Michigan State Recap

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

What a game and what a weekend. Opening game has come and gone, and boy was it a sight to see. For what it's worth, the moment it finally hit me that the season had started was when I made my way up to Memorial Stadium with some friends, and found myself engulfed in a sea of Cal fans dressed in blue and gold on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Ahh. It nearly brought a tear to my eye.

There are a lot of things that can be said about Cal’s opener on Saturday. All in all, I was fairly pleased with how Cal played. I thought they had a solid first game against a competitive Michigan State squad who I think will finish in the top half of the Big Ten. There were plenty of mistakes for the team to learn from, and the team is certainly still a work in progress, but most Cal fans had to feel pretty good about what they saw with their team’s opening performance.

Here are a couple of the highlights and takeaways from Saturday’s game:

You got to go with Kevin Riley.

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

You have to feel sorry for Nate Longshore. Coming off a rough 2007 season, Longshore knew he would only have a few series this game to make his continued bid for the starting job. Things started off well for Longshore, hitting three straight completions to march the offense down the field in a hurry, only to kill the drive by throwing an interception into the endzone. It only got worse on the very next possession, after Longshore threw an inexplicable pass into the triple coverage that was returned for a TD.

Look, I'm a Longshore fan. I’ve been a strong supporter for Nate for a while. I think he can still be a great QB, is a quality kid, and I won’t ever forget his incredible contributions to the Cal program. But Riley has to be the man going forward. It’s time for the entire team, including the coaches, to unequivocally throw their support behind Riley and move forward with developing the offense.

Riley was efficient on Saturday, going 17-24 for 202 yards and 2 TDs. More importantly, he moved the ball well and avoided any turnovers. His most brilliant play of the game came on a 26 yard pass to Cameron Morrah on a 3rd down as he was being taken down by a Spartan defender. While that play doesn’t define Riley, it highlights the playmaking ability that Riley possesses that sets him apart from other QBs.

Nate will prove to be an invaluable resource as a solid backup for the remainder of the season, and will be a strong veteran presence for the team, but Riley has to be starter without any fear of losing his starting position.



Cal’s got 2 quality backs.
We all knew what Jahvid Best brought to the table in terms of speed. And while I don’t think Best will be moving any piles any time soon, he showed he was at least capable of hitting his hole and gaining positive yardage, and being a VERY explosive back.

The bigger story thought, may be Cal fans' introduction to Shane Veereen. I don’t think many Cal fans who don’t follow the message boards were aware of the talent that they had in Vereen. Well if they didn’t before, they do now. Vereen rushed only 9 times for 101 yards and including a huge 81 yard TD run that would prove to be the winning score late in the game.

It’s still too early to predict two 1000 yard rushers, but most Cal fans have to think that it’s at least very much possible after Saturday.

Our Defense Looks Pretty Good
Look, I know we gave up over 300 yards passing. I also am somewhat aware that we gave up 31 points. But when you can keep Javon Ringer, one of the premier backs in the country to 81 yards on 27 carries and a 3.0 average, you have to feel pretty good about Cal’s new 3-4 defense. Saturday night’s game was set to be a true test for how the new defensive scheme would match up against a strong running game, and I thought the defense answered the call pretty well.

Keep in mind that 7 points came off Nate Longshore’s pick six, and another TD came when MSU began their drive inside Cal’s redzone off of the blocked punt.

Much has been said about Darian Hagan’s first performance as Cal’s starter at cornerback. For the most part, I thought Hagan played fine. With the exception of a few passes, Hagan wasn’t caught out of position, and closed on the ball quickly with solid tackles. Hagan will have to take advantage of his opportunities better however, as he was unable to capitalize on numerous chances at interceptions. All in all, though, it was a decent debut as a starter for Hagan.

Special Teams needs to tighten it up.

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

It was truly a mixed bag with our Special Teams. There was the good: the blocked punt return for a TD and Bryan Anger. And there was the bad: kickoffs, the roughing-the-kicker penalty and Bryan Anger.

Let me explain what I mean about Anger. First off, I agree with Jonathan Okanes’ statement that Anger will be an All-American when his time at Cal is done. The guy has fantastic talent, and his first two punts averaged 57.5 yards. Absurd. Anger, a redshirt freshman, showed his youth however, bobbling a high snap from Nick Sundberg and getting his subsequent punt attempt blocked which set up Michigan State’s next score. I have little concern though that punting will prove NOT to be an area of concern as the season progresses.

As for the kickoffs, neither David Seawright or Giorgio Taveccio showed they were capable of kicking the ball off inside the 10, or even the 15 for most of the game. Maybe they were trying to keep the ball away from Ringer. Maybe none of them have the leg to do it. If it’s the latter, I’m not really sure how to remedy this. Practice more onside kicks? Get really good at squibs? This could potentially be a bigger issues later on in the season.

Other Quick Hits:

• TE Cameron Morrah is going to have a big year. Nothing assures more passes thrown to a tight end than a brand new crop of wide receivers, and a new starting quarterback. And thankfully, Morrah has the talent to know what to do with those passes.

• Good acting job by Alex Mack to earn that personal foul penalty late in the game. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mack get pushed out onto his backup. That was Manu Ginobili flop-esque.

• Good show of sportsmanship and team camaraderie by Kevin Riley who signaled to the crowd to stop booing Longshore after Longshore’s second interception. Good to see that support. It would be even better to see more Cal fans follow suit.

All in All...
It’s strange. I feel like Cal fans felt more excited about the team coming out of Saturday’s game than they did after Cal’s victory over Tennessee last year. That’s what a year can do in terms of expectations. The game hasn’t changed any of my previous expectations though. I still think an 8-4 season will be a successful one for Cal. We can’t get too excited just yet, as it’s only been one game. But remember, every game counts.