Oregon Recap

Forgive me for the late post, but I wasn't exactly running home to post after the game. I also celebrated a birthday Saturday night, so the second half of the game really is a bit of a blur. I just remember looking up and the score had gone from 24-17 to 59-17 in what seemed like a heartbeat.

The Bears were never close to being in command of the game, but they certainly were competitive for a good two and half quarters. Ultimately, the penalties and turnovers again caused the Bears to unravel, and gave way to letting Oregon do what it does best: capitalize on opponent's mistakes and score points. Lots and lots of points.

I said before, we are far past the point of moral victories. There are few to be had in a 3-8 season. And few from the worst Cal loss in 11 years. However, there are a few points worth mentioning and a few items to be encouraged by.

Cal's Defense Holds...For Awhile It's no secret that Cal's defense is a far cry from where it's been since Clancy Pendergast took over as defensive coordinator. And people who simply checked the box score on Sunday morning aren't likely to give the Bears their due credit. For the first the first two and half quarters of the game, the Cal's defense gave Oregon all sorts of fits.

And that run defense? It wasn't just good, it was great. Really, probably the best run defense the Bears have shown all year. They filled their gaps, showed all sorts of disruption in the trenches, and exhibited some of their best tackling of the year. You just didn't see any of the back bust out for big yards. On the day, they limited Kenjon Barner to 65 yards on 20 carries (3.3 ypc) and DeAnthony Thomas to just 13 yards on 5 carries (2.6 ypc). That's fantastic given what those two had done all year and especially against USC the week before.

But when you load up on the run, you leave yourself quite susceptible to the pass, and the Bears were torched for 395 passing yards and 7 TDs on the day. It could be more of a testament to Oregon's offensive balance this year, as they can find multiple ways to beat you. But the Bears did themselves no favors with some pretty poor coverage in giving up some huge passing plays. Safety Michael Lowe had a rough outing, being late in getting to his zone and some times being flat out beaten in man coverage. But Cal's secondary as a whole found themselves on the losing end of a number of big throws for scores.

Interested to see what this defense can do with a competent offense
Like, really interested. Despite giving up the big plays, Cal's defense had done what it needed to do to put the Bears in a position to make this a far more competitive game in the early going. And when Cal's offense did its job, the defense seemed to hold steady. But the game turned after Allan Bridgford's first interception, and Oregon promptly scored quickly on the subsequent drive. That whole sequence seemed to encapsulate the game in a nutshell. When the Bears' shot themselves in the foot with turnovers, penalties (and ultimately stalled drives), their defense simply ran out of gas.

And it's been this way all year. It's no coincidence that some of Cal's defensive struggles are due to the Bears' inability to score or even sustain drives. Consider these stats:

Time of Possession: 27:41 a game (108th nationally)
3rd down conversions: 34% (105th nationally)
Red Zone TD Conversions: 44.4 % (118th nationally)
Turnovers Lost: 26 (115th nationally)

Those stats have all the makings of a Cal offense that not only struggles to sustain drives consistently, but finds way to beat itself in scoring situations due to penalties and turnovers.

We've seen flashes of a very good defense this year. The statistics might tell us otherwise, but there's a lot of promise there. But they're far from being complete, and they're not good enough (yet) to overcome Cal's offensive inefficiencies.

Bridgford was OK, for a bit
I mentioned last week that I was really curious to see what Bridgford could do with a week's worth of starting reps. We all knew he had a very tough task going against Oregon's underrated defense, but I wanted to see what type of poise, ability, and command of offense he'd show.

Overall, I though Bridgford handled himself ok. He never really appeared wide-eyed or flustered, though I suppose I'd be far more concerned if he did exhibit those qualities as a player in his 4th year in the program.

He clearly had a better first half, when he went 7 for 12 for 87 yards and a TD. It was refreshing to see him go through his reads, and he actually showed pretty good pocket presence and did his line some favors by stepping up into the pocket instead of bouncing it outside into the arms of awaiting defenders.

The second half was a different story however, and Bridgford would manage to go just 2 for 9 passing for 26 yards and 2 interceptions. It appeared to be more of an issue of a quarterback trying to do too much and force passes that weren't there. It happens to a lot of quarterbacks making their first real start, especially when they're playing down. It was just troubling to see such a stark contrast in halves.

I'm not ready to dismiss Bridgford yet. I've seen nothing to indicate that he's the long term answer for the Bears, but I've seen enough to think that he might be a capable quarterback with more reps and less of a mentalitity, "I've got to make it happen right now." I have a feeling that ultimately, his long release, and lack of zip on his passes will keep him from being the starter next season and a starting collegiate QB (there were some passes that should have been completed had it not been for his passes that took a second longer to get to their intended receivers). But again, I kind of want to see how next week goes before making that final assessment.

Offensive Line plays its best and worst game of the season
There was a bit to like from Cal's offensive line. They manhandled Oregon's injury-plagued defensive line and paved the way for 236 yards on the ground. That's a pretty respectable 5.9 ypc.

They also allowed just 1 sack which is monumentally better than what we've seen all year.

That was good. What wasn't good was the absolute lack of discipline. The Bears were flagged 7 times for 89 yards, and the majority of those were on the offensive line. Illegal hands to the face, holding, and a really weird tripping call. My friend even pointed out that Jordan Rigsbee should have been called for an ineligible receiver penalty on the screen play to CJ Anderson, as he broke off downfield well before Bridgfird tucked it to run.

It's just a flat out lack of discipline, and it's so bizarre to see game after game under Coach M. I hate to say it, but for as much as we pile on the playcalling and quarterback play, our offensive line has not played well as a whole this year.

Special Teams
Is it just me or is our special teams starting to become the nightmare we thought it might become? I mean I know punting has obviously taken a step down, but I thought D'Amato has done well since the debacle of the OSU performance.

But man, our coverage teams continue to play pretty poorly.

We currently are ranked 100th in the nation in opponent punt returns, 122nd in opponent kickoff returns, and 85th in punting. We're not much better in the other special teams categories.

The Bears again surrendered a 60 yard kickoff return, putting the Ducks in prime field position. It was lost in the multitude of points the Ducks scored, but coverage has gotten increasingly worse.

Moving Forward
I freaking love college football. I'm pretty sure I'm obsessed with Cal football.

But it's about time this brutal season comes to an end.

Like I said last week, here's hoping the Bears keep building to the future, because Cal fans, there are some nuggets of gold lost in the murk of this season. There's reason to think we can be a whole lot better.

Let's hope some of them appear in the season finale.