Pac-12 Roundup: Week 9

Holy smokes I sucked it up this week. Went 2-4 this week. The only games I correctly predicted were Oregon and Stanford's wins and seriously, even a Stanford grad could have predicted those. So I present my Pac-12 Roundup without any level of pride. I've fallen to 42-23 on the season.

Washington 20 Oregon State 17
Washington showed some toughness after all. Though they were aided by Mike Riley's decision to go with QB Sean Mannion who was coming off knee surgery. The sophomore gunslinger tossed four interceptions as the Beavers offense struggled to get anything going. Cody Vaz came in only to drive the Beavers down the field and throw a TD toss on his first and only drive.

Do I smell a QB controversy brewing?

Washington gets their second win over a ranked team at home this season, which hopefully means they'll go and lay an egg against a lesser team the following week. And who do they play next? The Bears?

USC 36 Arizona 39
I wouldn't quite label it a "shocker" but the Wildcats certainly pulled off the upset and the win this 'Zona team needed in knocking off 9th ranked USC. USC's defense had been playing pretty well this season, but fell apart in the second half, giving up 26 points as the Trojans could only help but watch their national championship, and likely BCS bowl dreams wash down the drain. Honestly, do you see this Trojan team beating Oregon twice? Heck, I'm not sure they even beat Notre Dame.

It's shocking to think a team with such NFL talent will end up in Sun Bowl.

The more I watch Matt Barkley, the more I'm convinced this guy is closer to Jimmy Clausen than he is to Andrew Luck. The guy will have an NFL career sure, but I just don't see a can't miss NFL prospect here.

Conversely, I'm already drafting Marqise Lee for my 2014 NFL Fantasy Football League. Simply phenomenal. 16 catches for 345 yards and two scores. He's topped 1100 receiving yards just 8 games into the season. Just a man amongst boys out there.

Arizona State 43 UCLA 45
Both Arizona teams hosted some pretty entertaining games on Saturday, though Todd Graham's Sun Devil squad wasn't nearly as lucky. In a much higher scoring contest than anticipated, ASU's Taylor Kelly hit DJ Foster with a little more than minute left to go to put the Sun Devils up 43-42. It looked like a gut-wrenching loss for the Bruins only for Brett Hundley to drive the team into FG range. Ka'imi Fairbairn (no idea how that's pronounced) hit the 33 yard-game winner as time expired.

Suddenly the Pac-12 South is veeeerrrry interesting with USC, UCLA, and ASU all tried at 2 conference losses. Plus, USC still plays UCLA and ASU, so things are wide open in the South. Who you putting money on to get pounded by the Ducks in the conference championship game? #Pac-12North>>>>

Oregon 70 Colorado 14
So I'll admit, I only watched about 3 minutes of this game and watched Oregon score about 2 touchdowns in that time. I sneezed and the score ballooned to 42-0 in the first half. Needless to say I then changed the channel.

So forgive me if I don't have much else to say about this one. Oh except this, did anyone else watch DeAnthony Thomas' punt return? Sweet jeebus.


(Starts at the 0:40 mark)

Stanford 24 Washington State 17
What a snoozer until the last few minutes. Stanford put them up 24-10 after safety Ed Reynolds returned an interception off Jeff Tuel for a score. The Cougars then pulled it to within a score and converted a miraculous pass on 4th and 21 to give them the ball inside Stanford's 10 yard line with about 45 seconds to go. The end result? Typical Cougar drama.

Here are the next two plays according to the official box score:

1st and Goal at STAN 9 Jeff Tuel sacked by Usua Amanam for a loss of 9 yards to the Stanf 19, WASHINGTON ST penalty 0 yard Intentional Grounding accepted.
2nd and Goal at STAN 19 Jeff Tuel sacked by Henry Anderson for a loss of 9 yards to the Stanf 28.

Yep, an intentional grounding penalty and a sack to end the game. 'Cougin it!

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Utah Recap

I don't think there would have been much shame had the Bears gone out to Salt Lake City, competed hard and ended up losing a close one to the Utes like many had predicted. Despite Utah's record, they're not a terrible team. They've got a solid defense and one of the better coaches in college football. Not saying I would have been happy with the outcome, but I wouldn't see much shame in it.

But what transpired on Saturday was one of the more embarrassing performances in recent history, and that's saying something for the Bears. Don't let the final score fool you, the Bears were down 42-6 in the third quarter before falling eventually 49-27. This was a complete and utter breakdown in all three phases of the game.

Blowouts are troubling enough, but getting blown out to Utah is a whole other story. I'm struggling to find the adjective to accurately describe the Bears' game on Saturday. "Uneven" is too kind while "pathetic" is perhaps a bit insulting.

If I had to reach back into my SAT vocab list, I'd probably have to go with "moribund."

Webster's Dictionary defines "moribund" as:

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Cal showed all the signs of a team that's just done. Sure the coach and team will say in their press conference that they're not quitting, and I wouldn't expect them to. I'm not even saying the team has quit. But anyone who watched the game can't say this isn't a team that beat up team mentally and physically.

Let's get into the details. I mean what else do you have to do today, right?

Offense Self-Destructs
The offense was so tough to watch on Saturday. The Bears were undone by three turnovers. The first a Chris Harper fumble on screen pass that was recovered and returned for a score. The second an interception off a tipped pass to Keenan Allen. The third was a Maynard fumble after he had it knocked loose on a QB keeper. Maynard also had another fumble that he miraculously recovered for a POSITIVE gain.

The turnovers in and of themselves weren't really maddening though. It'd be frustrating to watch turnover after turnover if you were expecting great things only to have a turnover yank the rug out underneath you. No, what's really sad is that you could feel the turnovers coming a mile away. It was just that type of day for Cal's offense.

Cal's offensive line continued to struggle, giving up 3 sacks in the first quarter. They would only give up one more the rest of the game, but still struggled to buy Maynard consistent time in the pocket, and only look ok after Utah called off the dogs and showed some restraint in sending blitzes.

Though they outgained Utah's offense 441 to 344 in yardage, most of those yards came when the outcome was no longer in question. It was simply a sloppy, head-shaking performance.

Where's Bigelow
Remember those Where's Waldo books? That's how I feel watching Cal's offense, and much like I did once I got to the part of the book where Waldo's in Europe, I just throw the book down in disgust because he's NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.

Such is the perplexing underuse of Brendan Bigelow. I give up trying to figure this one out. No one's buying the "he doesn't know the playbook well enough" excuse anymore. I've never once clamored to see Bigelow as an every down back because he is indeed far behind both Isi Sofele and CJ Anderson in terms of pass protection. But it's evident to everyone and anyone that next to Keenan Allen, he's probably the best playmaker the Bears have and most certainly needs to get more than 3 touches a game.

This is a player who showed off another jaw-dropping 57 yard TD run on his FIRST CARRY! But that carry didn't come until the very last play of the third quarter. Bigelow finished with just two carries for 66 yards and a 6 yard catch. And anyone who watched the catch know that those 6 yards came out of absolutely nothing.

He's currently averaging 12.7 yards per carry and 13.8 yards per catch. Why the coaches refuse to get him more involved in the offense is beyond me. It'd be like ASU leaving DJ Foster on the sideline or the Ducks keeping DeAnthony Thomas on kickoff returns and on the stationary bicycle on the sidelines. Again, I'm done trying to crack this puzzle.

Defensive Worn Out
So I'm not going to make excuses for the defense, but it's worth noting that this entire defensive unit is incredibly banged up. The Bears were without 3 of their starting linebackers, and were also missing some key reserves at the defensive line, and lost starting CB Marc Anthony again in the middle of the game.

It also didn't help that Utah's average starting field position was from their own 33.5 yard line and that the defense was visibly worn out from Cal's offense being unable to sustain any drives in the first three quarters.

And it's most certainly worth noting that the defense only surrendered 4 of Utah's 7 touchdowns. So they certainly had the deck stacked against them. It's tough for very good defenses to hold teams under those circumstances.

Here's the problem. Cal doesn't have a very good defense right now. And it's tough to watch given how much promise and talent there is on this roster. But this defense showed all the signs of being beat up and sloppy.

The sloppiness was evident in the number of missed tackles which I couldn't begin to count. And they were costly missed tackles too, ones that sustained drives and kept them on the field.

It was seen in Josh Hill doing a dance after a pass breakup when the team was down 28-6. Oh, and the Utes went on to score on that drive. This is a guy who's a captain, and the leader of a defense. I know he's fired up to make a play, but it doesn't sit right that a defensive captain is acting jolly while his team is down 22 points. It seems to me it'd make more sense for the captain to grab a teammate who's doing that by the face mask and tell him to knock that off and get ready for the next play.

But more than just the sloppy play was the clear evidence that the Bears just got manhandled up front. There was no consistent pressure on Travis Wilson who managed just 156 yards through the air but helped Utah convert 8 of their 13 3rd down attempts.

I said in my Keys to the Game that Cal would certainly lose if they allowed 4 yards per carry. This was a Utah rushing attack that was averaging just 2.87 ypc on the year. Saturday? They gave up 4.2 ypc, and 4.7 ypc to both Jon White IV and Kelvin York respectively. Not terrible numbers, but against a one-dimensional offense like Utah's, that's an absolute back breaker.

Special Teams Breakdown
So as much as we hate on Cal special teams, they hadn't actually given up a kickoff return for a score since 2008.

They more than made up for it by allowing two 100 yard returns to Reggie Dunn. And this wasn't a case of Dunn simply being more athletic than the return team. It was rather some of the poorest angles from a coverage unit as I've seen in a while. Some players were simply lackadaisical out there. Falling asleep once on coverage is one thing, but letting it happen to you twice? TWICE?!

And that's all I got to say about that.

Allen-Record Setting
In an ironically quiet fashion, Keenan Allen eclipsed Geoff MacArthur's record and will finish his career as Cal's all time leading receiver in receptions. Hats off to him and it's been really fun to watch him play. I still have to say that Geoff MacArthur is my favorite Cal WR of all time (dude was a warrior), but there's no denying Allen's talent and ability. Congrats to him. I really wish I were happier about this, but it's hard when your team just got bitchsmacked in Utah.

Moving Forward
I'm still pulling for this team, but I must say they're making it increasingly difficult for me to have fun while doing so! I still want Cal to win every game and will continue to support the players who go out there and lay it out on the field. They do a hell of a lot more for this program than many faux-armchair quarterbacks sitting in the stands.

I already said last week I wouldn't continue to harp on any coaching changes in the middle of the season. It's repetitive, it's pointless right now and frankly, it doesn't make me feel any better.

Instead, our attention turns to a short week before the Bears facing Washington. It's a completely different type of seasons that fans had hoped for heading into this matchup, but it is what it is.

Play hard in the now and continue to build for the future. Go Bears.

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Cal Washington Tickets for Sale

No, this has nothing to do with tonight's game outcome. Believe it or not, I try to make every Cal game I can, despite the Bears' record.

I won't be able to make this Friday's game due to a scheduling conflict, so I'm pretty despondent to have to try and sell my tickets.

The tickets are in Section U, Row 33. You can refer to my writeup on acquiring my seats here for a seating map and Cal's virtual view from my seats.

They're actually pretty fantastic seats.

Use the "Contact Me" link on the bottom right side of my page to send me an email with questions or requests.

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Keys to the Game: Utah

(Travis Wilson likes long walks on the beach, 3-and-outs, and awkward smiles)

Nothing helps a team's psyche like facing a pushover team to take out one's frustrations after a disappointing, physically exhausting game against your rival.

Too bad the Bears are facing Utah. Despite the Utes' 2-5 record they still feature one of the more physically sound defenses in the conference. And the Bears play at Rice-Eccles stadium at night in front of a crowd known for being particularly hostile.

Ruh-roh.

But despite the disappointing feelings coming out of last week's loss, I still stated that a win at Utah is still within grasp. Cal isn't close to the team we had expected them to be before the season, but quite frankly neither are the Utes. The Utes' have shown offensive ineptitude due to a carousel at QB and an offensive line that has seen its share of struggles. The team has gone through a pretty brutal conference gauntlet, and has no wins to show for them. They're essentially playing for their season at this point, as a loss on Saturday would all but eliminate them from bowl contention.

In other words, they're pretty similar to Cal.

Let's get to the keys to the game.

Keep 'Em Under 3
Utah's offensive identity the past few years has been a running game that wears down opposing defenses and allows their quarterbacks to manage the game. They've been a physical team with the ability to go toe to toe with most teams in the trenches. Unfortunately for the Utes, that hasn't been the case this year with Utah averaging just 2.87 yards per carry and just 4 rushing touchdowns all year. That's good for just 113th in the nation.

Utah's offensive line is struggling right now to create running lanes for Jon White the 4th. After rushing for over 1500 yards and 15 TDs last year, he's managed less than a third of those numbers (413 yards) with just 1 rushing TD. He's averaging less than 3.79 yards per carry. Talk about a setback.

Utah's backup RB Kelvin York is faring a bit better at 5 yards per carry, but unless Utah's offensive gameplan radically changes this week, it should be more of the same on the ground.

White hasn't been completely healthy this year, but the overall rushing numbers are more likely the result of a consistently overmatched offensive line that is struggling against defenses that are stacking the box and daring Utah's underperforming QBs to beat them through the air.

The Bears have struggled against the run this year, but I'm liking our chances against Utah. This hasn't been a dominant rushing attack, and the Utes aren't well balanced enough on offense to keep opposing defenses honest. This is an offense that's likely to try and run the ball at least 35 to 40 times a game. Cal needs to get some of its swagger back in rushing defense and keep Utah to under 3 yards per carry on their 1st and 2nd down attempts. It'll help if Cal's offense can sustain some drives and keep their defense fresh, but plain and simple, if Cal's defense lets Utah start averaging 4 yards a carry, the Bears are screwed on D. Cal's got to play with good gap integrity, their linebackers need to play with their eyes and read blocking lanes, and finish tackles. Remember, keep 'em under 3.

Freeze Wilson
The Utes expect more from freshman QB Travis Wilson who is making just his third career start. Wilson's a big-bodied QB, who moves well for his 6'6 frame, but isn't as effective of a runner as the Utes would have hoped. And while he's compeleting over 60% of his passes, he's managed just 1 touchdown to three interceptions in his two starts. It doesn't help that his starting wide receivers haven't been able to consistently get open in tight coverage, which can be paralyzing for quarterbacks who still aren't used to speed of the college level. This isn't a knock on Wilson, but he simply doesn't have the experience yet to move quickly and decisively enough through his reads.

What's encouraging for the Utes though, is that Wilson has looked more and more decisive in each game. The fact still remains that the Bears are still facing a freshman quarterbacking make just his third career start. And as is the case when facing any new starting quarterback, the goal is to get as much pressure on him as possible. Every time.

It all starts with limiting yardage on first and second down like I mentioned before, but I'm confident the Bears pull out the win if they put the game on Wilson's arm. Utah's going to want to put Wilson in manageable passing situations and give him easy completions early on which shakes out to a lot of quick hitches, screens and outs.

The Bears need to jam Utah's receivers at the line of scrimmage and play with good enough coverage to take away those quickly early looks, and force Wilson to rush through his secondary and third reads. If the Bears can take away that first or second look, Wilson hasn't shown the patience or ability to create plays. Cal's defensive line has struggled to get consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks, but they've done a pretty job of at least being disruptive and can most certainly get in the backfield if the Bears don't allow immediate, short throws.

And for those of you keeping track at home, it's exactly the same type of scheme an opposing team would use on Zach Maynard.

Take Advantage of Our Athletes
Utah faces a stout defense with one of the better defensive lines we've faced all year. Of course by now, you've heard of sure-fire NFL 1st rounder Star Lotulelei who's been about as good of a defensive tackle as I've seen in a while. He doesn't post the gaudiest numbers with just 2 sacks, and 7 TFLs, but he's sure as heck disruptive. He's constantly blowing up lines and is frankly a player you design plays away from.

If the Bears employ a method of trying to run right into their defensive front, you're going to see more or less the same offensive issues you saw last week. Now keep in mind, Utah's defense isn't nearly as good as Stanford's, but these guys are no pushovers up front.

I've said all year that Utah's weakness on defense has been their lack of speed on the perimeter, and if you look at Cal's offensive skill players against Utah's defense, it certainly appears we have the advantage in terms of athleticism. The Bears have got to exploit this.

This doesn't mean Cal needs to live or die by the quick screens, but they do need to continue to find ways to get their playmakers in space on end arounds, stretches, and tosses. Get them into outside.

I'm not thrilled about the idea of placing the game on Zach Maynard's shoulders, but the Bears are going to be hardpressed running into Utah's manwall up front. Cal has a prime opportunity to exploit a Utah secondary that has struggled to make plays (just two inteceptions this year) and have shown to be torched by some competent passing attacks.

Outlook
I'm pretty beat up about this season, but not enough to think that we don't have a real shot on this one. Other than the USC game (and we always struggle against USC whether its on the road or not), I actually think we've handled road adversity pretty well this season.

I'm not too worried about the team looking wide-eyed, but I have my questions as to whether we can stop Travis Wilson from having his coming-out party and whether our offense can get back to utilizing its playmakers.

For as much as I wonder about Cal, I'm cautiously optimistic that the Bears can hold on in a close, defensive-mind (or offensivelly inept) low-scoring game.

Cal 20 Utah 14

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Pac-12 Week 9 Predictions

Longingly looking at other team's schedules that include an actual bye week. Sigh.

I'm 40-19 with my picks this season, but more importantly, I'm 8-2 over the last two weeks. AYOOB!

Colorado (1-5, 1-3) at No. 4 Oregon (7-0, 4-0)
Insert Colorado joke here. I mean what can you say about this one? Oregon's pissed that it fell in the BCS standings AFTER it dismantled a 5-1 ASU squad. Colorado is looking to do all it can to not be considered the conference's bottom feeder.

Don't expect much to change this week.

Oregon 63 Colorado 10

UCLA (5-2, 2-2) at Arizona State (5-2, 3-1)
Now this should be a fun one to watch. Two different spread attacks with solid defenses face off with the winner still in the race for the Pac-12 South title. I'm liking ASU a bit more, especially with the news that defensive lineman Will Sutton should be back. UCLA also hasn't been nearly as sharp on the road as they've been at home, which spells bad things with them playing in Tempe.

ASU 35 UCLA 24

No. 9 USC (6-1, 4-1) at Arizona (4-3, 1-3)
The Wildcats broke their three game losing streak with a dominant performance over Washington. This offense will be able to score on any team not named Oregon. The problem is their defense which will have its hands with the bevy of playmakers on the Trojan squad.

And I don't think enough people are realizing that USC's defense has quietly emerged as one of the best defenses in the country.

USC 38 Arizona 24

Washington State (2-5, 0-4) at No. 17 Stanford (5-2, 3-1)
Some people are suggesting that Washington State could give the Cardinal fits because their spread attack presents similar challenges that Stanford faced against Arizona. Not buying it. Arizona's offense is infinitely more potent than what Mike Leach's squad has going on right now, and the game is at Palo Alto in what's bound to be a raucous crowd of 8,000 or so.

Stanford 31 Washington State 13

No. 7 Oregon State (6-0, 4-0) at Washington (3-4, 1-3)
Bob Canzano from the Oregon Live calls Washington the "softest, least resilitent team in the conference." Ouch. It's just one man's opinion, but you'll have a hard time disputing it if the Huskies fall again to the seventh ranked Beavers. I don't think it won't be as easy as showing up, but OSU is firing on all cylinders right now and the Huskies are desperately looking for answers on offense other than having Keith Price running for his life before throwing a desperation throw.

Thinking Washington puts up a fight, but having a hard time seeing the Huskies pull out this one.

Oregon State 24 Washington 17
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Pac-12 Roundup: Week 8

I was perfect with my picks last week!

Wait, Cal.

Still, 4-1 to improve to 40-19 on the season ain't too shabby. After the brutal non-conference stretch (who knew Oregon State would be so good and WSU would still be so bad?), I seem to be settling down.

Here's a quick recap.

Oregon 43 Arizona State 21
I had predicted the Sun Devils would keep it close before Oregon eventually pulled away. That lasted about...90 seconds. Seriously. In one of the more unbelievable conference games, Oregon absolutely bitchsmacked the Sun Devils. I mean, just demolished them. It was one of the more shocking games this season. I don't think anyone could have predicted the Ducks would have manhandled ASU the way they did. They were up 43-7 with almost 10 minutes left...IN THE SECOND QUARTER.

Oregon wouldn't score again after Chip Kelly smartly called off the hounds. He knew most East Coast voters stopped watching by then, and the Ducks had made their statement. No use risking any injury, and hey, you've got to appease Bryan Bennett.

All in all, the game affirmed that the Ducks are looking like one of the best teams in the country, and far and away, the best team in the Pac-12.

As for ASU, it doesn't change my opinion that they're indeed for real, and likely an upper Pac-12 team this season. They still have a chance to contend for the Pac-12 South this season, they're just a ways away from being elite.

USC 50 Colorado 6
Boy, I thought Colorado could beat the spread, but Matt Barkley chose to Buffaloes to restart the inane Heisman conversation.

USC's defense is what's still keeping them in the conversation as a BCS team, but we'll see how they fare against Oregon and Notre Dame. They'll need to beat Oregon (at least once) and show up well against Notre Dame.

As for the Buffaloes, they simply don't have the personnel to hang with this conference this season. They're still trying out there, and you've got to give Coach Embree credit for keeping his guys playing hard in such a situation. But boy, what a rough, rough time to be a CU fan.

Arizona 52 Washington 17
I predicted the Wildcats to win in a shootout, but the Huskies apparently forgot to bring any ammo. Washington's offense has really struggled this year as their offensive line continues to search for answers. Sound familiar Cal fans? Arizona played a pretty good game defensively to go along with their dominant offensive performance. Though Keith Price threw for over 250 yards, he needed 52 pass attempts to do so, managing just 4.9 yards per attempt.

The Huskies have now dropped three in a row, and there's a good chance that number becomes 4 next week against the Beavers of OSU.

As for the Wildcats, they finally stopped their own 3 game losing streak, but have what I think will be a really entertaining game against the Trojans this Saturday.

Oregon State 21 Utah 7
Utah fans have to be despirited after this loss. Despite outgaining the Beavers 307 to 226 yards total yards and holding OSU to just 52 rushing yards, they were completely undone by 4 turnovers (2 fumbles and 2 interceptions). The game was really as straightforward as that.

Oregon State continues its dream season with a shiny number 7 ranking, while the Utes again face another rough start. Utah is 2-5 on the season, and 0-4 in the conference. A loss to the Bears this Saturday would effectively end any preseason hopes, so you know both teams will be playing as if their seasons are on the line.

Yay.

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Post Big Game Thoughts

(All we could do was just sit and watch.)

"Offensively, that was a poor performance. We couldn't block them. There was too much pressure on the passer and we couldn't convert third downs. Give them credit, they played hard and were better than we were today."
-Coach Tedford

That was a pretty good summary from Coach Tedford in regards to Cal's disheartening 21-3 loss to Stanford in the 115th Big Game this past weekend. There are a ton of obvious statements there. And I don't blame Tedford for stating the obvious. This team and this program is what it is, and it was painfully obvious to all those who watched on Saturday.

So in keeping with the current trend, this recap will be filled with a number of obvious statements.

1) First Half: Tale of "Almosts"
Despite the Bears being down 21-3 and being unable to generate anything on offense, I thought the Bears were always "this" close to getting back in the game in the first half.

Brendan Bigelow was a borderline face mask away from returning his kick for a TD.

Keenan Allen was a juke-in-the-other away from returning his punt for a score. Allen had already broken the ankle of the punter but made the split second decision to cut back to the middle of the field instead of turning it left in what would have easily been a TD.

Bigelow was also this close to turning his bubble screen into a TD after spectacularly bouncing off multiple tackles to get down to the 2 yard line. Instead the Bears would have to settle for a FG.

In a game that was as lobsided as it was, my point is that Cal wasn't that far off from making it game in the first half. Not that it really matter because...

2) This was the least organized and least prepared Cal offense I've seen all season.
We'll get into some of the numbers in a little bit, but to say cal's offense was abysmal on Saturday is a kind understatement. But when you have 3 fumbles and 1 interception is not ok. Converting 1-14 on 3rd downs is not ok. Going 0-2 in the red zone, especially when you start out at 1st and goal at the 2 yard line is not ok.

You could certainly tell that the gameplan was to try and get into space, but none of their attempts seemed to do any good. It seemed like every offensive play was out of sorts. On two occasions, Bryce Treggs caught a ball on an out route, but was stopped just short because he seemed to lose awareness of where the first down markers were. Maynard continued to sail passes. Runningbacks making poor reads and being unable to see running lanes. Missed blocking assignments. Questionable and predictable playcalls on third and fourth downs. (Hello 3rd and long draw play that are easily read by seeing that Maynard's feet are actually flat footed for once).

It was an "ok" gameplan that was brought down by poor execution.

3) This Offensive Line Isn't Equipped to Handle Good Defensive Fronts
Notice, I didn't even say elite pass rushes. I simply said good. But Cal's offensive line has been ranged from decent to flat out bad for the good part of about 5 years now. We all hoped that having Coach Michalczik back would return the Bears to offensive line dominance, but it hasn't happened almost two years in, and to put it nicely, I'm having my questions as to whether it will ever happen again under Coach M.

I still think Coach M is about as good as they get in terms of O-line coaches. And I'm not trying to throw dirt on the players as it's clear they're busting they're asses off out there.

But this o-line just can't handle good defensive fronts. They haven't this year, as they allowed 4 sacks on Saturday and a whopping 32 this year (worst in the country). And they're weren't all that great last year in when they followed the same vein of being ok against mediocre defenses, and pretty poor against good defensive lines.

We knew we had a tough year ahead of us with 3 new starters, a solid center, and a guard woefully out of place as a right tackle. The worst part about all this is that there's not much you can do about it. I'm not entirely confident that any of the backups would fare much better at this point. Perhaps Freddie Tagaloa might do a better job than Tyler Rigsbee at LT, and perhaps Galas is ready to replace either Adcock or the other Rigsbee brother at one of the guard spots, but again, I'm not sure it's going to make a world of difference. We're just in for a really rough year at this position group.

4) Run Game Defense Continues to Struggle
The game was lost in the trenches on both sides of the ball, but Cal's defense gave up 252 yards on the ground. I don't care what your offense does, Stanford's going to beat you if they're averaging 5.5 yards per carry.

I can't pinpoint what exactly it is that's led to Cal's run defense falling to such levels this year. Having Brennan Scarlett and Jalen Jefferson may have made a small difference. But that's still a pretty young linebacking corps regardless of who you throw in there.

The defensive line has also struggled to live up to expectations after having been the supposed strength of the Cal defense. Perhaps it's that Deandre Coleman or Villami Moala have yet to breakout, or that Aaron Tipoti has battled injuries and seems out of place at defensive end.

Whatever it is, this Cal defense seems to be a shell of its former self in regards to defending the run.

5) The Streaker Had More Rushing Yards than the Bears
I didn't expect the Bears to gain more than 100 yards on the ground against Stanford. Their defense was too stout. So keep in mind, I had very low expectations heading into this game.

But three rushing yards? Three? That's 3.8 inches per run. INCHES.

It was a massive failure on so many levels. From the massive inability to hold blocks, to the run blocking schemes, to the play calling...just so much fail here. Where were the zone reads? Why have Isi Sofele run into the heart of Stanford's defense on 4th and 1? Why is Brendan Bigelow given just 2 carries up the middle instead of tosses or stretches? It...just doesn't make any sense.

6) Not Sure if There's Anymore Upside to Starting Maynard
Despite this post's theme, I'm not going to give a breakdown of all of Maynard's positives and negatives. We know them like the back of our own hands at this point. An athletic quarterback who can do some good things, but is wildly inconsisted and limited as a pocket passer.

These qualities showed in the fullest as Maynard struggled again with some routine passes and finished the day 19 for 31 214 yards, no TDs and 1 INT. And anyone who watched the game knows he actually didn't play as well as the numbers might suggest. Given how well Maynard played the past few weeks, it's pretty disappointing to see another step back.

Maynard has started the past year or so because he's given the team the best chance to win. And I actually can't dispute that. We know very little about the other QBs and what little we do know hasn't suggested that they're currently substantially better than Maynard.

But with Maynard looking at just four more games in his collegiate career, you have to wonder what the upside is of keeping him as the starter. Is it worth sticking with Maynard in the hopes that the Bears finish with 5 wins instead of 4? Wouldn't the team be better off giving either Allan Bridgford or Austin Hinder an honest look? And I'm not saying this because I think they're better than Maynard at this point, it's because we don't know. It's time to consider building for the future. That Maynard era at Cal is coming to an end, and I'm not sure how much sense it makes to prolong it much further.

But we all know that's not going to happen. It's probably unfair to make Maynard the linchpin given the systematic issues on offense right now. And Tedford knows that switching QBs might be construed as throwing in the towel, so he'll stick with Maynard because he gives the team the best chance to win now.

And just to be clear, do not burn Zach Kline's redshirt. I will begin firing puppies from Tightwad Hill should that happen. Mark my words.

7) No Bowling This Year
The team needed a win badly against Stanford. A loss has essentially closed the door on bowl hopes this year. All it needs is a tiny blow of air to close it shut. With the Bears 3-5, they would need to to go 3-4 with the following schedule: @Utah, Washington, Oregon, @Oregon State. Unless the run of all runs happens, that ain't happening.

8) I'm Still Supporting This Team
Am I in the least bit happy about this season? Not at all. I range from feelings of numbness to devastation. You're talking about someone who expected no less than 8 wins this season. I'm supremely disappointed right now.

But something doesn't sit right with me when I hear about fans giving up on the team or saying that they're done with the Bears. Sure, nearly ever single goal and hope that fans had for the team were cleanly thrown out this window after Saturday. But I don't know, I still love this team, and I'm still going to cheer my heart out for them every week.

Why? I can't articulate it right now. Maybe because I don't know. Or maybe it's because my love and support for this university and program run deeper than to be affected so easily by the results of single seasons. I really am not sure. But I do know that Cal football has given me some amazing moments since I've been a fan, and I'm not ready to throw in the towel because they're having a tough season.

To each their own I suppose.

9) The Tedford Era Seems All About Over
It's pretty difficult for me to type this out because I've been one of the more ardent supporters of Tedford since he first arrived. I will always be forever grateful for what he's done for this university, Cal football, and for me. It's fairly safe to say that a good majority of my love for Cal football can be attributed to what he's done for Cal football.

I think he's one of the few good guys in the sport and still think he's a pretty good coach.

So it's not with any level of joy or levity that I say that the Big Game seemed to mark the end of his time at Cal. For as much as the team needed the win, Coach Tedford may have needed it more. After the team's 1-4 start, it was widely understood by many of the more influential boosters and supporters that his only saving grace would be a Big Game win and a bowl berth. Well, it looks like it'll be a "no" to both of those.

For as much as you want to point to all the good Tedford has done (and he has), you can't objectively look at the program's performance the past few years and feel confident that he's the long term answer.

I'm likely rehashing points that were clear to many people years ago, but again, the theme of this post is redundancy. Since 2008's 9-4 finish, the Bears are 23-23 under Tedford, and just 19-23 if you take out FCS squads. They've struggled to hang with competitive squads, notching just a 5-20 record against FBS teams with winning records. The Bears are looking to miss their second bowl game in four years, having lost the two bowls they did play in. All of these numbers affirm a product on field that can at best be described as mediocre for the past four years.

Put simply, the Bears can't afford to simply to wait around for this team to turn the corner. Fans have waited long enough.

With all that said, I don't think there should be too much talk about Tedford leaving until after the season is done. I see far more negatives than positives in such an endeavor. Let him finish the year, and then sit down and have a conversation about it. Almost everyone can see what's coming, no reason to spend the next four games bashing this issue. Subsequently, this is probably the last you'll read of me talking about this until the season's done.

Moving Forward
Will you believe it, I still think we have a shot at knocking off Utah. Ha! Seriously, I do. But I have absolutely no sense of what this team's mindset is right now.

I don't know what the future holds, though I'm getting a sense that some things are drawing to a close. It's a bit of an unfamiliar territory for me, but as I mentioned before, I'm going to continue to support this team. I guess I'm at a point where I'm looking to see the future developed. I honestly think there's a lot there. With a fresh start I think we honestly have the makings of a 9 or 10 win team. Seriously. We've got a whole lot of talent in the skill positions. The defense is young and taking their lumps, but there's a world of potential there. And you can't overstate how much better offensive linemen get with a season of experience.

I guess I'm just looking for ways to enjoy Cal football this season. I'm not trying to write off this year's team, but given we've seen this season, I'll take what I can get. If that's the development of some young stars, and maybe an upset here or there, then so be it. As always, Go Bears.

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Keys to the Game: Stanford

(It's time.)

It's the 115th version of the Big Game, and with the earlier than usual game date, we've got the makings of an interesting and somewhat unusual matchup. The Bears are riding a two game winning streak (stop snickering, two games is SO a winning streak) while Stanford's coming off one of the more bitter losses in recent history after falling to Notre Dame in overtime.

Make no mistake about it though, it appears both seasons are on the line for both teams. For Stanford, a loss would likely end any hopes at a Pac-12 North championship. It was fairly unlikely anyway (heck they couldn't do it with Andrew Luck), but it'd be cemented after falling to 4-3 on the season.

For the Bears, a loss would put a screeching halt to any sort of momentum they may have had, and would ;ikely end any last hopes of bowl eligibility. It would also only rapidly stoke the flames under Tedford's hot seat that had quieted to burning embers the past few weeks. After winning the axe in 7 of his first 8 years at Cal, Tedford would see his record fall to 0-3 in the last three Big Games.

So yeah, it's kind of a big deal.

And more than anything, the Bears need this win. It wouldn't salvage the season by any means, but it would go a long, long way to making fans feel better about the direction of this program. Having the Axe will do that. And I for one, can't stand the idea of Stanford holding on to the axe for three years in a row. It'd go back to a dark place before Tedford got here and I certainly don't want to revisit that.

In short, a win would be affirm all the good qualities this team has demonstrated going into this game and would exorcise many of the negative ones.

Let's get into a few things to look out for.

Got to Limit the Run
The Bears are going to have implement the same type of defensive gameplan that other teams have used against Stanford: stack the box and dare Josh Nunes to make his plays through the air.

Here's the thing. Stanford can certainly run the ball. They're very patient with their run game and don't get away from it even when it's not ripping off huge chunks of yardage. It so vital to their offensive rhythm, that they simply can't afford to. It sets up their passes to their tight ends and fullbacks.

But the caveat is that neither Stanford's passing or running game is effective if opponents don't respect the pass.

Linebacker Nick Forbes had this interesting quote this past week:
"If you take away a fisherman's pole, he's got to learn to survive another way. That's the mentality you have to have attacking any great offense -- you want to attack their strength and make them one dimensional."

As much as we like to applaud Stanford's dominant power run game the past few years, a lot of that had to do with Andrew Luck's abilities as a game manager and passer. When they don't have that component, like they don't now with Nunes, opposing defenses are able to limit both aspects of their offense. On the season, Josh Nunes is completing just 53.3% of his passes, while averaging just 6.9 yards per pass, with just 8 TDs to 6 interceptions.

Meanwhile, in both losses against Washington and Notre Dame, Stanford's offense was held without an offensive touchdown. The Cardinal's yards per carry average in both those games? 3.2 ypc (2.3 ypc if you factor in Nunes' lost yardage) against Washington and just 3.7 ypc against Notre Dame.

It might an oversimplification, but the lack of Stanford's passing prowess has handicapped Stanford's typically dominant rushing attack.

Compounding Stanford's offensive woes has been their straight-forward and predictable playcalling this year. With the exception of the occasional reverse or throw on first down, you know what they're going to do--Run the ball down your throat and keep Nunes in manageable passing situations. However, Stanford is converting just 34.48% of their third downs, usually because opponents have not only figured out what Stanford is going to do, but actually doing something about it.

In other words: Stanford's offense has been limited this year because other teams have been able to hold their fronts and manage the flow of the game defensively. What's troubling for the Bears is that Stanford's offense matches up well against us. Our defense shines more in its speed and athleticism than it does in its sheer size and physicality. We've had an uncharacteristically bad year defending the run. In particular, HB cutbacks and counters have absolutely killed us, with our defenders either overpursuing backs and not defending their assigned gap, or simply being unable to shed blocks quickly enough to account for the cutback run. USC did this on us time and time again and the Trojans rolled up nearly 300 rushing yards on the Bears.

The Bears going to need at least 3 defensive linemen, though don't be surprised to see the Bears switch to 4-3-4 or even 5-2-4 looks more often on first or second down. The Bears aren't going to be able to completely stop Stanford's rushing attack. But they simply can't afford to let the Cardinal's rushing game average over 4 yards a carry on first and second down. If they can limit the run game and put in on the arm of Nunes, I like our chances.

Get Playmakers in Space
For as much as Stanford's offense may have been exposed this year, Stanford's defense is legit. They're relentless in rushing the passer, are very active in getting to the ball carrier, and their playmakers have shown an ability to play some shutdown ball here and there.

The Bears have their work cut out for them on offense. If there's one thing Arizona showed when they hung up 48 points on the Cardinal is that Stanford can be vulnerable to big plays if they're spread wide and forced to defend playmakers in space.

Fortunately, the Bears have no shortage of playmakers. The question is whether the Bears will be have the time to get the ball to them. The Cardinal plays a whole lot of zone coverage, though they're pretty good at mixing things up. It will be up to Cal's coaching staff and Zach Maynard to find the soft spots in the zones and take what they can in chunks. This isn't a defense that's susceptible to a whole of busted plays, so the Bears are going to need to live by delivering the ball quickly and decisively to their backs and receivers in space and hoping some good downfield blocking will spring their players for some critical plays.

Again, look for the Bears to work the tight ends and slot receivers on quick hitches and outs. I'd expect them to continue to try and spring Keenan Allen free on crossing routes that provide for natural picks. And I'd be shocked if they didn't try to work Brendan Bigelow more on bubble screens and stretch runs. Bigelow might be the wildcard here if he get into space.

Oh, and Watch Out For...
...the use of Stanford's fullbacks on short yardage situations. The Cardinal love to sneak them on short power runs, or get them to run into the flats on play action. Ryan Hewitt killed us last year out in the flats, and they're going to need to be accounted for...

...Oh, and don't forget about those 6'7 tight ends over the middle. They're pretty good.

Outlook
I've been going back and forth in my confidence that the Bears pull the win out. Heading into season, I was confident that the Bears could trump an Andrew Luck-less, one-dimensional Stanford squad at home.

And then 1-4 happened.

I had been without any hope that the Bears could pull the upset, until the Bears began clicking on offense and holding previously dangerous offenses in UCLA and WSU to just 17 points. And Stanford continued to show their flaws with conservative play calling and an offense that has been a far cry from that of years past.

Now I'm torn. I've got my major doubts that the Bears can slow down Stanford's run game. They've struggled in this category all year, and the prospect of Cal's offensive line holding off Stanford's aggressive pass rush doesn't scream out confidence either.

Still, my heart has me pulling for the Bears, and you can bet I'll be there Saturday screaming my head off in hopes that the Blue and Gold will be hoisting the axe by the time the clock hits zero. And this isn't blind optimism--the Cardinal can be had. The only real question is whether the Bears can be the team to do it.

Prediction: Cal 20 Stanford 17

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Pac-12 Week 8 Predictions

I'm 36-18 on the season with us just clearing the midway point. I'm feeling scrappier in my picks as we seem to be getting a better of sense of each team.

There are still plenty of questions though: How will Oregon fare in easily their toughest test of the season? And how legit is ASU, given their competition so far? And who will walk away from the Arizona Washington game on the upswing?

No. 3 Oregon (6-0, 3-0) at Arizona State (5-1, 3-0)
For all non Cal fans, this is the Pac-12 matchup of the week. The Sun Devils are playing about as well as anyone could have hoped, and are flirting with a national ranking. The key here might be ASU's homefield advantage. The Sun Devils are averaging a blistering 48.3 points per game at home and opponents have averaged just 9 points per game against ASU in Tempe. And speaking of Tempe, remember your Thursday nights in college? Imagine moving that party over to Sun Devil stadium and you can expect a pretty raucus atmosphere.

Here's the problem though. Oregon is far different from ASU's previous opponents at home (NAU, Illinois, and Utah). Despite not being talked about so much, I've watched a lot of this Oregon team this year, and I must say, they look about as good as they've ever been. I've seen little from freshman QB Marcus Mariota to suggest he's going to be wide-eyed on the road, and they're going to continue to put up points. Oregon's defense is also sneaky good.

ASU keeps it close until Oregon goes on a blistering scoring spree. The Sun Devils rally back, but it's not enough as Oregon holds on.

Prediction: Oregon 42 Arizona State 31

Colorado (1-5, 1-2) at No. 10 USC (5-1, 3-1)
Someone needs to give Jon Embree a hug. I just cringe every time I see him on the sideline. Maybe Lane Kiffin needs to just hold and console Embree after their game, when the Trojans beat Colorado by 4 scores. "Shhh...it's ok, Paul Richardson will be back next year. And Steve Marshall just needs some guidance, he isn't THAT bad."

The line's at 40 some points for this expected blowout, but the Buffaloes have been showing fight all year, and USC still isn't the type of monster preseason polls made them out to be.

Prediction: USC 45 Colorado 17

Washington (3-3, 1-2) at Arizona (3-3, 0-3)
This is a critical game for both squads. Washington's in the middle of the toughest portion of their schedule, and needs to beat Arizona if they're going to make a rally to reach 8 wins on the season. After talking about taking their program to the next level, Sark needs this win to show they're even capable of beating middle-of-the-pack conference teams.

As for Arizona, their hot start has been dampened by two close losses to both Oregon State and Stanford. They need a win to get their season back on track if they're going to get bowl eligible.

I actually think the Wildcats have the edge here with their being at home. The Huskies' defense has been far more impressive this year, but Arizona's offense will put up some points. And if the Wildcats can keep bringing the pressure on Keith Price, they should hold on for the win in a shootout.

Prediction: Arizona 37 Washington 30

Utah (2-4, 0-3) at No. 8 Oregon State (5-0, 3-0)
It's just about make or break time for the Utes. With a loss Saturday, Utah would need to rip off 4 wins in their last 5 games to become bowl eligible. They couldn't have asked for a worse matchup than facing off against Number 8 Oregon State.

The Beavers showed they're still plenty capable of putting up points with Cody Vaz filling in for an injured Cody Mannion. They put up 42 points against a stout BYU defense on the road. Utah won't give up 42 points but it won't matter against Oregon State's defense. The Utes have scored just 4 offensive touchdowns the last 3 games.

Prediction: Oregon State 31 Utah 13
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Big Game Links

It's an unusually and generally unpreferred time to be having the Big Game so early in the season, but it's here and it's generally time for Cal fans to become rabid fans.

Plain and simple, it's time to get the axe back.

Here are some links to get people going, but keep in mind, it's only Tuesday, so there should be more after today's press conference. With it being the 30th anniversary of the play, I also have some interesting media info after the jump.

• Jeff Faraudo has a story about Richard Rodgers Sr. and his son Richard Rodgers Jr. who had a "Hello World" type of performance against UCLA two weeks ago. Most fans will recall that Rodgers Sr. was respondible for two laterals during "the Play."



• Cal Athletics has a schedule of this week's Big Game events. In place of the Bonfire Rally, Cal will host what's called "the Big Game Rally" at Edwards Stadium on Friday. Single tear about the lack of a 50 foot flame though.



• Stanford looks to rebound after their disappointing loss to the Fighting Irish. It looks like WR Ty Montgomery will mist his second straight game with an undisclosed leg injury. At least we don't have to worry about his brick hands suddenly turning into butterfly nets on us.



• CBS is preparing a piece on the Play. Here's some info they emailed to me:
  Back in 1982, when some of the stations had packed up their camera gear late in the 4th quarter of the Big Game, our CBS 5 photographer was still rolling. He captured the only close-up shot of the entire play, from Stanford's final kick-off to Kevin Moen's mad dash through the Cardinal band into the end zone.
  
  On Thursday, we'll celebrate the anniversary by broadcasting some of this rare footage, which includes the pandemonium that erupted on the field, a triumphant Cal team carrying away The Axe, and the locker room interviews with stunned and elated players.
  
  Dennis O'Donnell's piece "Remembering The Play" airs Thursday, October 18, 2012 in Eyewitness News at 11pm on CBS 5.

And of course, I leave you with the Play.


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Pac-12 Roundup: Week 7

Whew. Was this close to going 6-0. But as I've said over and over again, OSU continues to surprise me. Hip hip hurray!

Two good back to back weeks bring me back up to 36-18. I can live with a 2:1 ratio with my picks. On to the game!

Arizona State 51 Colorado 17
First off, no one can say that the Buffaloes aren't trying out there. That team's playing hard and trying to get what they can, but they simply don't have the personnel right now to be consistently competitive in the Pac-12. CU kept it close with an inspired performance in the first half, down just 17-20. It was almost as if the Sun Devils had to remind themselves at halftime that their upcoming game against Oregon wouldn't mean much if they didn't show up with a 5-1 record.

But it was all ASU in the second half. The Sun Devils scored 34 straight points while playing shutout ball on defense. ASU has done just about everything most fans could have hoped for and more, but all eyes are on their big test next weekend against Oregon. This could very well be a preview of the Pac-12 Championship game, but we're going to learn a lot more about who the Sun Devils really are in the next month. ASU's next four games? Oregon, UCLA, Oregon State, and USC. If they go 3-1, you could be looking at the Pac-12 South Champs. I could just as easily see the Sun Devils go 1-3 however. Let's see how next weekend goes.

UCLA 21 Utah 14
UCLA rebounded from a disappointing loss to UCLA, but it probably wasn't the type of explosive performance that would have reinstilled excitement in this team. Speaking of which, that Rose Bowl looked absolutely empty throughout the game. Talk about some fairweather fans. Those who did stick around though, saw an efficient game on both sides of the ball from the Bruins, who improve to 5-2 before going into their bye.

Utah started true freshman Travis Wilson at quarterback in the hopes of finding answers on offense. The result was just one offensive touchdown late in the game to bring the game to within a TD. Utah's lacking any real big play potential right now, and they've shown an inability to overcome small mistakes to string together successful drives.

The Utes fall to 2-4 on the season, and 0-3 in the Pac-12. Their defense is going to keep them in nearly every game moving forward, but until that offense gets things going, the Utes have a tough road getting bowl eligible this season. Stanford 13 Notre Dame 20
Wow, let's start with wildest finish. Notre Dame held Stanford on a 4th down goal line stand. While Stepfan Taylor was ruled as being stopped short of the endzone, he kept his legs moving and made an effort to sneak the ball in on a second effort. Boy I've got to say, it sure looked like he might have gotten the ball across, but none of the replays were conclusive enough to overturn the call, and the Fighting Irish snuck away with the win.

It goes to show you that football really is a game of inches. As for the rest of the game, it was either a case of bad offenses or really tough defenses. I'd wager a bit of both. The rough weather prevented either offense from ripping off big plays, while both defenses looked about as good as advertised.

In the end, it's got to be a bitter pill for a Stanford team that showed about as much toughness on defense as I've seen in a while, only to fall short. It'll be really interesting to see how the team responds as they head into the Big Game. I'm still think the Cardinal finish 8-4.

Oregon State 42 BYU 24
The game wasn't nearly as close as the score might indicate. OSU took a slim 28-24 4th quarter lead, before blowing it open in the closing minutes with a TD on an end-around and another Jordan Poyer pick six. How many does the guy have on the year?

I've got to say, the Beavers just continue to surprise me. I really thought that OSU didn't have enough in the tank without a healthy Sean Mannion to go into Provo and battle a really tough BYU squad. However, a Mannionless offense was still better than BYU's starting offense, and the Beavers made plays when it counted the most.

With Cody Vaz filling in nicely for an injured Sean Mannion, the Beavers are easily the other team to watch in the North other than the "other" Oregon team. OSU's undefeated and looking to be ranked inside the Top 10 for the first time in years. Whew boy.

USC 24 Washington 14
Despite the Trojans beating the Huskies by two scores, the game wasn't decided until late in the game. The deciding play might have come midway through the fourth quarter, when a scrambling Keith Price had the ball stripped on a scramble. In fact turnovers were the real kicker in doing the Huskies in, with each critical drive late in the game seemingly being undone by some type of turnover.

The Trojans have yet to take it up to the next level as I predicted they would by now, and seem to be doing enough just to get by. Still, they're likely to be back in the Top 10, and aren't completely out of the national title picture just yet.

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Washington State Recap

("You've lost your inner pirate.")

It wasn't the prettiest win, nor did it come close to matching the type of explosive performance last week, but the Bears went out to Pullman and had a workmanlike performance to put Mike Leach's Cougars away 31-17.

I understand some fans may not be impressed with the Bears having beaten a 2-4 team by just 14 points. While the performance was far from perfect, I do think there's something to be said about coming out on the road and play mostly efficient football. The Bears never surrendered their early lead, going up by as much as 21-3 in the 3rd quarter.

Again, there were some issues the Bears will have to clean up, but I've always said that one shouldn't discount the difficulty of playing focused ball on the road. We've seen the Bears falter far too often against tricky offenses on the road after big wins, so it was nice to see the Bears go on the road and take care of business.

Let's break down the game.

Defense Does Fine
All things considered, I think the Bears did an ok job on defense. Hardly an A performance, but given all the ways this game could have gone for poorly for the Bears, I thought they did a good job of disrupting Washington State's spread offense and making critical stops throughout the game.

Cal's secondary had far better luck against Connor Halliday early on, keeping him to 4 of 10 passing for 64 yards and two interceptions. Halliday lasted all but 10 minutes before being yanked for the veteran Jeff Tuel who had a far more effective day.

Jeff Tuel threw a whopping 53 times for 320 yards and 2 TDs. It might seem like an eye-rolling number at first glance, but you have to take WSU's offense into account. This offense put up 410 passing yards against Oregon's pretty good secondary. It wasn't a shutdown performance by any means, but given that the Bears's defense played with a lead for most of the game, they did a decent job holding the Cougars to 6.1 yards per attempt. That's pretty solid.

I would say the most troubling aspect of the defense's play on Saturday was their tackling. There were far too many moments where it looked like Cal's defenders were going for the knockout hit instead of wrapping up for the tackle. Sure, it provided some key moments like Sebastian knocking both Marquess Wilson and Teondray Caldwell out of the game. But it also led to some Cougar receivers gaining extra yardage. That simply can't happen and needs to be addressed this week.

Steve Williams Shines
Steve Williams has quietly had a very strong season so far this year. But on Saturday, Williams played like a man possessed with 6 tackles, 4 pass breakups and an interception. He was only beated on two passes, a long ball to Wilson in which he was actually in decent position and a stop route.

That's incredibly impressive given how often he was targeted, and he made play after play. It's the closest thing to shutdown corner play we've seen from a DB since Syd'Quan Thompson played put on the blue and gold.

Williams was easily the Bears' best cover corner this year, but with his improved tackling, he's developing into a really, really solid corner. With another year, he could be a potentially high draft pick. His career has been fun to follow.

Run Game Rumbles
The Bears continued their trend of running all over the Cougars by hitting a season high 318 yards on the ground. Not only was it the offensive line's best run blocking performance this season, but it was the best distribution of carries for the Bears' crowded backfield.

Check out these numbers:

C.J. Anderson: 15 carries for 112 yards (7.5 ypc) and 2 TDs
Zach Maynard: 10 carries for 78 yards (7.8 ypc) and 1 TD
Isi Sofele: 14 carries for 63 yards (4.5 ypc)
Brendan Bigelow: 8 carries for 59 yards (7.4 ypc)
Eric Stevens: 2 carries for 7 yards (3.5 ypc)

That's a pretty balanced workload, and just the right number for each back in my opinion. I'm not understanding those who think Brendan Bigelow needs to start getting more carries than CJA or Sofele. He isn't nearly as well-rounded of a back as the two seniors, but he's enough of a playmaker that 8-10 touches seems just about right. The Bears need to continue to get him quick screen passes and stretch plays that allow him to beat defenders to the edge and get out in quick space.

CJA appears to be the clear starter right now, with back to back strong weeks. He's averaged over 7 yards per carry in both games. It is important to note though that RB Coach Ron Gould usually does a nice job of distributing the carries depending on the opposing defense. So I'd expect that either Sofele or CJA getting a few more carries depending depending on what the opposing team's front looks like.

Finally, it was nice to see Maynard more involved in the run game. I'm not sure that there were more designed runs or zone reads this week, it seemed that Maynard just did a much better job reading defenses and knowing where his running lanes were going to be. His being able to know if linebackers are dropping or settling underneath also allowed him to scramble forward to pick up first downs on the ground. It's the most effective rushing performance we've seen from him so far.

Maynard Not Brilliant, But Effective
Coming off his best performance of his career last week, Maynard's stat line doesn't look nearly as impressive: 14 of 23 passing (60.9%) for 189 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs.

First off, neither of Maynard's seemed to be 100% on him. His first pass to Darius Powe was slightly wide, but off the fingertips of Powe which allowed it to get picked off. On his second interception, it looked like the WSU defender got to Keenan Allen either right before or just as the pass was getting there which didn't let Allen get both hands on the bubble screen. Again, not the most accurate throw, but that wasn't all on Maynard.

Most importantly, a noticeable difference between Maynard this year and last year's Maynard is that he's shaking off early interceptions and mistakes, and not letting it rattle him into forcing too many plays throughout the rest of the game. And though Maynard has 7 interceptions on the season, the majority of the picks aren't nearly the type of "bad picks" or forced throws we saw from him last year.

The coaching staff and Maynard seem to have settled on the right formula for Maynard. If he continues to play within himself, and get decent protection in the pocket, then he can continue to have a fairly efficient year. What's most frustrating is the question of what took so long for the Bears to get on track offensively.

Offensive Line's Best Game of the Season
The fact that the announcers rarely called the name of WSU's DE/OLB Travis Long is enough credit in itself. Even so, the Bears' offensive line played easily their best game of the season. While the aforementioned rushing numbers are nice, the more encouraging number was the 0 sacks surrendered on the day. For all of WSU's woes, they were no slouch in the pass rush department, having entered the game with 19 sacks on the season. So credit is certainly due when the big uglies play well.

With that said, no one should think we're out of the woods just yet. Cal's offensive line still has their issues, and you don't go from surrendering 6-7 sacks a game for the first half of the season to thinking it'll be smooth sailing for the rest of the season.

However, there is something to be said about having Matt Summers-Gavin back and healthy in the lineup. With 3 new starters on the offensive line, and one playing a whole new position, a lot can be gained from letting your players take their lumps and the often excruciating process of developing some cohesion. Here's hoping that this game marks more of a turning point rather than a temporary blip on the radar.

Questionable WR Targets
There's some griping out there about Maynard targeting Keenan Allen for the vast majority of the game, and not giving the other receivers any real attention.

Allen caught 11 balls for 166 yards and a TD, with Chris Harper's late catch being the only other ball hauled in by a receiver.

Look, I can understand the desire to spread the ball out, but that's not how football works. You don't go into a play thinking "I'm going to throw to X or Y receiver because they haven't gotten the ball yet." You take what the defense gives you. Allen is going to the primary read (justifiably so) on most passing plays. And WSU's secondary made the huge mistake of playing off of Allen, and the Bears made them pay.

If Harper and Treggs were the primary reads and were consistently open, then I'd have a major issue with Maynard targeting Allen and forcing throws. But that wasn't the case. Plain and simple, Allen was getting open, and he was ripping up monster yardage. Not getting the real criticism here.

Penalties Brutally Bad
I usually throw this point out about once a year, which is ridiculously low given how terrible the Pac-12's refs are. But I try not to let myself get caught up with poor officiating.

In fairness, I thought the replay booth actually got most of the calls correct. And the Bears had some deserved holding and roughing the pass penalties.

But some of last night's calls were horrendous. Particularly the pass interference calls. It seemed the officials had the worst understanding of pass interference. A defender is allowed to have some contact. They're even allowed to have a hand on the back of the receiver. They just can't do anything to turn the receiver around or inhibit their ability to get the ball. And that simply wasn't the case with the majority of those pass interference calls. Just terribly, ticky tack calls.

That's the extent of my "the officials were awful" rant. I'm just upset given that both of WSU's TD drives were the result of such bogus calls. At this point, the officiating in our conference is simply embarrassing.

Moving Forward
You'll often hear coaches say that you don't ever want your team's highs to get too high, or their lows get too low. I think the same can be said with their fanbase.

Saturday's game wasn't close to being a perfect game, but it was encouraging to see the Bears come out in a focused, efficient effort on the road. I'm not trying to overstate the value of the game, but it's an effort we haven't seen too often from Cal teams when playing on the road.

It's the type of game that should provide the team with the right type of mindset going into the Big Game. A blowout might have over-inflated the Bears' confidence, yet they won with a comfortable enough margin that the win affirmed their ability to execute when playing focused ball. At the same time, the Bears still left enough plays on the field to keep them grounded and worry only about getting better.

And now seems like about as good of a time as any to say: it's Big Game week. Let's support our team and let's get the freaking axe back.

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Cal vs. WSU Live Thread

Follow me on Twitter as I'll be posting some thoughts throughout the Cal/WSU game. You can find it here.

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Keys to the Game: Washington State

("Are you a pirate or a zombie? What's it going to be?")

There are a lot of numbers you can throw around to make one think the Bears are just going to jog into Pullman and roll over the Cougars. Oh, you could point to the fact that the Bears have beaten the Cougars seven straight times. Or perhaps you're yawning at a WSU offense that has failed to score touchdowns in two games this season and is ranked 100th nationally in scoring offense (at just 21.8 points per game).

And if you're not a numbers kind of guy, maybe you're just thinking, "C'mon, these guys' only wins are against Eastern Washington and UNLV! And they lost to Colorado!" COLORADO, PEOPLE.

AND their head coach is calling his team zombies!

Well stop it. Just stop it. If this season, no heck, if being a Cal fan has taught us anything, it's that we can't take any team lightly. The Bears have historically won big games only to face plant against a "lesser team" the following week.

And never, EVER discount the difficulty of playing on the road.

Here are a few quick keys to the game.

Discipline in Coverage

While the Bears face their third straight spread offense, it'd be a mistake to think that Mike Leach's famed air raid attack is much like what Cal's defense has seen the past few weeks. WSU's offense operates out of the shotgun, and is designed to spread defenses out with multiple wide receiver sets. The offense is balanced to throw 70% of the time (typically), with quick, short yard passes designed to operate much like runs on first and second down. Success in this category ultimately leads to increasingly open passing windows down field and the occasional run play up the middle.

The offense was wildly successful and Texas Tech, but hasn't seen nearly the level of success up in Pullman just yet.

While the Cougs' passing attack ranks 15th nationally, they rank 97th in total offense, and 100th in scoring offense. They have virtually no running game to speak of, managing 41 yards on the ground. And you know Leach would be fine with his rushing numbers if Wazzu could just score some points.

Still, it's a dangerous offense, and Cal fans know all too well the challenges and horrors of facing pass happy offenses.

Successfully defending this offense depends a whole lot on good discipline, having the secondary know their "fits" or where to fit in on coverage (either inside or outside the receiver), and not trying to get too cute and overly aggressive in creating pressure on the quarterback.

WSU's offense isn't designed to have the QB spend too much time in the pocket. Thus, it's not always effective to send extra men on the blitz because it'll only create more opportunities for open receivers in the open field. In fact, Oregon State often only sent 3 or 4 defenders at Wazzu, and often got pressure simply plugging their gaps and pushing the pocket.

With the Bears likely seeing 5 in the secondary, there's a good chance you'll a lot of 4-2-5 packages on defense. I fully expect Clancy Pendergast to dial up some pressure, but it'll likely be in some disguised blitzes, as well as some disguised pressure by the defensive line in some slants and stunts. The rest of the focus will be on shutting down throwing windows, and trying to blanket WSU's defenders.

Either QB (Connor Halliday or Jeff Tuel) can be pressured into mistakes, having thrown up a combined 12 interceptions this season, and the majority have come on forced throws. The Bears are going to have to rely on good disciplined coverage on defense to force indecision and mistakes from WSU's QBs. Too much cushion on any of WSU's receivers is going to lead to Leach's pirate crew slowly picking the Bears apart. That sounds nasty, no?

Break the Red Zone Blues
WSU's defense is much improved after having been the achilles heel of a team that could put up points in the past.

They're an aggressive, attacking defense that does a nice job of getting after the QB and swarming to the ball. They've been pretty decent in most statistical categories, but have really struggled in big plays and third down conversions.

Really, there's nothing that jumps out to me as being an obvious deficiency, so it looks like the Bears are just going to have to go out there and play focused ball on offense. Imagine that!

If there's one particular area I'd consider people to look out for, is the Bears' play inside the red zone. Cal's infamously struggled in this category this season, and it's no shocker that when the Bears scored on TDs on 3 of their 5 red zone visits last week, the offense looked flat out explosive.

WSU's defense has given up a putrid 454 yards per game this season, but they've actually buckled down pretty well in the redzone, allowing opponents to score TDs on just 48% of their attempts. The Bears are going to have avoid penalties and missed assignments, especially when they get inside their 20. If they can do that, I'm cautiously optimistic they can outscore the Cougars.


Outlook
I was pretty scared about this game at the beginning of the season. Heck by mid-September, I had chalked this game up as a loss.

With that said, I'm feeling that Tedford will have his team ready to play. I can't really explain why, but you have to think this coaching staff knows what's at stake this season, and that despite a big win over UCLA, it doesn't change the fact that this team and regime is still under major scrutiny. All it takes is a faceplant against WSU to get them back to where they were after ASU. I don't think any coach is sitting back on their laurels.

As for the team's mentality, all it takes is one look at this video to know how this team feels after getting a taste of victory.



This is still a fairly young team. It's tough for a young team to have as difficult of a stretch that the Bears had in September. But I can tell ya: winning is addictive. And once you get a taste of a big win, you want more, and depending on your coaches and mental makeup, that can either fuel you to replicate that focus or you can get comfortable and complacent.

There is nothing from Cal's track record or from what I've seen from the coaches to think they're in any position to get comfortable. And I don't think they will. The Bears are more talented than WSU right now, and if they show up to play, they should handle a tricky contest against the Cougs.

Cal 30 WSU 24

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Pac-12 Preview Week 7

(Manti Te'o might be the best defensive player in college football and is looking to make life miserable for Stanford's Josh Nunes Saturday).

Holy crap, can you believe it's already Week 7? The college football season is already more than halfway done! Dahhhhhh!!!

While the Bears hit the road for a night game to Pullman, I put my 31-17 record to the test with this week's games. I had a much better 4-1 week last week, but am looking for perfection. This could be difficult with some pretty difficult to predict matchups. Which Stanford will show up against Notre Dame? What will OSU's offense look like without Sean Mannion? Will UCLA get back to its winning ways after embarrasing themselves against Cal?

Arizona State (4-1, 2-0) at Colorado (1-4, 1-1)
The Sun Devils haven't been nearly as sharp on the road as they have been at home, and never, I mean never, discount the difficulty of winning on the road. With that said, ASU's aggressive defense is going to cause all sorts of issues for the Buffs. Put simply, I'm wondering how a CU defense that's giving up 39.4 points a game will handle an ASU offense that's averaging 38.4 ppg. Actually, I guess that means ASU will score 38.9 points. Well that was easy.

Prediction: Arizona State 38 Colorado 17

Utah (2-3, 0-2) at UCLA (4-2, 1-2)
I'm thinking UCLA bounces back in a strong showing at home. While the Bears played out of their minds against UCLA, they shot themselves in the foot time and time again with 6 turnovers and 9 penalties. I don't think they play nearly as sloppy at home. Utah's defense should do a decent job against Jonathan Franklin, but their defense will struggle against UCLA's spread attack on their passes and tosses out to their backs and fly sweepers. Utah's offense has still yet to find an answer or any type of rhythm, which will be tough against UCLA's aggressive front seven.

Prediction: UCLA 35 Utah 20

No. 10 Oregon State (4-0, 3-0) at BYU (4-2)
A week ago I would have predicted the Beavers to improve to 5-0 without really thinking twice. I still have no idea what this offense will be like though without Sean Mannion. He's the biggest reason this offense has complemented the Beavers' stout defense. Also, throw on the fact that it's on the road at Provo, where BYU's defense hasn't allowed an opponent to go over 13 points and we could very well be looking at an upset here.

Prediction: BYU 20 Oregon State 17

No. 17 Stanford (4-1, 2-1) at No. 7 Notre Dame (5-0)
For as good as Notre Dame has looked so far, I'm not quite as impressed by their record of knocking off some Big 10 teams and a Miami team that's in disarray. With that said, Notre Dame's offensive line is pounding opponents into the ground, and their defense is doing some special things as well(not having allowed a TD in their last three games). Then you have the questions with Stanford: how will their defense rebound after having surrendered over 600 yards and 48 points to Arizona? Also, which Josh Nunes QB will show up? The one that made critical plays against the Wildcats or the one that sucked it up against the Huskies?

I've been going back and forth here, but ultimately, I have to think that Notre Dame's defense gives them the edge here. The Cardinal haven't played consistently enough on offense either to make me think they can get it done on the road. Notre Dame pulls off a close one.

Prediction: Notre Dame 24 Stanford 20

No. 11 USC (4-1, 2-1) at Washington (3-2, 1-1)
The fact that this game is in Seattle has to be encouraging for the Huskies who have played far better in state. With that said, I think this is right about the time USC starts turning it up and begins wearing down opponents with big play after big play, and some physical defense. Keith Price will have his moments, but will be hardpressed to push around a USC defense that is quietly playing very well.

Prediction: USC 31 Washington 21

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Cal vs. UCLA Highlight Videos

No negative nanciness over here. The Bears posted just their second win of the season, but it was awesome enough that we're likely basking in all its glory over and over again.

First, I start you off with an awesome vid of Cal's team locker room celebration. It's likely to put a smile on any Cal fan's face. It reminds you that for as much as we enjoy these wins, they're likely that much sweeter for the players and coaches who have invested more in this program than most.



Haha, the funniest part has to be Coach Tedford at the beginning of the video seemingly spotting the other players. "Easy guys...easy..."

Next, here's Cal Athletic's Post Game Highlights (brought to you by Bank of the West as evidenced by the annoying logo in the corner of the video).



After watching the video, I realized Kam Jackson could have gotten flagged for throwing the ball after his first pick. He was right in front of the ref too.

Also from Cal Athletics, you get their short post game report.



Oh what a bonanza!

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Pac-12 Roundup Week 6

Went 4-1 last weekend, and would have been a perfect 5-0 if the Bruins had just beaten Cal like I predicted-er...ahem. Go Bears.

I'll take improving to 31-17 on the season.

Washington 21 Oregon 52
Nothing to see here. Oregon continued their annual ass whupping of the Huskies. The Ducks were up 21-0 in the first quarter and they never looked up.

Fine, I'll say a few more words. One of the biggest surprises of the season has been Keith Price's season. The offensive line's deficiencies has led to Keith Price being completely handicapped, and it showed in his 19/31 passing night for just 145 yards, no TDs and 2 INTs. Price currently ranks last in the conference in terms of QB rating and isn't much better in his ypg.

The Huskies have have been brought promptly back down to earth as most expected they would. Things don't get much easier with the Trojans coming to town.

Washington State 6 Oregon State 19
There's good news and bad news for both teams. Who wants to go first? Umm...let's go with...

...The Beavers! OSU has already topped their win total from last year and is 4-0 for the first time in 10 years. Their defense also continued their strong play as they held WSU to just 6 points, with Jordan Poyer's three interceptions paving the way. The bad news for the Beavers is that Sean Mannion just is scheduled to have knee injury and is out for the foreseeable future. That's tough news as Mannion is the biggest reason why the Beavers are showing their best offensive output in years.

As for the Cougars, there isn't much good news, but here's what I can say: WSU's playing their best defense in years. They held the Beavers to just 370 yards, limited OSU's running game to just 2.5 yards a carry, and picked off Sean Mannion 3 times.

That's about as good as it gets, as the Cougars fell to 2-4 on the season. They also seem to have a QB controversy on their hands, though neither did much good on Saturday. Both combined for just 207 yards and 4 interceptions with no TDs. That's got to be maddening for Mike Leach, especially when he's essentially abandoned the run game in hopes of some effective gains through the air.

USC 38 Utah 28
At first glance it looks like Utah really pushed USC to the edge. But anyone who watched the game knows it was two early USC turnovers that really padded the score for the Utes who were simply outplayed for the following three quarters. USC overcame a 14-0 deficit and and simply blew past the Utes with their speed and talent. For as well as Utah's defense is playing, they simply don't have the speed in the secondary and perimeter to keep up with USC's playmakers with Trojan wide receiver Marqise Lee putting up a ridiculous 192 receiving yards. What was most evident though was Utah's offense, which has stagnated to the point that they rank dead last in the Pac-12 in total offense.

Arizona 48 Stanford 54
This was far from the type of game that I had expected headed into this one. We all knew the Wildcats could put up points, but I fully expected Stanford's defense to limit Arizona in the red zone while Stanford's offense would wear down Arizona's shaky defense. Well, Arizona's speed in space proved to be troublesome for the Cardinal, while Stanford's offense showed its best balance all season.

Ultimately, Stanford moved the chains when it counted, scoring TDs on its last two drives in regulation while Stanford's defense scored its critical 3 and out. Rich Rod also made what I thought was a hugely questionable call by not going for the win with 40+ seconds and two timeouts left in regulation. That's a call that would have gotten most other coaches in the conference torn up by critics.

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