Oregon State Recap

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Watching the game with some friends in a stuffy classroom at Harvard Medical School on Saturday afternoon, I watched with disappointment as Cal fell to the Oregon State Beavers 34-21. And it sucked.

Like Cal’s loss the previous week against USC, the Bears found themselves in the game late into the fourth quarter, trailing only by one score thanks in a large part to another solid performance by Cal’s defense. And just like last week’s loss, it was Cal’s offense that was unable to create any momentum for the Bears in another disheartening defeat.

Offensive Woes Continue
While the loss is unquestionably a team effort, with all each unit sharing some blame, it was evident that both the offensive and special teams units had more of a hand in Saturday’s defeat.

While many blogs and forums are already proclaiming the somewhat obvious, I’ll reiterate it here: this is the worst Cal offense of the Jeff Tedford era. While a few stat nerds (no offense Avinash) might be able to pull up the data to prove this point, or possibly suggest otherwise, I’ve never seen a Tedford offense struggle so strongly and so consistently as I have this year.

Whereas the 2007 squad averaged fewer points per game as the 2008 iteration, one has to consider just how many points this year have come off defensive turnovers or big plays on special teams. Moreover, a significant portion of Cal’s points this year have either resulted from the occasional big run on the ground, or great field position from plays by the special teams or defensive units. Long sustained scoring drives have been few and far in between.

Saturday’s game was a perfect illustration of this with Cal scoring just 21 points. The first touchdown came off of terrific field position due to Jahvid Best’s 51 yard kick return, setting up Verran Tucker’s 5-yard jump ball TD. The second score came off a beautifully designed wide receiver pass trick play. The final score came off of another fantastic Jahvid Best 65 yard TD run, set up by some pretty impressive blocking.

All great plays, but not much else. Cal has become reliant on great field position or big plays to score, and has not shown the ability to consistently march down the field with any semblance of sustained scoring drives.

The Bears’ decrease in offensive production has obviously coincided with the streak of injuries to the offensive line, which was fully exposed on Saturday. The battered and inexperienced O-line, featuring a number of second and third stringers, was harassed all day, at times unable to hold off just three OSU pass rushers, and gave up 5 sacks while unable to give Riley sufficient time to make plays in the air.

Even more unsettling is the continued lack of production in the passing game. Considering neither Nate Longshore or Kevin Riley have proven to be the clear answer at QB, one would have hoped that Riley would have fared better after having received most of the reps during practice. That would not be the case though, with Riley struggling with a 11-25 performance for only 117 yards, one TD and an interception return for a TD late in the game.

While the lack of pass protection made it difficult for Riley to see much success in the air, Riley and his receivers will still have to take responsibility for what has been a rough patch of performances the last two games. I’m unconvinced that all the sacks were on the offensive line as Riley continues to hold the ball a bit longer than necessary, is a step slow in his reads, and remains a tad off in his accuracy. His receivers also have to help Riley out by getting open a bit quicker and making sure they hold on to the ball despite whatever crushing hits may follow.


Special Teams
“Dammit Alamar.”

I found myself reciting the line like it was the chorus of a bad Limp Bizkit song. To a certain extent, it’s somewhat of an unfair criticism, considering it’s not the Special Teams coach out there on the field covering kickoffs and punts. And you have to give credit where credit is due to some of the more explosive and talented return men in the conference with James Rodgers and Sammie Stroughter.

But consider that 14 of the 34 points given up on Saturday are on the Special Teams unit, with an early kickoff returned 86 yards for a score and a punt return setting up a 2 yard TD run. Throw in the fact that OSU’s average starting field position was on the 45-yard line, and one has to wonder just who exactly that reflects on. Saturday’s game was the worst special teams performance all season, and one that Cal coaches and players will look back on with disappointment and some “what ifs” for some time to come.

Defense Does Its Thing
With Cal’s offense and Special Teams struggling, Cal’s defense did a respectable job of holding OSU to just 13 points when excluding Riley’s pick six, and the special teams return blunders. Admirable, when considering that the Beavers had come into the game averaging nearly 34 PPG.

The defense still had their share of issues. I don’t think anyone was pleased with the chunk of yards they gave up in some second and third and long situations. On one occasion, I believe Cal gave up a 2nd and 30. Second and THIRTY?

Further, the defense struggled in the second half with OSU’s excellent back Jacquizz Rodgers. (BTW, this kid is a stud. He is as patient of a back I’ve seen in a while, while demonstrating an uncanny ability cut quick quickly while also moving piles; impressive considering his 5’7 frame.) While Rodgers never had a huge play, he consistently ripped off good yardage on first and second down, making it difficult for the Bears to get off the field on defense. It’s a bit more understandable though, when one considers the talent OSU has in Rodgers. In sum, the Bears struggled a bit with Rodgers in the second half, but which team this year hasn’t?

On a side note, one has to wonder, where the hell would the Beavers be without the Rodgers brothers? I think those two account for nearly 50% of OSU’s total offense. Just think about that for a second.

Minor gripes aside, the heart and soul of this team still lives in its defense. In some areas, I continue to see improvement (Props to you Darian Hagan), and despite losing 3 solid linebackers, I’m excited at the prospect of next year’s defensive squad.

Questionable Officiating?
I very rarely blame the outcomes of any games on officiating. I’m of the camp who feels that a team has enough opportunities on the field to make up for the occasional bad call or no call which inevitably happens from time to time. With that said, there was some pretty poor officiating during the game, and Zack Follett wasn’t the only one who noticed a number of pretty blatant holds on OSU that weren’t called.

Again, not that any of this excuses any of the other Cal deficiencies, but it was still frustrating to watch.

As for the Beavers...
While the game was certainly in reach for the Bears, and a winnable game, you have to give credit to OSU, particularly their defense that made life miserable for the Bears’ offensive line and Kevin Riley. They were the better team on Saturday.

In terms of conference race implications, I’ll be cheering for Oregon State to win a Rose Bowl Berth. While I would have loved for Cal to have been the ones to dethrone USC from their bragging rights perch of being conference champs, I’d still celebrate seeing USC knocked out of the position. Not that it matters much for the Trojans, who are all but assured of receiving an at-large BCS bowl bid. It might however, be what is needed to bring more parity and legitimacy to the Pac-10 conference.

Moving Forward
The Bears don’t have long to regroup and prepare themselves for what is their last remaining “big game” on the schedule with none other than their rival Stanford in the “Big Game.”

Many of Cal’s initial goals have all faded, whether it was the small chance at a Rose Bowl, or a co-conference championship. The Bears still have a chance at a national ranking by season’s end, and winning out including a victory over Stanford would be a satisfying finish for the team and its seniors in what has been an up and down growing season for the Bears.

While it’s a bit late to develop an identity on offense, Cal will have to do what it can in facing a much improved and competitive Stanford squad. The biggest enigma is how it can go about doing so with an inexperienced and injury-plagued offensive line. More reps for Kevin Riley and his receiving corps. will certainly help, as will an emphasis on both blocking assignments and special teams coverage.

But coming off their first losing streak since last year’s collapse, one can undoubtedly look at the next two games as the true litmus test as to whether the team’s new “chemistry” is the real deal, or merely lip service in hopes of forgetting last season’s nightmare. After all, Cal has the same record going into last two games as last year. If the team isn’t able to regroup, they run the chance of experiencing the same disappointment.