UC Davis 2010 Recap

(Photo: TouchedTheAxeIn82 at Bearinsider.com)

And we’re off!

After much waiting, the season finally kicked off Saturday in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Memorial Stadium. The game did little in answering some of the key questions the Bears have in terms of whether they will make a run at a conference title this year, but it didn’t truly need to. The Bears came out and expectedly dominated UC Davis to a tune of 52-3, and gave fans plenty to smile about in the meanwhile.

A Star in the Making
Obviously the biggest story is the debut of true Keenan Allen. Allen had about as memorable of a debut a freshman could have, and wowed everyone watching with his gamebreaking ability.

Allen absolutely exploded on Saturday, gaining 120 yards and a TD on 4 catches, as well as 38 yards on 3 rushes for another score. It seemed that Allen turned in one big play after another. A sweep that was supposed to be a pass turned into an 18 yard rush in which Allen reversed field and eluded the entire Aggie defense on his way into the endzone.

Seriously, just watch the absurdity in action.



Yet with all the hoopla around Allen’s big plays, it was the small things he did that really blew me away. The way he kept his legs moving to move a pile after a swing pass. The patience he showed his waiting for his blockers on his down-the-line screen pass. The crackback block on Shane Vereen’s TD run. Cutting off his defender’s lane on the outstretched catch attempt.

All this from a true freshman. The less noticeable aspects of Allen’s game impressed me nearly as much as his big plays.

Oh, and as for the flag for high-fiving some kids in the stands? Please. Give me a break. If it happens again then we might need to have a conversation, but there’s nothing to see here. Move along folks.


The Receiving Game
With Allen’s emergence, suddenly we’re looking at what could be a very good wide receiving corps.

Let’s not forget that Marvin Jones was an absolute beast on Saturday, and that 48 yarder reception in which he fought off pretty severe interference to bring the ball in was just ridiculous. Class Jones.

With Jones and Allen as you’re 1-2, I’m liking Ross in his role in the slot. I’d like to have seen more from either Coleman Edmond or Michael Calvin to give me a lot of confidence in the top four receivers, but I’m cautiously optimistic as move forward.

As for the tight ends, Miller and Ladner had a quiet day, but they did a solid job with their blocking assignments.

A New Kevin Riley?
It’s still too early to tell, but Riley did little to dissuade fans (yet) from drinking the Tedford kool-aid about the breakthrough we’ll see from him this year.
Riley was sharp and efficient on the day, completing his first nine passes, while going on to complete 14 of 20 for 258 yards and 3 TDs with no interceptions. There were a few things that will need to be shaped up, including ball security after Riley fumbled on a handoff when RG Justin Cheadle bumped into his arm on a pull. There were also a few “bleh” moments including a false start after he got mixed up in the snap count and a delay of game penalty.

Save for a few passes, Riley looked good. The pessimistic Cal fans will be quick to jump on the “See! Riley, still can’t throw!” bandwagon, but I don’t buy it. He knew exactly where he wanted to go, checked down well, ran the offense, and looked sharp on the majority of his passes. Again, we’ll see (after all, Riley turned in a 298 yard, 4 TD performance last year in the opener against Maryland), but I still think I’ll be taking a shot of the kool-aid down the line.

The Running Backs and O-Line Go Together
The o-line was a bit of a mixed bag. On the positive side, the Bears rolled up 230 yards on the ground and didn’t surrender a single sack. On the more nitpicky negative side, I didn’t see as much of a push from the o-line as I expected, and there was the obligatory false start from true sophomore Brian Schwenke.

I would have liked to have the o-line simply man handle Davis’ front four, but they did just enough to be productive. You have to wonder what that will mean when they same some stiffer tests, but I guess we’ll just have to see.

As for the running backs, the Bears’ top four backs all got a decent number of reps, a luxury we won’t often have this season. Shane Vereen had a workman like performance, churning out 67 yards on just 14 rushes for 2 TDs, while also nabbing in 2 catches for 28 yards a score. Isi Sofele showed why the coaches like him at the number two spot, break off some solid gains on a 9 carry, 52 yard day. Covaughn Deboskie-Johnson got little help from his backup offensive line, but still managed 21 yards on seven carries, while Dasarte Yarnway rushed 5 times for 23 yards. He experienced the Tedford wrath after coughing up the ball though, which was fortunately recovered by an offensive lineman.

Oh, and fullback Eric Stevens says he knows how to hurdle as well.

Improved Special Teams
There were very few things to dislike about the special teams unit on Saturday. As much as one can knock the level of competition on Saturday, special teams is one of those units that can be evaluated a bit more objectively on its own, as it is one of those components of a game that greater reflects individual and team focus, rather than what the opponent is doing. That is, if complete care and focus is laid into special teams work, it is much easier to evaluate the quality of player without having to consider what the opponents do as much.

This was visible in the general special teams play. There were one or two kickoffs that were head scratchers, but nearly everything else landed inside the five. I know some fans of other teams might scoff at such an “achievement,” but given the poor play in this area, it becomes more reassuring to know that Giorgio Tavecchio has really begun to come on. Tavecchio averaged 65.2 yards per kickoff which is a big improvement of last year’s season average of 58.91. I don’t think he’ll ever become a consistent touchback guy, but we’ll certainly take consistent performances similar to Saturday’s versus what we’ve seen for the last several years.

Bryan Anger was his solid ole’ self, averaging 49 yards on just 3 punts, including an impressive 52 yarder that was fielded at the Davis 4 yard line for a 0 yard return. That was fun to watch.

The coverage units played fairly well, although this is one of the areas where Davis lacked the playmakers at return men that might force the coverage unit to play a bit more tight.

Also, you had to like what you saw out of Jeremy Ross at the punt return position. He showed good awareness of where the opposing hawk players were, and displayed nice athleticism in his returns, ripping off a nice 18 and 37 yard return. Oh, and boy does this guy like to hurdle. I’m still afraid he’s going to hurt himself some day on one, but they’re so bloody fun to watch in the meanwhile.

Defensive Preview
Overall, you had to like what you saw out of the defense. While new defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast’s aggressive defensive scheme didn’t result in any turnovers, the Bears’ defense held the helpless UC Davis offense to just 81 yards of total offense and 4 first downs.

Each facet of the Aggies offense was smothered, as they managed just 14 net yards on the ground while UC Davis’ passing attack managed just 67 yards on just 9 of 27 attempts. On average, the Aggies managed just 1.8 yards per play.

Now UC Davis didn’t help themselves much, as that should certainly be taken in under consideration. Aggies receivers had plenty of drops, the depleted running back stable found no running lanes, and despite taking just two sacks, the Davis quarterbacks were still hassled.

So what can we take from the performance? I’m still not convinced this defense will be a top-tier one, but do think they have the potential to end up in the top half of the conference. I think the Bears will continue to be strong in defending the run game, and I liked the speed at which they closed in on the runningbacks and the gang tackling looked solid.

As for the secondary, I think you’re going to see tighter coverage in defending the pass. I still saw plenty of zone on Saturday, but it was still refreshing to see the defensive backs and safeties line up in man coverage and smother their receivers.

However, the biggest thought I had was in how judicious the Bears are going to have to be in some of their gameplans this year. I think the Bears might be a bit more prone to being hurt on screen passes with the blitzes we were sending (saw about 7 players thrown on a few occasions) and I’m still unsure how our linebackers will be able to defend the middle of the field against some slot receivers and more dangerous tight ends.

In sum, the performance was expectedly dominant, and given some of our lapses last year, you have to be content when the Bears avoid giving up big plays or shooting themselves in the foot.

UC Davis Fans
I’m going to say, I’m impressed with the Aggies fans. They showed up well, cheered hard, and apparently were classy by most fan interaction accounts.

While the Aggie team didn’t give them much to cheer about, they were loud whenever given the opportunity. After Wright hit his tight end for a third down conversion in the third quarter, the Aggies fans were audibly heard making a ruckus. Their lone score, a 43 yard field goal elicited a reaction louder than most visitor scores.

They’re a good bunch, and I hope we schedule another series with them down the line.

Moving Forward
The Bears face a stiffer test this week against Colorado. Their performance on Saturday showed they should still put the Buffaloes away, but you would like to still see a few issues get shored up before the Bears face their first challenges this season against Nevada and Arizona. (I’m actually fearing for the worst on that ‘Zona game, but more on that later).

[By the way, let it be known that I accurately predicted the Bears' score of 52, though I whiffed a bit in thinking the Aggies would be able to roll up 13 points.]

For now, don’t take too much out of the game. Enjoy the game, because it was a fun one, and keep yourself cozy with more visions of Keenan Allen racing up field.