SB Nation - Mark Sanchez

Who Were the Worst Performers in the Pac-10 in 2009?

Avinash — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:30:02 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Meet the Pac-10 MVP of interceptions!

It's always hard to measure the value of good teams in football. It almost always starts with a good quarterback, followed closely behind by an offensive line and a running back. Then you want a strong front seven, with receivers and secondary coming somewhere after that. You can build a good team around the front four, a great one with everything else coming together

So in determining a football MVP (or I guess for college football, Heisman), we're looking at people from the first three or four categories strongly. In the next two days we'll start counting down the best players and o-line/defensive units in the conference to try and figure out who deserves to be the Pac-10's most valuable player

That's right, instead of doing a national college football consensus (which would be tedious and terrifying), let's go with what we know well. This is all Pac-10.

Because most of us are sick inside, we'll start with the worst Pac-10 performers. What player or unit (offensive line, particular aspect of defense, coach, other thing, etc.) do you feel played the worst this season? Did I leave anyone off that requires mention? Discuss in the comments!

USC--Matt Barkley

Wait a second. Didn't Barkley just beat Ohio State in the Horseshoe? Nothing can stop him now! He's on his way to college football greatness!

Anyway, it seems like Carroll's petty anger at Mark Sanchez was a bad sign of things to come. I'm not saying that Sanchez could've saved USC from the avalanche at Autzen, but he should've outdueled Luck and Foles with essentially the same offense from last year. It would've been a B- version of the 2005 team, all offense and average defense. And they'd probably have ended up in Tempe.

If Sanchez was like an ice cream sundae at Fenton's (a little bad here and there, but still a tasty ride the whole way), Barkley was like a strawberry cream pie shake at Sonic's (tantalizing at first taste, but man would it make you sick down the road). He threw the most interceptions in the Pac-10, more than Sullivan, Prince, and any of the Wazzu troupe. His four turnovers in the Cardinal romp led to 28 Furd points, and he threw another killer pick against Arizona that led to what turned out to be a crucial seven points for the Wildcats. His 4th quarter stats were abominable--50% completion rate, one touchdown, SEVEN interceptions, 83 passer rating, which is good for 117th in the country, only about a drop of about a hundred in the rankings from the season before. His most memorable touchdown throw of the year was only meaningful in the sense that UCLA's defense will be headhunting him in eleven months.

Add in these continuing rumors from Thoroughbred that many of his teammates despise him, and all is not well at Heritage Hall for the first time in...well, a decade. The rest of the Pac-10 couldn't be more delighted.

Note: Thought about the Trojan run defense here, but come on, those guys got DECIMATED (entire front seven gone, plus another four or five guys injured). They had no chance against the Quack Attack or the power run game of the Furd.

UCLA--The entire Bruin offense

via cache.daylife.com

Man, it was brutal watching these guys this year.

Some more fun stats:

There were four teams in the Pac-10 (Oregon, Arizona, USC, Cal) who had two rushers that ran for more than UCLA's leading rusher (Johnathan Franklin)
The Bruins leading man in yards for scrimmage was Nelson Rosario, who finished 19th overall. There were seven teams in the Pac-10 with two or more players with more yards from scrimmage, and four (Furd, Oregon State, Arizona St., Oregon) with three.
Navy threw the ball 96 times this year, Army 161 (http://www.cfbstats.com/2009/leader/national/team/offense/split01/category02/sort06.html), Kevin Prince 267. Navy and Army scored 5 touchdowns apiece on those passes. Prince scored 6. Somewhere Norm Chow is wringing his neck (could be either Prince's neck or his own).
The USC game perfectly encapsulates UCLA's offensive abilities: To prevent from being shutout by their crosstown rivals, the Bruins needed a 13 play, 65 yard, five and a half minute drive that included two fourth down conversions, and two forced fumbles.
Bruins fans are actually calling on Kevin Craft for the bowl game. Yes, THAT Kevin Craft. (Okay, they only want him to start because he wasn't happy at playing hookie, but still). You know your offense is in desperate straits when your fans are ACTIVELY CALLING for Kevin Craft.

Furd--The ENTIRE CARDINAL DEFENSE

via www2.pictures.zimbio.com

Exactly the same thing we did for UCLA. Let's just rattle off the numbers...

A few examples of their defensive fails:

Their defense never forced a fourth down in the first half at Corvallis; five times Oregon State got the ball, five times they marched down the field and put points on the board, 31 in all.
The Cardinal surrendered not one, but two 40+ yard rushing touchdowns to Arizona to blow a two score lead in the 4th quarter, the last one on a 50+ yard scamper by Nwoko on THIRD AND SEVENTEEN.
The Cardinal took a 14-0 lead on the Bears with 6 minutes left in the first quarter; Cal responded by holding onto the ball for 35 of the final 50 minutes, including ripping off 24 unanswered points and scoring on five of their next six drives.

Perfect example of their horrid season came against Notre Dame. Toby Gerhart rushed in the go-ahead touchdown with a minute left in a tied game against an awful Irish defense, and Harbaugh looks about as pleased as Michael Corleone finding out Kay had an abortion. Why? The Cardinal could have kneeled down three times and kicked a chip shot extra point-type field goal at the buzzer to win. The touchdown put the Cardinal defense back on the field against Jimmy Clausen. Sure enough, after getting pinned at their own ten, in TWENTY SECONDS the Irish are at the Cardinal 24 and nearly pull a win out of their asses. All thanks to the Cardinal's hideous defense.

Yeesh. Maybe Gerhart did deserve the Heisman. But we'll get to the MVP candidates soon enough.

Oregon State's September swoon

via blog.oregonlive.com

This isn't really a unit fail as opposed to a team fail; the Beavers suck in September EVERY SINGLE YEAR. They could never get going against Cincinnati even though they were at home. They allowed Nick Foles in his starting debut in Corvallis to complete 74% of his passes at 7.5 YPA with 3 touchdowns and no picks. And they needed a last second Kahut field goal to beat a 5-7 UNLV squad. And these guys plan to play TCU in Dallas and Boise in the Smurf Turf next September?

Cal's pass defense not named Syd'Quan Thompson

via cdn2.sbnation.com

108th in passing yards given up; 103rd in completion percentage; 81st in passer rating. The Bears dropped from 3rd in the country in INTs to 71st, from 1st in the country in passes defended to 47th. So let's say they regressed a little.

(You might say the offensive line deserves this...but Cal still ranked top 40 in rushing yards per game and top 25 in yards per attempt. You might even say the special teams, but they didn't have as much impact as our defense, plus their general incompetence over the past half-decade deserves its own post. A lot of that had to do with Best and Vereen, but that's still only a mediocre unit, not an awful one. Nothing hurt the Bears more in 2009 than their pass defense...the offensive line just exacerbated the situation.)

Washington--Nick Holt

This one's hard to say. Holt's defense was much improved from last year, especially in the run game. USC, Cal, Wazzu, Arizona all fell. On the other hand...his defense still got ripped apart by the Oregon schools and the Furd. They weren't that bad, but they weren't that good either, so it's hard to call them the worst. So I'll go with the easy to hate Holt here.

Ultimately though, Holt's defense still provided us with the most comical college football moment of 2009, which could've been the difference between Locker and his first bowl game...

Arizona State

Only four games into the season, Pitchfork Nation wrote an open letter to his beleaguered starting QB withdrawing his support.

I retract anything positive I said about Danny Sullivan. Not only are you not physically talented enough to start for a Pac-10 team, but as you proved last night, you’re what we call in my family a "mental midget."

..

Instead, you exhibited the same physical problems we saw in each of the Sun Devils first three games. You sailed balls, you completely missed wide open receivers and left your pass catchers out to dry with several horribly thrown balls. Your most accurate pass was one you threw away in the 3rd quarter that perfectly nailed the "C" on the Muscle Milk sign on the side of the east bleachers.

Well, that sucks.

The numbers don't get much better for Sullivan: He never threw better than 56% in any quarter, he threw well on 1st down but didn't make much of a dent otherwise, and he generally struggled with everything. He hit 60% completions in only three of his games, all against bad pass Ds (Cal, Furd, Oregon State). For God's sake, he struggled against Wazzu. Shouldn't there be a shaming list for athletes who struggle against Wazzu?

And it wasn't like he was throwing to turds out there; both Kyle Williams and Chris McGaha notched 57 catches, and Dmitri Nance was a capable runner. No, it looks like most of the wounds were self-inflicted.

Wazzu--Everyone?

via cache.daylife.com

I'll save those poor Cougar fans an explanation; I really don't want to go over this hundred car pile-up, and they've suffered enough. At least they have Klay Thompson.

Oregon: LeGarrette Blount?

via www1.pictures.zimbio.com

He's probably the Ducks Least Valuable Player. I'm not happy stating it since the dude got a huge punishment for a totally surreal moment, but he redeemed himself, so that's always good.

But I put a question mark there...because for not-so-obvious reasons, you could make the case that he's the unintentional Pac-10 MVP. Why?

1) The Punch changed the whole Oregon running dynamic. For nearly a month Oregon struggled to get past the rust, but slowly things started to click and their offense got back in sync for the Utah game; once James and Masoli started operating in tandem the Quack Attack began rolling.

So...does Oregon win close games versus Purdue and Utah if Blount is in the backfield? Do the Ducks slow the pace down against Cal, USC, UCLA, Arizona State, Arizona and Oregon State instead of attacking, attacking, attacking? Does James get going at all? Does Barner break out as a pure speed demon? Would Oregon have gone 10-2 without the Punch? I doubt it. In a strange way, Blount's actions made his team BETTER in the long run--the Ducks were able to play that fast up-tempo offense that Kelly relished, and they blew through the Pac-10 relatively unscathed.

(I will always believe that if the Bears had played Blount and Masoli that we could've snuck that game out--not necessarily won, but the opportunity would've been there. We could've bottled up Blount the way we held Gerhart in check, play deliberate 3-4 football and wait for Blount to find the hole before matching him at the line of scrimmage. Of course, we still wouldn't have been able to defend Ed Dickson, but at least it's a step up from defending no one.)

2) The media hatefest gave the Ducks an 'us against the world' mentality. You can't underestimate the power of ESPN and the Internet on these guys--when Oregon became the dominant storyline of the opening college football weekend, when they heard about how they stunk and that their coach should be fired...it's not implausible they didn't rally around the hate and use it to fuel their overall mission. It's hard for me to say that Chip Kelly didn't use that to motivate the Ducks to play better, execute better, keep the pace going; they only let down once (the Cardinal), rolled everyone else and delivered in what amounted to Rose Bowl quarter and semifinals against Arizona and Oregon State.

If it had just been an awful loss the Ducks would've been forgotten by the national media--the Punch gave it the attention, gave Oregon the fire they needed to run through the rest of the season. It was the perfect black swan event. Everything went wrong on the first day of the season, and the Ducks spent the next three months trying to prove that it was an aberration. Didn't do too shabby, did they?

Of course, you could say he would've been theoretically least valuable; were the Ducks a better team if Blount wasn't playing? We'll never totally know, but the fact they barely missed a beat without him says a lot. They probably beat the Furd with him, but do they blow out USC, Cal, Arizona State, Washington and UCLA? I'm not so sure about that.

So Blount gets his team's LVP...only because the rest of the Ducks played like MVPs the rest of the year. For some reason, I feel he won't mind it that much.

Tomorrow: Pac-10 MVP honorable mentions

Media Wednesday - The Pick Heard 'Round the World

dvieira — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:15:32 -0000

Mark Sanchez has moved onto the NFL but it was just 2 years ago where he was charged with leading the USC Trojans down the field in the waning seconds of the 4th quarter. USC was down by 7 and the Oregon Defense had to come up with a way to stop the storybook ending. There was a storybook ending alright, it just wasn't for the Trojans.

I would be remiss if I didn't add this video as suggested by PaulSF. Apparently Pete Carroll didn't appreciate Mike Bellotti challenging his challenge.

Is Cal's Defense Underachieving?

Avinash — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:30:26 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Cal's pass defense struggled again. Are we going to see this all year long?

Browse more photos »

DEFENSE, BEARS...DEFENSE???

Most of the postgame reaction has been focused on Cal's lamentable defensive effort, especially against the pass. It's been discussed everywhere, and I figured I'd throw myself into the fire. Literally, since I figure 80-85% of Cal fans will disagree with my next statement:

Outside of Autzen, Bob Gregory hasn't done that much wrong.

Now before all of you start hollering about Prince and Tuel lighting us up, I understand where you guys are coming from. Like many people, I assumed that the depletion of our linebacking corps would be offset by improvements in the defensive line and the secondary, with everyone having starting experience coming back.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. Units don't just revamp at certain areas and expect to get by because the front and the back are supporting them. The linebackers are the core of the defense, especially in a 3-4; take them away and the middle is open to exploitation.

Think of an army with great tanks and experienced soldiers but no aircraft, anti-aircraft or flak. You might have the power and the wherewithal to take out your opponents, but a good enough air attack can blast all that heavy weaponry and veteran savvy out of the park. So it is with the passing defense this season, where the weakness of the linebackers has been felt by the rest of the lineup.

Cal is returning seven but we're missing those four BIG TIME. Let's rank the top players on our defense last year.

1) Zack Follett
2) Syd'Quan Thompson
3) Tyson Alualu
4) Anthony Felder
5) Worrell Williams
6) Mike Mohamed
7) Darian Hagan
8) Rulon Davis (when healthy)

So those four who are gone are in the top 8, and the three linebackers in the top five. Big big losses.

Rulon Davis might never have been as healthy as we'd have liked him to be, but when he was, he was ON. Cameron Jordan is a jolly guy from what I've seen, but at the moment he really hasn't stepped up to replace Davis's raw ability. Don't be deceived by those 6.5 sacks--3.5 came against really bad teams. He's on pace for 2008 numbers, and he's playing probably 50% more than last season after splitting time with Rulon in 2008.

Derrick Hill has performed well, but centers can still battle him one on one, leaving one side to double, triple team Alualu at will. So that means that extra one or two guys blitzing or moving in on the line of scrimmage has to step up, rush in, and hit the quarterback.

Unfortunately...

Cal does not have a pass rushing linebacker. When Cal put that linebacker at the LoS on passing downs last season (usually Follett), it collapsed the pocket, overwhelmed the edge and forced the quarterback into the errant throws, incompletions or sacks. Not this season. Young, Mohamed, Kendricks, Bishop, Holt, none of these guys have been able to fill that mantle. Jarred Price might be the guy to show it, but what he has in pass rush (2 sacks) he lacks in consistency (4 season tackles)

Follett had 10.5 sacks and 4 hurries on his own last season; through seven games, the ENTIRE Bears linebackers corps has combined for 7.5 sacks and 4 hurries.

Note: Interestingly enough (as you probably saw with some of the highlights), Gregory tinkered with a four down linemen set on passing downs to gain extra pass rush, although I'm not sure how much of it had an effect on slowing down Tuel. I'd been pondering a similar idea considering the weakness of our linebackers to add an extra defensive lineman (our strength) for more pass rush, and it seemed Gregory was thinking along the same lines. We'll see how it bears out when Cal plays formidable/weaker offensive lines down the road.

Cal's linebacking corps is still learning the pass defense ropes: Probably the biggest mistake I made in my predictions was asking this question: "is Mike Mohamed capable of becoming Cal's greatest linebacker of the Tedford era?" Whoops. Desmond Bishop, you keep the title.

Don't get me wrong, Mohamed's been good, still the best all-around linebacker for the Bears (he has picks, a forced fumble, a sack, and 61 tackles). Nevertheless, he seems to be suffering from the Rajon Rondo syndrome--he looked like the best linebacker last season because guys were always throwing in his direction to avoid Felder and Williams. Unlike Follett or Desmond, he lacks that game-changing ability. Maybe that'll change, but right now he's merely good when Cal needs great.

Devin Bishop and Eddie Young are okay, but as BWNQ noted, they probably lack proper football instincts, as they've been duped on several important occasions by doing bad things on the field. No matter how good the coaching is, it's REALLY hard to undo instinct.

As for Kendricks and Holt, they have promise, but as sophomores they're still not fully polished. We can probably expect better things from them...in 2010. Right now we can only hope they're given the time to grow and mature so they can come back and smash next season.

Finally, the secondary. This is probably the most mystifying of the three units, even to a guy like me. Last season these guys were ballhawks, and now they're getting pumpfaked, beat at the point of attack. What's going on??

Syd'Quan Thompson has done his job, but the other side, plainly, has not. Darian Hagan got pump-faked out of the starting lineup in Minnesota. Josh Hill got the Oregon start and got picked on, over and over and over. And then both have been taking their turn even though they've been playing more man coverage. Although both are improving, it does leave you a little frustrated, especially with Hagan, who looked so promising last season. The safeties have been competent--Ezeff and Johnson are good at delivering hits, and Cattouse has also shown great promise, but for whatever reason they've been beat a lot.

So why has the secondary regressed? A few possibilities:

1) With the linebackers having trouble defending their zones and tackling afterwards, the secondary has to edge toward the middle of the field to be prepared to support...which in turn opens up the flats and sideline throws. And it doesn't necessarily secure the middle either.

2) The secondary might be more experienced, but given the depth of gamefilm, there is plenty for opposing teams to scout on them. Cal's secondary is not like USC's, whose weaknesses are harder to pinpoint and exploit. Even Syd'Quan might be lockdown one-on-one, but he's still undersized--tall physical receivers can do damage against him if given the proper time. You can only imagine how many more double moves and pump fakes against Hagan and throws to the flats against Hill we'll see this year.

3) PAY ATTENTION. This is the big one...

There are a lot of good quarterbacks in the Pac-10 this season.

Four freshmen have shown great promise--Foles, Luck, Barkley, and, yes, even Tuel (don't forget he also went about 67% against USC too). Add in three guys who've been here before (Masoli, Locker, Canfield) and that's SEVEN Pac-10 quarterbacks who are at the very least competent. That's the most depth the conference has shown at the quarterback stable this decade.

Compare it to the Pac-10 QBs we saw last season: Sanchez was pretty good but still developing, Willie Tuitama had his ups and downs, Masoli was in his first year escaping the shadow of Dixon, Lyle Moevao had his moments although he was carried by the Rodgers brothers, Rudy Carpenter was digesting turf thanks to his awesome offensive line, the Kevin Craft Interception Show missed no stops, Tavita Pritchard was a placeholder, the Washington/Wazzu quarterbacks we faced were bad, bad, bad.

Masoli has quietly worked his way back to a solid 60% completion percentage. Canfield and Foles are horrifyingly good at finding their receivers, hovering at 70% and putting them in the top seven in the conference. Luck isn't as accurate, but he throws touchdowns and not many picks (kind of like Riley-lite). Locker is the most dangerous player in the Pac-10 if he faces a defense that gives him cushion. And Barkley is only going to get better.

They're so good that they're not just beating Cal's zones, they're beating Cal on man. Tuel's two touchdown throws came against man coverage, where he fit that ball in just the right place for the receiver to get it and the defender had no chance to play the ball. Kevin Prince had excellent throws that burned a few guys with excellent man coverage too. Surprisingly, they played pretty well against Barkley after spotting the Trojans ten points. Of course the big fail was Masoli where the Bears played mostly zone, but even when they played man they got beat.

Now the solution would be to be aggressive in the pass rush and send more guys. But who? Cal's linebackers haven't shown they're able to speed their way. Not many of these guys have the ability to stunt or delay the way our group did last year--maybe Alualu, but again he's facing constant double teams. Plus with the quarterbacks being better this season, sending more guys leaves the Bears vulnerable to a precise pass going for six.

So pick your poison. So pick your poison. Do you key in on stopping the run and not allowing big plays and risk giving up easier underneath throws, or gamble with a pass rush or man coverage and take the risk of quarterbacks connecting on long strikes? This is the quandary Gregory is in, and we’ll find out what he comes up with these next few weeks. (HT Hydro for the rephrase)

Is Cal's defense underachieving, overachieving, or performing as expected?

Reactions to defense.

More reactions: AERose has some interesting numbers on 1st/2nd half stats, Rocky63125 wants Gregory to go, royrules had thoughts about Cal's D against UCLA.

Gary Peterson, San Jose Mercury News:

Then came the part no one expected. When Tedford had finished dousing his defenders in lighter fluid, linebacker Steve Fanua set them on fire.

"He's a young buck, a redshirt freshman," Jordan said, smiling. "He has fire in his veins. He gave us a nice little talk."

And this was received how?

"That only amps you up more," Jordan said. "Here's a guy, barely 18 years old, letting us know what this means for him. He's a young kid. He's hungry."

So was Cal's defense when it returned to the field. Jordan recorded two of his two-and-a-half sacks, and three of his six tackles in the second half. One sack defused Washington State's first drive after the intermission. Another, coming on fourth-and-10, ended a Cougars drive at the Cal 18.

Jimmy Tran, Daily Cal:

One of the points emphasized was tackling.

Arguably the most noticeable player guilty of missed tackles was cornerback Darian Hagan. Despite coming off one of his best performances ever last week against UCLA, Hagan struggled to make several key tackles in the open field and gave up a couple big passing plays against WSU.

"He needs to be more consistent, no question about it," Gregory said. "Very poor game today, and we just got to keep working with these kids to grow and mature."

The Monday Morning Wash

John Berkowitz — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:39:18 -0000

I am sure the players coaches, fans, and media made good use of the 24 hour rule this weekend. There was a lot of venting going on in the Husky Nation after the team suffered a loss because the coaching staff made an ill conceived gamble that ended up losing the game.

Coach Sarkisian was up front and took responsibility for it immediately after the game in the press conference and the radio show. According to the media he was visibly upset over what had happened. For Husky fans that act of contrition is refreshing. After four years of Tyrone Willingham, two of Keith Gilbertson, and four of Rick Neuheisel it wasn't like we hadn't seen a coaching staff screw up and cost the team a game. What was refreshing is the coach simply admitted his error without any BS and vowed to better in the future.

The firestorm of dissapointment shifted quickly to defensive coordinator Nick Holt whose unit gave up the improbable 50 yard TD pass on the next play. What puts Holt under the magnifying glass is his observed conduct on the sidelines and a supposed no show at the press conference after the game. An article by Ted Miller of ESPN lambasted Holt for getting a 15 yard penalty earlier in the game for once again going out of the coaching box. It also criticized him for cursing at camera men on the sidelines and for the way he was chewing out his players. The crux of the story was that Holt needs to be more accountable for his actions.

Washington defensive coordinator Nick Holt needs to apologize. First to his team, then to Huskies fans.

When the Huskies defense had a massive breakdown that allowed Arizona State to score a game-winning touchdown on a 50-yard pass with 5 seconds remaining to win 24-17, the responsible party -- Holt -- failed to show up for postgame interviews and tell reporters, "We were out of position. That's entirely my fault. I need to coach them better so it won't happen again."

Meanwhile, Holt was seen berating a player and a television cameraman, neither of whom signed a three-year, $2.1 million contract to make sure his players know where to be in situations such as a late-game prevent defense when only a deep pass beats you.

I have been reading Ted Miller ever since he was a beat reporter at the Seattle PI. Ted knows college football well and is usually 100% spot on. Ted just happened to be at the game Saturday night because he currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. So he wasn't some East Coast journalist taking pot shots from afar by assembling an opinion based on watching TV and reading the AP feed.

Ted however got at least one important part of the story wrong that was pointed out last night by KJR's "Softy" Dave Mahler. First of all the 15 yard penalty wasn't called on Coach Holt. The penalty was actually called on someone named Grey Ruegamer. Grey is a newer Husky asst. strength coach who was cut by the Seahawks as a player earlier this year.

Ruegamer seems to be quite the character. This is what we found out about him from his bio in wikipedia.

Ruegamer has a Basque family friend and has helped the friend castrate Lamb with his teeth.

Ruegamer is a prankster and is also known for showing up to Friday practices in costume. He keeps all his toenail clippings and callous shavings in a cup all season long. If anyone messes with him and he deems it necessary, he will dump the cup in personal belongings of theirs.

So let me get this straight while trying to keep a straight face. We have a guy on the sidelines who went to ASU, who is now an asst. strength coach at UW, after washing out of the NFL who castrates baby farm animals with his teeth?If I was a Pac 10 official I would think twice about throwing a flag on this guy.

If I was Steve Sarkisian I would think twice about having this idiot on the sidelines and around my players. Castrating baby farm animals with your teeth? Now that is exactly the type of visual image we want associated with Husky football...not....!

Getting back to Holt the next accusation by Miller is that Holt skipped the press conference after being requested to appear by the media. That one unfortunately could be true. According to Chris Fetters of Dawgman who was at the stadium till 3:00 AM Holt wasn't going to talk to anyone after the game no matter how many requests the PR staff received.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times said he never requested an interview with Holt.

As for Holt not being available to the media, I can't say whether he was requested last night --- he wasn't by me in part since I had such tight deadlines I only had time for a couple of interviews and at the time we had to put in our requests (early in the fourth quarter) I didn't think I'd have the time or the pressing need for it. I know Holt has been requested after most of the other games and has not been available to the print/web media (I think he's done a couple of radio interviews). But he does meet with us on Wednesdays and he has been available for all of those.

Football is an emotional game. There is no more emotional time than after a tough loss. For years the Husky Nation has asked and prayed for an emotional coaching staff that gives 110%. Even with the errors that were made on Saturday night we have had our wish granted. This is a young and smart coaching staff that will only get better. They aren't going to fall into the pattern of making repeated mistakes.

Coaches make mistakes. Pete Carroll made plenty of them in a loss to Washington. He made enough to possibly cost USC the game against Notre Dame on Saturday. What Pete has in his favor is a group of athletes that are usually talented enough to recover from almost any mistake and win a football game. Washington isn't quite there yet but considerable help in the talent department is on the way in 2010.

As for 2009 most of us should cut coach Holt a break. We prayed for fire and emotion. We got fire and emotion. What exactly do you think has put us in a position to win five of six football games this season in the last minute? It certainly hasn't been an overwhelming advantage in the talent area.

The coaches of course need to do better. They know they need to do better. What happened on Saturday night isn't on the players. It is on the coaching staff and this coaching staff knows it and is accountable from the head man on down. Holt chose not to show up to take his medicine from the media. Now he gets painted as the bad guy. As Dave Mahler is saying is that really a fair and accurate portrayal?

I think Holt made a mistake by not showing up. All he had to do was issue the same "Mea Culpa" that Sarkisian did and leave for the plane. Holt screwed up just as much as Sarkisian did. He is 100% in charge of the defense and he personally failed his team on Saturday. Washington had three timeouts remaining. If cooler heads had prevailed with five seconds remaining they could have taken one of those time outs to make extra sure the defense was lined up correctly and every single player understood his responsibility. UW didn't do that and it was another in a series of mistakes that cost them the game in the last minute and thirty seconds.

Holt has a lot to think about between now and Wednesday when he is supposed to speak with media. If he mentions bullets or personal deficiencies there is going to be a firestorm. He has already been given two passes by fans and media for those type of comments. Holt needs to man up and take full responsibility. I think he will do that.

I think he chose not to speak on Saturday simply because the emotion and pain were so great. Jake Locker didn't speak after the Notre Dame loss for the same reasons. The difference of course is Jake is 22 working for free and Nick Holt is 47 with a $2.1 million contract. He needs to show more maturity to go along with the tremendous fire and emotion. There has to be a balance and he has to find it to take himself and the Huskies to the next level.

Around the Pac Ten

California 45 UCLA 26

Jahvid Best made a 93-yard touchdown run and caught a 51-yard scoring pass, and California got back on track after two tough losses with a dynamic first half in a 45-26 victory over UCLA on Saturday. I expected the UCLA defense to do better in this one. You have to hand it to Cal. They put their bye week to good use.

USC 34 Notre Dame 27

Jimmy Clausen threw three incomplete passes into the end zone in the closing seconds, and No. 6 USC held on Saturday for a 34-27 victory, its eighth straight win against Notre Dame. the more I see of clausen the more I like him. The more I see of USC it makes me thing the Trojans could lose a couple more before the end of the season.

Arizona 43 Stanford 38

Nic Grigsby raced 57 yards for a touchdown with 2:57 to go, and Arizona rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat Stanford 43-38 on Saturday night. The Wildcats ended a wild night in the desert by repelling the Cardinal on fourth-and-10 at Arizona's 17, with cornerback Trevin Wade batting down a pass intended for Chris Owusu in the end zone.

Pac 10 Power Ratings

1. Oregon...The Ducks move up to #1 during the bye week. The logic is a week off will aloow them the heal up for the rest of a tough Pac 10 campaign that heads to Seattle this week.

2. USC...The Trojans came oh so close to dropping one against ND on Saturday. The losses of Sarkisan and Holt have been felt this season. Matt Barkley is coming along well but imagine this team with Mark Sanchez. Up next is OSU and the Beavers have had the Trojans number for a couple of years.

3. Oregon State...Getting a bye the week before you play USC is a real good thing.

4. California...After getting rid of some frustration against UCLA the Bears line up against the worst offense and defense in the BCS. Can they break the century mark in this one?

5. Arizona...The Wildcats received a measure of redemption beating Stanford last week. This week they play a team at home they can hammer in UCLA.

6. Stanford...A very tough loss for the Tree. This week they get ASU at home.

7. Arizona State...The Devils were lucky ths week but as Dennis Erickson said maybe it was our turn. Husky fans aren't so sure it was simply luck.

8. Washington...A very tough loss to recover from. UW could have been playing for all the marbles this week at home but coaching mistakes cost them the game. Once again an ESPN College Game Day truck that was scheduled to be in Seattle had to change its destination.

9. UCLA...The Bruins have a lot of problems. First of all they can't score enough on offense. Second of all a once tough defense is being weakened by injuries.

10. Washington State...A much needed bye week to recover form injuries won't help them against Cal. The only question is how many points will the Bears score? Can they eclipse the century mark in this one? It is very possible since they can only send so many players on the road which means they can't throw the band in during the fourth quarter to give the Coug's a break. ( Correction: Cougs are playing at Cal)

Pac 10 Offensive Player of the Week

Nic Foles of Arizona was 41-50 for 415 yards against Stanford. Wow...just wow!

Pac 10 Defensive Player of the Week

ASU's Vontaze Burfict picked up three personal fouls in the first half against Washington. Yes, I am serious. The Sun Devils held Washington to only 17 points in a game that got away from the officials. The anarchy Burfict created out on the field in the first half whether it was legal or not kept Washington from achieving any rhythm on offense.

Washington Offensive player of the Week

Devin Aguilar had seven catches for 154 yards and one TD.

Washington Defensive Player of the Week

Alameda Ta'amu had his best day as a Husky. He was a force inside all day.

Roll On: Xs and Os of the Trojans & How California Can Beat USC

Avinash — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:29:57 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

This could be Jeff Tedford's biggest game since 2004. Will his California Golden Bears roll on or step down?

Browse more photos »

Don't forget to RSVP to the CGB tailgate!

Now that you're thoroughly pumped up, it's time to get to know the enemy on the field. To get us prepared for the technical side of the Cal-USC game, we talked with the West Coast version of Smart Football, Trojan Football Analysis. In addition we'll look at last year's 2008 game (with help from ieeebear) and see what has changed and what we might look out for on Saturday. My notes are in parentheses.

1. Could you explain the basic concepts of USC’s simple but effective offense? Have you seen any variation between the way Sarkisian and current OC John Morton have designed their game plans?

Let’s start with the running game which is somewhat simpler to explain. Since 2002 the USC rushing offense has increasingly relied upon the inside zone (IZ) and outside zone (OZ) stretch plays for 70-80% of its rush attack. Other plays include standard one and two back power plays, toss sweep, and a few lead isolation or draw type plays. The inside zone attack is a downhill in the play side A & B gaps (or offer cutback opportunities on the backside) with linemen executing blocks according to "covered" vs. "uncovered" rules. USC can run inside zone leaving the backside defensive end unblocked like a lot of option teams do. However since the USC QB is not a threat to run usually they instead utilize a fullback or H-back across on the play to secure the back side. This motion importantly also ties into the passing game as well since those same two players often leak out into the passing game thus putting the DE into a bind….Should he try and run down the IZ play from behind, pressure the QB if it is a pass, or disrupt the FB or HB leaking out into the flats?

(Author's Note: One of the biggest things we should look at is how the Cal linebackers perform in run defense. Although the D-linemen did their job in stopping the run for much of the first half last week, they will have a much tougher go against a veteran Trojan offensive line. If USC's running back platoon of McKnight, Bradford and Gable can get to the second level the linebackers have to be ready to make quick open tackles. Put the Trojans in 2nd and 3rd and short situations and it opens up the playbook for Barkley and Bates.)

USC Inside zone runs vs Cal 2008: Background music--Day 'N' Nite, Kid Cudi.

(After the jump, more on USC's running game, their pass plays, their defense, and how to attack each part of the team.)

The outside zone game is a more perimeter oriented play attacking the play side C & D gaps. The run two plays complement one another. Running the inside zone with success eventually pulls defenders a couple of feet closer to the center of the play. This in turn opens up a little more space on the perimeter plays. The outside zone concept is basically to stretch out the defensive line and linebackers horizontal to the line of scrimmage and create bigger running gaps. If the LB’s in particular over pursue on the play the back can often cut up on the play and head more north – south. Otherwise they press the zone outside the tackle / tight end area and try to make it to the perimeter for a few yards.

(Author's Note: Again see how many yards USC picks up on these carries: having the luxury of backs and an offensive line that can put up 5-9 yards on 1st and 2nd down makes it way easier for the Trojans to catch the defense off guard with the passing game via play-action. More on the passing after the jump, but it's safe to say that California cannot allow this type of offensive production through the game.)

USC Outside zone runs vs Cal 2008: Background Music--My Squad, Chief Kamachi and the Ju Ju Mob.

Stopping at least one of these plays is key to stopping the USC offense. Ohio State for example shut down the outside zone game with an unusual alignment, fast LB flow on the play and disciplined reads.

The basic USC offense philosophy in reality has not changed all that much the past few years despite the changes in coordinators. Success of course has varied depending upon the personnel and execution. So far in 2009 USC has been pretty conservative the first four games of the season with new quarterbacks in the back field. There has been a lot more use so far of 12 personnel packages and Twin / Pro Wing Single Back alignments. Chris Brown did a pretty thorough job on the USC passing game on Yahoo! Rivals a while back, and I’d suggest that readers go to that piece as a starting point on the passing game. USC employs a mix of 3 step quick game concepts (slant flat, double slants, curl flat, etc.), 5 step intermediate stuff (Smash routes, 4 Verticals, etc.), drop back play action, and then roll out plays off the IZ/OZ run action to confuse the defense. The USC vs. Cal game in 2008 shows some of the quick game concepts as well.

2) I’m not sure how much you watched of the Cal-Oregon tape, but Jeremiah Masoli played a precise quick-hitting game that negated the Cal pass rush and broke down the holes in a porous zone using bubble screens and short passes to the outside flats. It worked almost to perfection, and disastrously for Cal’s defense.

Interestingly, this passing game plan was very similar to what Mark Sanchez did last season, although USC made a note of establishing the run first and then mixing up the play calling, while Oregon primarily opened up the pass before devastating the Bears with the run. Based on the things you’ve seen from Matt Barkley and from previous seasons, what do you see the Trojans doing in order to break down Cal’s defense?

In some respects I don’t think USC coaches will be too influenced by the Oregon contest. It has to be thrown out as somewhat of an aberration. Also USC does not run Oregon’s spread option attack so it is pretty hard to emulate. USC will run its normal offense plus whatever wrinkles they want to work in for Cal. USC will balance its attack in terms of run and pass. Last season the coaches seemed really concerned about throwing deep versus Cal and its secondary which ranked #3 in the country with 24 interceptions. As a result Sanchez seemed to rarely throw deep in that game. The same might happen in this game unless Cal’s secondary is a lot more vulnerable than last season. USC will throw different passes out of different formations than Oregon but they’ll look to attack the perimeter with quick hitch throws, bubble screens, etc. when corners play off. Against normal down and distance alignments they’ll run their standard 3 step quick game plays. A big question is how much the coaches feel comfortable trying to attack deeper this week with a true freshman QB.

(Author's Note: You see a lot of these quick hitch throws and bubble screens in the video below, as well as the play-action fake bootleg which has been so successful for Trojan offenses in the past. Expect to see plenty of these on Saturday, unless Matt Barkley suddenly gains potent accuracy in the midrange/downfield game. Again, critical for the linebackers to step up and play their zones well--those holes got really deep last Saturday.)

USC Passing vs Cal 2008: Background Music--Conquistadors, Binary Star

3) With Stafon Johnson now out, how do you see USC’s run game changing? Johnson was arguably the Trojan’s best goal-line/short yardage back; does this put more responsibility on Joe McKnight or will it be delegated toward Allan Bradford?

The loss of Stafon Johnson hurts in many ways. Johnson was not the biggest or fastest of the USC running backs but as you point out he was consistent and probably the best at picking the right hole and gaining a few tough yards. The lost Johnson carries will probably translate into more playing time for Allan Bradford at tailback in short yardage situations and plays where Joe McKnight comes out of the game. CJ Gable or Marc Tyler may see a few more plays as well.

(Author's note: Stop Bradford and the Bears have a really good shot at controlling SC on offense. McKnight is a skilled runner, but he's not a grinder and can't hit the holes as well--in last year's game he was hitting the outside a lot, and they preferred to go with Gable or Johnson inside. This year it's been Johnson and Bradford on the ins. Gable is available but has not played much this season. Take away either the outside or inside zone and it forces Matt Barkley to beat you.)

4) Having watched the Trojans first four games, I’m guessing you’re more satisfied with USC’s defense than their struggling offense. Based on what you’ve seen, is the 4-3 under scheme still the same as previous seasons? And has there been a huge drop off in the production of the current players from the seven that were picked in the NFL draft?

I think there are some holes in the USC defense and injuries are also starting to become a real concern. USC in reality gave up 138 rushing yards to Washington State. The NCAA subtracts sack yardage off the run game so with the eight sacks versus Washington State USC padded its run stats by subtracting off 53 yards off that total to make it a more respectable figure. The Cal rush attack will be the second major test for the defense…USC surrendered 108 on the ground to Ohio State before sack yardage came off the total.

Pete Carroll likes to base out of a 4-3 under front however that is very dependent upon his available personnel, what formation the opponent chooses, and what plays they like to run the most. In recent years with Brian Cushing and then Clay Matthews available USC played the under front with a stand up LB at one of the DE spots. Additionally as the spread type of offense has proliferated on college football USC has played some more "over" fronts and "solid" aka double eagle fronts the past couple of seasons.

(Author's note: Cal will again be severely tested on the edges with Tepper and Schwartz needing to step up against a defense that leads the nation in sacks. Although USC has lost several of their key players on th, including DT Hebron Fangupo, DE Armond Armstead, and their sack leader DE Nick Perry and LB Malcolm Smith being questionable, Everson Griffin, Devon Kennard, Christian Tupou and Jurrell Casey (the likely starters for Saturday if Perry cannot go) are far from pushovers on that front line. Cal's O-line cannot let Kevin Riley get tossed around or the Bears offensive gameplan will crumble from the outset. It's on Ludwig and Marshall to have them properly prepared.)

Generic Defensive Fronts

via i109.photobucket.com

Double Eagle formation on display vs ASU

via i109.photobucket.com

5) Based on what you’ve seen from the Ohio State/UW games, what is the best way for an offense to attack the 4-3 under? Is the Trojan defense’s weakness really quick decision-making, mobile quarterbacks? Or is it something more?

As I mentioned USC has become a lot more multiple in its defensive alignment up front in recent years. Depending upon Cal’s formations, the down and distance, etc. you can expect to see USC in either the Over, the Under, or the Double Eagle front.

Double Eagle Alignment Up Front

via i109.photobucket.com

Double Eagle up Front, 2 High Safety Look

via i109.photobucket.com

4-3 Under Alignment Up Front

via i109.photobucket.com

4-3 Under Cover 1 secondary look

via i109.photobucket.com

4-3 over alignment up front

via i109.photobucket.com

Rotation to Cover 3 post snap from Cover 2 shell.

via i109.photobucket.com

The Cal contest will be interesting since the Bears run an excellent power game and mix in some zone concepts as well. Mobile QB’s can give any defense trouble but in reality just good execution and push by the offensive line can also give a team trouble all night. Oregon State in 2008 essentially ran one inside zone running play over and over versus USC and Jacquizz Rodgers gained 186 yards running right at USC.

(Author's note: Uhhh, Cal's O-line can't whiff on their blocks or be out of position like they were last week. They do and we lose. Handily. They play well and execute their blocks and maintain push on the front seven, then Jahvid Best will have a good opportunity to eat them up.

More importantly, if the running game stalls, the receivers need to run their routes properly, or at the very least be able to adjust and make plays on the ball against what figures to be strong Trojan coverage. A healthy run and pass balance is the best way to attack this hard-hitting, physical USC defensive front and a lethal secondary headed by Mays, in order to keep them guessing the same way USC's offense kept Cal's defense guessing last year.)

6) How concerning is USC’s poor 3rd down conversion rate, currently at 25%, 114th in the country? Are the Trojans putting themselves into too many 3rd and long passing situations, or are there execution issues you’ve seen between quarterback and receiver, or is the veteran offensive line making mental errors?

The 25% 3^rd down conversion rate is a major concern and in real need of improvement. USC has to get this number up into the 40-45% range otherwise it will not sustain many drives this season. Stupid penalties, poor field position, poor QB decisions, and dropped passes, etc. are all part of the problem. Everyone shares in the blame on this one. Bad execution, a few curious play calls, and too many mental mistakes are killing USC in this department in the first four games.

(Author's note: If Cal's zone defense allows the Trojans to convert 40-45% of their 3rd downs, I'll be okay, I'm resigned to that figure this season with the weaker linebacking corps. If it goes over 50%, I will be severely distressed.)

Thanks again to TFA, who you can follow all season with his excellent analysis of the USC Trojans, plus other useful articles and analysis on the game of football.

Poll

The most important part of Saturday's Cal-USC matchup will be...

Cal passing game versus USC pass defense

68 votes

USC passing game versus Cal pass defense

14 votes

Cal run game versus USC run defense

94 votes

USC run game versus Cal run defense

20 votes

Something else.

4 votes

200 votes | Poll has closed

Bouncing Back From Oregon + Why Hasn't Cal Been Able to Beat USC?

Avinash — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:25:57 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Joe McKnight and the USC Trojans are headed to Berkeley. Is Cal ready to respond and beat their big conference rivals?

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Despite the unfortunate defeat at Oregon, the importance of Cal-USC really hasn't changed. Everyone knew coming into the season that Cal would have to beat USC, and now at 0-1 in the conference they'll be pretty much in must-win mode the rest of the season.

So as a postmortem on Oregon, and for those Cal fans out there playing the role of Dr. Phil this week, let's remember several things about how Tedford's Bears have responded to games like this.

1) The last time Cal was crushed like this on the road as a top 10 team with high expectations, they rallied and went on to win their next eight games, winning by an average of three touchdowns, and winning the first five games after that defeat by an average final score of 43-18. How many games are left in this season? Eight. Hmmm....

2) A Jeff Tedford team has NEVER followed up a blowout on the road with a loss at home. In fact, every time the Bears have lost by more than a touchdown on the road, they've responded with the following results in Memorial: Cal 37, Furd 16; Cal 41, UCLA 20; Cal 42, Minnesota 17; Cal 20, Washington State 17 (okay, this game sucked, but a win is a win).

3) The Bears have only lost twice in home games after tough road losses. And both of those games were with Joe Ayoob as quarterback. Kevin Riley, whatever you may care to call him after last week, is not Joe Ayoob.

Let's man up Cal fans and get back to the habit of doing what we all love Tedford for: Winning. Play this song on loop the rest of the day, and get the hate back in your body.

It's USC's time to feel wrath. Click after the jump to figure out why we've struggled with them.

How do you feel the Bears will bounce back from their loss to Oregon (also vote in the poll)? And what do you think is the main reason Cal has always been unable to beat USC? Ponder these questions in the comments.

NOT the defense. For all the Bob Gregory haters out there (and Lord knows there's plenty of them out there), Cal's defense always provides some of its stoutest efforts against the Trojans, even when overmatched. Take a look at the offensive stats from USC each season, and compare it to their stats against USC.

USC Offense Breakdown	Rushing YPC	Rushing YPG	Comp%	Passing YPA	Total Yds	Pts per game
2009 offensive stats	5.89	216.5	60.6	8.4	424	28.5
2009 vs Cal	???	???	???	???	???	???
2008 offensive stats	5.05	195.6	65.4	8.7	454.7	37.5
2008 vs Cal	4.81	173	60	7.9	411	17
2007 offensive stats	4.97	198	62.1	6.7	434.9	32.6
2007 vs Cal	4.98	239	55	6.5	368	24
2006 offensive stats	4.08	130.9	61	7.6	391.8	30.5
2006 vs Cal	3.87	120	58.1	7.7	358	23
2005 offensive stats	6.44	260	64.9	8.6	579.8	49.1
2005 vs Cal	4	188	62.5	7.7	434	35
2004 offensive stats	4.68	177.38	65.6	8.2	449.1	38.2
2004 vs Cal	1.64	41	60	6.6	205	23

While the Bears have not reached the heights of the 2004-2005 teams that shut down Reggie Bush, excepting 2007 when Chauncey Washington ran all over us, we have held our own, holding USC below their mean in almost every game. Most impressive is last year's performance where USC converted 36% of their 3rd downs as opposed to 45% on average and sacked Sanchez three times when he was sacked an average of 1.3 per game. Most importantly is the point total--USC has only scored more than 24 points once, and their final totals are on average about two touchdowns lower against Cal than their average points per game. In the most important category, Cal's defense has stifled the Trojans.

More talent. USC always puts out a bigger, more physical, more talented team. These issues can't really be argued. Go down the skill positions and the defenses and you'll see the Trojans probably have the advantages at every position, save maybe running back, defensive line and (maybe) the secondary. And you could probably make a strong case either way about quarterback. Offensively, when USC is on, they're usually unbeatable because of the talent of their skill players in cutting and breaking away in the open field, as well as overwhelming smaller defenses. Thankfully for our defense, they're not usually on against us, but eventually they break through.

USC's talent is not only physical but mental, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Pete Carroll's defensive groups always are good not only at chasing you down in space, but also at anticipating play calls, reading the quarterback's eyes, overwhelming opposing O-lines, turning 8-10 yard screens and swing passes into 1 to 2 yard pickups with their reading and recognizing of the system. These are smart football minds who know how to make quick, smart football decisions.

Depth. Lose seven defenders to the NFL draft, lose another dozen to injury, and they bring up seven more guys who have helped held their opponent offenses to 10 points per game (5th in the nation), 1.7 rushing yards per carry (3rd in the nation), and 227 yards per game (6th in the nation).

Cal, by contrast, cannot afford any error in terms of health. In 2007 they lost players to injury all the time and it ended up hurting us, in 2008 it was part of the difference between an 8 win Emerald Bowl team and a 10 win Rose Bowl team.

The Trojans are like the Red Army. They could lose an army of talent and not miss a beat in plowing your team into the ground. Don't underestimate them, even with the plethora of talent that will be sitting on the sidelines or in LA this Saturday.

Bad luck. Let's face it, Cal had their chances to win last year's game. But they were saddled with an incompetent officiating crew that gave the Trojans a crucial 14 point swing: There was the incomplete pass in the end zone that was ruled a touchdown (0:53 in), and that bizarro ineligible receiver/illegal motion penalty that I'm STILL trying to figure out. Reverse either of these calls, and Cal could be down by only a field goal or tied up going into the 4th quarter, definitely putting far more pressure on Mark Sanchez and USC to respond.

However, that's one instance of bad luck hurting us. There have been two relative constants I see in our defeats the previous seasons.

Quarterback. I hate to bring it back to quarterback play, because I know how much everyone loves talking about it. But for a Cal offense that prides itself on its strong passing game, the past four seasons they have come up woefully short against the Trojans.

2005: Joe Ayoob & Steve Levy, 56.5% completion rate, 0 touchdown, 4 interceptions, 5.7 yards per attempt (season averages of 52% completions, 7.2 YPA, and a 1.3 to 1 TD to INT ratio)
2006: Nate Longshore, 44.7% completion rate, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, 4.6 yards per attempt (season averages of 60.2% completions, 8 YPA, and almost a 2 to 1 TD to INT ratio)
2007: Nate Longshore, 44.8% completion rate, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, 6.9 yards per attempt (season averages of 60% completions, 6.7 YPA, and nearly a 1 to 1 TD to INT ratio)
2008: Nate Longshore & Kevin Riley, 48.4% completions, 0 touchdown, 1 interception, 4.5 yards per attempt (season averages of 52.6% completions, 6.2 YPA, and a 2.5 to 1 TD to INT ratio)

So Cal's passing game has completed about 50% of its passes, which certainly won't get the job done. Winning passing quarterbacks have, over the last five years have completed 60% (Locker), 64% (Moveao), 64% (Dixon), 36% (Pritchard, albeit that was a fluky game), 65% (Matt Moore), 57% (Cowan), and 75% (Young). You'd expect Kevin Riley would at least have to complete 57% of his passes, and certainly around 60% for the Bears to truly get on track on the offensive end.

More disconcerting is the 2 touchdown to 9 interception ratio. With the Trojans likely to focus on Jahvid Best the way Oregon did, Cal will have to establish their passing attack in some way if they plan to win, whether by a balance of playcalling or a quick hitting attack to exploit any USC defensive weaknesses the coaching staff notices.

If the passing attack regresses to its inconsistent 2008 ways, then it could be a very long, tedious night in Memorial.

The Cal offense finishing the game. The biggest difference in our recent meetings has been the fourth quarter; we have held our own until the must crucial part of the game. In the fourth quarter of the last three games in the series, USC has outscored Cal 28-0; extend it to 2005 and it's 35-7. Two of those games were tied (although USC took a 7 point lead early in one of those games); another the Bears were only down by 7. These three games were immensely winnable by the Bears, yet in the fourth quarter they have put up these epic offensive stats.

2006: 1/4 on 3rd down conversions, 3:36 time of possession, 41 yards of total offense, 1 turnover, 29% completion rate
2007: 1/2 on 3rd down, 4:37 time of possession, 83 yards of total offense (78 by Forsett), 2 turnovers, 29% completion rate
2008: 0/3 on 3rd down, 4:23 time of possession, -1 yard of total offense, 17% completion rate.

What you see in these 4th quarters is a Cal offense that struggles to possess the ball, struggles to move the ball, struggles to pass the ball and struggles to handle the ball. That sort of play is a recipe for defeat against any opponent in a close game, much less the class of the conference.

It's likely to be a close affair again this season between two reeling but still very talented teams. Will the Cal offense step down or step up? After last week, everyone has plenty of reason to be worried.

Poll

How will Cal bounce back from their loss to Oregon?

With a vengeance

107 votes

With a determined performance

143 votes

With an average performance

38 votes

With a whimper

19 votes

They won't.

83 votes

390 votes | Poll has closed

Five Questions With Addictet Quack on Oregon Versus Utah

Jeremy Mauss — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 04:10:06 -0000

This week we have a short interview with Addicted To Quack about the upcoming game with Utah traveling to Oregon. Make sure to check their site for my answers to their questions. Check the interview after the jump.

1. Is the offense suffering because Chip Kelly is now the head coach and has more responsibilities then when he was only in charge of the offense as the offensive coordinator?

There are some that have that theory, although I'm not buying it. I think it has more to do with the personnel not performing to expectations. Its starts with QB Jeremiah Masoli, and he put on the worst display of quarterbacking I have ever seen in the Boise State game. He was locking in on one receiver and not going through his progression. He wasn't reading the read option. He was downright horrible. Purdue started to look like more of the same, but midway through the second quarter something started to click and Jeremiah started looking like the Masoli we know and love.

The running game, however, has been a bigger problem. The offensive line has been inconsistent, as you might expect with four new starters. But I'm not sure that's the issue as much as the backs themselves. Even before he self-destructed, there were questions about how in shape LeGarrette Blount was and he looked very slow against Boise. Andre Crenshaw played most of the first half against Purdue and showed again that he is just a very average back. But two redshirt freshmen-LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner, really exploded for a lot of huge runs in the second half of the game with the Boilermakers and, at least with James, it was somewhat expected as he was fantastic both last spring and all camp, and we see him as maybe a Jacquizz Rodgers type. This offense is predicated on momentum and stringing together long runs in the running game. The failure to do that, moreso than anything schematic, has been the problem.

2. Will the Oregon defense do try anything special against QB Terrance Cain who is making his first road start in such a hostile environment?

I don't think they'll try to do anything special, they'll just do what they always do, which is blitz a lot, try and kill the run, and put a ton of pressure on him. You see a lot of other DCs do this as an adjustment to a freshman QB, but Oregon pretty much does it always. He'll have lots of guys coming at him and have to make quick decisions. The flipside is that the corners will be isolated one-on-one a ton and if he can find his receivers, they'll get the ball. It's a strategy of feast of famine. It really rattled Mark Sanchez in his first start here. But Kellen Moore absolutely shredded it. It is massively susceptible to play action, so that's something the Utes may be able to use to their advantage.

3. How is Oregon a 4.5 favorite over Utah who is a top 20 team? Is the home field advantage that large in Autzen?

I think there are a couple of reasons for this. Yes, the home field advantage is tremendous, but by no means insurmountable. The bigger issue is that many people (including myself), look at Utah's ranking versus what they've done of the field and believe it to be a farce. Its based on what they did last year, because top 20 teams don't struggle against San Jose State and Utah State. Plus, Oregon has gotten better every half this season, and the offense in the second half of the Purdue game was finally looking like it did last year. If that trend continues, and Utah plays like it has this season thus far, it could be a long day for the Utes. On the other hand, if they roll into Autzen and win, it completely legitimizes their ranking.

5. What was the reasoning behind the hype for Oregon this year? They had one of the least experienced offensive lines in the country, only one returning starter on the defensive line, a new head coach, and a quarterback in Jeremiah Masoli who is more of an athlete then a quarterback.

Because they were blowing teams out at the end of last year with a high octane, entertaining offense and had their two best players coming back. Of course, Blount is now gone, and Masoli hasn't been great. But the defense has been better than expected and, as the offense gets back on track, I still think you'll see a very good Oregon team by the end of the season (last year started off really slow as well). Now, are we going to be BCS contenders as many predicted? With Cal looking so good and us already having dropped a game, that's probably a long shot at this point, but this isn't a team that's in any danger of falling into the lower half of the conference.

Tressel's tempo may trump Toledo's temerity

Sam @ WWAHT — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:00:25 -0000

More photos » by Jay LaPrete - AP

3 months ago: Ohio State coach Jim Tressel claps for his team during the first quarter of an NCAA football game against Navy, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

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(ed. note: boy, that title was a stretch)

For all the handwringing about the progress (or lack thereof) of the offense, come the end of Saturday's game, Buckeye fans may be praising Jim Tressel's ability to slow the game down. A recurring meme that may have died its final death last Saturday is that Ohio State, if not actually slow in terms of overall team speed, "plays slow" on both sides of the ball. On defense, this is almost always a bad thing, for all the obvious reasons. In games against Florida and LSU, it seemed like Ohio State frequently did not want to challenge the opponents' athletes with press coverage, for fear of getting beat deep. The result was an opposing offensive gameplan that consisted mostly of quick slants, dump-offs, screens, quick ins and outs, and other variations on the short and intermediate pass. Both teams, led by senior QBs with a knack for folding under pressure, moved the ball with relative ease. Jim Heacock made some of the changes fans were clamoring for in time for the USC game in 2008.

But, suffice to say, they didn't work. Mark Sanchez was arguably the best quarterback Ohio State had faced in any of these big games, and played like it. The blitzes came, but they were frequently picked up. But Penn State, Texas and USC '09 could not come up with answers for the Buckeye blitz, struggling to score points in bunches like they were accustomed to, and the myth about Ohio State's lack of speed - on the defensive side of the ball, at least - has gone by the wayside.

But on offense, many will argue that nothing has changed. It's not that Ohio State's athletes are slow anymore, it's that the team "plays slow". Clock management and authoritative running are the name of Ohio State's game, and when it gets out of its tempo - as it did against Florida, LSU and USC - it gets into big trouble. In the past year, Jim Tressel has appeared to rediscover how to keep potent offenses off the field. It worked against Illinois, and it worked - until the soul-stomping end - against Penn State and Texas. Penn State had its worst offensive game of the season, while Texas was held to its fewest points in a game since early October 2007. "Playing slow" - working the clock, etc - will eventually work to Ohio State's benefit in one of these big games, in my estimation, but how will things work against Toledo's tempo-based spread-option attack?

I've always agreed with Coach T about one thing - the best way to stop an opposing offense is to never let them touch the field. Tomorrow, the Buckeye offense will go up against what will probably be the worst defensive front seven it will play all year. Early, JT is going to try to get a feel for the tempo of the game. There are two ways I see this game going down:

- Toledo gets into a rhythm early. If so, expect this game to look a lot like last year's Illinois game, and while the Rockets won't have the decided statistical advantage the Illini had, they'll move the ball with consistency and make this game thoroughly uncomfortable for about three quarters.

- The Buckeye offense rolls from the get-go, and this ends up looking a lot like last year's Northwestern game. I say this because Aaron Opelt reminds me of a less athletic Mike Kafka. Toledo will get its yards, and eventually some points, but Ohio State will dominate both lines of scrimmage, force turnovers and put them away by the half, and we'll be seeing a whole lot of that "Dave" play from there on out.

Whatever happens, I have a feeling Tressel is going to find a way to dictate the game's tempo, and because of that, we'll win. Personally, I expect the Ohio State defensive line to decide things by making Opelt's life a living hell and forcing three or more turnovers.

Go Bucks!

A Brief Look at the Trojan Offense

Sam @ WWAHT — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:00:30 -0000

More photos » by Mark Avery - AP

Chex better check himself before he wrecks himself against Damian Williams this time around.

Browse more photos »

Breathe a sigh of relief, Buckeye fans: Matt Barkley is still the quarterback of the USC Trojans. If there is anything we're all hanging our collective hat on heading into this game, it's that USC's signal caller is a true freshman making his first road start in one of the 5-most hostile environments in college football. If Ohio State hangs tough with the Trojans for a quarter or two, the 'Shoe is going to rock for the whole game. Barkley comes into the game as one of the most polished freshman passers we've seen in the last five years, but he goes up against one of the top-3 pass rushes he'll play in the regular season. USC will probably be able to get its running game going, but it'll have to move the ball through the air consistently if it wants to beat Ohio State. Can they do it?

How they might beat us

USC's offense is an admirable one. It doesn't have a whole lot of bells and whistles, as they say, and it excels primarily based on exceptional amounts of talent. Similar "West Coast" offenses have failed to take flight at other schools recently - Nebraska and Miami immediately come to mind - but at USC, it's literally just about plugging in the right QB and watching him work wonders. Usually, a solid running back needs to be found, but at SC, it's tougher to find a bad running back than a good one. As you have undoubtedly heard, the Trojans run five-deep at running back - Stafon Johnson, CJ Gable, Joe McKnight, Marc Tyler, and Allen Bradford each. I had this to say about two of the Trojan tailbacks in my previous USC Early Look:

Well, if you watched last year's game and didn't immediately drown your sorrows afterward, you probably remember a darting, shifty little bastard by the name of Joe McKnight. McKnight carried the ball 12 times for 105 yards against Ohio State last year, but ended the year with just 89 carries for 659 yards. Stafon Johnson actually ended up being the Trojans' leading rusher last year in their surprisingly-effective committee approach to the ground game.

The Trojans will be relying even more on this committee approach as they attempt to shepherd along a true freshman in a rowdy environment. Expect Marc Tyler and Allen Bradford both to see a carry or two as USC tries to feel out the Ohio State front seven, seeing what works and what doesn't.

USC might have four first-round draft picks on its offensive line. You know they're going to run the ball between the twenties. Last year, the Trojans could not close the deal in the red zone on the ground, so they went to the air. That's where Barkley comes in, and here's how the Trojans might get Ohio State: play-action. This is where those of you who watched Anderson Russell struggle so mightily against play-action in Ohio State's last two games might start getting antsy. USC runs the play-action like no one else in college football. What they really, really do well: the play-action boot.

I personally expect to see this play on at least three separate occasions come this Saturday, and it scares the bejesus out of me. Kurt Coleman will probably be able to come up and make that tackle if it goes right, but can you say with any confidence that Austin Spitler - last seen getting burned by the Navy FB - can cover Blake Ayles or Anthony McCoy? Chris Brown from Smart Football chimes in on this play, and others, over on Dr. Saturday:

The other trends in the offense, evident under Chow but omnipresent once he left, were the rise of misdirection passes -- i.e. bootlegs, half-rollouts, and the like -- and an increased use of vertical pass patterns. Now, some of this was to take advantage of the fact that USC had suddenly become a talent juggernaut: Why not get vertical when all your receivers, running backs, linemen and quarterbacks are headed to the NFL? But this still was a change from Norm Chow's more measured, methodical style of playcalling. The best way to observe this is to simply watch USC play and get a feel for it.

Play-action with the talent USC has at RB can be particularly brutal, especially with Ohio State's inexperienced RBs.

How we might beat them

Most would expect the clear-cut answer to be "with the pass rush" here, but with USC's talented OTs, I'm not sure how easily Ohio State will be able to bring pressure with four. Obviously, blitzing is going to play a major factor, but last year, Ohio State was blitzing aplenty and the blitzing guys were simply getting blocked. There are two reasons for this:

1) Mark Sanchez proved to be excellent at diagnosing blitzes, manipulating the pocket and throwing to his checkdowns. Whether Barkley is uncannily good at this too remains to be seen.

2) USC is a well-oiled machine when it comes to using its tight ends in RBs in blitz protection

This year, Barkley has such an excellent line that pressure with four won't be a concern. However, when Ohio State brings the pressure - and its strategy against redshirt freshman Colt McCoy leads me to believe it will - Barkley is going to have to do all the things Sanchez did as a junior to avoid taking the sack. Thaddeus Gibson is improved. Brian Rolle is faster that James Laurinaitis. This is Ohio State's one great hope to stop the USC aerial assault, because honestly, I don't have much faith in the secondary to contain someone like Damian Williams. But duh, of course Ohio State has to blitz if it wants to win. You knew hat.

The real way Ohio State might throttle the Trojan offense is simply by occupying its guards. If USC's guards can't get to the second level with any consistency, even Joe McKnight will have trouble moving the ball. Personally, I'm hoping Cameron Heyward sees a lot more time on the inside this weekend, because it's clearly his best position and he's a rock against the run in ways that Doug Worthington and Dexter Larimore are not. On USC's first few offensive possessions, watch this battle closely. If Ohio State is consistently getting a push on the interior of the USC offensive line, it should be able to keep the score manageable, which means the offense may only have to put up three or four touchdowns at the most to win.

Speaking of the Ohio State offense and, by association, the USC defense, I'll be going over that tomorrow.

Potential Penn State Problem #1: Extra Crispy

Run Up The Score — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:00:21 -0000

A quick look at Penn State's team passing defense statistics from 2008 indicates that things may not have actually been so terrible: 19th in pass efficiency defense, 27th in passing yardage allowed, 16 INT, 10 TD, 56.3% completion rate. Combined with an prolific offense and the #8 rushing defense in the nation, it's easy to see why the team was so successful in 2008.

Even if we look at the conference-only stats from 2008, Penn State fared well. They were #3 in both pass efficiency defense (107.8) and passing yardage allowed (186.8 ypg), and #1 in opponents' 3rd down conversions (32.3%). So, what the hell? Why all the concern?

For one thing, all of this is obvious nitpicking. We're talking about the weaknesses in a team that went to the Rose Bowl last year. They only lost twice, remember? Still, it was the secondary that faltered in the waning minutes in Iowa City* and pretty much throughout the entire Rose Bowl against USC:

QB Mark Sanchez ALL PASS ATTEMPTS USC vs PSU 2008 / 2009 Rose Bowl (via DraftParty)

The failures were equal parts personnel and scheme. We know Mark Rubin was essentially a fourth linebacker playing strong safety and sometimes got lost in coverage. But really, how were Lydell Sargeant and Tony Davis supposed stop anybody when they're constantly instructed to line up 8-10 yards off the line of scrimmage? The scheme is the scheme -- something I labeled "Bend But Don't Suck" years ago -- and it's not changing anytime soon. It's great when the front four can get pressure on the quarterback, and especially brilliant if said quarterback (a) isn't that great and (b) doesn't have much receiving talent. That pretty much included 75% of Penn State's schedule last season. But against a hot quarterback (Iowa, second half) or a really good one (USC), Penn State doesn't have much of a prayer stopping an opposing aerial attack as long as the defensive line is adequately blocked.

So, yes. The BBDS defense returns again, but with entirely new personnel. Rubin, Davis, Sargeant, and Anthony Scirrotto are all gone. A.J. Wallace is the one guy with extensive game experience at corner, and he has the dual distinction of being suspended for the first few games in 2009 and not having played terribly well as a cornerback in the past. Your opening day starters appear to be D'Anton Lynn and Knowledge Timmons at corner, Drew Astorino at free safety, and Nick Sukay at strong safety.

It's truly impossible to predict how the secondary will play. Lynn and Sukay were both highly rated players coming out of high school (so was Wallace, but the clock is really running out on him). Astorino showed last year that he's not afraid of the big stage. And Timmons, well...he's fast. That's practically all we know about him to this point, other than he really loves his iPhone. (Hey, me too.)

Maybe we'll look back at this season in five months and laugh at how needlessly concerned we were about this group. But until then, pucker pucker pucker.

* - Sorry. And we can get into the other 20 reasons we lost that game, but let's focus, mmkay?