Keys to the Game: Arizona State

(The Sun Devils can seemingly do no wrong.)

Not all teams with the same record are alike. USC has the same 3-1 record as Arizona, yet it's too early to determine whether the two teams are of the same quality. Conversely, the Bears are 1-3, but it'd be deceiving to think they're as bad as any other 1-3 team in the nation.

The Bears are coming out of one of their toughest portions of their schedule, with road trips against then #12 ranked Buckeyes and #13 ranked USC.

Consider this. The Bears' competition are a combined 12-4 so far on the season. 9-3 if you discount their respective game against the Bears. So while some might scoff at Southern Utah being one of the teams in that mix (as they should), it's not out of the question to say that the Bears have faced 3 teams that might be their respective conference champions when it's all said and done at the end of the season.

So it almost goes without saying that teams can't necessarily be measured by their record, at least at this point in the season. Are the Bears as bad as their 1-3 record would indicate? Probably not, but again, you have to let this season play out to say for sure.

With all that said, Saturday's game is absolutely critical for the Bears' hopes in salvaging this season. I'm not going to be as overdramatic as to say that the season hinges on the game's outcome, but I will say this game could very much set the tone for the rest of conference play. And at the very least, the Bears need as many "W"s as possible in their quest for bowl eligibility.

The task seems large with the ASU Sun Devils playing with renewed energy, discipline and confidence. Led by new coach Todd "This is my dream job, I swear" Graham, the Sun Devils have cut back on the penalties that have plagued their program, and have shown an efficiency on offense that's truly frightening.

Let's get into the details.

Apply Pressure to the QB

The Bears continue their gauntlet of facing top tier QBs, and it doesn't get any easier against new starting QB Taylor Kelly. The conference's top rated quarterback (and it isn't really close) has been an absolute revelation and is one of the primary reasons why Arizona State is averaging over 41 points per game right now.

I've been impressed with Taylor Kelly since the season opener. He's never once looked wide-eyed or rattled for a first year starter, and is running this offense like a seasoned veteran. He's completing over 70% of his passes, rushing for close to 40 yards per game, and is playing generally mistake-free football. Heck, he's even a decent punter.

Needless to say he's doing a lot of things well right now. The one time I've seen Kelly look human was on the road in their loss against Missouri. Kelly hardly looked terrible, but was far from the efficient passer he'd been this season. The difference? The Tigers got after Kelly in that game. He was constantly flushed from the pocket, forced to rush through his progressions, and even pressured into...dare I say...mistakes?

I understand the challenge of playing against Arizona's uptempo, zone-read offense, but I was amazed at the lack of pressure that Utah brought against the Sun Devils. I'd like to think their lack of speed on the perimeter forced them to dedicate more defenders to guarding ASU's spread attack, but Kelly had all day to throw, particularly in the first half. When that happens, he's got all day to go through his progressions and get the ball out quickly.

Typically when you defend the zone-read, you've got to dial back the pressure a bit so you can make sure you can get a hat on hat and avoid allowing your QB to get out of the backfield in open space. But the Bears absolutely cannot afford to let Kelly sit back and admire the view. He will absolutely pick the Bears apart. Cal needs to pressure Kelly with a variety of different looks, just enough to force some indecision and get this offense out of rhythm. When they get rolling, this Sun Devil offense is near impossible to stop.

Get Out to an Early Lead
The Sun Devils are all about jumping out to an early lead in the first half and nursing those points through the second.

In their first four games, they've outscored their opponents by a staggering 108-31 margin in the first half. Their lone loss? When ASU trailed Missouri 7-17 at halftime.

That's a daunting stat for the Bears who have struggled to find their offensive rhythm early on in their games. The Bears have been outscored by their opponents 37-61 in the first half of their games. Cal's only halftime lead? Against FCS Southern Utah. In fact, that was the only game the Bears topped 7 points before halftime.

Cal can't afford to fall into an early hole against the Sun Devils. ASU's offense has too many options in their run game to realistically squander a first half lead. The Bears have to get their offense going right off the bat, or at the very least, keep ASU's points down with a tight lead in the first half. Otherwise, this game could very well be over by halftime.

Offense Needs to Play Their Game
On paper, this ASU defense looks like the next coming of the 85 Bears (not Golden). They currently lead the conference in scoring defense (12.8 ppg) and total defense (274 ypg).

But keep in mind that the Sun Devils haven't played any real world beaters, at least offensively yet. Consider the their opponents' rankings in terms of scoring offense: Missouri (59th), Illinois (78th), Utah (94th), and FCS Northern Arizona. Perhaps more telling are the rankings of their opponents' total offenses: Missouri (99th,) Illinois (102nd), and Utah (115th). None of these teams are averaging more than 350 yards per game.

A lot of it has to do with the fact that the Sun Devils have yet to play a QB with their original starting QB.

This is not to say that this defense is vastly overrated. Anyone who watches this team has seen a really active, physical defense, particularly upfront with Will Sutton being an absolutely disruptive force in opponents' backfields. These guys can play.

However, this defense can be had. I'm convinced of it. And despite all the Bears' offensive woes, they've shown an ability to move the ball. They need to get back to playing what has been working for them.

It starts with going back to a greater commitment to the run game. And this isn't to say they need to try and stuff it down ASU's stout defensive line. They've shown some good things with their zone read last week, and Maynard actually had a pretty good day running the ball if you take away the lost yardage on sacks. Bigelow also needs to get at least 8 touches in the game somehow.

If they can establish more of a rhythm in the run game, they can go back and set up of a passing offense that's more suited to Zach Maynard's toolset. Giving him simple hitches, slants, and bubble screens. They can get him back to throwing on the run on bootlegs and simple roll-outs. They've got to get away from having him drop back and try to stretch the field vertically.

And of course, the Bears need to finish in the redzone. But that's a whole other conversation.

Outlook
On paper, there's a lot of reasons to think the Bears have a long day ahead of them. The Sun Devils have been rolling on offense, while the Bears' defense ranks dead last in numerous statistical categories in the conference.

ASU's defense currently leads the conference, while Cal's offense has been forced to overcome sluggish starts and ineptitude in the redzone.

Despite that, I still think the Bears find a way to pull this one out. I believe they'll get back to what has been working for them on offense, while their defense uses their experience against Nevada and Ohio State as a framework for defending ASU's spread.

And more than anything, you have to believe the Bears want this more. Or they at least better. But from every indication I've seen and heard about this team, I believe this team is hungry for a win. They need this game, and they know it. Clearly for the sake of the season, but to affirm for themselves all the ways they believe they've been improving, despite their record.

Call it blind hope, but I think the Bears can get it done.

Prediction:

Cal 27 ASU 24

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Pac-12 Predictions: Week 5

Stanford 27 Washington 17
In terms of matchups, the Cardinal have a lot of reason to be favored here. They're beginning to get their run game going, their defense is getting after the passer, and they're playing with a whole new level of confidence after upsetting the Trojans. This spells a lot of bad things for the Huskies, who for all their improvements, are still struggling to stop the run game, giving up a 174 yards per game. They're also struggling to protect their passer, with Keith Price running for his life against defensive fronts with a pulse. Washington's homefield advantage will give them a boost, as will the play of their playmakers in Kasen Williams and Austen Sefarian-Jenkins. But with the Huskies struggling to get their run game going, it'll likely be too heavy of a burden to put on Keith Price here. Stanford pulls away down the stretch and puts Washington away.

UCLA 38 Colorado 20
UCLA's feeling kinda crummy and Colorado's feeling good. But look for a bit of a role reversal at the end of Saturday's game. I don't think the Bruins were exposed last weekend as much as they ran into what I think might be one of the best defenses in the conference in Oregon State. Colorado doesn't pose nearly the issue. The Pac-12 South's leading rushing team gets its mojo back against the Buffaloes, but I'd be very interested to watch and see what Colorado can do on the ground against UCLA. The Bruins have quietly been giving up over 170 yards per game on the ground.

Oregon State 30 Arizona 27
This will be one of the more entertaining conference matchups this weekend. Arizona's offense showcased some of the tendancies last week against Oregon that have handcuffed them from being elite: namely redzone woes and turnovers. You have to think that goose egg has been eating away at Rich Rod all week. They have nearly as stiff a challenge against the Beavers who have been playing, stout, sound defense and a renewed confidence on offense. The Wildcats are largely better at home, but I'm leaning with a team has shown the ability to bear down on potent offenses on the road.

Oregon 44 Washington State 17
At least I'm assured of getting one pick right. Though with Wazzu, you never know. I expected this team to roll Colorado, only to squander a 4th quarter lead and have a massive Buffalo deuce dropped on their head. Oregon will have no mercy for the scurvy carrying gang and will be ready to drop a tons of points. The Cougars will undoubtedly move the ball, but I can't see it being close to enough. Oh, and quick fyi, Oregon's defense is pretty darn good as well.

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Pac-12 Roundup: Week 4

Oof. This Pac-12 season is pretty much crushing each and every preseason expectation I had. Right when I think I have a team figured out, they go and suprise me. But hey, it's more fun this way, even if my record doesn't appreciate it.

I went 2-3 last week, with the only correct predictions being having both the Wildcats and the Bears lose. Sad face with a single tear.

I'm a mediocre 24-14 on the season, but I'm hoping to rebound this week. Huzzah!

Arizona 0 Oregon 49
Lowdown: Wow. While this wasn't the surprise outcome of the week, this is certainly my vote for the most surprising point total. I had expected an offensive shootout, though apparently Arizona didn't get that memo. For what it's worth, this was the most competitive 49-0 blowout I've ever seen, with it still being a game despite the fact that the Ducks were up "just" 21-0 in the third quarter. And after they put up that fourth TD, well you got the sense it just wasn't going to go the Wildcats' way that night.

But what a statement for the Ducks to hold the Wildcats, who had been averaging over 600 yards a game to nearly half that number and 0 points. There is no disputing right now that the Ducks are clearly the class of the conference, and are right up there as one of the best squads in the nation.

Up Next: Arizona needs to rebound against what now looks like a very good Oregon State squad. The Wildcats need to recollect themselves and find out how to take advantage of their opportunities in the red zone because Oregon State's defense looks to be for real.

Meanwhile Oregon travels to a Washington State suddenly scrambling for answers. It's pretty early on, but Oregon doesn't look to be really challenged until they face USC and Stanford in November. If they can survive those tests, Chip Kelly and the Ducks could be looking at their 2nd National Championship game in 3 years. But hey, it's real early.

Utah 7 Arizona State 37
Lowdown: I dunno why I did it. I knew that going for the sexy upset pick would do me in, but I figured, Utah's got a stout defense, and Kyle Whittingham can coach, let's go with the Utes to pull the upset on the road. I desperately ignored a few factors that have become pretty clear in the early season so far. First off, ASU is a different team at home. They're averaging a blistering 48.3 points per game, and rolled up 37 points on what was a solid defense. Second, QB Taylor Kelly is legit, and is about as efficient and poised for a first time starting QB as I've seen. He reminds me of Kellen Moore in a lot of ways, but more mobile and athletic.

Third, Utah's got some major questions on the offensive side of the ball. The offensive line has struggled to find answers, John White isn't replicating the type of offensive production he had last year (despite getting nearly as many carries), and Utah is still looking to find an answer at quarterback. Jon Hayes is vastly improved, and is doing his best, but this is still a guy who was the Utes' 4th string QB in Spring Ball.

Finally, Utah's defense may have been exposed a bit in their lack of speed on the perimeter. Up front, teams are going to struggle to run on them, but teams like ASU, Oregon, UCLA are going to have their way in simply beating Utah off the edge.

Up Next: Utah gets a much needed bye to begin answering some of the above questions while Arizona State visits your Golden Bears. I'll have more on this as the week goes on, but it's a bit of a make or break game for Cal.

Oregon State 27 UCLA 20
Lowdown: Last week I picked UCLA over Oregon State because I wasn't sold on the Beaver's offense. Consider me sold. The Beavers have really impressed me so far. Their defensive front are holding the gaps well, their secondary are absolutely draping receivers, and Sean Mannion is looking composed and in command of this offense, going for 369 yards against UCLA's secondary. You can't say enough about the job Mike Riley is done, coming off last season's 3-9 finish and all the talk about a hot seat. Guess what, Riley has your Beavers ranked after to back to back wins over ranked teams, one on the road. Sheesh.

UCLA has officially fallen off Cloud 9 with a rude awakening in conference play. Brett Hundley continued to impress, but UCLA's offense showed how limited it could be when a team keys in on the run and holds Jonathan Franklin to just 45 yards. This Beavers squad showed they're going to be a force to be reckoned with in the conference, while the Bruins are going to look to rebound. Still, you can't deny that they're in a better place than they were a year ago.

Up Next: UCLA gets a Colorado squad that looks to have some fight left in them. The chances of the Buffaloes pulling two major upsets in back to back weeks seem slim, but stranger things have happened. Look for the Bruins to rebound, and get that running game going against a CU squad that for all of its improvements, are still poor in defending the run. And you have to think UCLA's defense is motivated to put on a better showing as well.

Oregon State has a fun one against Arizona. It will be interesting to see how the Beavers' defense matches up against the spread offense of Arizona, but if last Saturday is any indication for both teams, then the Wildcats have the work cut out for them against a very physical OSU squad.

Washington State 34 Colorado 35
Lowdown: Wow. Just wow. I had tuned out of this game when the Buffaloes were down 21-7 in the first half, thinking CU was just going to be CU. WRONG. I'm glad I had this game recorded, because the Buffaloes pull off the upset of the Pac-12 season taking down the Cougars AT Pullman. The game showed that not only do the Cougars have a ways to go, but that their style of offense is going to make it difficult for them to sustain leads against teams. That and the fact that they have very little running game to speak of. I still believe the Mike Leach hire was a good one, but it was premature for anyone to think he'd have them rolling this early on in the season.

For what it's worth, if Colorado had been considered the worst team in FBS football, just what does that make WSU now?

Up Next: The Buffaloes meanwhile are going to pull it together and try to keep this positive momentum going as they face off against a pissed off UCLA. While you've got to be encouraged by the job Coach Jon Embree has done in keeping that team together over a rough start to the season, it'll be difficult to hold off a Bruins team that has some serious rushing power in QB Brett Hundley and RB Jonathan Franklin.

Meanwhile, what better way for a Washington State to rebound than by hosting the visiting Ducks. Wait what? Whu-oh. Goodbye winning record, it was nice to have known you.

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USC Recap

It was that kind of day for the Bears.

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

In what has become a tradition, USC continued its dominance over Cal with a 27-9 win over the Bears at the LA Coliseum.

Though most might easily chalk it up as another blowout loss to the Trojans (and believe me, there are plenty of reasons to think so), it's worth noting that the Bears were on the verge making this a game well into the 3rd quarter. Down just 17-9, the Bears had a key scoring opportunity at the USC 15 yard line. After a nice job of eluding pressure, Zach Maynard tried to force a ball to CJ Anderson, only to have his pass picked off by USC safety TJ McDonald. On replay, it appeared Maynard also missed a wide open Bryce Treggs in the endzone in what could have been the TD to tie the game. Instead, the turnover absolutely crushed the momentum that the Bears had been building up to that point.

While that play represented a critical turning point in the game, the reasons for the loss go well beyond that sequence. The Bears were dominated in the trenches, handicapped by curious play calls, and crippled by an offensive ineptitude that has become embarrassingly commonplace in their annual game against the Trojans. Consider this, since 2003 (Cal's last win against USC), the Bears have only scored 17 points twice, and have been held to less 10 points in 6 of their last 9 contests. That's simply dreadful.

It's not all gloom and doom though, as the onfield results the past few weeks aren't that far off from what fans had could have expected going into the season. With that said, we're seeing some pretty alarming trends with this team.

Let's talk details ladies and gents.

So there are a couple of different issues here with regards to the offense.

Offensive Offensive Gameplan
First, I'm downright confused as to the offensive gameplan yesterday. I'd love to ask what the coaches saw differently from USC's defense that forced them to stray so far away from what had clearly worked for them against OSU. Instead of allowing Zach Maynard to work on simple hitches, outs, bootlegs (to his leftside), screens, or hitting his tailbacks coming out of the backfield, they seemed intent on having Maynard throw downfield on seams and corner routes. That simply isn't a strength of Cal's passing offense right now. And this isn't meant to be a knock to Zach Maynard, but he hasn't shown an ability to consistently hit those types of passes while under duress.

And look, I understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Tampa 2 that Monte Kiffin runs at USC. I get that the Cover 2 can be beaten when vertical routes are run to stretch the coverage, causing indecision among the safeties. Similarly, zones can be “flooded” when multiple routes are run in hopes of pressuring the backers, typically the middle linebackers.

I get it. But it wasn't working. That is, even though receivers were inconsistently getting open, Maynard wasn't afforded the time in the pocket to make his throws, and the pressure was constantly forcing him to be unable to set his feet well enough to not sail his passes.

We'll talk about the offensive line in a bit, but it's frustrating that the gameplan didn't adapt throughout the course of the game given what was happening.

Red Zone Woes
Despite the curious offensive gameplan, what was more curious was the shift in playcalling whenever the Bears got into the redzone. Cal showed an ability to move the ball. In fact, the Bears got inside USC's 20 5 times in the game, but had to settle for 4 FG attempts (making just 3), and suffered through the aforementioned turnover on the other. If Cal scores a TD on just two of those visits, it's a completely different ball going into the fourth quarter.

Like I said, the Bears showed the ability to move the ball. In fact, I thought they showed great rhythm and playcalling in the 3rd quarter, to keep USC's defense off balance with a lot of zone reads running plays at play action calls to their TE, Jacob Wark.

But as soon as they got in the redzone, they seemed to go completely away from what had been working and went back to trying to beat USC's defense in the passing game. From turnovers, to negative yardage plays, it was about as bad as an offense could get in the redzone, short of losing enough yardage where they were moved out of the FG range.

Where's Bigelow?
While some of it was the playcalling, I'm also amazed at their use, or disuse of Brendan Bigelow. Bigelow was running the ball, and he was running it really well. And it wasn't even on trying to force the edge on stretch runs or tosses, he was running in between the tackles and gaining good chunks of yardage. On the day, Bigelow, had just 4 carries, but racked up 31 yards. He was averaging 7.8 yards a carry!

On both of Cal's first two drives in the third quarter to get them in the redzone, it was Bigelow's hard running that led to their offense's success. But as soon as Bigelow stepped off the field, the drive stalled.

Last week, when people cried out at the lack of Bigelow down the stretch, I wasn't too upset, because I understood you're putting a lot on the shoulders of a guy who simply hadn't carried the ball too much. And I know that he doesn't have nearly the understanding of the offense as the two senior backs, nor has he displayed the blocking capabilities of Isi Sofele. But in a game where the Bears had no answers on offense, it's almost inexcusable that Bigelow went without any carries until the third quarter. And for the Bears to pull him when it's most critical (in the redzone), is to put it very gently, a curious call. I like to think maddening, but again, I'm a gentle person.

Look, consider this, Bigelow accounted for 40% of the rushing yards yesterday, on just 11% of the total number of rushing attempts. Last week, he accounted for 71% of the total rushing yards on less than 10% of the total number of rushing attempts. You have to get this guy the ball. You just have to.

Offensive Line in Trouble
First off, let's state the obvious, this is a young and battered offensive line. They're returning just one starter in Brian Schwenke from last year, and he's playing a completely new position at center. They've got a redshirt freshman (Jordan Rigsbee) and sophomore (Chris Adcock) who are promising, but young and are naturally taking their lumps against some elite interior defensive linemen. The tackles are senior Tyler Rigsbee and junior Bill Tyndall who are older, but getting their first career starts as well. These guys are clearly working their tails off out there.

But the issues are apparent to anyone and everyone. While the Bears have been inconsistent in run blocking, they have for the most part done decently in this area. Yesterday, if you take out Maynard's carries and the lost yardage on sacks, the Bears running game rushed 17 times for 79 yards. Those are meager numbers, but it's still a 4.6 YPC, which is far from fantastic, but again, decent. You'll take that number against most teams.

The issue is their pass protection. In the past two games, the Bears have surrendered a whopping 13 sacks. On the season they've allowed 16, and are on pace for a crazy 39 sacks through the regular season. Consider that the Bears have yielded no more than 30 sacks just once in the past five years, and gave up just 11 back in 2007.

And like I said last week, it's not like the Bears are always unable to pick up blitzes, it's often a matter of a lineman just losing his individual battle. We're just flat out getting beat.

So as much as Maynard and the coaching staff deserves some blame for the passing performance, it's hard to create a plan to flood passing zones when your linemen can't block. And it's even harder to knock a QB for his poor passing numbers when he's being obliterated on every other passing play.

So, I'm not sure what to say at this point. Clearly, Coach M has more work to do and needs to continue to coach these guys up. But the Bears need to consider other options as well, perhaps in terms of personnel. This is more of a naive thought, as you'd have to think that Coach M knows who's most capable of being the best five, but what else can you say when those five aren't getting it done? The Bears need to improve there and you have to begin wondering if there are other viable options with backup players that haven't been fully considered.

As for the Defense
Let's say this, I thought Cal gameplanned pretty well for limiting USC's passing attack. While the front seven didn't record any sacks, they did hold Barkley to 192 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Not something to puff up one's chest about, but far from the bloodbath that could have resulted in facing off against USC's talented receiving corps.

Now here is where it gets alarming. The huge part of USC's modest passing numbers are because they went back to their gameplan of abusing the Bears on the ground, and the Bears were flat out dominated in this regard. The Trojans piled up 296 yards against the Bears on the ground. That's an embarrassing number anyway you swing it. That's got to hurt for a defense that had largely been solid going into this season in defending the run. And this wasn't a gimmicky offense, there was no pistol rushing attack, this was just the Trojans dominating in the trenches and running down the Bears' throats.

Not only could the Bears not hold the point of attack, but Cal's defenders took really poor angles and had difficulty shedding blocks as soon as USC's rushers got to the second level.

On the season, the Bears are on average, surrendering 31 points per game (ranking 93rd nationally), 430 yards per game (89th nationally), being equally bad in giving up yardage through the air and on the ground, 240.8 ypg (81st nationally) and 189.5 ypg (99th nationally) respectively. And perhaps the worst number? Opponents are converting 46.27% of their third downs against us, putting us at 102nd nationally in that category.

Let's face it, our defense is playing really poorly right now. It kills me to say it because our defense has been the strength of this team for the last four seasons or so, and I still think we have some quality talent, but it is what it is right now.

What's encouraging is that the Bears have shown stretches of good play, and some solid individual performances. I'm liking what I'm seeing from this young linebacking corps, and some of the younger defensive linemen in Todd Barr, Keni Kaufusi, Mustafa Jalil and even Villami Moala have shown some signs of maturity as well.

But I think Saturday was the truly defining moment when fans realized that you can't replace two starting safeties, two starting inside linebackers, and two starting defensive linemen and expect not to take a step back, talent be damned. But I'm hoping that talent is enough to move us forward for the rest of the season.

Special Teams
Final note, it is worth applauding Vincenzo D'Amato for bouncing back this week. After missing his first FG, it seemed like you might need to restrain him from burying his head under the turf.

But credit Tedford and Genyk, and credit D'Amato, because they spoke to him calmly, let him know they still would need him and that they knew he could get it done. D'Amato ended up nailing his next three field goal attempts, Cal's only points on the day.

Here's hoping he can keep the good mojo going forward.

Moving Forward
So here's one way of looking at Cal's 1-3 start.

Most had realistically painted a 2-2 start to the season, so a 1-3 start isn't too far off from most projections, and can't be considered too alarming with conference play just starting up, and 8 games left to play. Also, don't forget that the Bears also started 1-3 in Tedford's second season, only to go 8-6 with a bowl win.

And for all the issues that the Bears' have exhibited, they have been largely competitive in each of their contests, in arguably the toughest chunk of their schedule. There were no pure blowouts, a symptom of some of Cal's most disappointing squads. Even in Cal's most lopsided loss this past Saturday, the Bears were down just 11 points with just under 6 minutes to go.

But here's where you can't stem the tide of pessimism and perhaps reality. The Bears have exhibited some major flaws on defense, an offensive line that is scrambling for answers, curious coaching decisions, and a proverbial game of Russian Roulette when it comes to special teams.

And for as much as we praise a competitive team, it might be far too telling when we applaud not getting blown out. There comes a point where moral victories of keeping it close with good teams doesn't mean much anymore. And yes, Ohio State and USC are good, but far from being elite squads.

Here's what I will say. I have an overall sense of where this team is and a more clear sense of its strength and weaknesses. But I will reserve judgment until the end of the UCLA game. I'd like to see how the Bears respond against what I consider to be two upper-tier Pac-12 teams in ASU and UCLA before I go calling this season a lost cause.

Saturday was clearly a step back after the Bears showed progress against the Buckeyes. But this season is far from over and I have hope (perhaps blindly), that this isn't close to the best that the Bears can be.

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Cal vs. USC Live Game Thread

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

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Keys to the Game: USC

Trust me when I say that I would like nothing more than to beat USC. Personally, beating USC has always been that white whale. In the years when Cal dominated Stanford in the Big Game, (winning five straight, and seven of eight under Tedford) I think it's fair to say that I craved a win over USC moreso than against any other team.

You don't need me to remind you as to how elusive this feat has been for the Bears. Some of Cal's best teams ('04 and '06) have had the misfortune of going against some of the Trojans' best squads and have fallen short. Even in years when the Trojans seemed vulnerable, the Bears' self-inflicted wounds stopped them from seizing the opportunity ('08,'11).

And then there were the flat out smack downs ('05, '09, '10). The ones where you drink more so than usual, but one of the depressing "not sure if I have to even urinate anymore, I'm so drunk" kind of binge sessions.

But regardless of how they hurt, the losses always sting. As you try to tune out USC's stupid fight song playing on, you can't help but wonder just how it could have fallen apart so brutally.

Forgive me for being a bit overdramatic, but hopefully you can empathize with me on this one. The Balls have fallen short against the Trojans time and time again, seemingly more so than any other team in the conference.

Saturday has all the makings of the most painful kind of loss, the ones where it looks like the Bears really do have a chance, only to see it collapse into a pile of rubble.

Cal did the worst possible thing to me last Saturday: they gave me hope. They showed me they can be a disciplined, well balanced team on offense, stifle offenses for stretches, and an ability to keep composure in hostile environments.

And did USC do anything to dash my hope? Nooooo, they had to go and get physically dominated by Stanford! Dah. Injuries and questions on depth? Arghh. A painful expose of team vulnerabilities? Why, why must they do this to me?

The Bears can win this game. But they're going to have to play as well as, if not better than they did against Ohio State, and oh yeah, overcome the whole "USC has our number" mentality.

Let's get into a few keys to the game.

Vary the Defensive Pressure
I know a lot of people watched USC's offensive line get manhandled by Stanford last week and thought, "Oh, it's simple, you just need to blitz Matt Barkley a lot! That'll do it!"

Unfortunately it's not that simple. You can't just send the house every single time, or else the Trojans are going to take advantage of one-one-matchups with their speedy wide receivers or getting their athletic TEs and RBs into space on screens.

First and foremost, the Bears are going to have to win their battles up front. Stanford was so successful in disrupting USC's offense because their front four or five did such a solid job winning their one-on-one battles in the trenches. This allowed their defenders to play physical man coverage on USC's receivers knowing that Barkley wouldn't have time to find his receivers on their breaks. It also frees up the linebackers to drop back and provide support in coverage.

I'm not quite sure what to Make of Cal's defensive line just yet. They haven't been as disruptive as most would like, but part of that was by design given their defense of mobile QBs where it's more about contain than penetration. This is going to be a real man-up test for Cal's defensive line. They have to take advantage of their individual matchups and especially need to get penetration on USC's interior. It's mostly technique, but they'll also have to play with a bit of "it's now or never" mentality.

Secondly, the Bears have to be diverse in their defensive looks. The Bears can apply pressure without simply sending the house each time. For a USC offensive line that's scrambling right now to get right again, the Bears can throw them off with slants, stunts, zone blitzes, delayed blitzes, anything to mess up their timing or assignments. If you have an offensive line and QB that are pressing to get their rhythm down, it's imperative to get different sources and timings of defensive pressure.

And let's be clear, I don't think the Bears need to blitz every play, but I do think they need to err on the side of more pressure than less. Beating the Trojans won't be as simple as rattling Barkley, but it'll be a huge part of it.

But make no mistake about it, the Bears have no shot if they let Matt Barkley sit back in the pocket all day waiting for his receivers get open. No shot at all.  A new one will be torn, I can promise you that.

Offense Has to Step Up
Perhaps the aspect of USC's ownage of Cal the past few years that hasn't received much attention is how poorly Cal's offense has played against USC during the stretch.  Cal's best offensive output against the Trojans since 2003? 17 points. And that was once with Aaron Rodgers as your QB and another with Justin Forsett nearly running for 200 yards against the Trojans.

Consider this, the Bears have failed to score even double digit points in five of their last 7 meetings ('05, '06, '08, '09, '11).

It's been a combination of turnovers, poor execution, and times when the Bears looked flat out intimidated by the Trojans defense.

I'm not going to attempt to provide any thoughts schematically as to what the Bears need to do. They pretty much need to do the opposite of what they've done in the past.

With that said, here are some things I'd like to see on Saturday. First off, off keep it simple for Maynard. Maynard's best throws come off of play action or when he's hitting his receivers are short hitches, slants and screens. he doesn't need to get all of his yardage at once and his biggest mistakes against USC last season came when he kept trying to force the issue on the middle of the field.

Next, with depth at tight end an issue right now for the Bears, the Bears need to find ways to get their emerging receivers the ball more often. Ditto can be said for Isi Sofele and CJ Anderson who have shown to be effective weapons in the passing game as well.

Finally, and this is the most obvious, Brendan Bigelow needs to be a bigger part of your offensive gameplan. He doesn't even need to get the ball every time he gets on the field, even using him as a threat will open up things for the Bears. With that said, you need to get him the freaking every time he gets on the field. Contradictory statements? I don't care, get it done.

Outlook
I want to believe we can win. I really do. But unfortunately, it's one of those "I'll believe it when I see it," moments. And given the Bears' incompetence against the Trojans over the course of the past decade, forgive me for not hopping aboard the hope float.

But the opportunity is there. The Bears are hungry, motivated, and they've shown the ability not to get rattled on the road. We've seen flashes of offensive firepower, and this defense can get back to solid ways if they can cut down on their big plays. But they're going to face a USC team that's full of pissed off 5-star players at home.   Get it done Bears.  Prove you're a different squad.  It's time to beat the Trojans.

(still my) Prediction Cal 17 USC 31

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Pac-12 Predictions: Week 4

This week officially kicks off conference play, which also makes my life easier in that I'll be doing half the previews I usually do, as teams square off against each other. And no, don't expect the quality of the posts to improve in any way.

I'm 22-11 on the season, though we've got some real tough decisions with what I think are some pretty even matchups for some teams. It's going to be a real fun weekend for Pac-12 football. Let's take a look.

Arizona 28 Oregon 44
You've got to applaud the job that Rich Rod has done at Arizona so far. He's got them playing disciplined ball and has them buying in. And he's already got the Wildcats ranked with their 3-0 record. It's a completely different story though when you face off against the 3rd ranked Ducks at Autzen Stadium. While it's easy to dismiss the Wildcats, you've got to pause and consider that the Ducks have yet to really be tested this year, while the Wildcats have shown the ability to go toe to toe with a ranked team in Oklahoma State and flat out score more than opponents. I can't believe I'm typing this, but a upset isn't out of the question here. What is more likely though is that the Ducks rise to the occasion, and the Wildcats are unable to do enough to stop Mariota, Barner and most dangerously, DeAnthony Thomas.

Utah 24 Arizona State 17
Real interesting matchup. I was this close to jumping on the Sun Devils bandwagon and jumping off the Utes bandwagon until last weekend. ASU has shown far more discipline, cohesion on offense, and a better team defense than they showed last season. Meanwhile, the Utes have shown that they truly might have the best defense in the Pac-12 South, and that with smart QB play, they could make a bit of noise in the South as well. I believe the game will down to special teams, with both teams having gaffes in recent weeks. Despite ASU's home field advantage, I think Utah is able to wear down ASU in its running game and puts a clamp on Taylor Kelly and the Sun Devil offense over the course of 4 quarters.

Oregon State 20 UCLA 31
This should be another good one to watch that might provide a lot more clarity about both teams. Oregon State showed huge strides in defense in absolutely shutting down Wisconsin in their opener. UCLA meanwhile, is the team everyone seems to be talking about with Jonathan Franklin putting up videogame numbers and Brett Hundley seemingly living up to his 5 star billing. Ultimately, for as good as OSU's defense is, I think they have a hard time shutting down UCLA, and I'm not sold enough on their offense to think they'll score more points than the Bruins. Add in a touch of homefield advantage, and it looks like UCLA holds on to its ranking for another week.

Washington State 41 Colorado 13
I think Colorado surprises people here. Pfffff, sorry I couldn't type that with a straight face. I really tried. But seriously, I *hahahah*, I still can't do it! Man, ok, Colorado will score some points. In all seriousness. Washington State's defense has shown the ability to give up big plays, but Colorado doesn't have enough on the defensive side of the ball to come close to shutting the Cougars down.

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Midweek Thoughts: Is Maynard better this year?

I've come to realize there's a bit of a midweek lull on this blog. Usually, I'll have my game recap and Pac-12 roundup at the beginning of the week, and Thursday and Friday is when readers can expect the Pac-12 predictions and Keys to the Game feature respectively.

Wednesday's got nothing. So in honor of Hump Day, which I recently found out does not mean what I thought it did, I've decided to share some thoughts on the team and around the conference. No structure, just some observations as we move forward.

This week, I ponder whether QB Zach Maynard is a better QB through the first three games of this season than where he was at this point last year.

Through the first two games of the season, most fans would state that strictly from observations, Maynard looked like the same inconsistent QB he had shown to be last season. He could be pressured into mistakes, his throws on routine passes varied in accuracy, and most importantly, failed to put his team on his back in tight games.

Then the OSU game happened, and fans were exposed to some of the best of Maynard in an entertaining, but disappointing loss at the Horseshoe. He looked composed, he didn't force throws, and he exhibited some of the best accuracy in his time at Cal.

It got me thinking though, was this a blip or has Maynard turned the corner? Can we at least admit that Maynard is better now than where he was at this point last season?

Check out every throw from his first three games.
Nevada
(Credit Oski Bear and TouchedtheAxein82)

Southern Utah

(Credit Oski Bear and TouchedtheAxein82)

Ohio State
(Credit Oski Bear and TouchedtheAxein82)

He looks like a different QB so far, especially as the quarter has gone on. But let's dig into the numbers.

Through his first three games of the 2011 season, Maynard was completing 51.6% of his passes for 724 yards, 9 TDs and 3 INTs. He was averaging a QB rating of 142.8.

This year, through the first three games, Maynard is completing 66.7% of his passes for 754 yards, 4 TDs and 2 INTs. His average QB rating is 149.3.

In comparing where Maynard is this year compared to last, the stat that most jumps out to you is his huge jump in completion percentage (about 15%). Keep in mind that the gameplans for Maynard in the past few games are markedly different from the approach they took with the passing offense last year. The Bears have committed to short and intermediate routes, where you saw Maynard throwing downfield far more often early last season.

It's also worth noting the change in the level of competition from this year and last year. The Bears' first three opponents last year were Fresno State, Colorado, and Presbyterian. This year, the Bears started off with Nevada, Southern Utah and Ohio State. That's a stark contrast in level of quality opponents, with Nevada being far better than Fresno State last year, Southern Utah being better than Presbyterian, and Ohio State being exceedingly better than Colorado. Heck, Southern Utah is exceedingly better than Colorado.

As for what this says about Maynard, I'm not sure. I do think he is better now than he was at this point last season. I'm not sure you can truly dispute that. At Ohio State, he played about as well as he did during last year's 3-1 season finish, if not as well as he's ever played for the Bears. He's still inaccurate with some throws and can be flushed into forcing balls, but he's shown an increased ability to stand in the pocket and deliver throws even as things are collapsing around him. His last pass that sailed on him against OSU was his first jump pass all year, something that had been a regular (mis)tool in his arsenal last year. And again, the coaching staff is asking him to do different things this year, all for the better.

The more pressing question is whether Maynard will be a better QB this entire season, than he was last year.

Afterall, the most important stat are the wins. The Bears opened 3-0 last season in their soft opening stretch, while the Bears stumbled out of the gates this year with a 1-2 record. However, in 2011, the Bears then dropped their next three games against Washington, Oregon and USC. During this stretch, Maynard was averaging 53.5% of his passes for 861 yards, while his TD:INT ratio dropped to 2:3, and his QB rating plummetted to 110.8.

It will be very interesting to see how Maynard does in the coming weeks against USC, ASU, and UCLA. If Maynard can maintain his level of play, it might put to rest arguments that he isn't a better QB this year once and for all. As the stats have shown, it's certainly possible to have stretches of solid play only to stumble against different competition in the next.

And who knows, maybe this will translate into more wins?

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Pac-12 Roundup Week 3

Had a better week in my conference predictions, going 7-3, with the surprises being Stanford outphysicalling USC, ASU letting me down as my upset team, and Utah showing that they still have some life in them. So far, I'm 22-11 on the season with Colorado's incompetence being my saving grace. On to the breakdown!

Washington State 35 UNLV 27
Lowdown:Washington State survives a far closer game than anyone could have imagined. An entertaining game ended in one of the more curious sequences I've seen so far. First off, WSU coach Mike Leach elects not to run down the clock with an 8 point lead and instead passes on 2 of the Cougars' 4 downs (without punting), leaving UNLV with the ball on their own 34 yard line with 40 full seconds. Second off, the referees spot the ball short of a critical first down, burning off critical time for the Rebels. On replay, it was clear they had picked up the first down. On the subsequent play, UNLV's wide receiver was knocked out of bounds but again the Rebels were spotted in bounds with more time running down. UNLV was then forced to chuck up a hail mary with just 2 seconds to go. I guess the officiating crew was that eager to hit the roulette tables.

As for the game itself, talk about busted coverage plays after busted coverage plays. The game featured 6 catches that made up 200 yards for the Cougars. Anyone who watched it saw the Rebels give up one big pass play after another, which I couldn't understand. If you know you're facing off against Marquess Wilson, why would you leave him single covered with no safety help over the top? Despite that, the Cougars were prone to giving up some big plays as well. After thinking that WSU's defense had improved, they surrendered 466 yards to one of the worst teams in the FBS. The team still has a ways to go, though the Cougars are 2-1 with their first road non-conference win since 2005.

Up Next: The Cougars look to go 3-1 with hapless Colorado coming to town. Though WSU isn't where they'd like to be just yet, they're still infinitely better than Colorado.

Oregon 63 Tennessee Tech 14
Lowdown:The only news here is that Tennessee Tech is worse than I expected which isn't saying much. The Ducks had a bit of a sloppy game with 12 penalties for 105 yards, but still managed to roll up 651 yards of offense. It really wasn't fair to put DeAnthony Thomas out here against these guys, but then again, life isn't fair. Just ask Khloe Kardashian.

Up Next: Oregon prepares for the first "test" of the season when they host Arizona. The Wildcats still aren't close to the team ready to knock off the Ducks, but they are going to put up some points. This should be a fun one for anyone who likes offense (Chip Kelly vs. Rich Rod) and bad uniforms.

Washington 52 Portland State 13
Lowdown:Like I predicted, the Huskies took their post LSU frustrations out against Portland State who somehow managed to have a poorer showing than I imagined. The game was over after the first quarter, but out of respect for the Vikings, let's say it was over after halftime when the Huskies were up 45-0. I started to look into stats to write about then I went on with life.

Up Next: Here comes the teeth of the Huskies Pac-12 schedule. Their blowout loss to LSU told us nothing that we didn't already know: the Huskies aren't ready to compete at an elite level. But if Washington can beat a visiting Stanford team, they'll make a push for upper tier of the Pac-12 North behind Oregon.

Arizona State 20 Missouri 24
Lowdown: ASU looked like they were dead in the water, down 24-7 in the fourth quarter. The Sun Devils seemed to be done in by road jitters with multiple turnovers, penalties and special teams gaffes. They made a furious rally to narrow the score to 24-20, only to see Kelly's pass on third down picked off to finish the game. I had been high on the Sun Devils after seeing their impressive and polished play the past few weeks. Though they still look like a better squad than they did last year, they did show they're still a ways away from being a team that isn't prone to mistakes with enough defensive pressure and solid coverage downfield.

Up Next: A very interesting game against Utah. The Utes are looking to get back into their winning ways and are still as physical of a team as one will find in the conference. The game will go a long way in to providing some clarity in the Pac-12 South. But this one should be fun to watch.

USC 14 Stanford 21
Lowdown: I had predicted that Stanford would keep it close with USC through the first three quarters before the Trojans eventually use their playmakers to pull it away. Nope. The Cardinal pull off the first major conference upset of the year. I'm absolutely shocked given the question marks at offensive line, secondary, and lack of playmakers at the WR spot for Stanford. But I will say that the Cardinal impressed me in that they played an inspired brand of ball and came in with a gameplan that they executed perfectly. I think that's about as well as I've seen the Cardinal defense ever play.

Up Next:We've got a real good one coming up with Stanford making their first road trip up to Seattle to face the Huskies. They're going to want a use a similar gameplan to pressure Keith Price and drape Washington's weapons in Kasen Williams and Austen Sefarian-Jenkins. The Cardinal have gotten better in each game, but can they continue their inspired play in their first road trip of the season?

Colorado 14 Fresno State 69
Lowdown: Man it isn't even funny anymore. I mean I could crack more jokes here with Colorado, but it's kinda like laughing at the kid who eats by himself near the bathroom at lunch. It just stops being funny after awhile. Actually, nevermind, I just watched this and I'll admit, I laughed. I predicted Colorado would lose to Fresno State, but I thought they'd show some fight. Instead, they get completely rolled by a Fresno State squad that is improved, but far from good enough to roll 55 on someone in the half. I mean Weber State held them to 37 points. Last week I thought things could only get better for Colorado, now I don't even know what to think.

Up Next: A road trip to Pullman to face the Washington State Cougars. Just, I don't know guys, but you're going to lose. Wazzu will even find a way to roll up over a 100 yards on the ground on you guys, and that's saying something.

Utah 24 BYU 21
Lowdown: Wild, wild game. The Utah Utes looked like they had the game in the bag 24-7, and then decided that they were bored. The Utes completed mistake after mistake, allowing the BYU Cougars to rally back to a 3 point deficit with a minute left in the game. When Utah fans stormed the field after it appeared BYU's final pass fell short, it was ruled that there was a second remaining on the clock. The fans rushed the field a second time after BYU's field goal attempt to send the game into overtime was blocked. That's a no no, guys. The Cougars were granted another field goal attempt, only to have the kick bounce off the left upright. Now you guys can rush the field.

Up Next: The Utes salvaged the season and bought themselves some fuzzy feelings with a win over their rival. But with conference play starting up, the Utes face an ASU team that will tell us a whole lot more information about both teams. How will the Utes do against a spread ASU offense that will try to work the open field? How will their offensive line fare against an ASU defense that has shown the ability to fly all over the field? Again, a game to watch.

Arizona 56 South Carolina State 0
Lowdown:Rich Rod! Matt Scott! Heisman! Rose Bowl! Yarggh! Not only did the Wildcats roll up 689 yards, they shut out FCS SC State. Though I'm surprised the Wildcats have found a running game, I'm more surprised by their defense that has shown more spark and big play ability.

Up Next: All good things must come to an end. The Wildcats make the trip up to Autzen Stadium to face off against the 3rd ranked Ducks. Like I've stated on the blog before, don't expect the Wildcats to pull off the upset, but this one is going to be far more interesting than most had thought going into the season. We are going to see some yardage (over a 1000 easily) and some points in this one.

UCLA 37 Houston 6
Lowdown: No one was expecting Houston to come close to testing the Bruins this weekend. This was not a good Houston team at all. With that said, there is still something to shutting out a team for 3 quarters. Brett Hundley continues to mature, going for over 300 yards through the air, though he did throw two picks. The nation will continue to talk about the direction Jim mora has the Bruins headed, the revelation that is Brett Hundley and the workhorse in Jonathan Franklin. It will be very interesting to watch the Bruins get test on the road in conference play in coming weeks.

Up Next: The Bruins face off against a tough Beavers squad. The Bruins shouldn't struggle too much defensively against OSU, but I'm far more interested to see how OSU's defense does against UCLA, because so far, UCLA has looked pretty dominant on that side of the ball.

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Ohio State Recap

Man, what a game. The Bears came into the Horseshoe as significant underdogs and lost 28-35 to the Buckeyes in a close game.

First off, I understand people are disappointed by the result of the game. Everyone would have loved for the Bears to go have gone into ‘Shoe and pulled off the upset. And many will spend the next week or more dissecting every gaffe and questioning every coaching decision. There will be some of that in this post as well. But as a Cal fan, and a college football fan, can we just take a step back and appreciate a good game when we see one? Because that was a competitive contest, with a Cal team showing more life than one we’ve seen all season, so let’s appreciate and enjoy that for now, as much as the bad taste of a loss creeps its way into the back of our throats.

With that said, this game was one that was absolutely in reach. The game wasn’t a fluke, nor should we be applauding moral victories here. The Bears were the better team for most of the game, but were undone by some painful missed opportunities and poor officiating. Let’s get into the specifics.

Defense - the Victim of Busted Assignments
Overall, the defense far surpassed my expectations. They did solidly against a quarterback and offense that had shown the ability to roll defenses, and it was a frightening endeavor for a defense that had been torched by mobile quarterbacks. Yet, the Bears kept a net around Braxton Miller, and didn’t allow him to gash them for a ridiculous number of yards.

If you take away Braxton Miller’s 55 yarder, Cal’s defense held Miller to just 20 yards on 11 carries (1.8 ypc). By the way, speaking of that run, the Bears were actually in pretty good position there, Miller just put a ridiculous PS2 L2 button move on safety Alex Logan there to bust out for the score. That’s a running back playing QB there folks.

The Bears defense really buckled down after giving up three TDs early in the game, and shut out the Buckeyes in the 3rd quarter. Where they Bears killed themselves though were on busted assignments in pass coverage.

OSU’s final TD came on a busted coverage assignment between DB Marc Anthony and safety Alex Logan. It looked like Anthony was passing off WR Devin Smith to safety help on top, but Logan was caught spying Miller and completely lost Smith behind him. At least that’s what it looked like. But if you’re a safety, you can’t let a receiver get behind you. The result was a 72 yard score and the deciding score.

On top of that, Cal’s safeties failed to locate OSU’s tight ends in goal line situations, leading to two easy scores. I understand with OSU being a running team that you have to respect the run, but you can’t completely lose the TE like that. Especially not twice.


Quarterback Play
Anyone who thinks Maynard is the reason we lost this game is on meth. Like Walter White quality meth.

Look, I understand people are going to point at Maynard’s interception that iced the game for the Buckeyes, and polish their pitchforks.

But get off it. It’s getting tiresome. I’m not telling you to rave about Maynard. But up until Brendan Bigelow exploded in the second half, he was the best thing going for the Bears’ offense in the game.

Maynard was 26-37 for 280 yards, two TDs (one rushing) and that late pick. Given the hostile environment, the multiple drops, the low snaps, and the fact that he was getting destroyed in the backfield, I thought he played a very solid game. He didn’t force many throws, he showed solid accuracy, and managed this offense. You know he wishes he had that last pass back, but this was a blotch on what was overall a solid performance.

So I’m not going to argue that Maynard is an elite quarterback. Not even close. But I do know that I’ve seen enough from Maynard to know that this team can win more games than it can lose with him at QB, if the rest of the team holds their weight.


Coaching Decisions
Coach Tedford’s decision to elect for the 42 yard field goal on 4th and 1, tied 28-28 late in the game is the one likely to draw the most ire from Cal fans. After all, Vincenzo D’Amato had just missed two field goals from around the same distance earlier in the game.

It was a tough call. I felt like it could have gone either way. I understand the sentiment that not going for it shows a lack of trust in the offense to pick up the yard. But some might forget that the Bears had also gone 0-2 on 4th down in the game as well. So you’re looking at 0-2 on field goals, and 0-2 on 4th down.

Ultimately, I can understand the decision to go for it. You got to try and take the lead there with the way Cal’s defense had been playing up until that point in the second half. Even if you pick up the first down, you may only be setting yourself up for a slightly shorter FG. What I didn’t like though, was the timeout before the FG. You effectively ice your own kicker, and you could have used it later in the game.

I won’t disagree with people who say that the Bears should have gone for it, but I will disagree with those who say it was a no brainer of a decision.


Offensive Line Play
The result of an offensive line featuring four new starters and one playing his third game at a different position? A line that allows 6 sacks to a defensive line that had managed just two going into the game.

While one or two of the sacks were due to the Buckeyes stacking the box, the Bears just lost one-on-one battles with OSU’s front seven. They were late in communicating pressure, and just showed bad technique and leverage in some other situations.

The problems were made worse with the number of low snaps we saw from center Brian Schwenke. This was one of the more surprising elements given that Schwenke had for the most part been solid in this area up until this game. But there were multiple low snaps throughout the game. Granted, it’s always better to have low snaps than high snaps, but it does so much to disrupt the rhythm of an offense when the quarterback is always having to spend an extra second to locate the ball, scoop it out of the dirt, and then get his eyes up to look downfield. That’s gotta get cleaned up.

Overall, this offensive line has me more concerned going forward than other unit on the team. It’s not a matter of just cleaning up mental mistakes. This is a makeshift offensive line that’s just flat out getting beat against defenders.


Playmakers Emerging on Offense
The Bears have some real nice playmakers beginning to make a name for themselves on offense.

Chris Harper scored his second TD of the year continuing his strong play, and Bryce Treggs contributed as well with 3 catches for 28 yards. Darius Powe finally made an appearance, catching two balls for 44 yards.

All of this is in addition to the 8 catches and 90 yards Keenan Allen recorded. And don't discount what Allen does in sucking up double and triple coverage, giving the younger receivers some one on one matchups. You’ve got to think the wide receiving corps is going to be in good shape for years to come.

But the big story is the emergence of Brendan Bigelow. Bigelow showed the type of speed and big play ability fans hoped for when the Bears recruited them two years ago. Bigelow led the Bears with 160 yards on 4 carries, with a ridiculous 81 yarder in the third quarter. Bigelow bounced off tackles, hit the spin move button twice and ran away from the defense in one of the best runs I’ve seen from a Cal back in years. He then added a 59 yarder later in the fourth.

Coach Gould, please give Bigelow the ball more. Please. He’s back. He doesn’t have to be the primary back, but get the ball in his hands. When he’s making OSU look like a high school squad, you know you’ve got something. Please.


Missed Opportunities on Special Teams
The Bears lost 28-35. Vincenzo D’Amato missed three field goals which would have provided 9 points. Do the math.

Look I’m not going to pile on a player who is likely feeling like the loneliest player in that locker room right now. But man, you’ve got to make at least one of the field goals. It wouldn’t have been the difference, but who knows how the game turns with a 3 point lead late in the game?

I said at the beginning of the year that people were underestimating the effect of not having a season kicker on the team. We all saw first hand how significant special teams are in a close game.


Penalties/Bad Calls
The Bears actually played a flag-free first quarter and this offense looked pretty good in the process.

Things fell apart though in Cal’s second to last possession in the second quarter. CJ Anderson made an amazing grab to haul in a pass from Zach Maynard, only to have his long catch and run negated by a holding call on TE Jacob Wark. I’m sorry, but that was not a hold. Wark kept his hands inside the defender's jersey the entire time, it was just bad leverage from the OSU defender.

Another bad call on guard Chris Adcock, who continued to play after the whistle but was flagged for unnecessary roughness because the OSU defender tried to spear Adcock with his head only to have his helmet fly off. What?

Then there’s the CJ Anderson catch that was ruled incomplete, though it was clear CJA got his foot down.

It got so bad that even the ABC announcers were lamenting about the Big-10 referee bias.

Some of the pains were self-inflicted however, with Jordan Rigsbee losing position and holding an OSU defender to wipe out what would have been 3rd and goal from the two yard line for the Bears after a QB draw by Maynard.

Look, it’s not like the Bears would have rolled the Buckeyes without the bad calls. But in a game when the Bears were doing all they could to pull the upset, it’s maddening to have the game held in the balance of some terrible officiating.

The silver lining here is that despite the sloppy second quarter, the Bears played much cleaner ball after that, with just one false start penalty late in the fourth quarter.


Moving Forward
Does this team have some major question marks? Absolutely. The makeshift offensive line has yet to gel and special teams will need to find answers in consistency.

But the Bears showed signs of life. They did more than what many could have expected by playing a tough road game in one of the most hostile environments in college football. They played their hearts out on the field.

Did they show enough to indicate they’re going to knock off USC next weekend? Not really, but they showed they just might be back to being the type of team that fans had envisioned competing hard in the Pac-12 week in, week out. Playmakers are emerging, the defense is showing signs of life, and for all of the knocks on Maynard, he is indeed better than where he was last year.

Tough loss, and this is likely a 1-3 team after next week, but I’ve gone from thinking this team won’t be bowl eligible to thinking they’ve got a shot at doing some things in the rest of conference play. It’s why we play the games.

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Cal vs. OSU Live Game Thread

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

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Keys to the Game: Ohio State

Cal can beat Ohio State tomorrow.

Wait, come back! Stop laughing, seriously, you didn't even let me finish.

What I was saying is, yes, the Bears are capable of beating the Buckeyes tomorrow. OSU's secondary has had questionable moments, their defensive line has struggled to consistently get pressure on quarterbacks, and their offense has been mostly one-dimensional for the better part of a season and a half now.

Here's the issue though: the Bears have yet to look like the team capable of notching the upset. Far from it in fact. Thus far, the Bears have looked like a team that's turned what was once supposed to be a highly anticipated matchup of non-conference foes into a game where the Bears enter as 17 point underdogs. That's what sloppy play, penalties, and a general lack of discipline on defense will do to a team's perception.

So can the Bears beat the Buckeyes? They're going to have to play a radically different type of ball than the type they've shown at the beginning of the season. On top of that, I can't remember the last time the Bears beat a non-conference team with a winning record on the road, let alone one that has been ranked. Throw in the fact that the Buckeyes haven't lost to an unranked non-conference opponent at the 'Shoe in about 30 years, and we're looking at what would need to be a completely revelatory effort for a historic upset.

Still, we've got a chance.



After the jump, take a look at a few quick keys to the game.

Containing QB Braxton Miller
For the Bears to beat OSU, it's not going to be as simple as stopping quarterback Braxton Miller, but it certainly is going to be essential.

The Buckeyes have a dangerous offense, but thus far it's difficult to suggest that they have been anything but one-dimensional. However Braxton Miller plays, so goes the offense. Miller has accounted for 60% of OSU's offensive yardage this season, and the onus on him is going to be even heavier with the loss of runningback Carlos Hyde. This has forced Miller to make more plays on the ground, which Miller did in rushing the ball 27 times for 147 yards and 3 scores last Saturday.

OSU has been real multiple in the ways they use Miller to run the ball. Unlike Nevada's Cody Fajardo, Miller isn't simply a threat on the edge. The Buckeye's offensive line is very quick at opening up interior rushing lanes for Miller on designed runs and QB draw plays, in addition to the standard zone read. Throw in the possibility of Miller getting out of the pocket to create plays or pick up huge chunks of yardage, and you have as multiple of a running threat from a quarterback as the Bears have ever seen, perhaps ever.

The sheer prospect of defending a mobile quarterback has to be frightening for Bears fans after the debacles that has been their most adventures in attempting to do so. It becomes repetitive, but it really is going to be about discipline and maintaining one's gaps. There have been far too many instances of defenders trying to force plays, moving too far deep downfield or venturing into a teammate's gap, allowing the runner to cut it back outside. That can't happen against Miller. He's too fast, too athletic, and too strong for those types of lapses, and will ultimately destroy the Bears.

The task becomes even more difficult with the prospect of a limited Chris McCain. I like the athleticism of Brennan Scarlett on one side, but the Bears are counting on Nathan Broussard and Dan Camporeale to really step up on the other.

The Bears could elect get a player like Josh Hill to spy Miller, but again, it isn't that simple. The Bears are going to be multiple in their looks against Miller, who for all his athleticism and talent (and he's got a ton), is still a questionable passer, particularly on his downfield throws. He isn't quite sound in his mechanics and can be rattled in making questionable decisions. You choose to spy him the entire game, you can bet he, or more realistically, the coaching staff will pick up on it and he'll find ways to exploit our secondary.

Cal's going to have to be real multiple in disciplined in their defensive looks. Pendergast has to find ways of bring pressure and making contact will Miller on nearly every play. I'd scrape the "scrap exchange" attack (see what I did there?) and look to force Miller into being a passer. I can live with Miller throwing for tough yards against us, but will be disgusted if he continues to gash us for yards untouched. If the Bears can pressure Miller with his reads and penetrate at the point of attack, they can try and take away at least a chunk of rushing options for Miller, which may be there only hope.

Getting Stops on 3rd Down
The Bears have been awful on third down defense this year, allowing a conference worst 52.5% of opponent 3rd down conversions. And it's not like they're constantly getting themselves in third and short situations. The Bears have had plenty of moments in which they've actually notched negative yardage plays on first or second down only to give up big yardage on third.

This will boil down to good coverage downfield but also good pressure on Braxton Miller, and forcing him to stay inside the pocket instead of freelancing it to create plays.

It can be absolutely exhausting to defend a mobile quarterback who is always a threat to extend plays with his legs. The prospect of defending that type of quarterback of the course 10+ play drives are darn near impossible. The defense needs to get off the field on third down if they're going to have a chance.

You'd like that 3rd down conversion number to be under 30%. Much higher than that, and it's going to be a brutally long day for the Bears.

Keep OSU's Defense Honest
If you've got the personnel, the formula for defending the Bears' offense hasn't been much of a secret. Stack the box and force Zach Maynard to beat you. The Bears have been best when they've been able to get their run game going, but have been less than mediocre when forced to simply be a passing team.

The Buckeyes defensive line has struggled to get pressure on the quarterback, so there's reason to believe that they'll be dialing up some extra blitz packages to rattle Maynard into making poor decisions.

It'll be on this offensive line to give Maynard just enough time to find his hot reads and locate his receivers in coverage. If the Buckeyes begin to respect the Bears' passing attack, that could open up some very important running lanes for Isi Sofele and CJ Anderson. Though I'm not usually a fan of the approach, establish the pass and the Bears have a better shot at being balanced on offense.

So You're Telling Me There's a Chance
As much as I want to believe that the Bear's go in and exorcise a multitude of demons, they simply haven't looked like the type of squad yet that's capable of doing that.

In the very worst of circumstances, the Bears come out flat and get blown out by the Buckeyes. Can't rule that out.

But I'd love to see the Bears go out there and play with pride. I'd love to see them compete and keep it competitive through all four quarters and not have to resort to any "winning the second half" talk. I'd love the Bears to play a physical and polished brand of football that gives fans hope for what's a very long remainder of a season.

There are no moral victories in football. A loss will put the Bears at 1-2, with little indication that it won't soon be 1-3 with USC waiting the week after. So no one's going to beat their chest with a loss here. But if the Bears are going to lose, I want to make sure they lose to the Buckeyes and stop the excruciating process of beating themselves.

Prediction
Ohio State 31 Cal 17
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Pac-12 Week 3 Predictions

I have to do better than last week's 7-5 right? Let's see, we've got 3 FCS teams, UNLV, Houston, and Colorado on the schedule. Yeah, that's at least six locks right there. Sorry Colorado.

Washington State 31 UNLV 20
UNLV has had the misfortune of losing back to back games by just 3 points (vs. Minnesota and NAU). It won't be as close against WSU however. The Cougars will make sure their second appearance on ESPN will go better than their last debacle of a game against BYU. The WSU offense is still a ways away from where people would like, but the Cougar defense is improving little by little with each game. The Cougars pull away before entering conference play.

Washington 35 Portland State 17
The Huskies are looking for a bounceback game after their disappointing showing against the Tigers. Portland State is about as solid of an FCS squad as you'll find, but they'll be outmatched against a Huskies that will be looking to let out their frustrations against a team not name LSU. Because that's what they do. Rumor has it that Steve Sarkisian has had a live Viking in a cage during practices and has threatened to punish reporters who use the words "purple" and "very" in their tweets.

Oregon 52 Tennessee Tech 24
Sigh, Oregon has yet to be really challenged and that isn't going to change this week. Tenn Tech is 2-0, but the wins have come over Hampton and North Greenville. Yeah...good luck against the Neon Ducks. The Ducks roll as the trio of Mario-TA, Barner, Anthony continue to embarrass competition.

Arizona State 30 Missouri 27
Anyone else want to jump on the Sun Devil bandwagon? This is your last chance. Because if the Sun Devils beat a decent Missouri squad, then you know half the country will be calling ASU the best challenge to USC in the south. If you've been following the blog at all, you know that the Sun Devils are my surprise team so far as they've completely surpassed my very low expectations with some pretty polished play. However, I've gone back and forth as I still don't know how this team will do on the road. QB Taylor Kelly has looked really good so far though, and I'm calling an ASU upset in another shootout.

USC 38 Stanford 24
The days of the Trojans getting pushed around the Cardina are over. I expect the two teams to feel each other out early on before Barkley's connection with Marquise Lee and Robert Woods pays off in the critical second and third quarters. Stanford's secondary has come up with big plays, but hasn't shown an ability to shut down opposing receivers. They've got their work cut out for them with the assignment of facing two of the best receivers in the nation.

Colorado 20 Fresno State 31
Geez Colorado. This may be the Buffalos' best chance at scoring a win this year, but they're going to have to play mistake-free game against a Fresno State team that is feeling confident after their Oregon game. You know it's gotten bad for Colorado when FSU fans aren't asking themselves, "Will we win?" but rather, "How many TDs will we win by?" The only wildcard is if CU quarterback Connor Wood gets the nod over incumbent Jordan Webb. Keep an eye out.

Utah 27 BYU 31
Critical, critical game for the Utes, who look to rebound from their disappointing loss to Utah State. I've got to say that BYU has looked like a far more impressive team so far, but you always give an extra boost to the home team in a rivalry game. I'm also interested to see who gets the lionshare of reps at quarterback with unspectacular but consistent Jon Hayes needing to hold off unproven but dynamic freshman Travis Wilson. With the questions at offensive line, you give the edge to the team with the more balanced offense.

Arizona 45 South Carolina State 13
Here's my bold prediction of the week: the Wildcats score a ton of points. Rich Rod's team get off to a fast start, allowing quarterback Matt Scott to sit out most of the second half. I honestly can't think of more things to write about here. South Carolina State's mascot image is really ugly?

UCLA 45 Houston 20
This is not a good Houston Team. At all. The Bruins are going to continue to stay in Cloud 9 for at least another week. Expect the Cougars to put some yards through the air in the first half, before UCLA's defense buckles up in the second half. QB Brett Hundley will continue to mature, and there's a really good chance Jonathan Franklin tops 200 yards again this week. He'll most certainly be halfway past the 1,000 yard mark after his first three games. Ridic.

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Pac-12 Week 2 Roundup

Boy, did the Pac-12 make me look foolish last week with my predictions. I went a piss poor 7-5 last week. The Pac-12 featured some absolute stunners of games, and despite some complete face plants by teams, the conference as a whole walked out looking far more competitive on the national level. When last year's Big-12 and Big-10 champions lose to teams expected to have competed for no better than the middle of their divisions, you know your conference comes off looking good.

Oregon State 10, Wisconsin 7
Lowdown: Holy freaking crap Beavers, really? Really? The Beavers pull the shocker and stun Wisconsin, a team projected to be the leader in their "Leaders" division. The Beavers looked like a completely different team than the hapless Oregon State squad from years past. They were more physical, more aggressive and more sound than Wisconsin. Quarterback Sean Mannion looked poised and accurate, despite Oregon State's game plan of dinking and dunking down the field. But the Beavers' run defense was the real star, holding Wisconsin's Montee ball to just 7 net yards through 3 quarters. That is super impressive against a Heisman candidate. I'm still getting used to the idea of Oregon State coming strong out of the gates for once. This is too surreal.
Up Next: You'd think the Beavers might actually be bummed about having a bye this week, as they're red hot and would like to ride their momentum into conference play. Still, they're off a week before a now very interesting conference game with UCLA. This could be a team to watch.

LSU 41, Washington 3 Lowdown: Man, you have to feel terrible for the Huskies. I mean, after all that preseason talk about taking their program to the next level and playing with the big boys, they were bullied around by the bad, bad, meanie poop head LSU team. They didn't even get to play in LSU's endzone even once! And they even brought a live tiger to practice! It's just not fair. Why does everyone have to be so mean to Steve Sarkesian, Tosh Lupoi and the Huskies? Who'd they hurt?

Up Next: The Huskies get some breathing room in facing Portland State next weekend. They better then buckle up as they then enter into the brutal conference stretch of their schedule with Stanford, Oregon, USC, and now you can throw Arizona into that mix. We all knew the Huskies' schedule was going to be tough, but Washington fans were likely hoping for some sign the Huskies were at least moving in the right direction towards competing on a national level.

Arizona 59, Oklahoma St. 38 Lowdown: Wow, I expected both teams to roll up 30+ points with the winner winning by 2+ scores, but I didn't think the Wildcats had the firepower to put up nearly 60 points. Then again, I didn't think Oklahoma State's defense was going to be this bad. But make no mistake about it, Rich Rod has got this Wildcat offense clicking. I am no longer pissed that we don't play Arizona this year. Despite all the questions on offense, this Arizona squad is ranked. Nationally. Seriously, WTF is going on here?

Up Next: The Wildcats should breeze past South Carolina State, before heading into Autzen to face #4 ranked Oregon. Though they've got their work cut out for them, I don't think any fan in Tucson is griping about the prospect of a nationally ranked contest against the Ducks. And man, those teams are going to put up some points.

UCLA 36, Nebraska 30
Lowdown: I'd be lying if I said I saw this coming too. I knew full well both teams could put up points, and it seemed like both squads were allergic to playing defense in the first half. But I must say that I was impressed with UCLA's adjustments in the second half, holding the Nebraska offense to just 106 yards in the second half. I don't know which is more impressive, that stat or the fact that UCLA's offense has topped 640 yards in back to back weeks. Rice was one thing, but doing it against Nebraska is another.

Up Next: Assuming the Bruins don't faceplant, they're going to completely roll a very bad Houston squad, and only watch their shiny new 22nd place ranking rise. If the Bruins can hold off Oregon State, this could be a Top 15 team by the time they roll into Memorial Stadium next month. Just a horrifying thought.

Sacramento St. 30, Colorado 28
Lowdown: Oh my gawd Colorado, oh my...just...man I don't even know what to say anymore. That's about as embarrassing as you can get. It's like watching a distant cousin piss their pass in front of everyone one week to watching them crap their pants the next. The Buffalos have now posted losses to Colorado State and FCS Sacramento State. And they didn't just lose a fluky game against Sac. State, they were owned in nearly every phase of the game. This is definitely a team I'm unhappy we're not playing against.

Up Next: Fresno State. But who cares? Is there anyone in Boulder who honestly thinks the Buffalos post a win this season? Seriously, where do you see a win on that schedule? Maybe, just maybe they nip Utah to end the season again? No? Yeh, me neither.

Utah St. 27, Utah 20
Lowdown: Though this can't quite be labeled a shocker, it's definitely an upset. The big news is quarterback Jordan Wynn going down with yet another shoulder injury, and it's now learned that Wynn has decided to retire from the sport. The fourth shoulder surgery seems to be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back. The Utes weren't exactly blazing with him though, down 14-0 against the Aggies until backup Jon Hayes entered the game. Hayes did decently, but the bigger story will be the development of Utah's offensive line that seems to relish allowing the opposing defense to play backfield pinata with their QB.

Up Next: An absolutely critical rivalry game against BYU. Utah fans seem to think that their season is over if they lose that one. I'm not so sure, but with ASU, USC and UCLA up after that, it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Utes could start the season 1-5. Definitely not what one expected out of team that had supposedly been the Pac-12 South's only shot at knocking off USC.

Arizona St. 45, Illinois 14 Lowdown: What a radically different perception of Arizona State after two weeks of play. Seriously, this team was expected to scrape the bottom of Pac-12 barrel, and suddenly this team looks transformed under new coach Todd Graham (aka fat George Dubya Bush). After two weeks, the Sun Devils have outplayed their opponents 108-20. Of course, you could look at their competition (an FCS team and a middling Big-10 team without their starting QB), but it doesn't take away from the fact that this team does by and large look better in all phases.

Up Next: Before the season started, I wouldn't have been at all surprised had the Sun Devils started 1-3. Now, at this point, I'm scared this team might actually be 4-0 and ranked when they head into Memorial Stadium at the end of this month. We'll see how they fare against Missouri, the now SEC team with dangerous QB James Franklin. My thought is that it will be another offensive explosion, but if they can win on the road in Missouri, you can officially color me scared.

Washington St. 24, Eastern Washington 20
Lowdown: The Cougars ushered in their first win under the Mike Leach era, in a closer than comfortable contest against FCS powerhouse Eastern Washington. The solace for Washington State fans is their ability to get critical stops against Eastern Washington on defense. Though WSU's offense seemed to finally find some rhythm, they're still a ways away from being where Leach and Cougar company would like them to be. It's still a long season, and I'm not even close to feeling safe about what this team might become by the end of the season.

Up Next: The Cougars enter into a soft portion of their schedule, with UNLV and Colorado up next before they face Oregon. It's the perfect recipe for this team to continue to get reps, build confidence, and become the ass-kicking, name-taking pirate crew that Mike Leach knows this team can be. 3-1 record, anyone?

USC 42, Syracuse 29
Lowdown: I was so close to getting this score correct (42-20). After watching the game, I must say that while the outcome of the game was never in question, USC's defense did show some vulnerabilities after surrendering 322 passing yards. But I must say this, how ridiculous is this Matt Barkley/Robert Woods/Marquise Lee trio? Despite the low yardage total, Barkley hooked up with Woods and Lee for a ridiculous 5 passing TDs.

Up Next: Here comes the big matchup with Stanford. It'll be USC's biggest test so far, but I still doubt the Trojans get tested as much as the pundits had hoped before the season started. The Cardinal aren't looking as formidable as previous years, but it should reveal a bit more about what this team is really capable of.

Stanford 50, Duke 13
Lowdown: The Cardinal finally showed off a bit more of the dominance that fans had become accustomed to over the past few years. It was the type of bounceback performance fans had hoped for after a too-close-for-comfort win against San Jose State the week prior. QB Josh Nunes had a solid performance with 275 yards, 3 TDs and an interception. Duke keyed in on the run, holding Stepfan Taylor to just 69 yards on 14 carries, a formula other teams are likely to replicate moving forward.

Up Next: See above. Oh, and Stanford sucks.

Oregon 42, Fresno St. 25
Lowdown: The Ducks looked like they were going to run away with this early on taking a 35-6 lead at the half. But the offense sputtered a bit in the second half, and the FSU bulldogs shot themselves in the foot by needing to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. It took a late score from Kenjon Barner to put the game out of reach once and for all. Speaking of Barner, I'd predict he'd bounce back after a quiet week 1, and he did just that, ripping off 201 yards against the Bulldog D. Redshirt frosh QB Marcus Mario-TA, continues to impress.

Up Next: Blah. The Ducks went all SEC scheduling on us, with Tennessee Tech up next. It's not good when your non conference slate features teams with school names all ending in Tech or State. Barner and the Black Mamba combine for a million yards. You heard it here first.

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Southern Utah Recap

(Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

In my Keys to the Game feature I stated that I, like most Cal fans, wouldn't really be paying too much attention to the score. When playing against an FCS foe, it was extremely unlikely that the result of the game was ever going to be in question. What was going to be in question though was how well the Bears would respond after a disappointing and rough start to the season.

The result was not promising.

Again, this is not some bloodthirsty desire to see an FCS team get Savannah Stated. The Cal faithful knew the only solace that could be gained from the Bears' game on Saturday was to see the Bears get back to executing and looking polished.

Instead, the Bears came out in a seemingly self-destructive form early on, committing multiple penalties and two turnovers in the first half. And despite the Bears' abilities to move the ball and physically dominate their opponent, they looked sloppy, disorganized and far being the type of team that's prepared to enter into the most difficult stretch of its schedule.

It's the type of win that that's hard to feel super excited about. Sure, the big plays are fun to watch, but it's got to be frustrating for the players and coaches right now. They must feel they're capable of better, but it's distressing to see them come out flat in back to back weeks in front of their home crowd.

Let's dive in the positives and negatives from the game.

No Quarterback Quandaries

I don't think there can be much debate with Maynard at this point. He is what he is: he'll make plays but he'll always cause much headshaking in the stands. I actually didn't think he had a bad day, and was decent statistically, going 17-23 for 229 yards, a TD and a score. He also broke off a few decent runs, gaining 46 yards on the ground. The majority of his passes didn't seem to be forced and were on point.

But Maynard still had a few instances of overthrowing his intended receivers on some simple throws out in the flats that could have gone for some big and critical yardage. It's a bit head-shaking at this point that he can't complete those passes.

Maynard was also picked off for the first time this season after a busted blocking assignment on a roll-out screen led to Maynard throwing the ball right into the mits of an outstretched Southern Utah defensive lineman. I know it's one of those quick hitting plays, but you would hope that your QB would pull down the ball upon turning face to face with massive defensive lineman.

There's also increasing discontent with Maynard's antics after a play is done. There was the whole "point to my 16 inch bicep" bit from last week that rankled some fans, and this week, Maynard seemed to get under Tedford's skin. After the Bears elected to kick a field goal at 4th and goal from the one yard line (more on that later), many of Cal's offensive players tried to remain on the field. They ultimately trudged off the field, but apparently Tedford wasn't happy with either Maynard's body language or something he said, because Tedford grabbed Maynard by his shoulder pad, and shared some choice words before roughly sending him off.

Look, I don't have too much of an issue with it, because I understand that football is very much unlike any other sport because of the level of raw emotion that a player is forced to channel in a game. It's a heated game, and things are going to be said. But this kind of stuff is more easily swept aside when your team is performing at a high level. When your QB isn't, and your team's performance is inconsistent, these kinds of antics are only going to be intensified under the proverbial microscope, causing more distractions. And quite honestly, that's not something the Bears can afford at this point. If there's trouble brewing under the surface, or if it's a matter of controlling one's body language, it needs to be nipped in the bud. Now.

Defense's Inconsistencies
Overall, I thought the defense played fine. The starting unit got much better penetration at the point of attack, and had a pretty solid first half, holding the Thunderbirds to just 83 yards and 10 points. 37 of those yards and the TD came on a botched Hail Mary defense. After a pass interference call, SU's Brad Sorensen chucked a 37 yarder into the endzone, only to have Michael Lowe inadvertently deflect the ball into a Thunderbird receiver for their lone first half score. It was a botched play that cost the Bears, but it didn't change my impression the Bears' defense had by and large played solidly in the first half.

The second half was far more inconsistent however, with the Bears allowing Southern Utah to drive 75 yards in a 6 minutes and 33 seconds for a score. The Bears' secondary seemed to be in fairly good position on most passing plays, though I would have liked to have seen more plays on the ball instead of simply trying to get in good position to prevent the receivers from making more yards after the catch. Their problems were exacerbated with the Bears' electing to go with a softer zone coverage instead of man against SU's defenders. Though it did seem to be by design, it did allow Sorensen to get in a bit of a rhythm, which would hurt the Bears later in the game.

Another concerning trend has been Cal defenders' poor leverage on some tackles. I'm not sure if they're trying to go for the ball rather than getting the defenders on the ground, or if they're simply getting outmuscled, but I'm seeing far too many opposing ball carriers get extra yardage despite Bears' attempts at gang tackles.

Finally, I did find the performance of Cal's second string unit to be...disappointing. Southern Utah's offense really imposed their will on Cal's backups, and effortlessly moved the ball down the field on their final two drives. That really shouldn't happen, but here's hoping they learn from the experience.

Individual Defender Notes
I was struck by the play of Cal's young linebackers Nick Forbes and Jalen Jefferson. I thought Nick Forbes looked very stout early on, and even made some nice plays in pass coverage. The same can be said of Jefferson who always seemed to be near the ball. The two led the team in tackles with Forbes notching 8, and Jefferson recording 9, and both contributing pass breakups. That's encouraging given the question marks still remaining at inside linebacker positions. The Bears are going to need to build some quality depth there pronto.

Running Game Rebounds
This is one of those areas I was for the most part content with despite the quality of our opponent. I was far happier with the distribution in carries this week, with Isi Sofele rushing the ball 19 times for 104 yards and a score. CJ Anderson gained 46 yards on 5 carries and a TD, and looked really good with the ball in his hands. As of now, Sofele looks like the more seasoned back, and hits the hole a bit better than CJ, though it's real close.

And nice long run there by Daniel Lasco to close out the game on offense. He's gone under the radar to most Cal fans, but you've got to think he turned a few heads by breaking off one of the longest runs by a Cal back in years. Anyone who caught the broadcast, got to see a nice moment on the sidelines afterwards with all of his teammates congratulating him. You can hear CJ Anderson ask him, "How'd it feel bro?"

Lasco's response? "It felt so good bro! Felt so good."

Again, it's just Southern Utah, but I did appreciate the Bears making a more concerted effort to actually running the ball, and it was nice to see the effort pay off with 289 yards on the ground.

Punishing Penalties
10 flags for 96 yards. In the first half.

This has been by far the most alarming characteristic of this team this season. It's not the just the lost yardage and negated plays that bother me, it's that the flags themselves seem to be symptomatic of a larger and more troubling issue of a lack of focus. You could point to a number of attributing factors: too little emotion, too much emotion, but you have to think that ultimately the coaches are responsible for setting the tone and the message on what will be tolerated in terms of penalties.

The Bears were a staggeringly bad 119th (out of 120) in the nation last season in penalties. They're sitting at 108th this season. That's not a blip. That's a trend, and a troubling one.

Freshmen Phenoms
I have to say, these freshmen wide receivers are really impressing. Bryce Treggs had a quiet, but decent day with 3 catches for 38 yards. Chris Harper though has surpassed everyone's expectations, as he's emerged as one of the top playmakers on the team early on in the season.

Like I said last week, we knew Harper was sure-handed and a polished route runner, but I didn't think he'd be this good after the catch. He had a nice 60 yard catch run negated by two (TWO!) penalties, and shook off a tackle with a nice spin move to earn the first down on another. It is a bit disconcerting to see him fumble the ball in back to back games, but again, last week's play was NOT a fumble, and it was just a nice play by the defender this week.

Plus, I also like the little things both Treggs and Harper are doing, including laying some nice block downfield to spring off some extra yardage. Solid start.

Conservative Coaching Calls
I very rarely harp on coaching decisions throughout a game. Generally speaking, I feel most fans are uber aggressive (likely the years of going for it on 4th and 17 in Madden), and coaches generally know a bit more about football than the average fan. Just a bit.

But there were two moments throughout the game that I felt showed an utter lack of faith in the offense. The first was the aforementioned sequence that saw the Bears elect for the field goal when they were just a yard out from the goal line. First off, the Bears had punched it down Southern Utah's throat, scoring on back to back runs. Why they would then elect to pass it on third is beyond me. But for the Bears to not go for it is just frustrating given they knew they could run on these guys. They had just proven it. Plus, the worst that could have realistically happened at that point is that they fall short and forced Southern Utah to start at their own one line. With the way Cal's defense was playing in the first half, was that really such a huge risk?

The second moment was late in the third quarter when the Bears were facing a 4th and 2 on Southern Utah's 44 yard line. The Bears chose to punt. This one was a bit more understandable, and subsequently drew far fewer boos from the home crowd. I still wasn't fully satisfied with the reasoning though. I just felt it sent a message to the offense that they weren't trusted in being able to pick up a yard against an FCS team. Again, I understand that at that point, you're only up 3 points, you kick the ball and live another day, but I'd hope you send a message to both teams by lining up in a goalline formation right there.

Special Teams
I can't finish this post without talking about special teams. After a fairly decent week last week, the Bears went back to being a mixed bag of sorts.

On the good side, Vincezo D'Amato was 3-3 on his field goals, including a long of a 47 yarder that dinged off the crossbar, but through for three. However, for all of his success on field goals, D'Amato missed his final extra point attempt.

The decision to have your best playmaker return punts is playing immediate dividends, with Keenan Allen being the first Bear in nearly three years to return a punt for a score. Allen caused a heart attack by bobbling the ball, and even after watching the replay, I'm amazing that Southern Utah didn't come up with it. After recovering the ball, Allen was just Allen, turning up field and running untouched 69 yards for a score.

On the sad facey end, Cole Leininger took a real step back this week with some wobblers. The true freshman nailed two punts inside the 20, but managed to average just 30.7 yards on his three punts.

Oh, and I was fairly annoyed with the special teams coverage. The Bears chose not to go with touchbacks, which we know D'Amato is capable of. Instead they chose to pop it up into the air, in hopes of covering downfield and forcing the Thunderbirds into some poor field position. Instead, the Thunderbirds earned some great field position on some poor coverage by the Bears. Huh. Don't let that start up again guys.

Moving Forward
I watched the game with some fairly casual Cal fans. "Boy, they're not so good, are they?" they asked in the middle of the game.
I couldn't bring myself to answer. Part of it was because I still don't quite know. A lot of the Bears' issues are self-inflicted and theoretically correctible. They've shown good athleticism and enough play-making ability to make one think that there's something there. This team is capable.

But on the other hand, there's also the fear that the penalties, lack of execution, missed assignments and murmurs of unrest are symptomatic of something far worse, a poorly coached team. I don't want to believe it, and I still believe we need to see more of this team to get a true sense of who they are.

Next week's contest against Ohio State will be revelatory. And not because a win will be necessary to validate this team's ability. The Bears haven't beaten as highly-ranked of a non-conference opponent in over 40 years. No, I just want to see how they compete. I want to see how they perform in a hostile environment. I want to see what the team looks like with their backs against the wall with the entire nation watching. I want to believe that we'll learn more about this team next week than we did the past two weeks.

And I'm praying that what we learn makes us feel better about the team than we do now.

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