SB Nation - Alex Mack

Golden Nuggets: Prediction Thursday

Berkelium97 — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:15:10 -0000

Congratulations to all the members of the football team who made the Pac-10 All-Academic team! The first team included Mark Boskovich, Alex Lagemann, and Mike Mohamed. Ernie Owusu, Matt Summers-Gavin, and Giorgio Tavecchio made the second team, and Skylar Curran, Chris Guarnero, and Mitchell Schwartz made received honorable mention. At a school like Berkeley, it is even more impressive that they made the list.

Despite thinking that one or both teams may come out playing flat, Ted Miller anticipates a big Cal victory.

California 35, Washington 21: The Bears have steadily -- and quietly -- risen in the Pac-10 since suffering those embarrassing consecutive losses to Oregon and USC. It seems like things are clicking on both sides of the ball, and the Bears certainly have the athleticism on defense to handle a scrambling Jake Locker. Moreover, Cal seems to have an advantage coming off a bye week while the Huskies might not be focused after winning the Apple Cup last weekend.

All five CBS experts predict a Cal victory.

All five Yahoo experts predict a Cal victory.

After the jump, we have player quotes from Tuesday's press luncheon (including some humorous remarks from Tepper), injury updates for Cal and Washington, motivation for both Cal and Washington to win this weekend's game, recap/analysis of basketball's loss to New Mexico, 20 questions with DJ Seeley, and a preview of the weekend in Cal sports.

Cal Football

JO has quotes from a few players from Tuesday's luncheon. They talk about preparing for the December weather in Seattle, the loss to Washington in 2007, bowl game possibilities, bouncing back from the losses to Oregon and USC, and preparing to take on Washington. Tepper had some funny quotes that are too good to pass up:

On bowl experiences

It’s gotten to the point with me that I don’t know where we’re going to go. I’ve been to Vegas, I’ve been to Holiday, I’ve been to Texas before – I’ve been a lot of places. I’ve kind of learned over the years that bowl games are what you make of it. Even though I was under 21 in Vegas, I made the best of it. You find ways. In San Diego, they have the whole gaslamp district and the whole party scene down there. Texas, Dallas had its own little scene down there. It’s what you make it. If you want to sit in your hotel room, like previous centers (Alex Mack), and sit there and do nothing, that’s fine with me. But I don’t think I’m ever going back to Dallas unless I’m playing for an NFL team there, or I’m transferring flights there. So I’m going to go have fun. That’s part of the bowl game. You realize you’re playing a game, but you also realize you’re traveling somewhere and you want to have fun with it. I don’t really care where I go. Vegas is always fun, but I’ve had fun in San Diego and I’ve had fun in Texas.

Tedford seemed quite proud of all the players who made the All-Academic team and made a point to talk about it before any reporters even had the chance to ask about it. In a surprising development, it seems MSG sustained a concussion against Stanford and he may not play against Washington.
No one has forgotten the loss to Washington in 2007, what many considered to be the low point of the season. Holley, Mohamed, and Riley were especially bothered by the loss and are committed to coming out of Seattle with a win.
Most everyone on Washington has seen the clip of Best's concussion-inducing fall and that got the team thinking about whether or not to hurdle defenders. While the players are not prohibited from attempting to jump over a defender, their running back coach makes a point to tell them "If you are going to leave your feet, you are on your own."
Washington's starting center and team captain Ryan Tolar will likely miss Saturday's game after it was determined that he suffered a concussion against WSU. This seems to be a major blow to the O-line, as it was riding momentum from a great performance against the Cougs.
After last week's shutout, Washington DC Nick Holt is especially excited about playing this week. He believes his unit is finally starting to develop into an effective, cohesive group. He thinks Cal will be a great test for the D and he and his players embrace the challenge.

Cal Basketball

Farudo has another segment of 20 Questions; this time, DJ Seeley answers the questions. He talks about his dream team, which historical figures he'd like to have dinner with, best and worst Pac-10 fans, and more.
Injuries, foul trouble, the mile high elevation, and a rowdy home crowd all proved to be too much for the Bears as they lost to New Mexico despite leading for most of the game. With injuries and illness hurting the Bears, guys ran out of energy by the end of the game. Monty's post-game comments indicate that he thought the team played with great effort, but not enough energy. It didn't help that New Mexico switched to a zone D--which has really hurt Monty's team this year--with just under ten minutes to go.. In his post-game notes, Farudo says the Bears have to heal up and play better if they hope to challenge for the Pac-10 title.
No. 19/20 women's bball hosts the Colliers International Classic this weekend, featuring Colorado State, Southern Illinois, and no. 10 Texas A&M.

The Rest of the Weekend in Cal Sports

Women's volleyball opens the NCAA tournament with a matchup against Lipscomb at 4pmEST on Friday.
Women's swimming and diving sends its swimmers to the AT&T Short Course National Championships today through Saturday while the divers will compete at the Texas Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame Invitational today through Saturday. On Sunday, the swimmers will head to the U.S. Long course Timed Final National Invitational.

Is the Cal Offensive Line Failing Due to Talent or Coaching?

Avinash — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:00:41 -0000

by Ben Margot - AP

Missing: Cal Offensive linemen. If you find them, please call Jeff T. at...

View full size photo »

Although the postgame article about our offensive line was meant in jest, some people like Cali49a took what I was saying seriously.

Let’s look across the line at what we have. LT Tepper is a good guy, but he’s not nearly as good as he’s been made out to be. LG was a RS Frosh starting who got injured and his replacements are a former walk-on in Fisher and a current walk-on in Boskovitch, who spends more time whiffing on blocks and losing his feet of any OL I’ve seen in the Tedford era. Our Center is an undersized RS-JR taking his first meaningful snaps at C but who has no business playing that position, especially against top notch DTs. The RG is a RS-So who has the size to play the position but has lapses. The RT is a RS-So who has been pretty reliable. The TEs cannot reliably block and are all young. Just looking at our starters, they are a recipe for inconsistency. As much as size of OL is important, mentally they need to know their assignments and how to adjust on the fly when blocking, which comes from repetition.

In a sense, the line is still young with 3 underclassmen starters. The interior of the OL is the biggest issue right now, and quite frankly, the reason why we absolutely stink running between the tackles.

While this post was funny to read because it pokes fun at a glaring weakness on our O, this post really does not look at the root of the problem: recruiting. There have been too many scholarship busts and/or misses on the OL front in 05-06 and we are really feeling it now. There is exactly ONE starter on the OL from those classes. Guys from those 2 classes are who should be starting right now unless there were some super sensational underclassmen who could beat them out. That is not the case.

To clarify, no, I don't think Steve Marshall should be fired. In general, with college coaches, I don't think you fire people who've been here one year unless they totally faceplant (and in any case with Marshall, given his previous track record, he'll probably leave of his own accord). However, I do feel that he and Andy Ludwig have missed some crucial elements in developing their guys, some controllable, some not. And those struggles have resulted in these offensive stinkbombs we've seen against good defenses.

How much of Cal's O-line struggles have been due to talent, and how much has been due to coaching?

After the jump, I look at both sides.

So one possibility is talent. It's been argued by many people, especially Hydro, that maybe these guys just aren't who we thought they were.

In the podcast, CBKWit makes the argument that this is one of our highest star rated offensive lines perhaps ever during the Tedford era. CBKWit made this comment in response to my remark suggesting that the OL's poor performance could be a talent issue. It seems that CBKWit might have been disagreeing with me. If that is so, CBKWit is clearly making the assumption that the higher the star rating of the player, the more talented they are. Such a notion is generally true, but not always. CBKWit seems to make it a forgone conclusion that is always true and thus this year's highly rated OL suckage cannot be due to lack of talent; hence obviously a coaching problem. I disagree. I think it's possible that there is a talent issue here, perhaps as well as a coaching issue. I have not discounted the talent issue, whereas CBKWit seems to have done so. CBKWit points to last year's OL which started Guarnero (prior to injury), Cheadle, and Boskovich (after Guarnero's injury) as evidence that this OL shouldn't be this bad due to the fact that so many of this year's starters saw playing time last year and were fairly productive. Last year, I personally thought Guarnero was doing fine at guard. However, I was not that impressed with Cheadle or Boskovich. Thus, I am not convinced that just because he have players from last year's OL, which performed decently well although not great, means that this year's OL cannot be suffering from lack of talent.

Here's been our starting depth chart the past few seasons, starting with 2006 as the first season our entire O-line was ranked by Rivals (some of these guys could be wrong from 2006, let me know). Thanks to AERose for gathering this data up.

2006

Mike Tepper (2 stars/2 stars)--2
Erik Robertson (2 stars/1 star)-1.5
Alex Mack (2 stars/2 stars)--2
Norris Malele (3 stars/3)--3
Scott Smith (2 stars)--2

Average rating: 2.11

2007

Mike Tepper (2 stars/2 stars)--2
MIke Gibson (4 stars/4 stars)--4
Brian De La Puente (???)
Noris Malele (3 stars/3 stars)-3
Alex Mack (2 stars/2 stars)-2

Average rating: 2.75

2008

Mark Boskovich (???)
Noris Malele (3 stars/3 stars)-3
Alex Mack (2 stars/2 stars)-2
Chet Teofilo (2 stars/2 stars)-2
Mitchell Schwartz (3 stars/3 stars)-3
Justin Cheadle (3 stars/4 stars)-3.5

Average rating: 2.75

2009

Mike Tepper (2 stars/2 stars)-2
Mitchell Schwartz (3 stars /3 stars)-3
Matt Summers-Gavin (4 stars/4 stars)-4
Justin Cheadle (3 stars/4 stars)-3.5
Chris Guarnero (4 stars/3 stars)-3.5
Mark Boskovich (???)

Average rating: 3.2

Of course the star rating only tells so much, but as you can see on average Cal's recruiting star ratings are better than the last few years, and there seems to be no correlation with star rating and rushing success (hell, you could say the relation's nearly INVERSE; the lower the star rating, the better Cal's O-line has done.) This could probably lead you to think that recruiting stars are bunk.

So while I agree with Cali49a, that yes, the offensive line has had depth problems and too many walk-ons coming in to fill crucial roles, I also feel that the Bears talent is still comparable to those of previous seasons. Although a lot of the guys we recruited haven't been up to snuff, they still shouldn't be struggling this much, especially with almost all of them except Summers-Gavin seeing action last season. This should be a line that dropped off a little, not a lot, even with Mack and Malele gone.

So let's assume these guys aren't terrible o-linemen. That leads us to coaching. If the problem isn't talent, What are the problems that could be going on here?

1) The offensive coordinator turnover. Hydro mentioned in the podcast how O-linemen were having difficulty adapting to Cignetti's new pass blocking schemes (explaining the struggles in protecting Longshore and Riley). You can only imagine how difficult the Bears O-linemen are doing with all the different looks they've run in the run blocking game with Ludwig's offense installed. Perhaps we'll see drastic improvement next season when these guys have had time to run through the system, but right now it just isn't there.

2) Fullback and tight end blocking dropoff. This is where I do agree with Cali49a. In terms of tight ends, the Bears really haven't had great tight end blocking since Craig Stevens was lining up. But Brian Holley? Nice enough guy, but big big downgrade from Ta'ufo'ou in terms of blocking awareness. Who exactly Cal's fullback will be next year (Kapp?) will need to show better than Holley has this year. And Anthony Miller will hopefully become as good a blocker as he is a receiver.

3) The complexity of the offense. This might be the biggest issue for me. We've talked over and over how the Bears offense has gotten more sophisticated as time has gone by (and that in turn has led to the quarterback struggles). While that might give us all sorts of delight as fans to watch, the fact is the players aren't getting older with them. So the learning curve has grown steeper for new players, like a sadistic professor who decides to add three hundred more pages of reading each year for the same class, with an occasional extra midterm thrown in there. You can only imagine how difficult it is for offensive linemen to struggle to do so much.

4) Failure to adapt. The fact is these players are not going to grow old with us. They're going to leave for other places and that means Cal's coaching staff have to adapt to the situation. We have to recognize that our offensive linemen might not be as experienced or as gifted as previous guys like Mack and Ta'ufo'ou. So instead of throwing so many different looks in our playcalling perhaps we should return to the more stodgy but effective type of play that defined early Tedford football, especially in the run game.

One of the beautiful things about Coach M's style of line coaching is that we ran the same two plays almost every time in the run game, and defenses were lost trying to stop them. As Hydro described it, "Defenses knew what was coming, and they could almost never stop it from going." (Now on the flip side, defenses WERE catching up to Cal's offense as the years went by (the Bears running game dipped in production every year since 2004), so there might be the need to evolve as time goes by. But hey, sometimes it's best not to fix things that aren't broken.)

5) Coaching development. This is where I attribute blame to the coaches directly. I don't think we need to bring Coach M back to recognize those issues, nor even make Marshall the scapegoat for our failings. But it's clear that Alex Mack, Mike Tepper and many others from our more successful squads were not highly sought-after talents, yet they evolved into O-line forces of nature in their collegiate primes. Although Michalziak might not have been the greatest recruiter, he did a great job making these guys execute on Saturdays. How much of this had to do with the simplicity of the offense might be difficult to say, but I've always found simple works best with young offensive lines. Just look at how Oregon has recovered from the Boise fiasco, when their line couldn't block stationary objects. Simple effective blocking techniques set loose their offensive players.

6) Recognizing the big picture. As the guy now overseeing the program, Tedford should try and recognize that players, based on their individual experience level and their collective experience as a unit, need to be treated differently on a year-by-year basis. He, like many fans, incorrectly assessed the losses of our top three blockers and assumed we'd get by with the experience the returning starters had managed. That's clearly not been the case. Now that he's no longer playcalling, his job in the games is to manage and see what's going on beyond the Xs and Os. I'd say he hasn't done a very good job of that this season, especially with regards to the offensive line (and of course there are other issues, but that's for another day). Running the same set of plays and schemes (inside zone run) over and over again seems like a peculiar type of madness.

Whatever's going on, coaching or talentwise, with only three games left, it's probably too late to fix these deficiencies until the bowl game, and we've got to ride the ship the end and hope somehow we can pull some wins out before we reach port. And then hope everything gets back together for next year's cruise.

Poll

Cal's O-line struggles are due to...

coaching issues more than talent issues.

53 votes

talent issues more than coaching issues.

16 votes

coaching and talent issues about the same.

57 votes

something else entirely.

7 votes

133 votes | Poll has closed

Golden Bears in the Pros: DeCoud Shines, More Forsett, Natalie Eliminated

Avinash — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:00:33 -0000

(Video link here, hat-tip to ieeebear!)

Thomas Decoud, Atlanta Falcons

Decoud earns NFC defensive player of the week honors.

First-year starter Thomas DeCoud had the game of his short professional career at safety Sunday night for the Atlanta Falcons.

DeCoud's five tackles were fifth best on the team and he added two passes defensed, but his two interceptions helped change the game for Atlanta and won him the award.

The interceptions were the first two of his career and marked the first time a Falcons player had a multiple-interception game since DeAngelo Hall's two pick game against Tampa Bay on September 17, 2006.

More on the headlines above, plus news on one pro Bear who will be at the Wazzu game, and find out where some of your favorite Golden Bear hoopsters are now playing overseas after the jump. Also, two Golden Bears got signed to two NFL 53 man squads, find out who by checking out the rest of the post!

Justin Forsett, Seattle Seahawks

ESPN's Mike Sando reports that Forsett could be seeing more action, mainly because his pass blocking abilities might be the best of the three in the corps! Good job Coach Gould and Coach M!

Justin Forsett is earning -- and will get -- more touches in the regular offense. My take three weeks ago was that Forsett, primarily a third-down back to this point, had done enough to start getting touches on earlier downs. Seattle left Forsett alone in the backfield six times in the first quarter against the Jaguars, more than he had in the first quarters of the previous four games. Forsett is challenging to become the best pass-blocking back on the team even though Julius Jones and Edgerrin James are strong in that area. He lacks top-end speed, but he's quick and appears trustworthy in key situations. He did a nice job chipping on his way out of the backfield, helping the left tackle substantially on one play.

Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons

Lots of stuff here about the matchup between Gonzalez and Dallas's returning strong safety , who is returning with a cast on one hand due to a broken thumb. He's also expected to see lots of double coverage.

"My whole career I've always tried to look at when they played against maybe Kellen Winslow, and see what they did to him, because I know he's such a threat in the receiving game," Gonzalez said during a conference call Wednesday. "But even sometimes teams will switch it up. Earlier this year we played against New England and I didn't really anticipate getting bracket coverage as much as I was that game, and because of that I only had one catch."

The Cowboys held Winslow to four catches for 30 yards and one score in the season-opener. Gonzalez has had plenty of practice adapting to varied schemes over the years.

"It's always something," Gonzalez said of the different looks he gets. "That's something I've been used to my whole career and whatever they want to do hopefully we can adjust and move the ball down the field."

Tony G was also on Pardon the Interruption for Five Good Minutes on Wednesday--check out his interview starting at about 9:55.

Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders

Asomugha was surprised at what happened on Sunday--in terms of Oakland's defense actually following through on what they run in practice.

On Sunday, the Raiders brought a different look to the Eagles game on defense. They blitzed and played zone -- a departure from the defensive scheme Davis prefers. It was something of a revolution, according to cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. Asomugha said he lobbies every week for a more aggressive attack and less predictable coverage, but usually to no avail.

"We were shocked," Asomugha said, "because coaches say we're going to run it in practice, but we come to a game and that never happens."

Asomugha said defensive coordinator John Marshall finally agreed to make changes. "He said that he might get yelled at for it, but he'll keep going," Asomugha said.

When asked about Asomugha's claims, Cable evaded the issue.

"I think we'll do what we can, and what we think it takes to win every Sunday," Cable said.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

Football Outsiders thinks they know why Aaron is struggling to develop a good rapport with one of his primary targets (HT Acme Packing Company):

Aaron Rodgers didn't pad his stats; after a third-quarter sack and fumble, he threw only one pass in the fourth quarter, an interception. A more important question: What's up with Greg Jennings? We thought the star wideout would have a big game against the Lions, but Jennings only ended up with 38 yards on six catches in eight attempts. Our theory: Rodgers is struggling to get the protection he needs to allow Jennings to run double moves and get open downfield.

Zack Follett, LB, Detroit Lions

At least one more time, Follett will be patrolling the California sidelines on his bye week.

Rookie linebacker Zack Follett is heading back to California. He grew up in Clovis and played college football at Cal. He said he's planning to go back to Berkeley to see Saturday's game against Washington State.

"We've got three days off. I'm going to fly home and go back to the Bay," Follett said. "Catch a Cal football game and kind of refresh the mind a little bit and get ready to get back to work.

"I've already been here three months. To stay another two, it would be a tough stretch, especially with this cold weather getting up on me. I'm getting my mind ready for these winters."

Other notes

Lorenzo Alexander recorded 3 tackles in a 14-6 loss to Kansas City. You can see him against the Eagles and Desean on Monday night.
Desean Jackson caught 6 passes for 94 yards (as you saw above), as well as having 4 punt returns for 43 yards.
Dante Hughes was signed by the Chargers! Hopefully now that he's right next to the Pacific coast, he'll be able to regain his "intercepting of North Korean nuclear missiles" abilities.
The Seahawks signed Mike Gibson off the Eagles practice squad...lots of Golden Bears piling up there in Seattle!
Marshawn Lynch carried the ball 19 times for 61 yards, and 2 receptions for 11 yards.
Alex Mack was sidelined by flu-like symptoms; it's not yet known if it was H1N1 that was ailing him.
Ryan Longwell kicked four field goals, including the game-winner against Baltimore.
Brandon Mebane recorded three tackles for the Seahawks in their loss to Arizona.
Tully Banta-Cain was let go by New England...and then immediately resigned for a multi-year deal, according to Adam Schefter. He recorded 3 tackles in the 59-0 dressing down of the Titans.
Apparently long snapper David Binn once dated Pamela Anderson. Wait, WHAT?
Desmond Bishop remains on the special teams with AJ Hawk still the starter, although he is in a good spot to replace him in the future if the team chooses. He recorded one tackle in that capacity against Detroit.
Kyle Boller isn't likely to compete for the starting spot with Marc Bulger in the near future; Bulger still is the de facto #1.
The Hogs, an independent Redskins site, did an interview with Andre Carter the week before Kansas City. Carter had 7 tackles and the pass deflection you saw in the video.
Scott Fujita did not practice Wednesday because of a strained right calf he suffered against the Giants. Still not sure if he will play against Miami.
Kansas City head coach Todd Haley has found his starting right tackle in Ryan O'Callaghan.
Nick Harris punted 5 times for a 39.2 yard average for Detroit.

NBA preseason

Jason Kidd is averaging 7 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals through five preseason games. Since the Spurs are the favorites to win the division, here's what Mavs Moneyball thinks Kidd should do to slow down Tony Parker (hint: he won't): "First Jason Kidd must force Parker into becoming a passer more than a scorer. This is not going to be easy for Kidd, in fact it may be impossible! If Kidd cannot at least slow down Parker's ability to get to the basket the Mavericks will be forced to try and win a shootout, and at this point I do not feel confident enough in their rotation defense to say they can win that type of game with these Spurs."
Ryan Anderson is averaging 14 points, 4 rebounds, and over 50 percent from downtown per game for the Magic in the preseason. According to Third Quarter Collapse, his offensive rating is an astounding 118.7 (translation: very very good) with a usage rate of 23.7%. If you haven't seen it, check out danzig's highlight reel of him against the Bulls, where he hit the go-ahead bucket in the fourth quarter. You can see Anderson in action in the final preseason game tonight on ESPN against the Hawks at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST; considering that starters usually are rested a lot in these games, this might be the most Anderson plays all year long.
Sean Marks? 2 points, 5 rebounds, 30% shooting, 4 fouls per game. We should expect a lot of updates like this; pray for a gamewinning dunk here and there.
Leon Powe met with his old Celtic battery mates during the last preseason game between the Cavs and Cs (he is of course still far away from playing). It was, in his own words, 'strange'.
Rod Benson was released by the Pacers. Sigh. He'll probably be back in the D-League soon enough. Interesting stuff about dissent between Benson and his agent from Ridiculous Upside.

Elsewhere

Week 3 - Natalie Coughlin - Dancing With The Stars (via ABCNetwork)

Natalie Coughlin was eliminated prematurely from Dancing with the Stars, because people who watch Dancing with the Stars obviously hate beautiful women and prefer C-list celebrities. For those who wanted to catch her dances (all in HD!): Week 1 with the salsa, Week 2 with the quickstep, Week 3 with the rumba (her best one) is the embedded video above, Week 4 with the bolero. Here's her post-elimination interview from Good Morning America, where they wake her up at 4 to 5 AM local time the night afterwards and drag her back to the studio for an interview to ask her how much it sucks to be eliminated. You stay classy ABC.
At least it led to this gem by one of the judges. You should spot what's wrong pretty quickly.

"Unfortunately for Natalie, I think that people didn’t know who she was," said the cheorographer, actress and dancer [Carrie Ann Inaba]. "Maybe the fan base of her sport isn’t watching our show or maybe it isn’t as big as someone like Michael Irvin’s fanbase, which is basketball."

Toronto FC's Stefan Frei is a dark horse candidate for MLS Rookie of the Year.
Finally, Joseph Cannon of the Daily Cal wrote up about several Golden Bear hoopsters playing overseas. Ayinde Ubaka's starring in Australia for the Gold Coast Blaze, DeVon Hardin's been hopping from Oklahoma to Greece to Turkey and now Greece again for EO Athens, and Eric Vierneisel's been everywhere (New Zealand, Syria, Jordan), before settling on Heidelberg, Germany.

CGB Report Card: Grading Cal's Performance Against USC

Avinash — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:49:37 -0000

via calbearsonline.com

Let's start with the gameday experiences of Cal fans. Since this one didn't involve an extended roadtrip of fail and instead a leisurely trip to Homecoming, I'm guessing you guys had plenty of fun this time.

trojanbear: Loved being on campus and being surrounded by Cal fans after spending 4 days last week with Duck fans. I loved the initial energy the crowd provided, but I think our fans let the team down just as much as the team let us down. When Oregon turned the ball over at the begining of the prior game, autzen became louder. When Riley threw the interception the Coliseum on our first drive became the masoleum (aka LA Colisuem before PC).

SoCal Oski: Cold beer, awesome carne asada, and good friends.

pyunny: It was my first Cal game outside of the student section and I've got to say our fans suck. Can we make some noise? People were staring at me as if I were crazy. I used to think that we were pretty good as a student section but even the student section seemed quiet. I understand it's hard to cheer when we don't have much going for us but isn't that when we need it the most?

royrules22: The CGB tailgate was fun?

Nasty_Nate: Nope! Nothing at all!

bluehenbear: USC Band = douchebaggery at its finest

ososdeoro: It was cool that the bowl was filled up a half hour before kickoff. It was cool that it was a sellout. It's going to be awhile before we get another, though.

Berkelium97: Traveling 450 miles to Berkeley was almost worth it to see Tepper hurdle a USC linesman.

Also, one of the roving concession guys (the one with the Kid-n-Play haircut with the bleached front) was walking around, dislocating his shoulder/elbow from their joints and letting his arms flail wildly. This helped make the 4th quarter more tolerable.

sec119: When the fourth quarter cleared out most of section RR (or whatever is right next to the band), and there were about 20 empty rows ahead of me, my buddy turned to me and said, "I wouldn't come here if I were a 5 star recruit."

Oh wait, cool experiences? Pre-game cheeseboard pizza and Racer 5 IPA.

DougOLis: I fell asleep during halftime and woke up a minute or so into the 3rd quarter. That was fun.

CALumbus Bear: I got to see my Dodgers clinch the West! Whoo hoooo blue crew!! It was fun to watch after all that scotchy scotch scotch scotchy scotch scotchness

Kodiak: I had severe food poisoning/stomach flu prior to the game. I had to go to urgent care where they forced me to pound six huge glasses of vile contrast liquid so that they could scan me to verify that my appendix wasn't about to burst. So, I ran the gamut of nausea, vomiting, and crapping out radioactive contrast liquid. Looking back, it was a much more pleasant experience than watching the game.

Manwich: I started taking shots at 7, drunk by 8:30. All courtesy of USC alums at the bar, at least they're less likely to be dicks (only slightly) outside of the school.

jocko: Wonderful crowd, terrible game.

HOUSE66: Teppers screen play, then going home and drinking to another Emerald bowl victory thats sure to come, Passing out and forgetting why i felt so miserable when i woke up, then i remembered...

Jr. Bear: Getting drunk. Some Alumni have a negativity that can be frankly just tiring. Being in the Cal Spirit DeCal class, I know firsthand that this extends to the faculty. It's hard not to think that some of this doesn't extend to the team. I bet Tedford is getting tired of DURR HURR BAD KARMA UND RUSS BOAWL

aznpursuit: My goal for this team was to score one touchdown. They failed me.

Silver lining: Girlfriend was going to surprise me with tickets to this game, but decided against it. Saved us $150 on tickets, an hour driving up to Berkeley, 3 hours of suffering in a cold and windy stadium, and another hour of driving back home. PRICELESS.

BeastMode: Flew in Friday. Had a great weekend with friends. Got drunk. Twice. Game? What game?

BerkeleyChris: I think Kevin Riley's superpower is not being able to hit open receivers.

1988goldenbear: None.

Spazzy McGee: Really, today was an all around shitty day other than the burger I ate for dinner. It continues to be shitty right now, in fact.

GBB4188: Blondie's was pretty good today. There was a huge pile of vomit on one of the BART cars. I just ate some nachos.

rollonubears: Me and my sister were having a competition to see who had the worst day. She broke up with her boyfriend and got stuck in an elevator. I attended the USC-Cal game.

I won.

Dexter1715: none

jsnell: My wife and I left the game at halftime and went to a lovely asian restaurant in Marin County for dinner. We shared a satay platter. Tasty. And much better than watching this crap game.

polarbear91: I got 4 boxes of Cheerios on sale.

Maisbikkja: I found an onion ring in my fries during the game. I love surprise onion rings.

jpeng: Had to get up at 7:20am in Taipei to watch the game (15hours ahead). Located a bar catering to expats (Brass Monkey) showing the game. Arrived 7 minutes into the game and met some cool Cal alums. Bar was packed with USC fans (why can't you get away from them?)

VN: Turning the TV off. That was nice.

rurata: None.

Ohio Bear: I didn't commit suicide after watching the game.

arkangel99: NONE

California Pete: The best part of my day was probably the fact that I had the game paused on my DVR as I missed the start returning from an afternoon party. By allowing me to skip over the commercial breaks and between-play huddles, this at least turned three hours of agony into something more like two hours. Even Mike Silver can't save me from this post-game depression.

MadBum: Not cool. A good friend of mine called me asking me what the score was...I hung up on him

WTFFF!!!!!!!!: Fuck you.

Yep. Definitely better!

Quarterback: 0.589 (D-)
Running back: 2.004 (C)
Receivers: 1.570 (C-)
Run Blocking: 1.296 (D+)
Pass Protection: 1.393 (D+)
Run Defense: 1.867 (C-)
Pass Rush: 1.178 (D)
Pass Defense: 1.063 (D)
Special Teams: 1.104 (D)
Coaching: 0.856 (D)
Overall: 0.778 (D)

I'm guessing if this is a Cal class, they'd probably be kind enough to give you a P. I think. Thanks to the 45 commenters who took the time to put their thoughts into this one.

WTFFF!!!!!!!!, MadBum, yorzepol, California Pete, arkangel99, Ohio Bear, rurata, VN, jpeng, Maisbikkja, polarbear91, jsnell, Dexter1715, rollonubears, iVinshe, GBB4188, Spazzy Mcgee, 1988goldenbear, BerkeleyChris, BeastMode, aznpursuit, coolingfan, Oaktown123, Haas8388, Jr. Bear, sycasey, HOUSE66, jocko, CaliforniaCMB, BTown85, Manwich, Kodiak, CALumbus Bear, DougOLis, sec119, Berkelium97, ososdeoro, bluehenbear, Nasty_Nate, royrules22, Oaklandishbear, pyunny, SoCal Oski, Sinbad, trojanbear

Awards and best comments are after the jump.

For the second week in a row, our graders agreed on the overall performance, with a standard deviation of 0.708. Position-wise, the agreement was on quarterback play.

The special teams streak is broken! The biggest disagreement was on the receivers, with an SD of 1.048. Special teams was the runner up.

Steven Chu Award

via calbearsonline.com

Commenter/alias name	Total standard deviation
CALumbus Bear	1.141
trojanbear	1.239
Kodiak	1.335
sycasey	1.427
Oaklandishbear	1.637

CGB Supreme Court Ultra Super Justice CALumbus Bear (that's what we call him, right?) shows he is really a man of reason. Here is his full report card, which should be viewed with grave seriousness.

Quarterback (D-): You are entering Overthrow City, population 1. Mayor: Kevin "Throw Harder" Riley. Motto: "We don't win big games." Voted one of the most frustrating places to live 2 years in a row.

Running back (C): Best looked decent when he was given the ball. But we couldn't afford to do it often enough.

Receivers (C-): Would have been a D but for the tight ends. They apparently didn't do a good job getting open, and they didn't make any great catches.

Run blocking (D): Dear O line: WTF?

Pass protection (D): Dear O line: see comment above.

Run defense (C): I think we got tired, and there were some pretty bad tackles. They did make many a play, though, so that kinda evens out the bad-tackling-for-big-gain instances.

Pass rush (D): Need mor sax lol

Pass defense (D): Welcome to USC Receiver City, where we're open all night! Need to improve your TE stats? Play Cal.

Special teams (D-): I thank Oski that no FG/KOs were returned for touchdowns. I also thank Oski that no punts were returned for TDs and that we didn't muff any punt receptions. Oh, wait, fuck.

Coaching (D): Defense coaches get a C, which kinda balances out the Fs and Ds that abound elsewhere.

Overall (F): The only thing that kept the overall grade from being an F was the Oregon game. But this game was at home. You know, I'm gonna go ahead and change the overall grade to F. Yup, they deserved it. Perhaps we should have an "EP" grade for Epic Phail.

Old Blue Award

via calbearsonline.com

Commenter/alias name	Average score (out of 4)
MadBum (T-1st)	0
rollonubears (T-1st)	0
BerkeleyChris	0.182
coolingfan	0.303
jsnell, BeastMode	0.545

From four bagels last week to two. We can build on this!

MadBum & rollonubears give you your weekly dose of pessimism. You've already heard rollonubears sad story up top; here are samples from the former.

Receiving: Too many drops...part of the blame falls on the QB, but they weren't open enough. Our RBs were better wideouts

Run Defense: We seemed to be giving up big runs too often in the 1st quarter. Stepped it up in the 2nd and later, but I think that was SC taking some pity

Special Teams: That missed field goal almost made me cry

Overall: I HATE MY LIFE

Golden Sunglasses Award

via calbearsonline.com

Commenter/alias name	Average score (out of 4)
jpeng	2.636
BTown85	2.242
pyunny	2.182
Manwich	2.167
Jr. Bear	2.091

I'm glad to hear I wasn't the only optimistic one coming out of this one. Leading up the charge is jpeng (although Manwich cracks the top 5 for the second straight week, keep the love coming!), who has more faith in Kevin Riley than anyone else out there!

Quarterback (B+): Riley overthrew his receivers quite a few times but with USC's pass rush always breathing down his neck I think he didn't do as poorly as his numbers had suggested, he avoided being sacked SEVERAL times throughout the game and was disciplined enough to still look down the field. He may have looked awful to some, but I believe he played decently given the persistent pressure. When our receivers were covered well, Riley even had presence of mind to pick up a couple using his feet.

Running back (B): If our OL can't open up holes, it'll be tough for any back to put up tremendous numbers. Sure JB got chased down a couple times (Mays runs like a 4.29?) but Jahvid and Shane played at a satisfactory level given the very talented defense they were up against.

Run defense (B): Two words, missed tackles. Many times our guys got to the runner, but couldn't bring them to the ground. Sure USC has some shifty backs but many times I watched our tacklers slow down and pull up before attempting to wrap.

Coaching (B+): I liked the improvement over last week. Cal utilizing the wildcat and pulling a couple reverses kept USC on their toes. The trick play with Vereen on the very edge of the field was an AWESOME call. It's a shame he wasn't able to catch it in bounds (overthrown) cause that probably would've been an easy 6.

Overall (B-): I hate USC so much, many times I was wishing season-ending injuries to their playmakers but alas we were outplayed by a VERY talented team (whats with the 5/4-star depth?). Sure we had a chance to beat them, but damn... they're good. which makes is so much easier to hate on them.

Best of the comments

And finally, the most memorable or insightful of the comments. Considering how negative things have gotten in here, I'm starting to wonder if I should put a disclaimer: These comments do not reflect the opinions of Marshawnthusiasts or the Jahvidtician.

Again, I tried to include everyone as much as I could. Really sorry if I left any of you out.

via calbearsonline.com

Quarterback

Maisbikkja (D): Riley had confidence on his first series, and he threw like it. He took command of the offense and got the Bears down the field and then OH MY GOD HERE WE GO AGAIN... My only advice would be to give Riley a heavier ball that might bring his passes down to a catchable level. You have the talent man, it's there! UNLEASH THE FURY!

Beast Mode (0): He still overthrows the ball way too much. He is not seeing wide open receivers even with decent protection at times. I just don't see the development with Riley. Honestly, I was never very impressed with him, even taking into account OSU and Air Force in 2007. Let's face it, there's a reason he couldn't hold off Nate Longshore.

Mansion or Sweeney deserve a shot here, for the future of this program. It really can't be much worse than what we've seen, even against two good defenses. Riley's errors were not a function of those defenses, they were his own.

GBB4188 (D): I don't know if it's subconscious memory-blocking, but I can't think of a worse QB performance in recent times. This is coming from a Bruin who just sat through a year of Craft.

Berkelium97 (F+): I was very impressed with Riley's scrambling. He really surprised me with his elusiveness (this is why he earned the "+" in F+). Besides that, it was probably the worst performance by a Cal qb since Ayoob against USC in 2005. I don't know how he can be so wildly inaccurate. He was overthrowing, throwing low, throwing left, throwing right, all about 4 feet from where the receiver could catch it. What's particularly troubling was that even when he had time and a wide open receiver he'd blow the pass. The Sneaky Vereen would have gone for 6 had he not missed the throw.

He only has a few more games before I start chowing down at Beau Sweeney's Family-Style Canjun Eatery

Jr. Bear (C-): Too many overthrows, of course, by Riley. But then it's hard to settle down when he got as much pressure as he did. Or perhaps we are seeing shades of Steven Threet of Michigan, throwing to his imaginary 11-foot tall friend. I STILL LOVE HIM, SO DREAMY. I see him at the Golden Bear Cafe all the time, bein' a regular ole goofball with Will Kapp.

Kodiak (F): The demon spirit of Ayoob has clearly possessed Kevin Riley. And unlike the D-movie with Megan Fox, the results ain't pretty. He's clearly lost his swagger and confidence. I think last year's debacle has thoroughly messed with his head to where his competitive psyche is the now equivalent of a boxer with a glass jaw. He has the skills when everything else is rolling, but throw in any adversity and he becomes a weird hybrid of Mr. Magoo and post-Nolanized Alex Smith.

I know the biggest jump in skill is supposed to be between Jr -> Sr years, but it's bluidy ridiculous the skew that jump by setting the bar so low it's underground.

SoCal Oski (D-): Riley appears to be completely mentally ripped apart. His passes are like flinging half-cooked spaghetti against a wall - he's just hoping one or two will stick. Even with time and an open receiver he seems to be forcing things, with way too many overthrown balls - always a sign of a hurried throw. Maybe Tedford/Ludwig need to treat Riley the way Ucla treats Craft: no long throws and only tiny dump-offs.

Running back

via calbearsonline.com

ososdeoro (C): Well, you can't really blame the running backs for the speed of the USC linebackers, can you? Still, while Best clearly showed how to run against USC (run hard until you see the hole, or don't, and NEVER hesitate in the backfield). Vereen was clueless. Hopefully, he'll learn.

California Pete (D): Couldn't get things going for the second straight week. Some of this is on them, and not being able to pick up that first down against a hobbled Taylor Mays is a major punch in the face for our erstwhile Heisman front-runner.

I'm still inclined, though, to fault the O-line and the overall game plan which is not nearly stubborn enough. Cal's attitude must be: load up the box with 8 or 9 guys, because we're still going to run it down your throats. Riley should not be throwing the ball 30+ times a game. Period.

trojanbear (C-): Given the lack of blocking the backs did as well as expected. It's not easy to gain positive yardage when the oponent has 9 or 10 guys in the box. I liked the wildcat, however, one of the backs has to throw from that formation or it's useless ploy. Maybe they can line Isi, Jahvid and Shane in the backfield and snap it to a different back each time.

jocko (C): Great talents, if they were playing for USC.

yorzepol (B-): Best was not going to get going without a viable passing threat, there was none. He juked and jived for all he was worth, but he could not get anything going. I expect every team from here on out is going to stop Best at all costs and if he can not get help we will be in for a LONG season.

coolingfan (D-): Jahvid's overrated... He's just a speedy back, who needs a LOT of help from the O-line to get himself in the open field, but won't produce much otherwise. He's not creating his own plays like Marshawn did years ago.

Receivers

via www.latimes.com

iVinshe (D-): Welcome back, dropsies. I think we need another rainstorm. (at least there weren't any unsportsmanlike conduct penalties? Yay bright side!)

jpeng (C+): Although I wasn't impressed by our receiving corps performance, I don't blame them for being hesitant about going up for the ball. I'm sure taking a licking form Taylor Mays were in the back of their minds every time they had to haul in a higher-than-ideal pass. That aside, we've seen what Jones/Ross and Tucker can do, they're very talented athletes who just didn't play at their full potential today.

Ohio Bear (B): Along with red zone defense, this was probably the bright spot of the night (and there are slim pickings for "bright spots"). Marvin Jones picked up some first down catches and it really seemed like the WRs were generally open. Riley just didn't hit them. Very few (if any) drops that I can remember.

1988goldenbear (D): Some drops when Riley got the ball in a catchable spot; Miller was a bright spot; nice to see Jones out there too.

sycasey (D): Riley's throws were awful, but the WR corps is looking more and more indifferent with each passing game. They don't lay themselves out for passes, and they drop balls that hit them in the hands. At least TE play has been solid.

DougOLis (C-): They weren't as bad as last week, but there were a few poor passes that could have been catchable. It would have been nice to come down with a few of those. The receivers got open for the most part but it's not their fault Riley couldn't hit them.

Run blocking

via calbearsonline.com

GBB4188 (C-): Hard to really judge how well the blocking is going when you play a team with so much size and speed on defense.

aznpursuit (D-): Best was surrounded by white jerseys all game like white on rice.

BTown85 (C+): Where are the holes? It's tough when you're facing so many in the box, but it seems like the last two weeks the O-line has been bullied. This is the key to our success; if the O-line can open it up, JB can run and Riley gets more time. O-line NEEDS to win the battle.

Haas8388 (D): I know there are 8 and 9 in the box, but the run blocking is still pretty anemic. Why not go to zone blocking more? Why not run the stretch play?

bluehenbear (C): O line getting blown up. Coaches obviously have no confidence in Oline when we decide to punt on 4th and short on own 40 late in first half, the play call for Best to the outside (against Mays, see above), and the overthrown screen on 4th and 2. Yes, SC has superior athletes, but would we have tried to power it up the gut against other teams? Championship teams need to be able to get the 1-2 yds on a 3rd/4th and short (a la USC's multiple first downs) when ABSOLUTELY needed. This is missing from Cal's repertoir right now, especially near the goal line. PUNCH THE DLINE IN THE FACE AND GET THOSE COUPLE OF YARDS! We're soft, and it's showing.

Pass protection

via calbearsonline.com

Kodiak (D+): For the next two weeks, the entire offense should have to play buck-naked. That way, at least everyone is equally exposed.

Yeah, sometimes Riley just plain did the deer in the headlights thing and held the ball. But I also saw a basic 4-man rush blow through a line that had a TE or back held back more than once.

Starting to wonder more than a little about how big a loss it was that Coach M hit the road.

WTFFF!!!!!!!! (D): I can't even bare to answer any more questions. (Author's note: That was indeed the last question he answered)

HOUSE66 (D-): Pretty consistaint pressure on Riley all game, gave up two sacks, but the hurrys an hit coloum were also pretty high up there. The running backs blocking comes into play here, as they are the last line of defense for the QB and need to step it up when the pocket starts to break down.

royrules22 (D): Better than Oregon but still miserable. Best is a liability out there. Tepper isn't all that great. Guarnero is no Alex Mack. Etc, etc.

Spazzy McGee (B-): Not half bad. Riley would have plenty of time for a 3-step drop, then wait...wait....wait....until the pocket collapsed and he had to escape.

Rush defense

via calbearsonline.com

sec119 (D): I'm grateful I had the chance to see future Heisman winning running back, Joe McKnight.

Manwich (B): A few lapses. Have I said that I hate the term bend don't break. Because if you bend enough, eventually you break, always. I want to see a little bit more aggressiveness.

BerkeleyChris (F): Bradford looked like a bulldozer and McKnight looked like... well... Jahvid. We couldn't stop their run game and it was absolutely killer.

Jr. Bear (B): Not bad on runs to the inside. Outside wasn't that great, but I don't remember any real long runs outside of their first touchdown. I was very upset when Jarred Price was brought in for a goal line stand. Logic dictates a jam middle against their HB Dive, which I don't believe he has the size to accomplish as well as his counterparts.

polarbear91 (C-): It could have been worse considering that they were up against SC's line and got little help from the offense. The effort was better this week. They did a fair job of keeping SC out of the end zone although they gave up a lot of yards.

Pass rush

via calbearsonline.com

Haas8388 (C): The weakside LB has not been getting it done in pass rushing. They just don't have a threat like Follet off the edge. Alualu gets through from time to time, but it is asking alot for a 3-4 DE to be the leading pass rusher. At times, Eddie Young looks like a better blizer than MM or kendriks.

Jr. Bear (C): Very bleah. Alualu was the only source of consistent pressure, and the only one to get real penetration. The D-line is very good, but with only 3 rushing on coverage, there's not a whole lot they can do. I don't think it would have been entirely possible, but I would have gone with the 4-3 this year to match our talent. Also did I see a corner blitz with Syd'Quan? That dude should ALWAYS be on a receiver.

pyunny (D): Awful. Or maybe the $C O-line was just too dominant. It felt like Barkley had plenty of time to let the play develop and to throw. When we got into the backfield we couldn't seem to bring him down either.

trojanbear (D): Alualu. Can anyone other than Tyson rush the QB? What happened to Cameron Jordan?

Kodiak (D+): Considering that the stated goal coming in was to pressure/harass/confuse the true freshman QB, I'd have to consider it a miss. Nothing out of the base package. Didn't get anything off the edge. Again, big disappointment from our touted defensive ends and "athletic" linebackers. I think the next time I want to cuss someone out, I'm going to tell them they have potential.

Pass defense

via calbearsonline.com

Kodiak (D): We still can't cover a tight end. We stopped one bubble screen for about 3yds. The rest of them went for at least 7, including one that would have gone for 18 yds except for a penalty. Our cornerbacks are playing too soft and scared. Our linebackers remind me of that Charles Barkley quote, "Run like deer, jump like deer, think like deer." But hey, we got an interception on a really bad underthrow...because our safety was too far out of position to actually cover the receiver for an on-target throw, and our "stud" cornerback didn't turn around to look until it would have been too late.

aznpursuit (D-): Actual conversation by Cal defense:
"I bet you $20 he won't catch the ball."
"You're on."
"Ah, shit."

At least we got one interception.

sec119 (D): Ezeff got burnt several times playing off the open receiver. IIRC, there was one play in the third quarter where SC had 2nd or 3rd and long, and they lined up THREE receivers in an obvious screen play formation. TWO defenders lined up at the LOS while Syd played 10 yards(!) behind the first down marker. Naturally, USC got an easy eight yards.

SoCal Oski (D-): Someone needs to inform Bob Gregory that it is not a mortal sin to teach your defensive backs to look for the ball instead of just staring at the receiver while waving their arms spasmodically. And once again, short & middle passes were completely uncovered.

trojanbear (D): Not enough pressure on Barkley. He's a freshman so we should ahve shown him multiple looks and not allow him to just set in the pocket and pick us apart. Did we ever try a corner or safety blitz. Syd was money but we aren't getting enough out of the rest of the secondary. I think Cal plays way too far off the receivers giving them way too much room underneath.

Special teams

via calbearsonline.com

Berkelium97 (F): Why is Syd even returning punts? Cal blows the outside coverage every time, so one of the guys out wide can sprint downfield and be in Syd's face by the time he catches the ball. He's dropped two punts already this year. He has only returned two, maybe three punts all year. I don't want to see him get hurt out there and would rather see someone else calling fair catch and not returning punts (since that's what they're going to do anyway, right?). More frustrating was D'Amato's missed chip shot, Anger's inconsistency, and that soul-crushing punt returned for a touchdown.

iVinshe (B): I think I want to trade back our ST for Offense. I think I'd rather complain about ST than anything else.

1988goldenbear (F): WTF is going on? Scholarship kicker is 50% and our (former) potential Ray Guy award winner boots a line drive to one of the better return guys in the conference and then shanks another; still, better than last week.

Maisbikkja (D): That FG in the fourth ruined SC's shutout bid...

Manwich (B+): Remember Nick Harris? I do, and I'm rooting for Anger in the same way. Anger for Heisman, Anger wins the Ray-Guy Award! D'Amato, reminds me of Mark Jensen, I would hold my head, and pray everytime he came on the field.

Coaching

via www.latimes.com

ososdeoro (F): EPIC FAIL. No matter what else may have been done well, not attempting another play before halftime with 12 seconds left was inexcusable. Waiting 15 seconds to call timeout after USC's previous failed third-down conversion was just as bad. And I'm wondering what Ludwig has against the pitch out, and why Gregory thinks two DBs will stop three stacked receivers. I'm also curious as to what Ludwig has against his own game plan. We killed them with Miller on the first drive....then he was never used again until mid-second-half. What happened to try something until they stop it?

Oaktown123 (A): Tedford had good ideas

VN (D): The offensive plan was a joke. Why would you only run Best 14 times? Especially when you KNOW Riley has trouble?

sycasey (F): For the second straight week, it was awful. It wasn't the scheme this time (the play calls actually got receivers open), but rather the total lack of urgency or emotion on the part of the Cal players. Despite the fact that they were getting worked for the second straight week, Cal players were smiling and laughing after making bonehead mistakes. Even Shelley Smith reported during the TV broadcast that the Cal sideline was just plain dead after the first drive ended with an interception. That sounds to me like the coaching staff has lost this team.

OaklandishBear (F): Offensively predictable, again. Wildcat is interesting, but to call it for an entire series? Not taking another shot at the end zone with 12 seconds left in the first half was giving up, in my opinion. Playing scared and just wanted to get some points - and look what that accomplished.

Defensively, the Bears played OK but this year's team seems to be intentionally playing softer in the zones than in the past. It wasn't working with the minimal pressure we put on Barkley, so why not switch it up to Man?

Ohio Bear (D): At risk of letting emotion prevail over analysis, the offensive game plan seemed clueless to me. I didn't get the sense that we really knew what we were doing on offense. The frequency of the Wildcat was weird and the call of the outside pitch to Best on 3rd and short, against a defense with THAT much speed and discipline, was epically bizarre. JT's decision to go for the FG with 12 seconds left in the half was also strange and sent the wrong message to his team going into halftime. We're afraid to make a bad play (i.e., sack) that would run out the clock so we're not going to try to take one more shot at the end zone? Weak.

yorzepol (C-): I think we had a plan against U$C that, if executed well, would have won us the game; the problem was we didn't execute. We also threw the playbook at the Trojans and still couldn't get anything going. How much of that falls on the coaches? How soon do you wait for your QB to get hit his stride before changing the game plan? How many miles must a man walk before they call him a man?

Overall

via stanfordreview.org

Nasty_Nate (F): Was like watching your son come back from rehab and swear he was going to give up the peruvian powder and then the next morning you have to pick him up from jail.
Eventually you have to cut the little bastard off.

Dexter1715 (D): Season's done for me. I can't take it any longer. It's taken too much to watch this humiliation at the hands of SC and other, weaker teams.

I'd bench KR and start working on a QB who loves to compete and is strong under pressure. Gregory needs to get the Defensive to be more intimidating - we're still too soft.

The O-line was embarrassing the past two games. They looked like doormats.

California Pete (F): I remain hopeful, because the schedule makes a nice rebound quite possible, starting with a very welcome bye week. Physically, this team is still pretty healthy, and it's just a matter of guys regaining confidence. The UCLA game just might be the biggest in Tedford's career. Win it, and the Bear's might have a shot at reeling off a bunch of wins and making the Holiday Bowl. Lose it, especially if they do so in ugly fashion once again, and then who knows? Oregon rebounded nicely from its dreadful 2006 season; but there's no guarantee the Bears would bounce back from a bowl-less 2009.

trojanbear (D): I didn't think the players gave up. I also did not see SC having that much of a talent advantage. They executed better. I must be a glutton for punishement becasue I attened both the Oregon and SC games. Having seen both teams. I think at this moment Oregon is actually superior. If we had executed the plays and Riley had been just mediocre instead of horrible this game could have been competitive. There were opportunities we just did not take advantage of them.

HOUSE66 (D-): The first time since ive been a cal fan that i had quit on our team before the 4th quarter. But i also had a good time in the stands joking about how bad we are playing, making it feel like the old days. I DO NOT LIKE THE OLD DAYS, i like being worried, pissed off, not okay with whats happening. The team was just not executing the plays, and alot of them were there. Missed opportunitys early cost us, and now we have two weeks to get back on form.
GO BEARS

Golden Nuggets: "You Know...They Just Might Not Be Any Good..."

Berkelium97 — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:30:14 -0000

Ted Miller has an interesting story asking a tough question: Why isn't Cal any good? He decided to write this after talking to a Cal reporter (JO?) who said Cal just might not be that good this year. Here are some of the highlights that explain why Cal hasn't lived up to expectations. He also talks about Riley, the secondary, and leadership, but I don't have space for all of it.

The rotating door at offensive coordinator hasn't helped: Andy Ludwig is the Bears fifth offensive coordinator in five seasons. Hmm. That can't help continuity. At this point, it would be fair to say fans at Oregon and Utah, where Ludwig suffered heavy criticism during previous stops, are giggling and pointing a mocking finger at Berkeley.

Replacing three starting linebackers in the 3-4 scheme was more difficult than originally thought: The big personnel loss from the 2008 team was almost entirely at linebacker, where Zach Follett, Worrell Williams and Anthony Felder needed to be replaced. Still, that was not a huge concern entering fall camp. Those guys were good college players but not exactly future NFL starters. The youngsters who were next in line were generally more athletic, while Mike Mohamed was expected to grow into an All-Conference player. This article does a good job of breaking down how things haven't gone well. Mostly, there's been a lack of continuity as coordinator Bob Gregory has tried to find who belongs where.

The offensive line misses Alex Mack and line coach Jim Michalczik: Mack is starting at center for the Cleveland Browns (so he's not much better off than his former teammates). Michalczik, widely regarded as one of the nation's best offensive line coaches, is now with the Oakland Raiders (so he's miserable, too). Entering the season, the general feeling was the line was talented and deep, considering injuries last fall forced many young players into starting roles. The line hasn't been terrible. It hasn't been as good as expected, either. And it certainly hasn't been good enough to beat defenses that are stacking the box to stop Jahvid Best.

The secondary has underachieved: The Bears secondary was the one area no one doubted. All four starters were back from a unit that ranked sixth in the nation in pass efficiency defense and grabbed 24 interceptions, which ranked third in the nation. The Bears presently rank 87th in the nation and have just four interceptions. Not to call one player out or anything, but did you see All-American cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson whiff on Joe McKnight's 38-yard TD run to open the scoring Saturday? That sort of play -- and pursuit angle -- won't help him get drafted

After the jump, we look back at Cal-USC and check in on the other Cal sporting events of the weekend (they didn't fare so well either). Can we get a mulligan for this past weekend in Cal sports? Looking ahead, I have the Cal-UCLA kickoff time (12:30pm on ABC) and Sandy's response to how administrators will respond to the dangerous crowd conditions at Memorial.

Cal falls to 8th in Ted Miller's Pac-10 power rankings.
Daily Cal on how this may just be the same team from 2008. Two stories on how the offense has begun to stagnate.
BusterSports gives Cal an F for their performance against USC.
Cal-UCLA kicks off at 12:30pm on ABC on October 17th.
Sandy Barbour responds to letters detailing the dangerous conditions at Memorial this past weekend.
In the second-biggest Cal sporting event of the weekend, No. 4 water polo loses 8-6 to No. 3 USC. Daily Cal on the men's water polo loss.
No. 9 women's volleyball loses to No. 16 UCLA in four sets.
Field hockey loses 3-2 to Iowa on Sunday and also lost 1-0 to Indiana on Saturday.
Women's tennis was successful in the Cal Nike Invitational Tournament.
No. 6/7 men's soccer defeated No.17/20 Stanford 1-0.
No. 10 women's soccer tied No. 11 Santa Clara 1-1 in a double-overtime decision.

2009 Cal Football: Hype vs. Reality

Avinash — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:45:28 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

The Golden Bears were probably a little overhyped going into the season given their issues. We delve into what the real Cal will look like the rest of the season.

Browse more photos »

I know people are depressed with 72-6 the past two weeks, but despite the one-sided scores, there's much to be encouraged about. Like I said in yesterday's post, people seem to look at the final scores and see Cal getting destroyed in both games. I firmly disagree; the Bears adjusted and played miles better versus SC, especially along the lines. One big deficiency (quarterback) ended up submarining all of those hopes on Saturday, but it's a long season and easier opponents await. Don't forget that.

So now that the last two weeks have totally ripped away the gloss on our season, let's start separating the hype from the reality of our team. ESPN and the mainstream media did their dirty work early in the preseason, again falling in love with talented skill players without looking deep into the Bears and exploring weaknesses that only hardcore football enthusiasts delve into.

Now we'll get plenty of hype this week, only it'll be of the negative side. Just like the positive hype, most of it will be wrong. Let's take a look at some aspects of it. Add your own hype vs. reality discussions of the Bears in the comments.

Hype: California was returning 17 starters, most in the Pac-10. Perception? The Bears have a deep, experienced, unit.

Reality: California was returning 17 players with starting experience. Okay, let's break this down, because none of us really analyzed this well, me included.

Our starting QB got the call in the first four games last season, was pulled in the fourth game, didn't return until late in the sixth game, was knocked out in the eighth game, came back in relief in the ninth game, then was out for the bowl game. To say that Kevin Riley had a "typical returning starter" experience short-sells the situation.
As for the offensive line, Chris Guarnero is a returning starter despite playing only a third of the season and playing at a different position than center; Justin Cheadle was playing out of position much of last season, as was Mitchell Schwartz. These shifts don't mean the experience they received is worthless, but there is something to playing the same position week. And of course Mike Tepper is the furthest thing from returning starter--he hasn't played competitive football in a year, and it's clear he isn't close to his 2007 form.
There's also the receiver roulette, where it's hard to say Verran Tucker and Nyan Boateng had anything close to typical starting years, especially considering one only emerged as the starter after Michael Calvin got injured, and the other kept on dropping catches both this season and last. It's hard to say our receiving corps is playing up to form.
Mike Mohamed did start most of last season, but his role is drastically different from last year. Although he's played okay, we might've gone overboard with our effusive praise for his abilities. The Prophet was clearly effective at being the most productive linebacker last season because he was the last resort guy. Stepping into Follett's shoes has not been easy for him; he does not have great rushing abilities on the edge and the coverage suffers without him back there. So he's been sort of switched back and forth between outside and inside the past two weeks, with little result.

Thus, the only starters with typical "starting" experience were Best, the defensive linemen, and the defensive backs. Maybe Mohamed and Riley. That's about eight to ten starts with strong, stable starting experience.

Moreover, our losses were definitely crucial. Subtract our two best blockers from our offense, our best pass rusher from our defense, and half of our coverage players...and, well, we're going to have our woes. Hopefully the worst is over in that regard.

More examples after the jump. What are your thoughts on the hyped Bears versus the real Bears, both positive and negative?

I covered this yesterday, but I'll add it in here.

Hype: We have one of the most talented players in the country and we can go far if we ride him all the way.

Reality: He is only as good as the rest of our offense.

Jahvid has his weaknesses, there's no doubt--his pass protection and blitz pickup abilities need plenty of work. However, in terms of running ability, he needs his blockers to open gaps for him and a stable passing game that plays in tandem with his abilities. He got neither in Oregon and only average run blocking against the Trojans. And even if he had Alex Mack and Will Ta'ufo'ou, they too would have had their difficulties against eight to nine Trojans in the box in that first quarter when it was a relatively close one.

Besides, how can Best step up if his counterpart in the backfield steps down?

I should also note something about the malevolent influence of ESPN. When given so much to cover, they focus on what's most likely to intrigue the entire nation--Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow's heart, Notre Dame, Tim Tebow's leadership, USC's daily drama, Tim Tebow's NFL Draft prospects... Their previews are painfully weak, usually looking back to last year's results for almost complete, blind guidance as to pick who will be back (and we see virtually the same teams that made last year's BCS getting picked again by the 'experts'!).

So obviously when Jahvid is our most prominent representative of the university, and he puts up almost a thousand yards of offense in the final four games of 2008...he's going to get pub. When he bursts for a 70 yard touchdown on Cal's first scoring drive or when he puts up all five scores in Minneapolis, it only gets worse.

This is a dangerous example of hyping a player to a level he cannot perform at, no matter the quality of the opponent. We always have to be prepared to lower our expectations in an age where media is dynamic in spinning messages that have no basis in reality (this is true in all worlds, entertainment, political or sports). Be careful how much you buy into the ESPN hype machine. They spin nothing but misinformation and lies, especially in college sports, when they tend to know only the barest of what's going on.

Listen to fools and be prepared to get fooled.

Now we turn it around the other way and blow up dumb hype.

Hype (of the negative sort): Our players showed no fire and heart this weekend. Holmoe era teams showed better spirit.

Reality: Are you joking? Did you watch the game? After the opening touchdown Cal's defense had three red zone situations where they could've caved and let USC blow the doors off. They gave up three points on each possession and kept it within a three score game late into the fourth. They even gave us a turnover that led to the Bears only points. If that's not heart for a team that didn't really have a prayer of winning in the second half, I don't know what it is.

The offensive line tried their best against eight/nine man fronts when it was clear Riley wasn't going to have his best game, even getting that bizarro Wildcat formation going for a full drive and chugging something out of it. You could tell Jahvid was trying all he could playing against overstacked run defense. There was occasional chippiness late, including a brief trash talking session with a Trojan on the Bears sideline.

The feeling I get is that fans are looking at the players glum, downcast expressions on the TV, and playing their best version of Dr. Melfi sans restraint. The team happens to be losing the biggest game of the season. Do you want them all to be doing push-ups on the sidelines and headhunting Trojan receivers to get themselves going?

Our guys played hard all the way to the end. It just happened that the more talented and focused team won. In football that tends to happen.

Hype: Jeff Tedford's stoic sideline nature is the reason we're falling behind the rest of the Pac-10.

Reality: People who believe this are the reason Roe v. Wade should never be overturned.

I'm usually nice to bitter, tired Cal fans. I don't mind people who glumly predict Tedford won't get us to the next level, because, well, it's normal for fans to feel that way after disappointing defeats. Especially when it happens in games we could've won if things had gone right here and here and here...

But I'm not tolerating stupidity, and this particular aspect below truly riles me:

There is this popular, annoying theory that what we need is not better recruiting classes, or even better playcalling, or we need USC to go on probation. No, what we need is firebrand leadership.

On whether he should yell at the team

We need to work hard. I’m never going to scream and yell at the guys. I’m never going to do that. They don’t deserve that. They play hard. I get e-mails saying you should chew them out. I’m not going to do that. I’m going tom motivate them and we’re going to work hard to get better and create a positive environment to get some confidence going.

In other words, what some Cal fans want is Tedford to go off on Riley and rip him for bad passes. Which, you might remember he did, last year against Colorado St. before inserting Longshore for the rest of the 2nd half. Moreover, they want Tedford going up to Best and ripping into him for not finding nonexistent holes, rip into Holley for not being Will Ta'ufo'ou, rip into the receivers for not catching uncatchable pases, rip into the defense for giving up 16 points through three quarters.

You know why? Because look at all the other 'great coaches' in the conference! Sarkisian RALLIED THE TROOPS and had everyone believing they can beat the mighty Trojans (it has carried onto the next two games, where the Huskies have won their next two by a combined total of negative 27 points). You've got Harbaugh getting mad and pissed at everyone, and clearly the Furd are a transcendent team. They beat UW, UCLA and Wazzu, who won a combined 6 games last year, by a combined 54 points. You've got Neuheisel chewing out Kevin Craft before sending him back out to the fire to throw another horrid interception. And of course you have Petie, who's a bigger cheerleader for his team than the Song Girls.

The solution, clearly, is to hire Rope Guy for Coach. He seems to get everyone fired up.

via cdn2.sbnation.com

Look. We have no idea how Tedford handles his team behind closed doors. The pregame stuff is off-limits, and we know he's ripped into his team during halftime after unsatisfactory first half performances. What does a coach ripping players in public accomplish other than to satisfy the libidos of idiot Cal fans?

Probably about the same as Pete Carroll at the Sanchez press conference: It makes you look like a dick.

Let's be thankful we don't have a coach who doesn't treat his players like shit when they decide not to return (see Aaron Rodgers his junior year, Marshawn and Desean after their junior campaigns, and probably the same for Best this season) and never, ever throws them under the bus. In the long-run, karma will pay us back for showing respect to someone who has put up with our and the media's slightly unreasonable expectations.

Unless the angry fringe Cal fans become the majority of Cal fans, that is. It's not a situation I'm interested in courting, so let's roar through the rest of the season to silence hype of all sorts, alright guys?

Trojans 30, Golden Bears 3: More Quarterback Blues

Avinash — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:06:32 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Kevin Riley had a lot of awkward-looking throws like this in the Bears 30-3 loss against the Trojans.

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For the fifth straight matchup in the series, a Golden Bear quarterback could not beat the Trojan defense.

Kevin Riley spread his first quarter inaccuracy woes (three TDs and a low completion percentage thrown careerwise in the first quarter) through the entire game. The result was a stagnant Cal offense that couldn't pass the ball for more than a few spurts, and by extension couldn't run the ball. You can blame it partly on the 20 mph wind gusts which might've put extra air on the balls, on receivers missing their cuts or stopping on routes, on the offensive line occasionally blowing their matchups and forcing the pressure (albeit they only allowed 2 outright sacks).

But most of the execution failures, for better or for worse, fall on Riley; there were too many throws that just weren't even close to the target. He held onto the ball for too long, his throwing motion just didn't look right, and he hesitated after making his drops in the pocket, whether due to good downfield coverage or...hell if I know, what else can make you hesitate in the pocket?

Neverthless, the opportunities were there; his accuracy wasn't. His completion percentage, one of the best in the country through three weeks, is now hovering at a horrifingly Ayoobian 50% on the season. I sincerely apologize to everyone for claiming Kevin Riley is no Joe Ayoob. He sure looked like it tonight.

It got so bad that Andy Ludwig ran the Wildcat with Best and Sofele in motion, down 23-0 for an entire drive. That's a damning indictment of our passing game--down three scores in the second half, our quarterback was set out wide to block for 30-40% of the offensive snaps.

The Oregon game was a much more complex failure. The USC game is a simpler one to figure out. The Trojans stacked the box on Best early on and dared Riley to beat them in the air. After the first drive, he couldn't. We can guess what the formula will be from here on out to beat the Bears.

Do I think Riley should be benched? Not in the slightest, and it's not just because Tedford's saying so. It's just too early in the season to mark this as a trend, and he did just face one of the best defenses in the country. Let's see if he can settle himself down and work his way into the system against the rest of the Pac-10. If the struggles persist deep into play and jeopardize Big Game or bowl hopes, then I might be persuaded to go the other way. But for now, I'm far from that jumping point.

Playcalling bad? I dunno. I know a lot of people are going to be mad at the run/pass disparity when we have #4 back there, but USC was selling out to stop him all day, and they have the talent and athletes to do so. And that first drive was going well there until the end. After that, it's hard to tell how much of that is on the players not running the plays right, or Ludwig calling in plays the defense can anticipate.

What does annoy me is that I'm beginning to predict what Cal will run on every play based on formation and snap motion, and I'm still fairly novice on the subject. Two tight end set to the left? Best running to the left. Riley in the shotgun is almost always an automatic pass downfield. Put Holley back there and it's almost always an inside run. Lord knows what other defensive coordinators are brewing together in the upcoming weeks.

We have a new tight end for the future. Anthony Miller was our offense for much of the game. The Trojans pretty much blanketed Verran Tucker and Marvin Jones, so that left the middle open, and Riley hooked up with Miller on some big catch-and-gains. At 6'3 258, we might've found someone who combines the blocking of Stevens and the pass-catching abilities of Morrah. In a game full of negatives, this is a pretty enticing development.

Bob Gregory's defense did their part. While the Cal defensive scheme bended plenty in this one, putting the Trojans in the red zone a lot, the final result was 16 offensive points going into the third quarter, with three impressive goal-line stands by an outmanned and outgunned defensive front. There were no big offensive plays other than the first McKnight touchdown. Add in the three points the defense helped cause from the turnover, and that's only a differential of 13 points. If you'd told me Cal's defense had held USC to 16 points going into the 4th, I'd have been strutting like Usain Bolt.

Yes, I'm frustrated by the zone coverage holes too, but give credit to the other team's quarterbacks. Masoli and Barkley made some huge completions that most college quarterbacks probably wouldn't have handled. That zone defense should do its job in future weeks in keeping Pac-10 quarterbacks from hitting their spots. For right now it looks bad, even though it was far from the reason for our loss.

Our linebackers are in serious learning mode. These guys are struggling. First they had to deal with the spread, than the best talent in the country in back-to-back weeks. Bad pursuit angles, dominated by blockers, no pass rush, nothing. I can't even talk in complete sentences about these guys, because it's frustrating to watch them struggle like that. They did hustle in there and help make some nice goal-line stops, so that's encouraging for upcoming road tests in Pasadena and Tempe.

You know how Mike Mohamed looked like the best linebacker last season? I'm starting to think that's because he was the fourth linebacker opposing offenses worried about. They should get better as the season goes along, but the growing pains hurt on our defense for now. The secondary and defensive line have been carrying too much of the weight. It's got to start evening out.

Two mistakes made a big difference in this game's outcome. The first mistake was the Riley interception (the worst of many bad throws), which turned a promising Cal start into a deflating Trojan bite-back touchdown drive. The second was the straight-on punt by Anger to Damian Williams right for the touchdown. Although I knew we'd get an Alamar special one of these days, these are the sort of things you throw out over the long run as anomalies rather than trends. Those two mistakes comprise a 15-21 point swing right there, which could've turned a 23 point margin into a field goal/touchdown margin going into the 4th.

Cal fans are being too critical of Jahvid Best's weak performances in big games. People need to get over how Jahvid is no longer a viable Heisman candidate. A Heisman Trophy almost always rewards the best QB/RB on one of the top two regular season teams; seven of the last ten seasons that's been the case. The odds were stacked against the Jet from the start, and it was impossible to live up to the hype in the long run without additional help from his offense.

Jahvid has his weaknesses, there's no doubt--his pass protection and blitz pickup abilities need plenty of work. However, in terms of running ability, he needs his blockers to open gaps for him and a stable passing game that plays in tandem with his abilities. He got neither in Oregon and only average run blocking against the Trojans. And even if he had Alex Mack and Will Ta'ufo'ou, they too would have had their difficulties against eight to nine Trojans in the box in that first quarter when it was a relatively close one.

Besides, how can Best step up if his counterpart in the backfield steps down?

USC brought their A-game. While it's always fun to blame the Bears for our woes, let's not forget the other team on the sideline is the six-time defending Pac-10 champs. I always worried in the back of my mind the Husky upset would awaken the sleeping giant, and...yeeeeap. They're back alright.

Matt Barkley only completed 57% of his passes, but converted several huge passes for crucial 1st downs. Joe McKnight stepped up big in the absence of Stafon. And God, those offensive linemen--I know it'll sicken you to hear me gush over USC linemen, but they dominated this game. Barkley had plenty of time to make his throws, and they were much of the difference between 3 and 4 yard runs and 6 to 8 yard runs. The most important part of this game that no one will notice was how well the Trojans blocked, from the tackles and guards and center to the fullback and the receivers and tight end.

Of course all that and we still held them to 16 points on offense going into the 4th quarter. I dream longingly of the day we'll hit 16 points on offense again.

We might have played the two best teams in the Pac-10 in back-to-back weeks. So let's keep that in perspective. Both our opponents came out with a specific strategy on offense and defense, executed it to a pinch, and watched while we bungled our opportunities. Yeah, it sucks to deal with the bad execution stuff, but it can happen with 19-23 year olds.

Yes, our expectations are smashed, but we have two weeks to refocus and retool for the rest of the season. I never really saw quit in our players, even late in the games, so you have to feel that the Bears will be ready to bring it the rest of the year. As much as we'd like to think it's the end of the world, there are other things our football players are willing to play for other than a Pac-10 title.

If our coaches are able to make the right adjustments in the upcoming weeks against formidable but equally flawed Pac-10 opponents, we should be able to right the ship and win five or six games in the conference. There are plenty of good but fairly winnable games coming up for the Bears in the upcoming weeks, we just need to focus on executing above all else.

And let's hope that Kevin Riley's arm can start throwing footballs like a regular quarterback again. Because I miss seeing regular quarterback play for the Golden Bears.

Reveling in Victory - Cal wins on the road!

CBKWit — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:41:53 -0000

The third in (hopefully) a thirteen part series, this is a quick recap of a glorious Cal victory. Continue reveling!

The last time I witnessed a Cal victory game away from Memorial Stadium, Steve Levy was our quarterback. We had an all-american center, but his name was Marvin Philip, not Alex Mack. It was the 2005 Vegas bowl, and following the game I was served free cocktails as I made a hundred and fifty bucks at various blackjack tables. Saturday night's post game celebration may have been a bit less glamorous (driving around my former Twin Cities stomping grounds, drinking Grain Belt Premium at Sally's, the country bar on campus), but this victory seems equally important, and a bit more surreal. I had my picture taken with the scoreboard in the background, just to prove that this rarity - a road victory - actually happened and that I was there to see it.

"Premies," proudly endorsed by local waitresses: "I like them better than Miller Lite."

via legalbeer.com

For three quarters, this game followed the same disastrous formula I witnessed at Ucla and Stanford back in 2007. Due to my job, I arrived late and missed early Cal touchdowns in each instance (my job also pays for my flight, hotel, and tickets, so don't shed any tears for old CBKWit). I received word that Cal was up by 7 as we were leaving the hotel, and heard noticeable roars followed by the announcer's subdued report of Tucker's 50 yard catch and Best's second touchdown as we walked to the stadium. I arrived at my seat in time to see Cal force a punt, and remarked to my dad that Cal could essentially end the game with a third straight touchdown.

Much like those games in 2007, Cal did not score that touchdown. Eventually Decker got the Gophers into the game with his spectacular catch while getting absolutely CRUSHED by Cat-house - from the video screen in the stadium, it looked like Decker bobbled the ball as he was falling, which would make it an incomplete pass since he landed out of bounds, but a closer look on espn showed that he somehow held on. That guy is a player.

via stmedia.startribune.com

Cal responded with a third Best td (I started yelling "touchdown! touchdown!" when he was at 25; the hole opened by the left side of the line was big enough for me to gain a few yards), but predictably gave up a score to the Gophers 40 seconds before halftime. When the Cal defense dominated Minnesota to start the second half and force a punt, only to have the terrible kick take a funny bounce off Cat-house's back and end up as our first turnover of the year, I informed my Gopher friends that they had now seen true, authentic Cal football. It continued throughout the third quarter, Cal drives stymied by a phantom holding call on Tepper and an inexplicable trip by Vereen in the face of another huge hole (this time I ate my words after seeing the opening and shouting "first down" just before he fell). A Minneosta drive was elongated by an even worse PI call on a very active Cat-house (I've long liked Ezeff for his strong play at the beginning of the 2007 season, but Cattouse and Johnson are our best safeties right now), perhaps a little hometown payback for his monster hit on Decker. The Gophers tied the game at the end of the third, and every Cal fan in the stadium was thinking "Not again." None of us said "I can't believe it's happening again," because we've all seen it happen so many times.

I entertained those thoughts for most of the third quarter, but a strange, unfamiliar wave of calm washed over me after the Gophers tied it up and the game moved into the fourth. I am hardly an optimistic person, but I felt very confident that Cal would prevail. And unlike in those road games I attended in 2007 and those road games I watched in 2008, where Cal had held the lead for most of the game only to wilt at the end, they did.

Riley's 3rd and 16 completion to Jeremy Ross was the play of the game, the difference between this year's team and the Cal teams of the recent past. It is obvious that Riley and the receivers can now make plays consistently that Cal simply couldn't and hasn't since Longshore's injury at Oregon, but the difference is more complicated and profound than simply completing passes down the field. This team has toughness, cohesion, and composure that it hasn't had since the 2004 squad. This manifests in blowouts of inferior teams at home and the ability to win tough games on the road. I would have liked to see Cal close out Minnesota early when they had the chance, and I would have liked to see better playcalling and execution in the third quarter when the Gophers were selling out to stop the run. Minnesota often left its corners in one-on-one coverage on the outside, and instead of completeting quick stop routes for 3-5 yards on first down, we missed an inordinate amount of passes and were frequently faced with 2nd and 10. A lack of offensive execution left the defense out to dry, and the Gophers tying touchdown was almost inevitable.

Still, it's hard to win on the road against decent to good teams (and the Gophers certainly fall into that range), much less to win with style. It's loud. The ball takes funny bounces. The homer refs exert a huge influence, killing your drives, extending theirs, and flipping field position. Minnesota came back to tie the game and had the crowd at their back, seeking a third straight late game victory. They gave Cal their best shot, and Riley calmly stepped up and put the ball right on the money, in the soft spot of a two-deep zone between the shallow corner and deep safety. Ross caught it, something he doesn't always do (see his drop in the endzone against Eastern Washington a week ago), and dragged the Gopher defenders for another 10 yards. The game was over. Cal throttled Minnesota for the last half-quarter to win going away. It wasn't Ezeff's great hit at the goal-line to win at Oregon in 2007 - Cal didn't let this game come down to the wire. The Bears asserted themselves and left little doubt about the outcome.

The question now becomes, can the Bears do it twice in a row? Few would contend that Oregon has a better team than Cal, but Cal's superior performance so far is not really the issue. This Saturday's game will likely be determined by Cal's ability to recover from a fluky turnover, to fight through an awful call, to execute with a hostile crowd on its feet. Cal has struggled in these areas over the last few years, but they gave notice three days ago that this year's team is different. If they maintain their heretofore nearly impeccable composure (and of course stop the run, goad Masoli into another terrible passing performance, and dominate the line of scrimmage), our Bears will come home 4-0.

A road win - they do exist!

What Are the Greatest Golden Bear Running Back Performances?

Avinash — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Paul Battaglia - AP

3 months ago: California quarterback Kevin Riley (13) hands-off to tailback Jahvid Best during the first half of an NCAA football game against Minnesota, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009 in Minneapolis. Riley was 16-25 for 252 yards as California won 35-21. (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

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VOTE FOR JAHVID BEST FOR AT&T ESPN ALL-AMERICAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK (click here for instructions)!

"Jahvid is a speed reader. He finished Atlas Shrugged in an afternoon." ~JahvidBestFacts

Rushing isn't all about yardage. Well, okay, it is all about yardage, but yards in some game mean more than they do in others. Jahvid Best's five touchdown performance on Minnesota might not have brought as many highlight reel passses the way the first two games this season have, but it's the biggest of his three because of the circumstances. Cal hasn't won a road game, Cal is a bad road team, Cal chokes when it matters, etc. etc. This time, Best played great when we needed him, getting the touchdowns to put us up early and late, at both the goal-line (pleasant surprise) and in the open field (not surprising at all).

So this afternoon, before we gear up for Oregon, let's pause and take a look at your Cal history banks. What Cal tailback performances have stirred up similar feelings of clutchness and productivity?

Share and debate your favorite Golden Bear running back performances. Rec your favorite posts/performances in the comments and we'll summarize the performances with the most recs at a later date!

Here's my personal top 5 (keep in mind my Cal fandom only extends to 2004; I'd love to see plenty of performances from before that time). If you like any of these ones a lot, feel free to copy the performances I share below in the comments, we'll probably see some overlap.

via graphics.fansonly.com

5) Justin Forsett, 31 carries, 164 yards, 2 receptions for 45 yards, 1 TD, USC 2007 (first 1:15).

Yeah, it was in a loss, but it was the first time I ever really thought, "Wow, Forsett could actually be a pro back." I'd always though he'd max out in college before that game, but his ability to elude and break what were essentially pro tacklers in USC's front was so impressive I . Not to mention he was able to block blitzes from those powerful Trojan linebackers for the ailing Nate Longshore. Niners fans got a taste of the havoc he will soon unleash yesterday.

I really didn't feel any hope we'd win this game after our performance the previous four weeks. But Forsett (and a little bit of Hawk) made me feel otherwise.

Here's the top 4 after the jump!

4) Marshawn Lynch: 25 carries for 189 yards, 3 catches for 13 yards, 2 touchdowns, Oregon 2005 (:45 to 1:06)

When you go 52 yards for a game tying touchdown in the 2nd half, when your quarterback is playing with his hands wrapped tightly around his throat, when you're trying to win for the first time in Autzen in nearly two decades, and you go for nearly 8 yards per carry, you're definitely worthy of the top 5.

3) Jahvid Best: 19 carries, 201 yards, 3 receptions, 35 yards, 3 touchdowns, Big Game 2008 (Best/Vereen highlight reel of the game; note: no audio)

This was about the time Jahvid Best took over our 2008 offense. Our season could've 2007ed if Jahvid didn't decide to make this game his. Big props to Alex Mack and Will Ta'ufo'ou for opening up big enough holes for Best, and Tedford finding creative ways to either misdirect the defense to focus on Best or get him the ball in ways that eviscerated the defenders who could not cut and jive their way with him.

via 2.bp.blogspot.com

2) Marshawn Lynch: 21 carries for 150 yards, 4 receptions for 53 yards, 2 touchdowns, Washington 2006 (2:06 to 3:11)

Twist references this game as The Passion of the Christ. He leaves out the part about Jesus rising to heaven on a tripped out injury cart.

via www.eteamz.com

1) JJ Arrington: 31 carries, 261 yards at Southern Miss 2004. (3:21 is the only clip I can find from that game, sorry for the terrible quality)

This was the biggest clutch performance I've seen from perhaps any Golden Bear the past five seasons. The Bears were about to get Longhorned out of the Rose Bowl, and Arrington made the case not only for Cal to get to Pasadena, but also for him to enter the Heisman discussion. He ripped apart Southern Mississippi when the passing game started to falter, Geoff Macarthur broke his leg, and Aaron Rodgers was having trouble completing half his passes.

You can tell a true Cal fan from a poser if you ask them who the most important player on that 2004 team was. Their answer should incorporate the number 2018 into it.

Honorable mention: Jahvid Best: 26 carries, 131 yards, 5 touchdowns, Minnesota 2009; Justin Forsett: 26 carries for 156 yards, 1 catch for 49 yards, 1 TD, Tennessee 2007; Jahvid Best 20 carries, 186 yards, 2 TDs, Emerald Bowl 2008; Marshawn Lynch 25 carries for 152 yards, 3 catches for 17 yards, 2 TDs, at Wazzu 2006; JJ Arrington 29 carries, 205 yards, 2 TDs versus UCLA, 2004.

My history of Cal football is exceptionally short. Old Blues, enlighten me and other youngins about the greats that preceded us!

Best, Bears Add Consistency To Their Running Game

ragnarok — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:00:19 -0000

by Tony Avelar - AP

California running back Jahvid Best has always had gamebreaking speed, but adding the ability to consistently pound out tough yards would make the Cal offense especially dangerous. (AP Photo/ Tony Avelar)

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Jahvid Best has long been a highlight reel machine running the football, but one of the knocks on him has been a reputation for a lack of toughness. It was felt that, for all his speed, when you needed tough yards up the middle, Best wasn't the guy to give them to you. For every 20+ yarder he broke off, there were far too many runs up the middle for a yard or less, the sort of maddening inconsistency that can really stall an offense. Saturday night vs. the Maryland Terrapins, I think he took a good step forward towards remedying that.

To illustrate what was, I picked a game at random from last year: Cal's Emerald Bowl victory over Miami (FL). Jahvid Best finished that game with 186 yards and 2 TDs on 20 carries, a stellar 9.3 yards per carry average. In busting runs of 15, 19, 25, 28, 32 and 42 yards, he left television audiences breathless with his talent, cementing his status over the offseason as a darkhorse Heisman candidate. However, those 6 carries listed above also accounted for 87% of his yards on the night. Meanwhile, fully half of Best's carries vs. Miami (10 of 20) went for a yard or less -- a recipe for 2nd & long, 3rd & long, and stalled drives all night.

What I'd like to do now is illustrate a more concrete way of measuring the consistency of the running game. To do that, I'm going to introduce the concept of 'success rate'.

Here I'm going to crib from RockMNation's Bill C., who defines it thus:

Success Rate is the standard for a lot of the stats I use. I've modified it slightly so that there's roughly a 44% chance of 'success' on any given play. Here are the rules according to down:

1st Down: 50% of necessary yardage. If it's 1st-and-10, you need 5 yards for 'success'. Football Outsiders use 40% for 1st down, but with the games I've entered, that led to a 1st down success rate of about 51%. Bumping the requirements to 50% led to the 44% rate for which I was aiming.

2nd Down: 65% of necessary yardage (rounded up to the nearest yard, of course). If it's 2nd-and-10, you need 7 yards for 'success'. 2nd-and-15? 10 yards. This makes sense, really, because to succeed regularly on 3rd downs, you need to stay at 3rd-and-5 or less. Getting most of the way there on 2nd downs sets you up infinitely better for 3rd down.

Football Outsiders uses 70%, but the success rate for that was around 42%. Weakening the requirements slightly got me into the range I was looking for.

3rd and 4th Downs: 100% of necessary yardage. I figure this requires no explanation.

I think this describes a fairly intuitive definition of what most football observers would determine a 'successful' play to be, at least under normal conditions. Applying this standard to Best's Emerald Bowl numbers, we find that just 11 of his 20 rushes (55%) were successful; the rest of them left the Bears in a lurch, facing 2nd or 3rd & long and needing a big play to keep the drive alive. Not that you could really pin all the blame on Best, as the rest of the Bears' running game wasn't any better. Add in Shane Vereen's 8 carries and Jeremy Ross' end-around, and Cal was still successful on just 16 of 29 rushing attempts, still a 55% average.

And as I did more research, it turns out that, despite all the misfires, a 55% success rate is actually pretty good, at least for our Bears. Only 3 times last season did the Bears have success at a greater rate, all against terrible teams (Colorado State, Stanford, and an amazing 71% success rate vs. Washington, who had by that time given up on both their season and their coaching staff). The mean was about 46%, and that included some terribly unsuccessful days vs. Maryland (36%), USC (25%) and Oregon (22%, with 3 fumbles in the rain).

Versus Maryland last Saturday, however, the Bears found a lot more success on the ground, and more importantly, they found it more consistently. All the major media outlets will focus on Best's 73-yard touchdown run, but I was equally happy to see Best gain 4, 5, 6 yards up the middle. Much of the credit, whenever you're running the ball, has to go to the offensive line, and this time was no exception. They opened holes and pushed defensive linemen around all night long, whether the ball carrier was Best, Vereen, Covaughn Deboskie-Johnson, Brian Holley or Peter Geurts.

Jahvid Best only had 10 carries Saturday night vs. Maryland before taking a seat, but those were some highly successful carries, picking up great yardage on 7 of them, an excellent 70% success rate. While Shane Vereen was less of a gamebreaker than Best, with rushing totals that weren't nearly as impressive (48 yards on 10 carries), the carries he did get were successful at an equally impressive rate (7 of 10). Throw in a couple more miscellaneous carries from Holley and Isi Sofele before Cal pulled all the starters and went into 'run straight into the line' mode, and Cal's running game posted a very impressive 73% success rate (16 of 22) for the game, better than any performance last year.

Speaking of Brian Holley, I was particularly impressed with the one carry he did get, wherein he drove forward straight into the line to pick up a yard on 3rd and 1, and then kept his center of gravity low and his feet moving to carry would-be tacklers forward for an additional four yards. Just like a fullback is supposed to do. As a group, Cal's run game was a perfect 4/4 on 3rd and short conversions, a statistic that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

There are certainly nits you could pick with Cal's overall performance on Saturday night, but not much you could say against the run game. We don't yet know how good (or bad) Maryland's defense is relative to the rest of Division I-A, and we certainly don't want to get ahead of ourselves after one game, but I think this years' group could be better than last years', even without Alex Mack. Add in a confident Kevin Riley and an improved receiving corps, and the 2009 edition of the Bears offense could end up being very, very special.