Maryland 2009 Recap

Let me preface this recap by stating that I had the opportunity to watch the game at MJ Armstrong’s in NYC at the Cal Viewing Party (which was awesome by the way). Two mega pitchers (550 ounces of Blue Moon) shared among friends limited my ability to watch the game in any analytical sense. With that said, yesterday reminded me just why I love college football so much. After an excruciatingly long off season, the Bears more than delivered last night in appeasing our football appetites.

Overall, I thought the Bears looked very polished. Granted, Maryland wasn’t the most competitive team as many project the Terrapins to finish last in the ACC. However, I thought they had enough talent to provide enough of a challenge to the Bears to establish basic expectations for the year.

Offense Rolls
Particularly, I was very surprised with how sharp the offense looked Saturday night. In fact, I would say the offense outshined the defense, surprising given how strong our defense is supposed to be this year. I was pleased with playcalling and balance, as the Bears rolled up 542 yards of offense, split fairly evenly with 244 yards on the ground and 298 through the air.

Jahvid Best lived up to Heisman expectations, running for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 10 carries. The 73 yard run early in the game was again classic Best, as he begins to assemble his highlight reel for the year. Both Vereen and Deboskie-Johnson were also impressive in backup duty, accumulating a combined 102 yards on 19 carries and another score.


The obvious star on offense last night though was Kevin Riley, as one can not say enough about last night’s performance. Riley was in complete command of the offense and always looked like he knew where he wanted to go, quickly checking through his reads, and delivered the ball with good strength and accuracy. While there were certainly a number of passes that Riley would have wanted back (particularly early on), Riley maintained great composure and pocket presence despite getting knocked to the ground many times after releasing the ball.



Even more encouraging was how evenly the ball was distributed through the air. Riley hit nine different receivers (3 backs, 1 tight end, and 5 WRs) and unlike last year, Cal’s wide receivers made up the majority of the receiving yards (215 of the 298). It’s this type of balance that really reflects Riley’s grasp of the offense, and might be a strong indication of things to come.

Oh, and I’ve been saying this for awhile, but Marvin Jones is going to bring the business this year. The 20 yard grab over two defenders to set up Best’s second TD in the middle of the first quarter was eye-openingly impressive. We’ve all read about Jones’ breakout in offseason camp, but seeing really is believing.

Defense Bears, Defense

I got the sense the defense let the Terrapins move the ball a bit more than they would have wanted to, but had to walk away fairly pleased with the performance. And who can blame them? The Bears held Maryland to just 6 points for most of the game, until a late TD score by Da’Rel Scott.
The Bears also limited the Terrapins to just 4-17 on 3rd down conversion attempts, and just 3.2 yards per carry on the ground. While Da’Rel Scott did roll up 90 yards on just 13 rushes, most came late in the third quarter on 39-yard burst against a mostly reserve players.

I had a feeling that the Bears defense would have a field day in Maryland’s backfield, and the Bears didn’t disappoint, notching 11 tackles for loss, including six sacks against an outmatched an inexperienced Maryland offensive line. Ernest Owusu in particular, looks to be a dominant pass rusher, and will continue to provide solid depth at the DE position.

While Cal’s secondary didn’t record any interceptions, they held QB Chris Turner to just 167 yards on a 17-30 night, which also featured some outstanding (as usual) pass breakups by star DB Syd’Quan Thompson.

By and large, the Bears defense didn’t look quite dominant, but certainly did enough to look fairly impressive. It’s also important to note that it was a bit difficult to fully evaluate the defense as the Terrapins often made it much easier with a number of mental mistakes including a number of drive killing penalties.

Special Teams

I was most disappointed with this unit on Saturday night, as I felt really optimistic going into the game that a lot of last years’ issues particularly on kickoffs would be vastly improved. However, I observed much of the same last night starting with the opening kickoff to the final botched attempt at a squib kick. While the wet game conditions weren’t optimal for any boomers, Giorgio Tavecchio wasn’t able to show off his allegedly much improved leg strength, averaging just 58.8 yards on kickoffs. That worked out to Maryland consistently fielding kickoffs around the 11 yard line. It hurt the Bears last night, and will continue to hurt the Bears as the season wears on, especially in closer contests. The team had the same issues last year, and will have to find some kind of answer among Tavecchio, Vince D’Amato, or David Seawright. For the record, Seawright had a slightly better night, averaging 65 yards on two kickoffs.

While star sophomore punter Bryan Anger had a solid night, his pumps didn’t appear to have the normal pop as some of his booming punts last year. Anger punted just three times, averaging 43.7 ypp, including two downed inside the twenty. Backup punter Ryan Theimer sailed a 48 yarder in his lone attempt. By the way, you know the game has gotten out of control, when you bring in your backup punter.

Moving Forward

We still probably won’t get a full sense of how good the Bears really are for another few weeks. Next week’s matchup against Eastern Washington should be even more lobsided, and I’d be surprised to see most of the starters in the game after halftime.

Still, I felt pretty good about what I saw on Saturday. Maybe it was just the Blue Moon talking. Maybe. But the Bears came out the tunnel with all guns blazing, and exhibited much of the talent, confidence, and discipline necessary to have a special season. It’s still early though, and Cal may not even be truly challenged until their huge matchup with USC. Minnesota and Oregon, what the hell was that?