Ohio State Recap

(Goff Rolls, the Bears Stumble)

When you’re dealing with a young team and a brand new coaching staff, it’s hard to tell what you’ll get exactly when facing off against highly ranked teams like the Buckeyes. Sure, we knew the game was likely to get ugly but you still held out hope that things could get interesting.

The game started off with about as bad of a start as I’ve ever seen from Cal. I mean nightmarishly bad. And unlike previous weeks, it was a poor start from both the offense and the defense. Not only did the Bears give up scores on their first three drives, but the offense started off with a 3 and out, a high snap which led to a punt, and a fumble.

The Bears responded well enough in the first half, outscoring the Buckeyes 20-10 to bring themselves within 11 points by the end of the first half. And for a while, the game absolutely was interesting. In the midst of the cringe-inducing big plays and drives were moments of pure entertainment and some grit from the young Bears squad.

Still, the Bears fell apart in a critical third quarter, where Cal’s defense again gave up 21 points, while Cal’s offense was held to just 12 plays and 7 points in the 3rd quarter.

I suppose, in a lot of ways, the game shook out almost exactly the way most people thought it would. Cal’s defense showed it couldn’t stop a nosebleed, the offense, while being more competent, still struggled in a key moments of the game and failed to keep pace with the Buckeyes’ offense.

It’s the type of game that tells you a whole lot while leaving you with even more questions all at the same type.

Let’s get down to the key points.

Defense Scrambling for Answers
Like Sonny Dykes said, at this point, the defense is what it is: pretty awful. They know it, we know it, and opposing teams know it. The defense is just an amalgamation of the worst possible circumstances right now. We’re without some key starters, our young players are learning on the (painful) go, our star players are disappointing, and we’re showing very little creativity or aggressiveness in terms of our defensive schemes.

I don’t know what’s more alarming: the big plays, or the propensity for our defense to get absolutely rolled on long drives. Either way, the Buckeyes had their way with our defense tonight.

The Buckeyes scored on 8 of their 13 drives, with 7 of those going for touchdowns. Six of their eight drives consisted of less than 10 plays, and honestly, the only reason the last few were extended drives were because the Buckeyes wanted to simply grind down the clock.

So what’re going to do? I don’t know about you, but it’s hard to see too much light at the end of the tunnel. The bright side is that it’s hard to imagine things getting that much worse. But here’s I want all Cal fans to remember: so much of this season is going to be about progress. I really liked the way some of our young players like Cameron Walker and Joel Willis did filling in at the safety and CB positions respectively. We got decent pressure on the two or three times we actually dialed up a blitz. Some of our players are going to have to get healthy at some point.

Am I grasping for straws? Probably. But I’m running out of beer, so I have to find other ways to cope.

Jared Goff Keeps Rolling
Let me start off with this: the more this kid plays the more I like his game. His play would be sharp for any collegiate quarterback, but what we’re seeing from a true freshman is really impressive. Honestly, he simply isn’t playing like one. Goff was 31 for 53 for 372 yards, 3 TDs and an INT.

But he’s got a quick release, he makes those 18 yard outs look effortless, and I love that he’s showing off his athleticism and mobility a bit more. He shows real mature poise and an ability to bounce back from bad plays.

Of course I still counted a few throws that were grimace inducing. He still needs to develop some more consistency on his deep passes. There were also at least 3 drops on would-be interceptions from Buckeye defenders.

But overall, what Goff is doing in his earlier career is nothing short of spectacular. He’s the first Cal QB to throw for 300+ yards in three games since Aaron Rodgers back in 2003. Rodgers did that in his last three games this season. Goff is doing is doing it as a true freshman. And honestly, he was less than 30 yards from making it three 400 yard games in a row. Just chew on that.

Boehmcat Package
Credit goes to CGB for coming up with that term, as it fits perfectly. I was pumped to see Kyle Boehm come in on a few snaps to run the wildcat. During the Northwestern game, my brother remarked that Boehm was the most active player on a sideline that he had ever seen. Seriously, the guy was continued running sprints, high knees, throwing balls, you name it.

And you know what? The Wildcat looked pretty good. I honestly thought they should have kept it going, as the drive stalled as soon as they pulled him out.

I’m thinking we haven’t seen the last of him. Not by a long shot. And remember this: he’s a quarterback, so he can actually throw.

Lack of Running Game Killing the Bears
You knew the Bears had their toughest assignment yet against a talented OSU front seven, but I’ve been supremely disappointed with the lack of a rushing attack right now by the Bears.

I’m starting to think that Brendan Bigelow simply isn’t ready to be a primary back right now. Not only has he struggled to find holes in between the tackles, but he’s been up tripped more by his shoelaces more than any college runningback I’ve seen. Muhammad has been very solid for a true freshman, but he still hasn’t been able to make up for our deficiencies in out other areas.

Daniel Lasco easily looked like the best back yesterday, and though he still runs a bit upright, he might be Cal’s best hope in developing any type of inside running game. He did the best job of all the backs in reading his blocks and finding running lanes.

While the lack of push in the trenches has been troublesome, the most disconcerting thing to see has been the poor blocking in the open field. There were way too many instances in which Cal’s backs could have taken it for more yardage had Cal’s blockers (both olinemen and receivers) taken better angles and technique on their blocks.

Wide Receivers Are Studs
I think we’ve got the best overall wide receiving corps in the conference. Chris Harper and Bryce Treggs are spectacular, but what’s been encouraging is that the depth of this unit is really showing, with multiple players seemingly taking turns each week making big plays.

Nine different Cal receivers hauled in passes this week for 345 yards. Kenny Lawler was this week’s Maurice Harris with his highlight grab, and continued to improve in his role of backing up Treggs. And while it was confusing to see Darius Powe and James Grisom in the same spot, you gotta feel good for the former walkon Grisom for scoring his first collegiate TD.

Special Teams Still the Best Unit
For all the hand wringing over the defense, Cal’s special teams has continue to play like the best unit on the field. You can’t say enough about the job the ST coordinator Mark Tommerdahl has done with this unit.

While it’s common for kickers to turn it up for their senior seasons, Vincenzo D’Amato has been tremendous, knocking in two more field goals, bringing his stats to 8 of 9 made this season.

Punter Cole Leininger was again solid, booting the ball 4 times for a 49 yard average, including a long of 60 yards.

And you know what’s been the best? The lack of big returns. You’re just seeing far better angles on from the coverage team and better wedges. Just so much more confidence from this unit.

We’re Playing to Win
I have to say it’s been pretty refreshing to watch this team compete. While the start of the game was an absolute disaster for the Bears, you wouldn’t have been shocked to see the team continue to faceplant and look lost.

But instead, the Bears buckled down and continued to compete, hard. And beyond that, the coaching staff seemed to send a message with every playcall and decision. They were playing to win.

Faced with a 4th and 7 in a punting situation for most teams, Cal showed they weren’t most teams. Goff lined up as the punter and instead threw a beautiful strike to freshman Caleb Coleman for a first down.

On top of that, we saw a flea flicker and a hook and ladder—in the first half.

This is not about moral victories. The Bears are still 1-2. This is simply me being content with a team that’s truly going to go out there and bust their asses and compete, regardless of the odds. Am I happy with the talent, execution and readiness to play? No, but I know my team isn’t going to throw in the towel, regardless of the scoreboard. And that’s something we haven’t had in a while.

Cal Fans, Where Art Thou?
Just a quick word about the huge number of Ohio State fans at Memorial Stadium. I mean, I get it, the Buckeyes travel well.

But what occurred on Saturday was flat out embarrassing. Buckeyes fans pretty much made it a homefield advantage for Ohio State.

What I wanna know is how the heck that happened. Cal reportedly only released 3500 tickets to Ohio State's ticketing office. That means OSU fans got their tickets through third party ticketing websites? And where are those tickets from? Either the ticketing office allocated far too many tickets to these sites, or way too many Cal fans elected to schill off their tickets. Either way, there was some major selling out going on here.

Moving Forward
The bye couldn’t have come at a better time. The Bears need desperately to get healthy, physically and mentally. Will it make a huge difference against Oregon? Probably not, but the Bears just need some time to collect themselves before they start conference play.