SB Nation User Blog: TwistNHook

Big Game Photo Extravaganza - Royal Exchange

TwistNHook — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:59:35 -0000

Oh my God, the most amazing, sensational, traumatic, heart rending... exciting thrilling 37-16 game in the history of college football! California has won...the Big Game...over Stanford. Oh excuse me for my voice, but I have never, never seen anything like it in the history of I have ever seen any game in my life! The Bears have won it! There will be no extra point!

Mostly, because each team showed prowess at screwing up extra points.

But ya, that was a pretty exciting game for what was, at one point, 37-3. The first half was incredibly taut with Cal somehow managing to give up 3 huge drives of 80+ yards and yet keeping Stanford to only 3 points. Bend, but don't break to an extreme that made us all nervous. Then, the explosive 3rd quarter where everything went right for Cal in a way that excited us all. And then the nerve wracking fourth quarter where epic collapse was writ large over any Cal fan incubated before 2004.

We here at the California Golden Blogs have photos of all this. We have video, too. I, personally, took about 500 photos in less than 24 hours. Amazing shots like this:

Plus, TheNick, BigFoot, and TrisWeb also all took amazing photos with their cameras epically better than mine. But we'll get to the mosh pit on the field ALL in due time. Like any story, the story of the 2008 Big Game starts where pretty much any and every Big Game start, the night before.

Royal Exchange!

Royal Exchange is a bar in San Francisco's financial district. And the night before Big Game, each year, it is Ground Zero for a huge Cal party. Maybe some go to the bonfire. Maybe some enjoy a quiet night in to prepare for the 9 AM tailgating the next morning. But an absurd amount of people show up at Royal. Why? Well, the Band, of course!

The band comes rolling (or, alternatively, marching) in and pretty much instantly gets rent apart. It's so packed you can barely move around in there, so keeping the band all in one place becomes impossible:

It was SO packed! I hadn't seen that many people in one place since my bris. Which, ironically, was also held at Royal Exchange.

It gets so packed that the band gets stuck back in the cubbyhole booths (sorry that this video is sideways at times):

And while all those instruments were over there, the trombones were all in a totes diff section of the bar:

Great photo via TheNick:

Of course, this means sometimes you get caught near a section and can only really hear what they are playing. Especially if those sections happen to be a)percussion and slash or b)trombones. Case in point (Note, if you don't like the kwality of these videos, go to the YouTube site and watch in "high quality":

When it gets really packed and the band gets going, people start dancing around, having a fun time, it is good:

And the entire place will even start singing along:

Not every song does lead to dancing or singing, though. Sometimes it's just the percussion showing off their skill(z):

The director was standing inside the bar, but I'm not sure how the band could really follow her.

Honestly, I was less than enthused about her directing. I kept yelling over and over and over again that they play my favorite song of all time "Got To Be Real" by Cheryl Lynn. A true classic, right? She said they hadn't had it in the music packet in years. I demanded she immediately teach it to the band there and then play it. She, then, looked away in what can only be described as a mixture of scorn, disgust, and pity. DAMN YOU, DIRECTOR! WHY DO YOU HATE THE 70S DISCO CLASSIC "GOT TO BE REAL" SO MUCH? Why? WHY?????????

But they do have this song, which rocks:

Alumni often like to pick up their old instruments and play along. They like to think they are cool, because they still remember how to play the songs:

"I've still got it!"

Hey, guess what, shmuckzoids. The real cool people never even knew the songs in the first place! We just faked our way through 4 years.

Plus, when I was at Cal, I often found this embarrassing. You don't want to be that guy who can't give up his college years. I judged them harshly when I was at Cal. I can only assume the current students judge us similarly harshly. So, to avoid the judging, I like to just grab instruments I can't play. Sure, I might have played this instrument for four years in the band:

But, let's be honest. I was too lazy slash moochie to remember the songs back then, let alone 5 plus years later. I'll probably sound just as good on this random metallic instrument:

And it doesn't make me feel like I'm trying to relive my college years. Because I never had any college years playing whatever the hell that thing is called.

Of course, there are only so many instruments to go around. It can lead to awkward situations:

Standing by the trombones for so long, as I was, you started to get hypnotized by them. It's like watching the strings in an orchestra. Just as the bows dance delightfully upon their violins, the trombone slides glide hypnotically through the air:

Here's an interesting story. I was chatting with a few of the phonez players and somehow it came up that one of the lovely ladies I was chatting with was the girlfriend of the drum major. Now, at the ASU game, I had previously written this about Frankie Garland, 2008 drum major:

Well, we finally made it to our seats, just as the rain was starting to die down. The band was out on the field, doing its pregame show and I looked up to see this disasterous event:

For those who aren't exactly Cal Scenesters, the Drum Major throws the baton high in the air before the game and, legend has it, if he catches it, we have 7 more weeks of winter. And Cal loses the game! Well, Ok, only half of that is true. And it seems even less likely that it's ACTUALLY true. But that's the superstition! Generally, the Drum Majors are good at catching it, but with the rain etc etc etc. Actually, there has been some controversy this year at the Drum Major position.

Last year's Drum Major started off the season well catching batons left and right. Then, he had a rough catch at the OSU game and dropped many batons in the ensuing games. It was always close, but just at the last moment, his hand would slip or he'd conk himself in the head with it and the baton would touch field. Many band groupies clamored for the backup Drum Major to come in, but he never saw the field. He practiced catching batons left and right all week long and during the sidelines during games. But it never meant much.

This year fans were ecstatic when the backup Drum Major got his shot. But look at what happened up there. Just look at it! Luckily, Nate Longshore managed to overcome the new Drum Major and win the game. Praise Be To Tedford for Nate Longshore, otherwise Frankie Garland would be KILLING us. Just KILLING us!

And you just know (KNOW!) that Kevin Riley couldn't have overcome that disaster.

I asked this phonez player if she or Frankie had actually ever read the blog. Once she put two and two together, she started excitedly jabbing me about the chest and shoulder region (which hurt, I'm so weak). She was exclaiming "You are that guy! You are that guy! Who wrote about the backup drum major!" She was......less than enthused. She also claimed that I called Frankie Garland a Nazi. I have NO recollection of that!

I tried to explain that I was just joking and I had nothing but the utmost respect for Frankie Garland and the position of drum major. This calmed her a little. But I also have to be honest. That is what blogging is about. Honest reflection on sports. So, I can't hold my tongue on any and all Frankie Garland facts. Facts like:

1. Frankie Garland assassinated Abraham Lincoln.

2. Frankie Garland couldn't conceive a male heir to King Henry.

3. Frankie Garland deregulated the American housing and banking markets.

4. Frankie Garland wrote Gigli.

5. Frankie Garland never wants Cal to go to the Rose Bowl.

6. Frankie Garland personally took "Got To Be Real" out of the packet.

7. Frankie Garland has never ever actually said Relax. All urban legend.

Look, I can't hold my tongue any longer about all these facts. And that's what they are. Fact(s)! I just have to get them out there, so Frankie Garland can accept the consequences of his actions (like ruining Jennifer Lopez' movie career). I feel like a giant weight has been lifted off my chest. Frankie Garland, if you want to apologize for any of these previous transgressions, you have the floor!

If you don't want to deal with the insanity of Royal Exchange, half the band goes to play at the German restaurant, Shroeder's across the street:

via TheNick

Nothing really much to say about this video, just a nice snippet of a nice song:

I must say that San Francisco, when lit up at night can be truly gorgeous:

And what Cal rally, no matter how drunken and packed, would be complete without Fight For California:

Allow me to finish with a rather hilarious story. In the vein of Jeff Tedford mocking me to my face, this is the sort of story that would seemingly embarrass or humiliate other people. Yet, I found it wildly hilarious. And still do!

While there, I met a few old bandmates, who I hadn't seen since probably 2001 or even 2000. I was chatting with them, catching up, seeing what they were up to. One, who is a very delightful person, looks olive-skinned. I made a comment about how she looked Grecian. She noted that she is from Italy. Now, at this point, I had 2 avenues to take here.

First avenue, which was my first inclination, was to make a joke along the lines of "Well, you can't be Italian, you are too beautiful to be Italian." This, of course, would have been meant as a giant insult to the Italian people, who are known worldwide as an ugly people.

Of course, my next thought was that I'm married and my wife wasn't there, it probably wasn't the smartest thing to be complimenting other women on their beauty. Could come off creepy. Don't want to do that, right?

Right. So, the next potential avenue (and the one that I took) was to take the opposite tack. I said "Well, you can't be Italian, you are too ugly to be Italian." This, of course, was meant as a giant compliment to the Italian people, who are known worldwide as an attractive people. In retrospect, this was not the premier choice to make. I probably should have gone with the third potential avenue of KEEPING MY MOUTH SHUT! But that wouldn't be me.

So, I can instantly tell that I have done poorly in my joke selection. I scramble in damage control. With the world's WORST joke. I mean seriously, is there a way I can blame this all on Dubya?

I tried to calm everybody down by telling a joke that only my wife finds funny. In one second, you'll find out why:

"Well, you know, as a married man, when it comes to things like beauty, there are two types of women in the world. My wife, who is, of course, gorgeous, and all other women, who are, of course, ugly bitches. You are, of course, an ugly bitch. (Stage pause, then frantically) wait no no no no no wait wait that came out wrong wait wait wait no wait no calm down, no reason to yell, please wait, that came out wrong."

Needless to say, that didn't exactly, uh, help the situation. And one of her friends was very upset with me. She asked me to please leave them. I couldn't tell, at first, whether she was serious or not. People often tell me to leave them, but sometimes they are just joking. Sometimes. Rarely. It became, however, quickly obvious that she was, in fact, VERY serious. So, I tried to leave.

But you've seen the photos up there. I couldn't budge an inch. And I was stuck right in front of the upset friend! She started waving at me, saying that I was pissing her and her friends off. Which was probably true! Ai! I eventually made my escape to live another day. But that was as hilariously awkward a conversation as I have had in a long while.

And with that ending story, keep your eyes locked here. We are going to have post after post after post of photos and video of the Big Game. From high-fiving the players before the game to high-fiving them afterwards. Unfortunately, minimal high-fiving of the players in betwen. But it's OK. BECAUSE WE HAVE THE AXE! GO BEARS!

Thanks to Goldblooded. This is a video from the local NBC affiliate. They interview Best, Riley,...

TwistNHook — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:38:10 -0000

Thanks to Goldblooded. This is a video from the local NBC affiliate. They interview Best, Riley, and Stanford Coach Harbaugh. Listen to what somebody screams at Harbaugh during the interview (about 40 seconds in to the video). Go Bears!

Big Game 11.22.08 4th Quarter Thread

TwistNHook — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:15:28 -0000

Use this thread to discuss all the 4th quarter action in the Big Game. We'll have a post-game thread up as soon as we get back to a computer!

Don't forget to vote in the Golden Blogs Insta-Poll. Your voice counts!

Finally, we've been posting a lot recently. Check it: Inside The Numbers; YouTube Thurday, Roundtable, B-Ball Recap; Arizona analysis; Marshawn v. Browns; Top25; Bowl Scenarios; OSU Thoughts; Pete Newell Memories; Big Game Memories

Poll

Going into the 4th quarter, how would you describe Cal's play?

Big Game 11.22.08 3rd Quarter Thread

TwistNHook — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:08:12 -0000

Use this thread to discuss all the 3rd quarter action in the Big Game. A 4th quarter thread will emerge before the 4th quarter starts.

Don't forget to vote in the Golden Blogs Insta-Poll. Your voice counts!

Poll

Going into the 3rd quarter, how would you describe Cal's play?

Big Game 11.22.08 2nd Quarter Thread

TwistNHook — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:04:07 -0000

Use this thread to discuss all the second quarter action in the Big Game. A 3rd quarter thread will emerge before the 3rd quarter starts.

Don't forget to vote in the Golden Blogs Insta-Poll. Your voice counts!

Poll

Going into the second quarter, how would you describe Cal's play?

DBD 11.21.08 Dayman, Fighter Of The Nightman

TwistNHook — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:40:18 -0000

The day is almost upon us. The Big Game. But we can do this. We can beat Stanford. I know we all feel nervous and that's normal. It is, after all, the Big Game.

But last night's "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia was instructive. It portended great things. See, Cal (i.e. the Dayman) defeated Stanford (i.e. the Nightman) in Charlie's faux-rock opera designed solely to get the waitress to marry him.

Let's look at the tale of the tape here.

Cal is definitely the fighter of the Nightman.

Cal is definitely the champion of the sun.

Cal is definitely a master of karate and friendship for everyone.

Everything points to Cal being the Dayman here. Dayman defeated Nightman. Things are looking up, my friends. Things are looking up!

PS This is what happens to the DBD when nobody else does it and I oversleep. So, other people feel free to do one.

B-Ball throttles Pan-AM:

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP)-- Jamal Boykin matched his career high with 18 points and Jerome Randle added 10 points and seven assists to lead California to an 85-58 win over Texas-Pan American in the first round of the Global Sports Classic on Thursday night.

Patrick Christopher had 12 points for the Bears (3-0), who shot 67.9 percent from the floor and nearly broke the school record for shooting percentage. Cal was shooting 70 percent and led by 24 heading into the final minute, but missed two of three shots to fall just shy of the single-game record of 68.5 percent, which was reached most recently against Arizona State on Jan. 5, 1989.

Theo Robertson added 10 points and three assists to help Cal remain unbeaten in coach Mike Montgomery's return to the college ranks.

Emmanuel Jones had 21 on 9 of 12 shooting for Texas-Pan American, which shot 48.9 percent from the field and committed 21 turnovers while falling to 1-2. At one point in the second half the Broncs were shooting over 60 percent from the field but trailed by 20.

Big Game Activities for today and tomorrow:

riday, November 21
Volleyball vs. UCLA	Haas Pavilion \| Berkeley, Calif.	5:00 p.m.
Big Game Bonfire Rally	Greek Theater \| Berkeley, Calif.	7:00 p.m.
Women's Basketball vs. Rutgers	Haas Pavilion \| Berkeley, Calif.	8:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 22
Men's Water Polo vs. Stanford	Spieker Pool \| Berkeley, Calif.	10:00 a.m.
The 111th Big Game	Memorial Stadium \| Berkeley, Calif.	12:30 p.m.
Volleyball vs. USC (Senior Night)	Haas Pavilion \| Berkeley, Calif.	5:00 p.m.

via grfx.cstv.com

Field hockey gets some honors:

BERKELEY - California seniors Ashley Glosz, Rachel Moffitt and Andrea Lo earned spots on the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-West Region teams, the coaches association announced on Wednesday. Glosz and Moffitt garnered berths on the first team and Lo took a spot on the second team. This is the second straight regional honor for Glosz, who was on the All-West second team in 2007.

Earlier in November, all three Golden Bears were also named to the NorPac All-Conference first team.

12 new lacrosse recruits:

BERKELEY - California signed 12 players to National Letters of Intent, Golden Bears head coach Theresa Sherry announced today. The large recruiting class includes England under-19 national team player Camilla Hayes, four players from the state of California, and Clemmy Little, the younger sister of current Cal senior midfielder Ghillie Little.

The Californians are Gina Holslag (attack), Melissa Humphrey (midfield) and Kelly McCarthy (goalkeeper), all from the San Diego area, and Ana Cyr (midfield), from nearby Livermore. Sherry also signed defender Sarah Milik; Molly Crawford, Carter Ellerman, Ali Ellickson, Megan Takacs, who will play in midfield; Little and Alexa Rozelle, who will play in the attack; and Hayes, who could play in midfield or in the attack.

"Every one of the 12 girls we are bringing in next year will add something right away to the Cal lacrosse program and the UC Berkeley campus," Sherry said. "The student-athletes we are bringing in all have the mental toughness, inner drive, and talent to contribute our team's quest for excellence both on and off the field."

Ashley Walker is READY for Rutgers:

BERKELEY (AP) - Ashley Walker received intravenous fluids before each Pac-10 tournament game for California last March, exhausted from anemia and dehydrated from the lack of iron.

But Walker still went hard every possession on both ends of the floor. Thanks to daily iron pills and better nutrition - she is learning to eat leafy greens like spinach - she's that much stronger ahead of the No. 7 Golden Bears game Friday night against No. 3 Rutgers.

In Cal's season opener last Friday, she had 23 points, eight rebounds and four steals in a 24-point victory against Albany. Two days later, she topped that performance with 27 points, 17 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots in a win over Nevada, surpassing the 1,500 career points mark in the process.

Walker has been carrying the load for a team missing starting posts Devanei Hampton, the 2007 Pac-10 Player of the Year, and Rama N'diaye. Both are recovering from right knee surgery.

Walker seems unconcerned about any national hype surrounding her - such as being considered the top power forward in the country by some basketball experts.

"That's just what I do, I guess," Walker said. "I'm playing without Devanei and Rama, so I have to do a little bit more. I think what makes me such a good player is I don't think about that stuff. There are a lot of talented power forwards out there."

Services planned for Pete Newell:

BERKELEY - The family of former Cal basketball coach Pete Newell has announced plans for his funeral, and two additional ceremonies honoring the Hall of Famer have been scheduled - one in Berkeley and one in Los Angeles.

A funeral mass will be held on Monday, Nov. 24 at 11 a.m. at the Church of Nativity at 6309 El Apajo Road in Rancho Santa Fe.

The first of two events celebrating Newell's life will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at the Pauley Ballroom on the Cal campus, starting at 5 p.m. It will include tributes to Newell as well as a video, and will precede Cal's basketball game vs. DePaul, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in Haas Pavilion later that night.

In addition, there will be a memorial service/testimonial at 9 a.m. on Dec. 15 at the Sacred Heart Chapel on the Loyola Marymount campus, Newell's alma mater.

Family and friends are welcome to all three ceremonies.

Mens water polo player receives honor:

WOODLAND, CALIF. - University of California sophomore utility Brian Dudley has been named the Nov. 17 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Co-Molten Player of the Week, it was announced earlier this week by MPSF commissioner Al Beaird. Dudley shared Cal's second MPSF player of the week honor of the season with USC freshman goalie Joel Dennerley.

Dudley, a 6-5, 210-pounder from Johannesburg, South Africa, helped the No. 4-ranked Bears to two MPSF road victories this past weekend, defeating Long Beach State, 11-10 in sudden death overtime, and topping UC Irvine, 8-6. Dudley notched six goals in the two matches, including the match winner in sudden death overtime versus the 49ers. He also added four steals, four ejections earned and an assist over the weekend as Cal improved to 17-6 overall and 3-3 in the MPSF.

On the year, Dudley now has scored 19 goals in 22 matches with 25 steals, 15 ejections earned and 10 assists. Last season, he scored one of the Bears' eight goals in the 8-6 NCAA title victory over USC.

Okanes Thurs night update:

Well, the Bears wrapped up the week of practice for the Big Game in spirited fashion. They had a good practice, culminated with some good hooting and hollering as the team huddled at the end of the session. Anybody who might be worried about a lack of morale or motivation for this game can rest easy. It’s pretty apparent these guys are definitely focused and up for this game on Saturday.

Unfortunately for the Bears, they won’t have the services of safety Brett Johnson, whom Jeff Tedford said was out with a shoulder injury. Defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said Sean Cattouse will start in Johnson’s place with Bernard Hicks seeing plenty of snaps off the bench. It’s a pretty significant loss for the Bears. Johnson had been playing well.

Alexis Gray-Lawis off to fast start:

BERKELEY — Same ol' Lex.

Nearly 14 months ago, those were the very words Cal guard Alexis Gray-Lawson used to describe her return to the basketball court. She was convinced she'd fully recovered from the anterior cruciate ligament tear that derailed her sophomore season. She figured it was all behind her.

Only through the passage of time has Gray-Lawson come to realize she may have been fooling herself.

"I definitely wasn't back 100 percent," she said. "Everybody saw that at that point, I think."

For those familiar with Gray-Lawson's game, it was hard not to notice. She wasn't regularly driving to the hoop and taking on defenders with the same verve and authority that she'd done in the past. She wasn't punishing smaller guards in the paint or showcasing her lethal mid-range game, instead settling for 3-pointers.

Kapps dont lose to Stanford:

BERKELEY — Former Cal quarterback Joe Kapp has taught his son a lot about football, including one important rule that is especially important this week.

"From a young age, my dad always said, 'Kapps don't lose to Stanford,' " said Will Kapp, a backup fullback for the current version of the Bears. "He never lost to them when he was playing. He's told me so many stories about playing against Stanford and never forgets to point out that he never lost to them before."

Kapp, a redshirt freshman, doesn't figure to get on the field when Stanford visits Cal on Saturday for the 111th Big Game, but he still can provide a perspective on the game that arguably no other teammate can. Kapp was born in 1988, two years after his father's last season as the Bears coach. But he still grew up totally entrenched in Cal football, attending games and learning about the history of the program.

Joe Kapp was a first team All-America quarterback and led the Bears to their last Rose Bowl appearance Jan. 1, 1959. He also played basketball at Cal for the 1957-58 season (the Bears didn't lose to Stanford in hoops that season, either).

Dayman…
(Aaaaah, aaaaah, aaaaah.)
Fighter of the Night Man.
(Aaaaah, aaaaah, aaaaah.)
Champion of the Sun.
Master of Karate and Friendship for everyone

GO BEARS!

Inside the Numbers : Stanfurd

TwistNHook — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:41:57 -0000

Well, here it goes again. The nervous feelings. The pit of the stomach. A Cal fan never feels confident against Stanford. Especially not one who came of age during the Holmoecaust. And ESPECIALLY not one who just watched the last two Cal games. This has been an up and down season for Cal. Rough losses. Big victories. It's almost over and we (hopefully) have a soft landing at the end. Although Stanford has clearly shown some vivacity this season. They managed to do two things we couldn't, beat OSU and Arizona.

And score more than 3 points against USC. Let's take a look at the nuts and bolts of this Stanford team to see who we will be facing off against tomorrow.

Here it goes again......

Finally, we've been posting a lot recently. Check it: YouTube Thurday, Roundtable, B-Ball Recap; Arizona analysis; Marshawn v. Browns; Top25; Bowl Scenarios; OSU Thoughts; Pete Newell Memories; Big Game Memories

All numbers are from here.

TEAM STATISTICS	STAN	OPP
SCORING	299	292
Points Per Game	27.2	26.5
FIRST DOWNS	202	238
Rushing	111	87
Passing	72	127
Penalty	19	24
RUSHING YARDAGE	2272	1548
Yards gained rushing	2577	1920
Yards lost rushing	305	372
Rushing Attempts	453	389
Average Per Rush	5.0	4.0
Average Per Game	206.5	140.7
TDs Rushing	25	18
PASSING YARDAGE	1514	2619
Att-Comp-Int	248-139-12	374-236-6
Average Per Pass	6.1	7.0
Average Per Catch	10.9	11.1
Average Per Game	137.6	238.1
TDs Passing	10	15
TOTAL OFFENSE	3786	4167
Total Plays	701	763
Average Per Play	5.4	5.5
Average Per Game	344.2	378.8
KICK RETURNS: #-Yards	52-1172	57-1198
PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards	21-222	13-71
INT RETURNS: #-Yards	6-102	12-119
KICK RETURN AVERAGE	22.5	21.0
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE	10.6	5.5
INT RETURN AVERAGE	17.0	9.9
FUMBLES-LOST	23-9	29-14
PENALTIES-Yards	76-689	80-684
Average Per Game	62.6	62.2
PUNTS-Yards	49-1980	47-1789
Average Per Punt	40.4	38.1
Net punt average	38.1	31.6
TIME OF POSSESSION/Game	29:35	30:25
3RD-DOWN Conversions	53/137	65/149
3rd-Down Pct	39%	44%
4TH-DOWN Conversions	7/12	6/10
4th-Down Pct	58%	60%
SACKS BY-Yards	33-237	17-118
MISC YARDS	-20	0
TOUCHDOWNS SCORED	37	35
FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS	13-15	15-19
ON-SIDE KICKS	0-0	0-0
RED-ZONE SCORES	37-39 95%	40-50 80%
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS	30-39 77%	25-50 50%
PAT-ATTEMPTS	34-35 97%	33-33 100%
ATTENDANCE	171292	350631
Games/Avg Per Game	5/34258	6/58438
Neutral Site Games		0/0

Ok, let's look at some general stats first. We saw teams like OSU and USC just racking up the points and yards and first downs against their opponents. Stanford has barely outscored their opponents. They have fewer first downs. Fewer yards. The breakdown of offense is indicative of their style of offense. Tons more rushing yards than passing yards. 700 more. Clearly a run first team, the very kind of team that Cal plays well. They've actually even run fewer plays than their opponents.

Their 3rd down % is worse than their opponents. I feel that, looking at these numbers, we can handle this team if we play to our ability.

RUSHING	GP	Att	Gain	Loss	Net	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Gerhart, Toby	11	191	1069	36	1033	5.4	14	46	93.9
Kimble, Anthony	11	112	716	28	688	6.1	6	83	62.5
Loukas, Alex	9	36	223	37	186	5.2	1	29	20.7
Pritchard, Tavita	11	58	268	140	128	2.2	1	40	11.6

Well, here it is. The crux of Stanford. The key to Stanford. Toby Gerhart. The Quizz of Stanford. The Jeremiah Johnson of Stanford. The every USC RB on that fucking team of Stanford. He has almost 200 attempts on the year. He's averaging 5.4 a carry, which I believe is more than Quizz. Almost 100 yards a game. He's the biggest part of their offense. If we can shut him down, we will be able to control this game, I believe. Said the same thing about Quizz, though, and we saw what happened there.

He's backed up by Anthony Kimble, who I know little about to be honest. His numbers look better than Gerhart, but in a more limited role. More yards per carry but about a hundred fewer carries. The main focus is Gerhart. If Kimble and Gerhart are both destroying us, then it could be a LOOONG day.

Toby Gerhart via grfx.cstv.com

PASSING	GP	Effic	Cmp-Att-Int	Pct	Yards	TD	Long	Avg/G
Pritchard, Tavita	11	113.4	125-217-10	57.6	1327	9	61	120.6
Loukas, Alex	9	115.6	9-18-1	50.0	125	1	41	13.9
Forcier, Jason	4	63.1	5-13-1	38.5	62	0	26	15.5
Total..........	11	111.0	139-248-12	56.0	1514	10	61	137.6
Opponents......	11	132.0	236-374-6	63.1	2619	15	55	238.1

Tavita Pritchard. Wasn't he the shmuckzoid that beat us last year? The name angers me to this day! Luckily, it appears he isn't very good. 120 yards a game. 57% completion rate. 113 QB efficiency. The passing game clearly not the strength of the team. That's why stopping Gerhart is so important. It's like the Oregon game. We were able to contain their run game and force them to pass. They couldn't. Masoli got 44 yards. If we can do the same here, we can control the game.

If we can force Pritchard to beat us, this game will most likely be ours. Similar to Masoli, also, he can scramble. He rushed for almost 50 yards against USC. But passingwise, he was 9-21 for about 100 yards.

Tavita Pritchard vtai grfx.cstv.com

RECEIVING	GP	No.	Yards	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Whalen, Ryan	11	36	438	12.2	1	30	39.8
Baldwin, Doug	11	20	269	13.4	3	61	24.5
Gunder, Austin	11	15	123	8.2	1	18	11.2
Kimble, Anthony	11	12	88	7.3	1	15	8.0
Gerhart, Toby	11	11	100	9.1	0	21	9.1

As to be expected with the QB situation at Stanford, there are not great WR numbers. The leader, Whalen, averages less than 40 yards a game. Whalen leads the team with 36 receptions. I think there are like 4 WRs on Arizona with more than that. If these guys are beating us on Saturday, it means things have broken down. And bad.

Ryan Whalen via grfx.cstv.com

Ok, like GoDucks.com the Stanford website is freaking out. I've written the bottom portion out two times and it deletes it twice. Damn you, Stanford! You've rejected me yet again. So, I'll try to summarize my thoughts:

1. Arizona ran all over us, because we had to respect the pass so much. We were able to control Oregon, because we didn't need to respect their pass. On that spectrum, Stanford is far closer to Oregon. So, I think that this is the type of offense we can control. Gerhart will probably get his yards, similar to how JJ got his in Oregon. But hopefully, they will be empty yards. If Pritchard and Co. are passing all over us, it will be a LONG day. But I feel that given our defensive prowess, that will not happen. Hopefully!

2. On offense, I predict we see a LOT of running. Stanford just gave 300 yards each to USC and Oregon in their last 2 games. Now, of course, USC and Oregon are great running teams, no doubt about that. But we aren't exactly slouches. Apparently, Best is as healthy now as he has been in weeks. Plus, if our offensive line can play more like they did against Oregon than OSU and USC, I think we can give Riley the time he needs to make throws. On the road, they were abysmal. Hopefully, at home, it will be different.

Look, I get it. It's been a long season. An up and down season. Big wins. Crushing losses. And with our 2 crushing losses in a row there, you feel uncomfortable about the game. We all do. Plus, its Big Game. I was there in 2000 and 2001 when Stanford should have smacked us. But we held strong, losing at the way end (in OT in 2000). Throw the record books out in this one. But looking at the stats, looking at all the games, I feel reasonably confident that Cal can take this one. Our D is set up to stop a run-heavy offense as we face here. Our O is set up to run the ball a lot against weak run Ds as we face here. Let's get that axe back. Let's do this thing. Go Bears!

YouTube Thursday: DO NOT NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO!

TwistNHook — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:33:22 -0000

For a generation of Cal fans, this is our The Play. Raised on a diet of stale The Play memories, we wanted to create our own Big Game legend. Our own Big Game stories. Telling our grandchildren "We were there when we heard about The Play for the 40,000th time right before Stanford beat us" didn't exactly have the same pinache as we might have hoped.

So, thankfully, there was this:

Those last two videos had poor quality, but this is good. You know, the guy was on top of the goalpost for like one half of one second. But at the time, it seemed like it was an eternity.

Lets look at some great Big Game highlights:

And some video of the post-game lockerroom celebration after the 1986 Big Game:

No sound on this find, but card stunts at hte Big Game from the 60s:

Old Bear Territory video on the 1994 Big Game. Whatever happened to those guys?

Not great kwality (a theme, it would seem), but Marshawn's run in the 2004 Big Game:

1972 Big Game. Great end here:

That's some great Big Game stuff. Let's look at some Stanford football players:

I have a strong distaste for Stanford, but I gotta respect them for this:

Finally, let's meet Paper-rad. Yes, Paper-rad. Wikipedia describes them as a "art collective that makes comics zines, video art, net art, MIDI files, paintings, installations, and are in a variety of bands." They are kinda crazzy, but I like them. They have the bright colors and the MIDI sounds. Either you think it's creative or you think it's the stupidest thing ever and look forward to your next semester at USC starting. Plus, they sort of came from the same incubator that I did, so I respect that. To call them crazzy is to call me crazzy.