dmo580)

Surprisingly had more impressive performances than Best this season, cementing away a Cal victory in Pasadena and being the workload in two upsets over the Wildcats and the Cardinal. Best racked up big numbers against two of the worst teams in the country and an FCS opponent, managing only one great game this season against a bowl-eligible team. Although Best ended up with more rushing yards, Vereen had more all-purpose yards thanks to his kickoff returns and his own pass-catching abilities. Most importantly, when the offensive line collapsed, Vereen had more of the elusiveness to slip away from encroaching defenders.

Best might be the better talent, but Vereen was the more valuable Bear for this Cal squad...but only by a little.

Coming this afternoon: #20-11.

Ranking The 2009-2010 Bowls: Part 2

Mark Kieffer — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:31:13 -0000

In Part 1 of the series, I listed the bowls that I would not be mad at missing. With this Part 2, I'm continuing the countdown. This set of games are those that I would like to see, but I'm not going to make any kind of sacrifices to watch these games.

During the holidays, especially when traveling to a bowl game myself, you're sometimes going to miss some. Click on the jump, to see the 12 bowls that I have in my middle tier of games!

#20: Outback Bowl (Northwestern vs. Auburn), 1/1/2010, 10am CST, ESPN

After a night of partying in Tempe on New Years, there's no way in hell I'm going to get myself up early to watch this. I'm not really one of those ISU fans obsessed with Chizik anyways. This game could have easily gone in my Part 1 post. Honestly, I think Auburn rolls in this one anyways, but you never know.

#19: Texas Bowl (Navy vs. Missouri), 12/31/2009, 2:30pm CST, ESPN

There's no way I'm seeing this game, (although I would've liked to) so it ranks this low. I'll be at Sundevil Stadium when this is getting underway, but I'll be scoreboard checking during the game. Not a bad matchup at all, and could be an entertaining game. Navy has that triple option, while Missouri has a good passing game behind Danario Alexander.

#18: Emerald Bowl (Boston College vs. USC), 12/26/2009, 7pm CST, ESPN

This should be an evenly matched game for the most part. USC has had a down year by their standards, but I think this year was pretty good for Boston College. I'm not really a fan of either team, which is why it ranks relatively low on my list.

#17: Liberty Bowl (Arkansas vs. East Carolina), 1/2/2010, 4:30pm CST, ESPN

You have a pretty good offense in Arkansas against an East Carolina team that won the CUSA, and has been on a roll down the stretch.

#16: Independence Bowl (Texas A&M vs. Georgia), 12/28/2009, 4pm CST, ESPN

Georgia has the better defense, and better overall team, while A&M has the better offense. You can't ignore Georgia's win over Georgia Tech; that was impressive. I think this has the makings of a good game, and it might suprise some people.

#15: Champs Sports Bowl (Miami vs. Wisconsin), 12/29/2009, 7pm CST, ESPN

I like watching Miami. Been a fan of them since I've been following College Football. Growing up in Minnesota, I've seen a lot of Wisconsin as well. A game between two programs I'm familiar with. Miami likes to pass it, and is a very athletic team. Wisconsin, plays your typical Big 10 style of game: running the ball and trying to play defense.

#14: Chick-Fil-A Bowl (VA Tech vs. Tennessee), 12/31/2009, 6:30pm CST, ESPN

Lane Kiffin is just a drama-machine. Seems like controversy follows him around, and that alone may be worth watching. It will also be interesting to see how VA Tech plays, when they've been eying a BCS Bowl game all year, and feel a little snubbed. Tennesee has played close to teams all year, with a pretty solid defense. This could end up being similar to the Nebraska vs. VA Tech game earlier in the year.

#13: Capital One Bowl (Penn State vs. LSU), 1/1/2010, Noon CST, ABC

If you like watching a good defensive game, this one is for you. Both teams have issues scoring at times, but have no issues stopping the opposing offense.

#12: Cotton Bowl (Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss), 1/2/2010, 1pm CST, Fox

This is the battle between two disappointing teams. Both were ranked high at the beginning of the year, and neither really did much of anything notable on the national scale. I'm still confused as to how Oklahoma State just laid an egg against Oklahoma, along with how Ole Miss was supposed to have this Heisman contender in Snead. I don't really think either fanbase is that excited about the game either. With how inconsistent these teams have been all year, I don't think anyone knows what to expect in this one, and maybe for that, it's worth tuning into for a little bit.

#11: Holiday Bowl (Arizona vs. Nebraska), 12/30/2009, 7pm CST, ESPN

These teams are pretty even on paper. I can't see scores outside of the teens in this one. Heck, this game could be 10-9 or something like that. It's really too bad for Husker fans that their offense was so bad this year, as it's really brought this team down. I have also come around to being a big fan of Suh, and it's extremley fun to watch him dominate the line of scrimmage all game long. Even if he doesn't get the tackle or sack, Suh has an impact on the play.

#10: Poinsettia Bowl (Utah vs. Cal), 12/23/2009, 7pm CST, ESPN

Jahvid Best is back for the Golden Bears, and he's a lot of fun to watch. Really good to see that he's going to be able to continue playing, after that scary concussion he suffered not too long ago. Honestly, when I saw that play, I thought his playing days in the future could be in jeopardy. This game is likely going to come down to the wire, as they are dead even on paper.

In Part 3, I'm going to countdown the bowls that are must-see for me. By process of elimination, you can figure out which bowls they are, but you will have to see on Thursday as to what the order is.

----

Part 1

Stastical Comparison of the 2009 Poinsettia Bowl: Utah vs Cal

Michael Rueckert — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:27:44 -0000

The 2009 Poinsettia Bowl will feature Cal vs No. 23 Utah. The Utes will be looking to hit the 10 win mark, and extend the nations longest bowl winning streak to 9 games.

Cal started the season highly ranked with hopes of winning the Pac-10. After a somewhat disappointing season they are looking to end on a good note, rather than a 2 game losing streak. Cal's best player, Jahvid Best, is still recovering from his tragic fall against Oregon State. Whether he will play or not is still being determined.

Here is a statistical comparison of Utah and Cal:

Each team leads in 50% of the statistics used. Basically, Cal is a better offensive team and Utah is the better defensive team. Cal's numbers may be less if they are without Jahvid Best.

Although Cal does have the offensive advantage, Utah is not far behind only trailing them by 10 yards in yards per game. Defensively Utah has a much bigger lead over Cal. Utah allows 63 less yards per game than Cal.

Utah is going to have to do better with penalties in this game. The Utes are ranked last in the country in penalties against ranked teams, and teams with a winning record. Against TCU, BYU and Oregon, the Utes gave up an average of 107.7 yards per game in penalties.

California did play a stronger schedule than Utah, so you can expect their numbers to be less. Utah's strength of schedule ranking was 86 and Cal's was 58.

Next Game

California Golden Bears

@ Utah Utes

Wednesday, Dec 23, 2009, 5:00 PM PST

San Diego County Poinsettia Bowl - Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA

Complete Coverage >

Poll

Who will win?

Cal

14 votes

Utah

52 votes

66 votes | Poll has closed