I think I’ve slowly grown the reputation of being the optimistic Cal blogger: always hopeful, always pointing out the upside or the potentials, willing to cut the Bears some slack on their weaker days… and I’ll probably continue to do that, in fact I’ve set that aside as my last post of the day. But there are occasionally games that just disgust me and yesterday was one of them.

There is no excuse for the Bears losing to UCLA. To those who have said they have a newfound respect for UCLA, particularly their defense, one of two things is true. Either you had way too little respect for them or you don’t realize just how poor the Bears play-calling was. If I had to come up with a word for the Bears play-calling in the weak moments of the last two years it would be stubborn. Many pick the word conservative, but I think that is wholly inaccurate.

Conservative is a combination of doing what you do best and taking what the opposition gives you. It’s grinding things out and continuing to do what works, albeit just barely well enough to win, until a slim victory is assured. Notice that in my definition of conservative, there is no explicit reference to the run game. See, in my opinion, it’s not conservative to run the ball against a defense that is loading the box with NINE defenders. I’m not exaggerating. When Cal had a 2 WR set, UCLA was putting all 3 LBs and the 2 safeties in the box along with the 4 linemen. You can rarely see the safeties in the TV screen before a play, I could see them just about every play in the 2nd half.

Unless you’re a corn-fed Oaklahoma team playing a crummy undersided team like Baylor, no one is going to be able to establish a power inside running game against that. Heck, even when the teams are as unbalanced as they were in the above example it’ll be difficult.

UCLA was just DARING Cal to throw the ball. I was a bit sympathetic last week against OSU that Cal didn’t take OSU up on the same offer because Riley was starting his first game and the ground game was inexplicably still somewhat productive despite them loading the box. This week however with Longshore back and the ineffectiveness of the Bear’s running game, there is just no excuse for the play-calling in the 2nd half. Here are the 1st down plays of the Bears last 3 possessions before the fateful interception:

• J. Forsett rushed up the middle for 2 yard gain
• J. Forsett rushed up the middle for 7 yard gain
• J. Forsett rushed up the middle for 4 yard gain

And just in case anyone gets the wrong idea about that 7 yard gain on the middle possesion of the 3, Cal was stuffed on 2nd down and then got held short on a Longshore to Best screen play on 3rd down for a 3 and out.

To further the point, let’s compare two drives: The first of these 3 fateful drives and the preceeding drive, Cal’s last touchdown. First the bad drive:

• 1st-10, Cal20 0:24 J. Forsett rushed up the middle for 2 yard gain
• 2nd-8, Cal22 15:00 J. Forsett rushed up the middle for 13 yard gain
• 1st-10, Cal35 14:45 J. Forsett rushed up the middle for 2 yard gain
• 2nd-8, Cal37 14:05 Cal committed 10 yard penalty
• 2nd-18, Cal27 13:59 J. Forsett rushed up the middle for no gain
• 3rd-18, Cal27 12:57 J. Forsett rushed up the middle for 8 yard gain

And note that the last rush for 8 yards was on 3rd and EIGHTEEN!?!. So to recap, 4 completely ineffective rushes (sorry, 8 yards on 3rd and 18 isn’t effective) and 1 13 yard rush that I only believe happened because the box score insists on it. Now, let’s move on to that touchdown drive that preceeded it:

• 1st-10, Cal33 6:25 N. Longshore passed to L. Hawkins to the left for 11 yard gain
• 1st-10, Cal44 6:05 Cal committed 10 yard penalty
• 1st-20, Cal34 5:40 UCLA committed 15 yard penalty
• 1st-10, Cal49 5:30 N. Longshore incomplete pass to the right
• 2nd-10, Cal49 5:24 J. Forsett rushed up the middle for 2 yard gain
• 3rd-8, UCLA49 4:45 N. Longshore passed to D. Jackson to the right for 14 yard gain
• 1st-10, UCLA35 4:10 N. Longshore passed to L. Cunningham to the right for 16 yard gain
• 1st-10, UCLA19 3:45 N. Longshore passed to J. Forsett down the middle for 15 yard gain
• 1st-4, UCLA4 3:25 J. Forsett rushed up the middle for 2 yard gain
• 2nd-2, UCLA2 2:50 J. Forsett rushed up the middle for no gain
• 3rd-2, UCLA2 2:15 N. Longshore passed to D. Jackson to the right for 2 yard touchdown.

On this drive Cal passed 6 times, 5 of them for completions, and not a single completion was less than 10 yards sans the TD pass because the ball was at the 2 yard line. On the same drive, the Bears had 3 rushes for a grand total of 4 yards. I don’t know how much more clear I can make it just how much UCLA was geared to stop the run. They were RIDICULOUSLY DARING the Bears to throw the ball and when the Bears did it they marched down the field with amazingly surprising ease.

The Bears should have won this one in a walk… but our coaches insisted otherwise, not because they were conservative, but because they were stubborn.

Unbelievable. Tragic. Disgusting.

I know it’s a bit of a stretch, but it’s entirely possible that if Tom Schneider hadn’t destroyed his mystery muscle while warming up for the Tennessee game, Cal would be undefeated.

In two consecutive weeks Cal’s decision-making has been affected, at least a little bit, by the unreliability of Jordan Kay, the plucky backup kicker.

I’m just saying, who’d have thunk that it was even conceivable that the season could break completely differently based on the presence or absence of Tom Schneider.

All hail Schneider! And what you’ve learned about me is, when I’m in pain over a Cal loss, I always turn to classic television.

12:30 PM: Hello, ABC. You’re not going to show that last play from last week, are you? You wouldn’t do that, would you?

Oh. You would. Well, thanks a bunch.

12:32 PM: Sounds like Longshore’s going to start.

12:35 PM: I would write a paragraph describing just how lousy the broadcast looks because ABC cheaped out and didn’t bother buying enough equipment to air these midday Pac-10 games in HD. But I won’t, because Ken wants this to be a family-friendly site and the only word I can use to describe how my picture looks is not particularly friendly.

12:39 PM: Dan Fouts is giving Troy Taylor advice on how to broadcast. I’m laughing because I remember Fouts when he was the anchor on KPIX. Not good.

12:39 PM: Three and out and Longshore’s not looking so hot with the bad ankle. He was pressured and couldn’t really move or plant or throw. Is Kevin Riley warming up in the Enterprise engine room?

12:42 PM: Three and out for UCLA. If you’re not watching for some reason, here’s the link to ESPN Gamecast.

12:46 PM: Forsett just limped off and was replaced by Montgomery. Can we get some wheelchairs out there, please?

12:49 PM: Forsett back in after two consecutive plays for Jahvid Best out of the backfield. Best sure looks good — he fights for yardage, which your usual track-to-football guy doesn’t do.

12:52 PM: Longshore hits Jackson for a gain of 12. Jackson’s defender fell down, but Longshore threw the ball low, forcing Jackson to basically sit down when catching it. Otherwise that was a huge gain for Jackson.

12:54 PM: Touchdown Bears! 21 yards, Longshore to Stevens over the middle, Stevens catching it just in front of the goal line. Stephens lined up right, broke inside, had nobody covering him, and walked in. The classic TE pass play. Cal 7, UCLA 0.

1:00 PM: Cowan tackled by Alu’alu’s butt. Seriously.

1:03 PM: UCLA putting a pretty nice drive together here.

1:09 PM: 3rd and 6 from the 13 yard line for UCLA. Follett catches Cowan from behind for a slight loss. Kicking time for UCLA. End of First Quarter. Cal 7, UCLA 0.

1:13 PM: UCLA Field Goal good. Cal 7, UCLA 3.

1:21 PM: Great third-down completion for 16 yeards to Jackson near midfield.

1:23 PM: Cal is really struggling to get the running game going. Two straight runs to Forsett for minimal gain. Good pressure on Longshore forces a punt.

1:24 PM: A rare lousy punt for Andrew Larson. 18 yards. Yuck.

1:27 PM: Kahlil Bell with a gigantic run of 64 yards, right up the middle and then gone. Stopped by DeCoud at the 2.

1:28 PM: Touchdown UCLA. UCLA 10, Cal 7.

1:29 PM: Is this the “break and don’t bend” defense I’m seeing here? Wow.

1:32 PM: Apparently Karl Dorrell doesn’t understand the concept of forward progress. He’s on the field asking for a ball to be spotted way back because the Cal receiver allowed UCLA defenders to push him back. Read the rulebook, Karl.

1:35 PM: Longshore to Jackson, touchdown! Beautiful pass, and D-Jax was wide open. Play action, fake end around motion, and Jackson took it in. Cal 14, UCLA 10.

1:40 PM: Huge completion for Cowan, exposing some pretty lame secondary coverage by Cal. The Cal secondary is playing like they’re hopelessly overmatched, including by my count three Pass Interferences so far.

1:45 PM: UCLA Field Goal good from 28. Cal 14, UCLA 13.

1:50 PM: Forsett is down again. Running off now, but he’s banged up.

1:52 PM: Good third-down pass to Jackson for a good gain and a first down. Jackson gets shoved on his way out of bounds and complains, but (unlike the call against Cal last week) the ref wisely decided to let it go. Next play, a long pass to Jackson that was so obviously a touchdown that the UCLA defender had to face-guard and PI in order to prevent the TD.

1:55 PM: Terrible pitch from Longshore, fumbled by Best, kicked around, recovered by UCLA. Terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible. Cal was in the Red Zone, and now it’s UCLA ball. So, Cal, do you want to play in the Emerald Bowl? You’re playing like it.

2:01 PM: Worrell Williams rips the ball out of the hands of a UCLA receiver. Somehow, inexplicably, recovered by Cal.

2:02 PM: Incomplete pass, lame screen pass, and it’s third down just like that. Toss in a false start to boot, and it’s third and long.

2:03 PM: Pass complete for a first down with :03 left. Cal had two time outs left but didn’t take them for fear of, what, giving the ball back to UCLA? As a result, there’s no time left to run more than a single play. Oh well. Kay has to come in instead. 44 yard attempt no good. Halftime. Cal 14, UCLA 13.

2:05 PM: Seriously, UCLA was beaten senseless by Utah and beaten by Notre Dame. If Cal can’t beat UCLA… well, if they can’t beat UCLA they’re not nearly as good as people thought they were.

2:27 PM: And we’re back.

2:30 PM: Backup QB, backup RB… and UCLA keeps moving the ball. They’re almost at the 50.

2:33 PM: Did they listen to the announcers when they suggested that there would be a fake end-around pass later in the game? Obviously the announcers saw them practicing it. It worked. Touchdown UCLA. UCLA 20, Cal 14.

2:37 PM: If this is how Cal plays in the Rose Bowl maybe we don’t ever want to win the Pac-10 championship.

2:39 PM: Three and out for Cal’s offense. Punt almost blocked. But the UCLA player goes for Larson and not the ball, giving Cal five yards and a re-kick. Net result is a 20-yard difference in field position for UCLA. A lot more if you figure he should’ve blocked it.

2:47 PM: UCLA fumble recovered by Alu’alu, Cal ball! Every time I start writing about how disgusted I am with Cal today, something positive happens. I need to do that more often.

2:50 PM: Another failed trick play. DeSean Jackson runs around in the backfield. Hey, DeSean, you’re the QB. Throw it away! Don’t take a loss.

2:53 PM: And now a pitch to Best, can’t get around anyone and gets a tiny gain. The running game is doing nothing and it’s another third and long for Longshore. Third down, UCLA defender pulls it away from Hawkins for the interception.

2:54 PM: I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but because of a prior work-related travel commitment, I’m going to miss the Washington State and USC games, and most likely the Washington road game unless they play it at 7 p.m. It pains me to be far, far away (and without even reliable Internet) during Cal games, but the way they’re playing right now maybe it’s a blessing. If Cal keeps playing as they’re playing right now, it’s time to write off this season. Boo.

3:00 PM: Three and out for UCLA. Good play by the defense there.

3:04 PM: Blatant roughing the passer on UCLA, and called by the officials. Gives Cal the ball at midfield with a first down.

3:05 PM: Draw to Forsett for nothing. The Cal running game today has simply not been there. Third and long yet again.

3:06 PM: Another third-and-long pass completion! This one to Jackson. Can’t say how impressed I am with Longshore’s third-down throws today.

3:07 PM: Nice catch by Cunningham, playing for Jordan today. His second catch of the season. First down at the 20. Screen pass to Forsett, and it works! Forsett to the 5. One of the only plays all day that has worked with the ball going short. So much of Cal’s progress today has been based on 10- or 15-yard passes, often on third down. The run simply has not worked so far.

3:10 PM: Second and Goal, UCLA stacks up in the center and they hand off to Forsett up the middle. Didn’t we learn our lesson last week, Bears?

3:11 PM: Longshore to Jackson in the end zone for an apparent touchdown. UCLA defender bumped into him and then stripped him in the end zone after the TD was clearly made. Official call: defensive PI, stole the dead ball out of Jackson’s hands… which is what it was. Touchdown Bears! Cal 21, UCLA 20.

3:13 PM: Now that’s what you have to do on a third and goal when you’ve got Cal’s receivers and a defense that’s playing the run up the middle.

3:14 PM: Slater runs the kickoff back across the 50 and is tackled by Larson. And did Dan Fouts just refer to the conference as the Pac-8? Wow, Foutsie, welcome to the ’70s.

3:16 PM: Offensive PI on UCLA. Crazy game, crazy officiating.

3:18 PM: On 3rd and 1, Cowan slides a yard short of the first down rather than going head-first and getting the first down. I assume he just didn’t know where he was on the field (since alas, in the real world there is no electronic first-down stripe on the field), but that was the wrong time to do that. Timeout, UCLA, as they consider going for it on 4th down.

3:19 PM: Hey, we’ve been lumped in with talk radio! Talking about Dorrell being criticized “on talk radio and on the blogs.”

3:20 PM: Dorrell tries to draw off Cal, takes the penalty and punts. Dan Fouts is critical of Karl, and really, can you blame him? Boos from the fans. What can you say? Karl Dorrell is a terrible, terrible coach. I weep for the day when he is inevitably fired, because UCLA may replace him with someone competent who will make UCLA into a force to be reckoned with year in and year out, a real contender for the Pac-10 title. Unlike the inconsistent, underachieving team that they’ve had the past few years.

3:22 PM: End of the third quarter. Cal 21, UCLA 20.

3:25 PM: Forsett for a 10-plus yard run. That was the best run of the day.

3:25 PM: For those of you wondering at home, no, my son has not peed on me at all today. That was apparently a one-time Cal game occurrence. My couch and I are both grateful.

3:27 PM: 2nd and 18, and… Forsett runs up the middle? Eh?

3:31 PM: Another run by Forsett, for a gain of 8. Yeah, on 2nd and 18? I don’t like that call at all. Come on. How much success has Cal had on third down passing today?

3:34 PM: On third and 7, Cal doesn’t get much pressure on Cowan but he throws it high and it’s almost picked off on the deflection. UCLA punts, ball down at the 22. Another flag, this one on Cal for holding on the punt. Sigh.

3:40 PM: Another three and out, and a bad Larson punt and it’s first down UCLA at the 50. I’m not liking this.

3:45 PM: 3rd and 3 for UCLA. Huge play, and UCLA makes the conversion. It was easy to miss — this huge play in the game was derailed by a conversation on ABC about the medical condition underlying “turf toe.” Wow, great timing, guys. What this one-point game in the 4th quarter needs is filler! Anyway, a big gain on first down and UCLA has the ball at the 20. Cal is almost certainly going to have to come from behind with less than five minutes to go. Ugh.

3:49 PM: Third down and UCLA passes, to the ten. But really, that’s a terrible call. You’ve got the field goal for the lead. Why are you passing on third down? You risk ending the game on a pick. Bad call, Karl. In any event, the 27-yard field goal is good. UCLA 23, Cal 21. Cal has three timeouts and 3:08 to answer.

3:52 PM: Jahvid Best, huge kick return! Rambling left, rambling right, bringing it back 54 yards. He was hit out of bounds, by the way, but unlike last week (in a very similar situation), no call this time.

3:53 PM: Forsett rushes for four yards on first down. Second down, Forsett runs for basically no gain. Third down.

3:54 PM: Cut to Jordan Kay on the sideline. No, no, no… do not put this on the foot of Jordan Kay.

3:56 PM: Longshore throws for the first down to Jackson and UCLA steps in front and runs it back all the way. That’s two consecutive games where Cal had the game to win with a field goal and gave it away. UCLA 30, Cal 21. That’s the end of this season, as far as I’m concerned. Nowhere to go but down from here. Keep reaching for that Sun Bowl!

4:00 PM: If you lose to a bad team, you are a bad team. Two conference losses in a row, and two games squandered. Lots of good excuses last week. This week? None. Cal can’t even beat this terrible UCLA team, a team coached by a moron.

4:02 PM: Turns out I’ve picked the right year to flee the country during multiple Cal games after all.

4:04 PM: Cal will fall to 5-2. Hey, is Steve Mariucci coaching? It’s got that feeling. Riding high at 5-0, and then… face plant.

4:07 PM: Game over. UCLA 30, Cal 21. Who needs to play in the Rose Bowl in 2008? Maybe the 50th attempt will be the charm.

Here are my thoughts after having re-watched the game:

• Here’s a beginning of the game statement that nobody would make anything out of until the final play of the game: “It’s game management issues that Tedford wants to protect his young quarterback from.”
• I had completely forgotten that Forsett had ripped off that long run on the 1st play from scrimmage… boy would that have been nice if Kay could have converted on that FG (and man was that close) or if the offense could have kept moving forward because that would have really set a different tone for the game.
• Although OSU “evened” things out with that early fumble. Need I remind everyone that this was OSU’s lone turnover and it was already “pre-evened”?
• The one thing that OSU kept shooting themselves in the foot with was the dropped passes, the first of which really looked like a catch and fumble from the stands but pretty clearly never under control on TV.
• How hilarious was it that Jordan’s first catch of the game, the catch that tied the consecutive games with a catch record, was a 2 yard loss? I mean Jordan had great catches later in the game so it’s not like the record is minimized… but it’s still not a catch you want to be celebrating.
• What a rough fumble for Forsett… that defender had some amazing arm strength to pull that ball out. Notice as well that it was on the first play of the drive, putting the defense right back on the field already in their own redzone. How can anyone hold that against the defense?
• And even still, the defense forced a 4th and goal… OSU just was able to punch it in: 0-7
• As a note, I wasn’t the least bit nervous at this point in the game. The defense had been doing such a good job that I was confident Cal would eventually get their offense working.
• The fullback running plays, which have been so effective this season, really didn’t work against OSU. I couldn’t really see why other than the O-Line wasn’t getting a good push.
• I was WAY under appreciative of Forsett in my podcast. He had a great game, even by the 2nd quarter he was established.
• Notice that the very first drive that Tedford really took the shackles off of Riley in his play-calling Cal marched right down the field for a tying TD: 7-7
• That punt by Larson still amazes me. WOW. 74 yards! Not only did he get it over the returner’s head, he had enough air under it that the gunners caught up to it shortly and would have been there to stop it from rolling into the endzone if for some reason it had another 8 yards on it.
• Not that this takes any guts to say this but I still stand behind my statement that the defensive line was the worst unit on the field yesterday. They got ZERO pressure on Canefield all day and I think a big part of the reason he didn’t throw any interceptions was because he was never rattled by the defense. Getting pummeled tends to lead to mistakes.
• What a rough interception… see a pattern here? About the only thing Riley did wrong was sit in the pocket a little too long.
• That reverse by OSU had SOOOO many blocking in the back penalties… Oregon got away with that crud too two weeks ago. I think Pac-10 refs just aren’t looking for block in the back stuff when on offense.
• This same defense that everyone was criticizing managed to hold OSU to a field goal on that short field. 7-10.
• Just to re-iterate: 10 points so far, all 10 of them on short fields from turnovers.
• One thing I didn’t touch on in my podcast but bugged me all game was how weak our kickoff runbacks were. The worst one of the game was this late 2nd quarter one where it was kind of like a reverse but it had more the feel of a handoff after a huddle and a break for a cup of coffee. It’s no wonder that the defense was able to get down field and stop Cal on that one. It was an incredibly slow developing play.
• This TD drive toward the end of the 2nd quarter was the most impressive of the game for Cal. They established the run game, and pounded OSU over and over and over. Add in a great on the run pass by Riley and this looked to be the turning point for the Bears: 14-10
• And then the squib kick… definitely just poor execution. The goal of that kick was to get it deep but on a bounce. It’s done all the time and it just didn’t happen. Another place where we’re missing Schneider?
• Another missed penalty, one that I could see from my corner seat, was the Canefield throw pass the line of scrimage. He was a FULL 2 yards past the line of scrimage. Those yards (and it’s a loss of down penalty, not that it mattered with the clock) would have killed that field goal attempt.
• In any case, Serna kicks another great field goal: 14-13
• And while we’re at it, we’re up to 13 out of 13 points that shouldn’t be counted against the defense.
• Going into the 2nd half, this first drive for OSU was every bit as bad as it seemed in person. The defense was just getting manhandled by OSU. No intensity what so ever.
• Speaking of which, I’d much rather have Cal down by 1 than up by 1 at halftime of a game like this. When the team is still up, the adjustments and motivation that happens at halftime just isn’t there like it is when the team is down, even if it is just by 1.
• Whatever the situation, there’s no excuse for the defense coming out of the break that flat. They just didn’t bring it on that touchdown drive, OSU’s only full field drive: 14-20
• Yeah, my mediocre feeling about the run game was totally unmerited. They did great. The next drive was a continued dominating performance by Forsett.
• Another thing I forgot in my podcast was it was Stevens who caught that incredible pass from Riley. Riley was practically wrapped up and managed to throw a bullet between two defenders to Stevens and then Stevens managed to drag half the OSU team another 10 yards. I had remembered the great throw by Riley but I forgot about Stevens and was fairly critical of his low impact in the game. Well, that was a huge impact play that he made happen (after Riley gave him the great toss).
• I’d better make sure I’m fair. I went through the 4 goal line runs by Forsett and the refs got it right. None of them crossed the goal line… and I went through 1st and 3rd down frame-by-frame. My seats are on the opposite corner so I don’t get a very good view of the far endzone particularly depth perception wise. For us 2nd down looked like the winner, but it wasn’t even close.
• Nevertheless, there is no excuse for not scoring there. The offensive line had been moving the pile for the last two drives they had the ball and they, along with the tight ends and fullbacks, needed to make a hole for Forsett who was given no chance and did everything in his power to make something out of nothing.
• This was the turning point in the game if you ask me. Yeah Cal would take the lead again later, but this was the moment OSU could look themselves honestly in the face and say: “if we can pull stops like that, we can win this game.” This was also the first point I really got nervous. I was troubled when Cal’s defense crumbled on the previous drive but I held out hope they’d get it back together and the offense would continue to make strides forward. At this point, I wasn’t so sure either side was going to get it done.
• But the defense stepped it up again. The kept the Beavers punting from their endzone (after a 3 and out) and that was huge for allowing the Bears to not only work a very short field (their only one of the game I might add) but also to go back at it against a tired defense.
• And Cal was able to execute on just those grounds: 21-20.
• The first 3rd down of the ensuing OSU drive was the first time I was disappointed with the secondary. There’s no way they should have let that receiver come free and the forced punt would have been huge for momentum.
• Follet missed a pretty important tackle later on that same drive that turned it from a 3rd and 6 to a first and goal. Follett had a good game so I’m not criticizing him, just pointing to the frustrating moments of the game.
• For those who want to beat every decision to death, the 1st Cal timeout was called on 3rd and goal of this drive with the ball at the 1 yard line. The Bears held on 3rd down forcing 4th down.
• Following up on my podcast, the refs explination for the 2 timeouts only counting as one was “Oregon State will now ‘utilitize’ their timeout”. That doesn’t sound right to me, but in fairness to OSU, it looked like they only grudgingly used it. The refs effectively made them take the timeout.
• On that two point conversion, Hampton made a huge mistake the sprung the receiver free. I think it was worried about the QB running so he cut back for just a moment allowing the receiver to sprint away. That was a bad decision for two reasons: 1. There was a line backer in front of him who would be responsible for that and 2. there was no one else to cover the receiver: 21-28
• Best’s fumble on the kickoff run back… they don’t a good angle on what happened. What happened there?
• That personal foul was just ridiculous. Horribly ridiculous. If Bernard was out of bounds, it was only by a millimeter and there was no way the Cal defense could know not to hit him. That was completely unfair and it put the Beavers in field goal range.
• But notice that the defense held. Add 3 more points to the total that doesn’t belong on the defenses shoulders bring us to a grand total of 16 of their 31 points. Heck, even the previous TD was on a medium field because of a long kickoff runback to about mid-field. In any case, OSU up by 2 scores: 21-31
• If there was an offensive possesion that was disappointing it was the 3 and out with 6 minutes left. That series wasn’t even close to converting a 1st down. I must admit that when Cal punted that ball away, I was sure the game was lost and seeing the light stream of people who started leaving, I wasn’t alone… good thing I NEVER leave early.
• But this defense, the one that was supposedly so bad, held OSU to 3 and out. Giving Cal a desperate opportunity for two scores with just under 4 minutes left.
• That crossing route that went for a TD was open WAY too much on Saturday for it not to be used that often. It was a huge mistake for OSU to leave it so open at that point in the game and Hawkins speed made a huge difference in getting to the endzone: 28-31
• I completely agree with the call to go for the on side kick. There’s little value in field position at this point when 1 first down seals the game. So give your team two chances to get the ball back in both the onside kick and the 3 and out using all the timeouts. Oh and by the way, assuming everything else plays out the same (which is unfair) Cal would have had a timeout to forgive Riley his mistake at the 12 yard line.
• And it was a great on side kick. That ball was a complete jump ball which is all Cal could ask for. The bounces in the hand just happened to go OSU’s way.
• And that horrible defense held OSU to another 3 and out. How dare they!?!
• Riley started off the drive again showing off his elusiveness and ability to throw a pretty good ball despite being harassed… it was just barely out of bounds to an open DeSean. (and more importantly avoided the safety)
• Hawkins took the team on his back here late in the 4th. Not only did he get open, he eluded three tacklers to get the extra 4 yards he needed to get to the first down.
• And then Riley throws that SWEET ball to Jordan. This was just an amazing set of downs and anyone who is ready to complain on a bad break… just didn’t appreciate how much good had just happened.
• THROW THE BALL! THROW THE BALL! THROW THE BALL!… ugh that is soooooooooooo painful to watch. Why would I subject myself to watching that again?
• But watch the Cal reaction… there’s your hope. There a very upset Tedford who regains his composure after hucking his headset and refuses to condemn his young QB. There are a bunch of teammates who go up to Riley to let him know that they stand behind him. THAT’s a team I enjoy rooting for. A team with integrity. A team that played a pretty darned hard game but had a lot of bad breaks and some unfortunate errors. Trust me… this is a team that will rebound.

Wrapping up the day, yeah, mistakes were made, but there’s no one unit you can pin this on. It was a tough loss against a team that is a lot better than most people want to give them credit for.

I’ll have more detailed thoughts later as well as a full review of the game but I just wanted to get some quick thoughts out on the following topics:

• This loss has very little impact on the Bears in the Pac-10 title hunt
• The Beavers are better than we give them credit for
• The Beavers did everything I said they needed to do for the upset
• While it was a tough loss, I’m full of optimism
• Finally, the difference in the blog versus message board content is why I’m a fan of blogs

First of all, ignoring for a moment any concerns that Cal won’t be good enough to win their big games coming up, Cal still controls their own destiny in the Pac-10 and they’ve got their main opponent coming to Berkeley. Yeah, the National Title hopes seem pretty dashed at this point, but did anyone really think that was a shoe-in? I always saw it as a pipe-dream and I’m not too concerned that it seems to over (although with all the losing this year it might not be as over as everyone things… but I digress). The short term goals for Cal have always been a Rose Bowl and upgraded facilities. Both of those hopes are still very much alive, at least by the numbers.

But I think what really bothers soms is not that mathematically things are fine, their fear is that the Bears aren’t a good enough team to win the games they need to win to get to the Rose Bowl. I think that’s just foolish.

As I said in my previews both here and in Rivals, the Beavers are a pretty good team, just a mistake prone one. If you look at how they competed with everyone so far, and they’ve played some very good teams, it was their turnovers and mistakes that killed them, not their lack of talent. They’re not a Stanford or a Washington State or even an Arizona or Washington talent wise. Sure, they don’t have the talent of Cal, but they are well coached and have enough talent that a couple lucky bounces of the ball puts them in the hunt with just about anyone.

And all of those bounces went the Beavers way yesterday. In my previews I said the Beavers needed to do two things to win: 1. slow the Cal rushing game. 2. not make mistakes. Guess what? That’s exactly what they did. They had only 1 turnover, and it came at one of the best spots of the field for a turnover, if there is such a place. It wasn’t deep in their own territory, giving Cal some free points and it wasn’t deep enough in Cal territory to be missing out on some guaranteed points. As for the rushing game, having a new QB for Cal played right into their defensive hands, particulary their load the box philosophy, and Cal wasn’t able to stretch the field like Longshore would have done and as a result they weren’t able to control the flow of the game.

So when one puts together that the Beavers are a pretty good team and that everything went their way, I think we shouldn’t fear that the Bears aren’t any good. In fact, call me full of optimism for the future. Riley showed me a lot of positive stuff yesterday and the young guys who continue to get playing time due to injury continue to impress. Even if this season doesn’t turn out as we hope, the future is bright if you ask me. 2008 and 2009 look even better (lone unproven area: receivers).

But back to 2007, Cal took a dangerous Pac-10 team who got all the bounces and breaks right to the limit… and they did it with a backup QB. Longshore will be back for UCLA, an infinitely beatable team. Cal has proven they can go on the road and win against good teams in the most hostile environment and I give them an 90% chance of returning to Berkeley unscathed after taking down an exposed UCLA and an untested ASU. After a quick romp over WSU at home, the game that will determine the Bears fate will be before us. I’m looking forward to it and thing the Bears have an excellent chance of winning that game. If they do, with the rest of the Pac-10 likely beating up on each other, Cal need only likely win one of the Washington or Big Game to be Rose Bowl bound.

So cheer up campers!

All of that said, I’m frankly proud of all of us bloggers and blog commentors this morning. While there was the ocassional doom and gloom sentiment, for the most part people had perspective enough to not do what the message board freaks are doing. There’s been no stream of deleted comments about literally feeding Riley to the lions, firing Tedford (or one’s favorite scapegoat assistant coach) or denying all belief in the God who has spurned up. Call me proud to be Cal blogger this morning:

Full of optimism despite a very tough and heart breaking loss and proud to call all of you fine gentlemen (and ladies) my compatriots.

Oh, Kevin Riley. We laughed when you commandeered the Enterprise’s engine room and sang “I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen” as the ship spiraled down into planet Psi 2000. We felt the pathos when you were poisoned for being one of the last living people to see Kodos the Executioner. And we wept when you failed to throw the ball away at the end of the Cal-Oregon State game.

Wait, I’m mixing up my Kevin Riley trivia here.

This Kevin Riley is not the occasional Star Trek navigator of my youth, but rather the redshirt freshman who was forced to take over the Cal offense today. And while I think it’s fairly safe to say that if Nate Longshore played this game (and was healthy in doing so), that Cal would have won it easily, I don’t think it’s fair to say that Kevin Riley lost it.

Yes, Riley’s brain-cramp at the end lost the game. But he had managed to maneuver Cal to the doorway of victory, something that had seemed impossible not five minutes before. For Cal to come all the way back after Jahvid Best’s fumbled kickoff return put OSU up by two scores required about 10 improbable things to happen. Riley was one of the reasons that nine of those things happened. Sadly, the tenth didn’t happen and the Bears lost.

For example, Jahvid Best. When he lined up to receive the kickoff I actually thought to myself, “God, I hope he doesn’t try to win the game singlehandedly here.” I’m not saying that it was what he was trying to do, because perhaps he wasn’t, but the end result is that he fumbled in absolutely the worst possible situation and it’s a miracle that the game wasn’t over then and there.

There was some bad officiating in the game, but in the end I’m not sure it affected the outcome. A bogus late-hit call cost Cal 15, but OSU might have scored anyway. One long Oregon State run should have been called back due to some egregious holding, but the refs swallowed their whistles. I can’t say I think the officials did a good job, but I don’t think Cal’s loss can be laid at their feet whatsoever.

I’d complain about the lameness of Cal’s failure to score on four straight runs on first and goal from the 2 yard line, but in the end Cal forced an OSU punt, got the ball back in Beaver territory, and punched it in, so that was a wash.

Who can I praise? Justin Forsett ran really well, especially considering that the Beavers had to know he was going to bear the brunt of the offensive load. The Cal defense performed decently, I thought, and gave up two first-half scores directly as a result of offensive misdeeds. The defense’s one major failing seemed to be a complete lack of a pass rush. The wide receivers deserve some praise for making plays for their shaky quarterback.

I’ll heap some scorn on the fans, who giddily cheered the LSU defeat. Hey, I was happy LSU lost too, but my frame of mind was much more that we would be next, not that we would be #1. Guess some other Cal fans are also fans of pre-hatched chicken counting.

But in the end, I’m not quite sure what more can be said. Cal’s starting quarterback couldn’t answer the bell. The redshirt freshman QB who replaced him probably ended up playing better than he had any right to, especially in the last five minutes of the game. Yes, if he threw the ball away Cal could kick a field goal and take it to overtime, and he blew that. But this defeat was not an orphan: it had a thousand fathers.

I will say that in all my years of watching Cal football, I’ve never seen a game end like this. We literally stared, stunned, not believing that it was over. What a terrible way to end — and just moments after everything seemed so promising.

On the bright side, no more silly talk about national championships. Can we all agree that Pasadena is a prize well worth shooting for?

Time for my regular post, reviewing the TV coverage. Here are my thoughts:

• One of the things I hate about TV coverage is that you can’t see the entire play. They zoom in WAY too much. Nothing more showed this than Cal’s first play of the game. From the stadium, DeSean streaking down the field fairly open was obvious to everyone, but it was not shown on TV until 2 plays later in review. So for those of you out there (that means you Dad) who think you get a better view of the game at home on the TV in your comfy lazyboy, you have no clue. You’re missing half the game.
• Although I liked the opening play call by Tedford, despite the wrong read by Longshore, the next two play calls were pretty weak. Slow developing out patterns, including screens, aren’t going to get the job done against a fast defense like Oregon. Overall a bad set of downs, but not on the field, mostly from the coaches box.
• I had forgotten that on Oregon’s first possession and first set of downs, they converted a critical 3rd and long when Cal lost contain on Dixon and he scrambled up the middle for 9 yards. This will be come more obvious throughout my notes, but I feel that the Cal defense did pretty darned well, forcing a lot of 3rd downs, but Oregon got lucky/scrambled well on a number of broken plays to keep drives alive.
• Of course just after I say that, the Cal defense blows their coverage in a huge way giving up what should have been an easy TD… if Dixon hadn’t over-thrown it. Thinking back now, it was Dixon, not Longshore who had accuracy problems, wasn’t it?
• As much as Tedford admitted to being stubburn about trying to establish the run early, Oregon was similarly as stubborn about loading the box and refusing to allow Tedford to establish the run. The passing lanes were surprisingly open early.
• Notice that on both of Cal’s first two offensive series, “noise fouls” were crucial to stalling the drive. On the first drive, a delay of game killed what was looking like a successful 3rd down conversion. On the 2nd series, on the final set of downs the 2nd down play would have been a 1st down had a 5 yard false start not given Cal a 2nd and 15 instead of a 2nd and 10. Luckily for Cal, the rest of the game, with one notable exception, was mostly penalty free.
• I don’t know why it bugs me so much, but I feel like the no huddle “cheats” the no substitution after breaking the huddle rule. Oregon ran a player onto the field after the other 10 had already lined up and set. How is that, conceptually anyway, not a substitution that breaks the spirit of the huddle/substitution rules? This is not a knock on Oregon, they’re just doing their best to take advantage of the current rules which is what every team tries to do, but in my opinion, some rule changes are needed to either remove the huddle/substitution rules or figure out how to make the no huddle subject to the conceptual rule that the offense has to select its personnel early (before the huddle breaks) to allow the defense to make adjustment substitutions.
• After the Bears did a pretty good job on the first possession of tackling well, the 2nd series was not so encouraging. It was if the defense got tired quickly. The big run by Stewart was what setup the field goal.
• On the other hand, Dixon continued in his weak performance by not seeing a wide open receiver in the endzone on 2nd down and then by throwing behind a receiver on third down. The more I see, the more I think Dixon stunk up this game, particularly knowing what is to come. Still, they were able to get a “free” field goal off of the bad tackling, Oregon up 3-0.
• I don’t know what these anouncers are smoking. Longshore was getting plenty of time to throw and the “pressure” wasn’t “getting to him”.
• I asked Forsett in a post-game interview if Jahvid Best coming into the game lit a fire under him. Forsett mis-understood my question and thought I was asking about competition or animosity. But after seeing Best come in and get the first meaningful rushing yards of the game and then Forsett come back in and get his game running, I’m confident that the both of them push each other to new heights.
• On Cal’s first trip to the red zone, Cal had the wrong receiver for that deep slant at the goal line. If you’re going to try a slant like that you want a big physical receiver like Hawkins who can shield the defender from the ball. Jordon, although good, isn’t the best guy for that, Hawkins is. Oh well, scored tied at 3-3.
• The more times I see Ezeff’s personal foul that kept alive the drive that resulted in Oregon’s first TD, the more I think Ezeff didn’t foul. Stewart was breaking his legs out of a tackle and was just inches out of bounds as he lunged forward into Ezeff who was diving at Stewart. There was no way Ezeff could have pulled up. Now, I’m not criticizing the refs. It’s OK that they call that penalty tight. I’m just saying that nobody should be upset with Ezeff because of that. That was just playing snap to whistle. In any case, two plays later Oregon was in the end zone. 10-3.
• Cal just didn’t seem to have the fire in their belly on that last drive of the 1st half, going 3 and out. That was probably the most disappointing moment of the game for me. With Oregon getting the ball back to start the 2nd half and Stewart starting to make in-roads on Cal, it seemed to me that Cal needed to match Oregon’s TD to end the half. Perhaps that weak effort was a useful tool for motivation at halftime.
• In the 2nd half, Oregon’s first possession was key. It was a chance for them to extend to a larger than one-score lead, but they really blew it with that conservative play call on 3rd and 1 that Cal was able to stuff. I don’t know if Cal would have been able to stop Oregon further down the field on that drive with how holes were opened up for Stewart on the preceeding plays.
• At the same time, man did the Cal offense come to play in the 2nd half! Forsett’s run mid-drive after nearly getting tackled 5 yards in the background, that he somehow managed to turn into a 7 yard gain despite 3 or 4 defenders having a shot at him, was a thing of beauty. In fact, Forsett was just on fire that first possesion on every carry.
• From the pressbox I didn’t have an angle to see how close Kay’s missed field goal was. On TV, they don’t have a good angle either because they’ve got no depth perception, but it was definitely a close one wasn’t it? One point on that, how can a field goal NOT be reviewable!?! Good going Pac-10. (Not that this one needed to be, but in general, it needs to be reviewable.)
• It was so great to see DeSean finally get some man coverage situations. He hasn’t done well with the extra attention he has got, but when he’s got man coverage, he’s SOOOO good at getting his cornerback turned around. His first TD of the season, the 3rd quarter easy pass from Longshore, was a thing of beauty. I’m glad the TV coverage showed the route because from the pressbox it was obvious and clear that it was a TD as soon as DeSean made his cut, assuming Longshore saw him. Cal ties it up 10-10.
• Oregon definitely got back a sense of urgency after that TD by Cal. They went from no-huddle to psuedo hurry-up and I think the tempo change more than anything was the reason the Cal defense was unable to hold Oregon yet again and left Colvin open to streak across the field for a TD. Ducks back on top 17-10.
• Cal really owned the 3rd quarter and early 4th quarter. Minus that one long TD pass for Oregon, Cal’s defense really stuck it to Oregon, forcing 3, 3 and out possessions. At the same time, the Cal offense was able to score 21 in 4 possessions, the 4th being a 70 yard drive with a missed field goal attempt. After the two scores separated by only a 3 and out from Oregon, Cal has gone from down 7 to up by a TD, 24-17.
• Speaking of that 2nd TD, wasn’t it just too sweet that DeSean was able to tip-toe down the sideline for a TD. Oregon had been using that sideline all game and it was nice to see Oregon have to swallow some of their own medicine.
• OK, DeSean had a great game, so I have a hard time saying this, but on the first play after the kickoff turnover (which by the way was bound to happen with how poorly Oregon had been fielding the chip-shot kickoff all game), Longshore threw a fade to DeSean in the corner of the endzone (and I thought this both in the pressbox and when I saw it on TV, even after re-watching it 3 times) DeSean gave up on that pass a step before the ball got there. I think DeSean thought it was coming harder than it was and so out of reach, but he should have caught that ball… and it would have been the dagger in the hearts of everyone in Oregon, going up by 14. Instead a holding penalty and a coverage sack later, Cal has to punt despite starting the possession in field-goal range.
• The Cal defense looked really sloppy/lazy on the next possession. I don’t know what the story was but after Cal got two back to back possessions there is no reason they should have been tired. Perhaps they thought the game was in the bag and expected to be up by 14 just like I did after that fumble. Whatever it was, this was the worst swing of the 2nd half. Cal went from being up 7 and ready to strike in the redzone after being unstoppable thus far in the 2nd half, to tied in the blink of a lazy defender’s eye. 24-24
• I thought it was a huge statement about the lack of confidence Tedford and staff have in backup QB Riley in that when he came in they refused to have him throw the ball even on the 2nd play when there was no way a rush up the middle by Forsett was going to convert a 3rd and 10 against an Oregon defense that knows a backup QB is in the game. Mark my words, unless Riley gains some confidence from the coaching staff, there’s going to be another backup QB competition next off-season when Brock is eligible.
• That INT by Dixon on the ensuing possession was a HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE mistake. If you need a perfect play to say Dixon folds under pressure, that’s the one. They’ve battled back, they just forced Longshore out of the game, how can you throw a pick on first down? I call it “choking”.
• So I was just about to award Longshore the gritty performance award of the game and my vote for the game ball when I went to check what his throwing stats were after the injury. Who else knew he didn’t attempt a pass after the injury? I wonder if he pretty much couldn’t throw and having him out there was just a decoy/threat since Oregon didn’t respect Riley’s ability to throw? Maybe not as Forsett didn’t need any help on that TD drive and the next drive was run out the clock time… but nevertheless, it makes me wonder.
• Speaking of Forsett, what a great set of runs for that TD! After Cal had looked down right mediocre on their last short field possession, Forsett said, “not on this drive” to those who doubted Cal. Cal back on top 31-24.
• I had previously thought that the 2nd Dixon interception wasn’t his fault because those tipped balls at the line are a shot in the dark, but that one wasn’t a standard tip at the line. That was a DT getting deep penetration and Dixon not adjusting to throw a different pass. He threw that right into the tip and he should have seen it coming. Again, not bad luck, I call it “choking”.
• The most disappointing play of the final drive for the Cal defense was the Johnson dump off pass turned into a 30 yard gain where Cal had 5 defenders in the region to make the tackle, who should have kept him in bounds, but somehow they just didn’t contain him well and the two guys with a shot didn’t get their arms around him for the tackle. That had less to do with Johnson and more to do with a tired Cal defense.
• So Teford calls a timeout when Oregon got down to the 5 yard line? It seems to me he should have called that breather timeout after the Johnson run. It was clear they needed a breather then.
• Here’s your “official” time on the final play: 25 seconds for the refs to decide on the call of a touchback. 4:10 additional for the booth review for a total of 4:35 of indecision… good thing they got it right.
• For some speculative thinking, let’s pretend he fumbled outside the endzone, so they’d get the ball at the 1 yard line, there’s no reason to be confident Oregon would score. Oregon had no timeouts and it would have been 2nd down with 16 seconds left. There’s no way Oregon could afford an inside run play, because they’d only get one shot at it. They’d have to pass, or at a minimum do a run play that had a shot at getting out of bounds, something very difficult at the 1-yard line. If Oregon wasn’t careful from the 1, they could have watched the clock expire on a failed run play or Dixon could have pulled another Dixon choke by throwing an interception.
• Finally, what was with the wimper with which the TV coverage ended? I mean, we had just had a shocking end to the game after an epic battle for the ages and they just did the quick wrap and said “goodbye” so that we could go to some garbage show (i.e. no other game they were going to)!?! How about reviewing that last play/drive again? How about a little enthusiasm? What a stunted and disappointing ending.

Speaking globally, as much as I’m truly estatic about the win and want to make sure I give Oregon their due, Cal had a couple chances to really put this game away that they didn’t. Sure Dixon’s choking gave the game back to Cal, but being the perfectionist I am, I would have really liked to see Cal’s offense put this one away by either scoring on that kickoff fumble or by being able to run out the clock after the 2nd interception.

But let’s give the defense their due. They were exhausted after playing a LONG up-tempo game against a speedy and dangerous offense. Nevertheless they had the intensity to be hitting hard enough on the final play to force a fumble.

Way to go Bears!

Ken’s prediction: Cal 31, Oregon 24.

Final score: uh-huh.

11:50 AM: Ken has reported in from Eugene.

12:16 PM: Ken: “The teams have left the field and it’s time for the band performance! It’s a little stanford’esque…They ran out in random fashion, although then they dropped into a formation (spelling out Oregon).”

12:27 PM: Ken: “Weather is overcast and cool. 66 degrees. Looks like we’ll be rain free.”

12:32 PM: I can not believe ABC didn’t bother to broadcast this game in HD. Oh god, and it’s Dan Fouts.

12:35 PM: Man, it’s the ugly uniform shootout. Cal in the all-whites (which aren’t horrible, though I prefer colored pants), and Oregon in what is even ugly for them: green shirt with the black arms and white tire treads on the sleeves, and black pants.

12:40 PM: Ken: “Longshore just missed a fairly open DeSean, WAY downfield on first play of the game.”

12:41 PM: 3rd and long for Cal.They want the screen, and it’s an obvious call. Fourth and a zillion. Punt time.

12:44 PM: Oregon moving the ball with ease.

12:46 PM: Dennis Dixon misses a wide-open receiver down the slidelines. Jason Williams was wide open, blew past Ezef, and Dixon just overthrew it. Ken: “Corner released WR like it was cover 2 and the safety sure didn’t play like he thought it was.” Punt time.

12:51 PM: First down Bears! Longshore to Jordan on 3rd down. Nice. First good Cal play of the day.

12:52 PM: Forsett stuffed on a run again. Ken: “I hate that bunch formation, particularly for running. It puts too many defenders in the box. But Longshore is getting all the throwing time he needs.”

12:55 PM: Longshore making some good completions here. Great one to Jackson. Ken: “Wow, how did DeSean pull in that pass? I thought for sure he was going to drop it.”

12:59 PM: 47-yard, 11-play drive stalls, so Larson comes out to punt. Now Oregon will start from deep in its own territory.

1:04 PM: Ken: “Dixon is doing a much better job avoiding the tackle. That’s twice now he’s made positive yards on a broken play. In that case it was huge because the 2nd from inside the 5 would have been rough.”

1:06 PM: Ducks have moved downfield with some good runs by Dixon and Stewart. Now inside the 20.

1:09 PM: Dixon misses a wide-open receiver in the end zone on 2nd down, and throws it behind a receiver at the goal line on 3rd down. 32 yard field goal attempt… good! Oregon 3, Cal 0.

1:11 PM: 3-0! This is a barn-burner. Ken: “So much for those 24 points in the 1st quarter that ‘respectful’ Duck commentator was talking about.”

1:13 PM: Ken: “Bellotti still refuses to kick to Cal, even on kickoffs.”

1:14 PM: Ken: “Oregon is tackling much better than Cal right now.”

1:14 PM: End of First Quarter. Oregon 3, Cal 0. The first time Cal hasn’t scored in a quarter since the fourth quarter versus USC. Brr.

1:18 PM: Three and out. Oregon is playing really well. Punt. Oregon ball at the 23.

1:23 PM: Dixon escapes for another run. Ken: “AGAIN!?! Cal really needs to get him down one of these times.” Next play… they get Dixon in the backfield. Ken: “Like that!”

1:24 PM: Great punt for Oregon. Jackson has to retreat to catch it and can’t make much out of it. Ken: “Jackson blew another punt return opporunity by not getting back behind the punt. He just can’t accelerate when he’s backpeddling to catch the ball and doesn’t get away like he usually does.”

1:28 PM: A couple of hand-offs to Jahvid Best, including a first down run. He’s definitely a different sort of runner from Forsett, which is why I think using him can be effective. Montgomery seems to be much more like Forsett. Now in comes Forsett and has his best run of the day, to the left side with a good block by Jackson.

1:31 PM: Great play call — a fake handoff to Forsett, running left, then a turn back for a screen to the right for a first down. Ken: “Yup, now the Tedford damned if you stop the run, damned if you stop the pass play calling comes to life. Tedford loves that swingout in that situation.”

1:33 PM: Cal in the red zone, but now it’s 3rd and 8 after an incompletion and a short run. Big play. Ken: “And the crowd just got louder than it has been since the opening series.” And it’s right off of Jordan’s chest at the goal line…

1:34 PM: Jordan Kay’s first big kick of the year. 34 yards. Up… good! Cal 3, Oregon 3.

1:35 PM: Nice drive. 12 plays, 66 yards, 5:44 off the clock. Some signs of life in the running game.

1:45 PM: Good Oregon drive here, and some poor decisions by the Cal defense on a couple of 3rd downs. Cal’s playing fairly well, but not consistently enough to force a punt.

1:47 PM: Ken: “These outside rushes are just fast enough that Cal can’t seal the corner before Stewart gets there.”

1:49 PM: Ezeff hits a Duck when he was already out of bounds, 15 yard penalty. STUPID. Oregon would have had to punt. Instead, first down at the 22 yard line. About as bad as you can get. Ken: “ARG!?! They’d been stopped. Why, why, why!?! Admittedly it was a marginal call but JUST DON’T DO IT!”

1:50 PM: This is going to be a gift score for Oregon, and that’s how you lose football games. This one’s on Ezeff.

1:51 PM: Touchdown Ducks, Stewart walks in. Oregon 10, Cal 3.

1:56 PM: Ken: “Critical possession coming up here. If Cal can score, negates the bad situation, if they can’t Oregon gets the ball to start the 2nd half up 10-3. Cal wasted WAY too much time. 1:43 to 0:38 on two plays.”

1:57 PM: Cal fails on fourth down on a dropped pass. So let’s tally it: Bad tackling, dropped passes, and a stupid penalty. Not a good half. At least they’re just down 7.

1:59 PM: Halftime. Oregon 10, Cal 3.

2:21 PM: And we’re back. Telling halftime stat: Cal 2-7 on third downs, Oregon 6-10.

2:22 PM: Ken: “Halftime thoughts: This is a definite grudge match. We’re one stupid penalty from a 3-3 game. I suspect we’ll see a slight improvement for Cal’s offense in the 2nd half. Sadly I expect Stewart to continue breaking tackles. That’ll be the key to a Bear victory. If Cal can stop the missed tackles and get just a little bit more offense going, this game is very winnable.”

2:24 PM: Oregon is forced to punt after a lame play call. They had 3rd and short, but they called the deep hand-off up the middle. Why be forced to gain one yard when you can be forced to gain four? Punt goes out of bounds, Cal ball.

2:25 PM: Ken: “I can FEEL a fake punt coming from Bellotti, the question is when.”

2:29 PM: Good start to this Cal drive. Forsett had a great run with four missed/broken tackles.

2:30 PM: Huge Forsett run. First down Cal inside the 20. It’s like night and day versus the first half, right now. And another Forsett run to the 13.

2:32 PM: Longshore’s pass on third down batted away, but definitely some contact on DeSean that the ref didn’t call. A missed opportunity. 34-yard attmept by Kay, no good. Best drive of the game and nothing to show for it — not good.

2:37 PM: Ken: “The offense needs to hold its head high after that. The Bears are only down by 7 and if they keep up that kind of play, they’ll score more than enough points to make up the differential… asuming the defense can continue to slow the Ducks.”

2:37 PM: Ken is much more positive than I am. But we knew that. Great defensive stand and Cal gets the ball on a punt. 15-yard penalty on Oregon for failing to let DeSean catch the ball. I’ll say this for DeSean: he clouds men’s minds. Ken: “No joke. At least they didn’t pull an ASU and level DeSean.”

2:42 PM: Ken: “If there’s one thing Cal has been doing well all day it has been protecting Longshore. Has he been hurried or knocked down yet? Not that I can remember.” Once or twice, but not a lot.

2:43 PM: Touchdown DeSean Jackson! 25 yards from Longshore, wide open. Cal 10, Oregon 10. Ken: “YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It had to happen eventually. This is one of the few moments I hate being in the press box. I probably look like I’m having a seizure trying to keep my mouth shut.”

2:46 PM: Great drive. Two good drives in a row, and good defense on two Oregon possessions. Things are looking up right now.

2:49 PM: Cal has a tad of momentum right now. Ken: “Definitely. the crowd is doing some extra cheers to try and lift the Ducks spirit.” But two quick first downs here by Oregon get the Ducks into Cal territory, and off we go…

2:50 PM: 3rd and long for the Ducks, and Cal plays up to stop the first down. Deep pass, touchdown Ducks. Oregon 17, Cal 10. This hearkens back to an earlier play when Cal played deeper on third down, allowing the first. Here they seemed to play up and the result: someone broke deep, end of story.

2:54 PM: This game is starting to remind me a little bit of the Cal-USC game from last year. Slow, struggling play for a while, then a quick burst.

2:56 PM: Forset stuffed. The momentum, she is gone, as quickly as she came. Good third-down conversion to Hawkins into Oregon territory, though. Longshore well protected.

2:57 PM: Deep completion to Jackson downfield, first and goal Cal. Jackson was wide open, and he’s showing his skills as a receiver today.

2:58 PM: End of Third Quarter. Oregon 17, Cal 10.

2:59 PM: Jackson is showing a lot more as a receiver today than in previous weeks. Ken: “Yup. And Oregon seems to be playing him more balanced than our previous opponents.” That’s probably why.

3:03 PM: Ken: “QB sneak, watch.” Longshore tries to go to the left, stopped short. Third down.

3:04 PM: Touchdown Bears! Forsett over the right tackle. Cal 17, Oregon 17.

3:07 PM: Ken: “I’d better go on record with this in case my heart gets broken in the next hour: this has been a very enjoyable, good game.”

3:08 PM: Another terrible kick return by the Ducks, letting the ball bounce and almost losing the ball to Cal. For a team with scary returners, this has been a bad performance — or good kicking by Cal. Ken: “Cal almost got the mistake it was looking for.”

3:09 PM: Another Duck third down. They’ve been crazy on third down today. SQUAD HIT! Come on, Bears. Pressure. GET THAT GUY!!! No. GET THAT GUY!!! Thrown deep. Complete? No. Intercepted? No. To the ground. Wow.

3:13 PM: Cal starts at the 50 after a Jackson fair catch.

3:13 PM: Ken: “This is the moment Cal needs to take the reins and win this game… RIGHT HERE.”

3:14 PM: Third and long… time out. Ken: “That was a good time for the Bears to call a timeout.” And it allows ABC to show me some more ads. A new car you say? A cell phone you say? A drill that turns into a motorcycle? Oh, I don’t want that one. Away with you, ABC.

3:17 PM: After the time out, huge third down. COMPLETE to Hawkins! Ken: “Perfect call for that defense.” Hawkins is slow getting up, I think maybe he got banged on his leg. It looks all contusion-y.

3:19 PM: DeSean Jackson catches it for a new first down… and runs it all the way into the end zone! Ken: “He stayed in, he stayed in… I just know it.” Cal 24, Oregon 17.

3:21 PM: ANOTHER HUGE ERROR ON THE KICK RETURN. The two returners bump into each other and leave the ball on the ground. Jahvid Best wearing his nameless #14 jersey recovers! Gigantic. Gigantic play. Cal ball.

3:23 PM: First play, deep to Jackson in the end zone, just missed. But the perfect call. Get ’em when they’re stunned.

3:24 PM: Holding call makes it 2nd and 20. Ken: “I wouldn’t have taken that penalty.” I agree. Gives Cal two chances. Unfortunately, Longshore threw it wide and missed some open receivers on the other side. So now it’s 3rd and long. And Longshore is sacked for the first time. Fourth down. So the penalty-accepting strategy works.

3:26 PM: Well, it’s too bad that they didn’t score on that, and by getting penalized they moved out of field goal range. But I liked the first-down call, which almost put Cal up by two touchdowns. A lot of pressure on Longshore there, and after the holding penalty the run was taken away from them. Anyway, Oregon now gets the ball on their own 8 with 10 minutes to go, down a TD….

3:30 PM: Oregon advances out to the 50 yard line. And the Ducks are in business… Oregon passing with comfort right now. Another huge pass, and the Ducks are down to the 15.

3:32 PM: Momentum, she has shifted allegiances once again. Failing to capitalize on the failed kick return, and now the Ducks are about to tie it.

3:33 PM: Quick snap, line plunge, touchdown Ducks. Cal 24, Oregon 24.

3:36 PM: Ken: “Looking back. The inability of Cal to capitalize on that turnover was huge, particularly in a back and forth game like this.”

3:37 PM: Ken: “They let the crowd back into the game, it’s louder now than at any point in the game.”

3:40 PM: Longshore goes down, hit late in the knee. He’s limping slightly off the field. Kevin Riley has to come in.

3:42 PM: Two hand-offs with your backup QB, and the Bears have to punt. What a crushing turn of events. Larson must punt. Oregon gets the ball at the 10.

3:44 PM: FELDER WITH THE INTERCEPTION AT THE 20 YARD LINE!!!! Dixon with a terrible pass… First down Bears with 4:23 to go. Dixon’s first INT of the entire year.

3:45 PM: Forsett all the way to the one! Hold on to that ball, Mr. Forsett.

3:46 PM: Touchdown Bears! Forsett over left guard with 3:11 to go. Cal 31, Oregon 24.

3:48 PM: Okay, Oregon ball, 1st and 10. 3:06 to go. One pass, and they’re over the 50. This ain’t near over yet, my friends.

3:50 PM: Stewart plows down to the 20. Ken: “Cal should call a timeout.”

3:50 PM: AluAlu intercepts! He starts to run and Joe Starkey shouts, “Fall down, for pete’s sake!”

3:51 PM: Forsett runs. PROTECT THE BALL. Timeout Ducks. Cal really needs to get a first down here or they’ll have to give Dixon another chance.

3:53 PM: Forsett goes nowhere, timeout Ducks, 2:07 to go. Third and long.

3:54 PM: What to do on 3rd down with a hobbly QB? Handoff again, Montgomery gains some yardage but it’s 4th down.

3:55 PM: In the interests of un-jinxing I have removed a comment Ken made about a bag and a rosary. Ken didn’t realize they had all 3 timeouts. Good call, JoshieMac.

3:56 PM: Oregon gets the ball back… one more defensive stop is needed. They start from the 23. 1:45 to go, no Duck timeouts.

3:57 PM: 1:30 to go, Ducks first down at the 34. Dixon pressured, throws it away.

3:58 PM: Huge gain — Cal had Oregon stopped after 5 yards, in bounds, and instead it’s first down Oregon, Stewart. Clock ticking, ducks driving, under a minute, 34 yard line.

3:59 PM: Down to the 20 yard line. 30 seconds to go after an incomplete pass.

4:01 PM: Timeout Cal, maybe a play too late. Two picks on Dixon and yet, mostly owing to the Longshore injury, Cal can’t move the ball and now Oregon is trying to push this into overtime or even win it on a two-point conversion. Four shots for Oregon at the end zone…

4:03 PM: Oregon fumbles the ball out of the back of the end zone! Ezeff with the hit! Redemption? Ruling on the field: touchback! If the ruling stands, Cal wins.

4:06 PM: This is clearly the right call. No way it was a TD, no way he was out of bounds. It has to be a touchback. This will be a travesty of Oklahoman proportions if it’s reversed, when the visual evidence is clear that the call on the field was right.

4:07 PM: The ruling is affirmed! Cal ball, 16 seconds to go, on the 20.

4:08 PM: Final Score: Cal 31, Oregon 24. Great game. Unbelievable. Lived up to the hype.

Hello everybody! As you can see from the below pictures, I’m in business in Eugene:

Stadium from the press parking lot:

Field from the pressbox:

View of the pressbox:

I’ll be here and perhaps Jason and I will figure out how to co-live blog… although he’ll be doing most of the writing as I’ll be working my articles and analysis.

Some quick notes about Oregon and their facilities:

The stadium is a lot smaller than I expected. The old bowl was REALLY small. With the mid-90’s addition, it increases to just “smaller than I expected”. The entire stadium is bleacher seating with the exception of 3 donor sections on the 50 yard line. The press box is pretty high off the field, it make me appreciate just how well positioned Cal’s press box is. It’s a 3 row press box and I’m on the top row, as is to be expected for a Rivals reporter.

Despite things being on the smaller side, they are really, really, really nice facilities. I’ve not seen all the Pac-10 stadiums but it blows away the 3 I have (Memorial, LA Colliseum, old Stanford stadium). Admittedly those are probably the Pac-10’s worst. Nevertheless, if Cal’s facilities ever equal Oregon in quality, all Bear fans will feel like they’re in heaven.

The fans are over the top excited, and in a good way. They’ve been respectful of the Bears fans, of which there is a sizeable contingent, albeit a drop in the bucket next to Oregon’s. The student section is just about full at 11:30 AM, a full hour before game time. We just heard a loud round of boos as the Cal bears came out onto the field for their pregame warm-up. I’ll leave any further commentary for live-blogging comments.

My thoughts on re-watching game on TV:

• What was with running the ball on 3rd and 11 on that first possession? Just a “keep them honest” thing?
• Versus had their first ooops not a minute in with 3-5 seconds of black mid-broadcast.
• Although later in the game the AZ punter did a good job of punting away from DeSean, the first shank… pretty bad. It seems no matter how good the punter is they’re going to shank one if they’re instructed to punt away from DeSean all game.
• Another thing that Cal cleaned up later but didn’t do that well in the 1st quarter: Tackling. Way too many misses.
• The TV coverage didn’t give us nearly a good enough view to determine if indeed Syd’Quan blew the coverage on that long pass or whether the safety was supposed to be giving support. Syd seemed to play it like cover 2…
• That Morrah roll-out play… man I am impressed with his speed. He was 1/2 a stide short of breaking that for a TD.
• Hawkins first TD was definitely setup by over-emphasis on DeSean. He was open deep because Arizona bit on quick out by Longshore. Longshore looked it off and then saw Hawkins deep.
• I’ve reached the Technical Difficulties… do the announcers know that they’re having difficulties? (oh, now they mention it.) Nevertheless they haven’t done what a lot of announcers do which is give the details they usually give on the radio like down and distance. In fact they’re still saying things like “watch how they’re doing X”. HELLO!?! We can’t watch anything!!!
• Man… I wanted to see the roughing the passer hit on Longshore. I missed it during the game. Stinking Technical Difficulties.
• Wow, it took them 25 minutes to fix those problems. That’s unheard of. That must have been the most stressful 25 minutes in a TV trailer in the history of TV. They missed 6 1/2 minutes of game time and 14 points of Cal scoring. I can see how those who watched the TV coverage would be less positive about the outcome because those 6 minutes where the cornerstone on which the big lead was built.
• Continuing that thought, Arizona had ZERO defense while the TV was gone, but when the coverage returned they scored their lone TD until the late game comeback.
• Looks like my view of the Longshore INT was all wrong. Stevens was more crossing than running deep. Looks like the throwing lane closed faster than Longshore thought.
• And that 15 yard penalty on Cal was stupid. The defense doesn’t block the offense… it’s the other way around refs. I think he was diving (way too far away btw) to try and get at Cason’s feet.
• Mike Thomas for Arizona was fairly impressive. Yeah there were a lot of missed tackles on him but a big part of that was him getting Cal to miss. He seemed be the biggest threat against Cal particularly with the quick outs that he’d sprint up the sideline for big yards.
• It was nice to see Cal running the 2 minute offense again at the end of the 1st half. I’m sure we’re going to need to be able to run that in the 4th quarter at some point this year and it’s nice to see Cal get some experience.
• Nice to see DeCoud getting a pick… but that was a garbage pick. End of the half, AZ was desperate… but still nice to see.
• How can anyone be disappointed after a 31-10 first half? All around that was a great half. A half that reminded me of the 8 game winning streak last fall.
• Hahahaha… that halftime interview with Tedford was awesomely hilarious. The interviewer calls Tedford ‘Ted’ instead of Jeff, and then corrects himself, and Jeff doesn’t seem to like the guy to begin with. How does the interviewer make up for his transgression? He calls Tedford ‘Ted’ again as he’s walking away.
• Another area where the Versus coverage was weak was doing a replay more than once. The controversial hands to the face penalty that undid an Arizona TD was worth a second look especially since the first replay was abreviated and didn’t show the end of the play, but like every play, one replay is all we got.
• Stripped ball turnover was very good play by Cal. That’s the extra level that the defense needs: not only bend but don’t break… but also force the turnovers. That was the 4th turnover of the game.
• As I said in my podcast, the first of the offsides was definitely triggered by the center doing that extra move before he snaps the ball. We’ll see about the rest.
• As Cal went into its offensive funk, Longshore was missing his passes again… it seems Longshore really needs the pressure of a tight game to play his best.
• Versus also didn’t show Syd’Quan’s face-mask that kept Arizona drive alive after stuffed QB sneak.
• OK, I walked frame by frame through the offsides call on 4th and 6 on AZ drive inside redzone and I can say with confidence two things: 1. Center did his double-snap move again. 2. Williams was not offsides. He timed that perfectly. I’ve got the video frozen on the frame that matters right now and the ball is snapped and Williams is just on the line of scrimage… bad call by refs that cost Cal the turnover on downs (pass was incomplete).
• TD fade route was one of Syd’s worst coverages of the year, and I mean that as a compliment. He bit inside on what turned out to be a fade route and Tuitmana placed a ball in the corner where it needed to be for the TD. Syd ended up way out of position because he bit on the inside move by the WR.
• At the same time as Cal was sputtering that let AZ close the score, the defense also stepped up after the Montgomery fumble. Held AZ to a field goal.
• There’s no question about just how good Forsett is. Just as it looked like the offense was stalling, Forsett came back in and took the team on his back.
• The next referee snaffu… OK: we have a flag thrown at the line of scrimage, thrown before the QB threw the ball. Then we have a second flag thrown just after the QB threw the ball. Then we have two penalties: 1. Personal foul, in what appears to be roughing the passer, although we were never told what explicitely the personal foul was for. 2. Intentional grounding. Both of those would only be thrown after the ball was thrown, so it doesn’t account for the flag thrown at the line, particularly since there was nothing on the line that justifies a personal foul. What’s the story? I couldn’t see whether there was indeed roughing the passer, so I won’t comment, but what I do know is that there’s still a flag that was unaccounted for. And since there was a clear hold, it would have offset the personal foul.
• Continuing in our referee debacle… The personal foul for the late hit was the WOSRT CALL YET. There were four players in the tackle. The first player, #5, Syd’Quan, holds up the receiver but can’t quite get him down. #7, Peele, then come in and hits the receiver hard putting him down. It’s possible that the receiver’s knee went down before he got there but there was no whistle and it was only a brief moment before the hit. #15 comes in just behind Peele (like their bodies were overlapped on video), and basically joins the pile without hitting anyone very hard. He almost didn’t even touch the receiver being squeezed between Peele and Syd. Finally, and perhaps the lone guy who there was a remote hope of calling a late hit on, #93 comes in from the middle of the field, circles around behind the pile and lands on top of Peele and probably never touches the receiver. He may have been a moment late, although nothing egregious. That’s all well and good until the penalty is called on Peele who wasn’t even close to late. He, from what I can tell on video from a poor angle, was the guy who actually got the receiver down. Horrible, horrible call.
• Something I hadn’t noticed at the end of the game: Best got the majority of the last drive’s carries.

Some final thoughts:

The referees were every bit as bad as I thought at the end of the game. I don’t know why, but I really suspect that Stoops antics had something to do with it. That’s aggressive speculation on my part that isn’t giving the referees the benefit of the doubt, which I usually try to do, but oh well, those were horrible calls. In every single one of the final calls they did at least one thing wrong, even when I do my best to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Although I piled on in my commentary on Versus, we shouldn’t be too hard on them. They’re brand new at this and they’re a pretty high quality network. Their sailing coverage is excellent and their hockey coverage is pretty good too. They’ll get the college football sorted out. I guarantee everyone that by the Big Game, the other game on Cal’s schedule they’re going to be covering, they’ll have the kinks worked out.

Overall, after watching the game again, the Arizona comeback wasn’t as troublesome as it was to me during the game. Really, the moment that it seemed bad in the stadium was the Montgomery fumble because it setup a situation where it could have been a 7-point game. But it didn’t become a 7 point game, the defense stepped up and held Arizona to a field-goal. The penalties also made it seem like Arizona was going to make the comeback happen, but again in the end it didn’t come to pass. All of these things don’t bother me moving forward because I don’t think they reflect on how well Cal played and their potential to stick it to Oregon next week.

No, in the end, Cal executed well and the defense showed its ability to keep the spread in check. I think things look good going into Oregon next week. I don’t see Oregon repeating last year’s belly-flop, but I do think Cal should and will be favored going into the game and are likely to win in similar fashion to Tennessee.

Despite my rain fears, it was a rain-free game in Berkeley. And it was a good one. If I felt uncomfortable after a 30-point win versus Louisiana Tech, why should I feel much better after an 18-point win over Arizona?

Maybe it’s because the game, despite a late Arizona rally, was never really that close. Cal’s offense clicked more than it has the entire year, highlighted by a 28-point outburst in the first quarter. Tedford’s play calling in that first quarter was brilliant — you could actually see Cal zig every time Arizona zagged, passing when Arizona seemed to be playing the run, and running when they played the pass. Longshore, who we have established can be streaky when it comes to passing, was on a hot streak. Justin Forsett, when he started running, ran with authority. And when he came back in the game late, after a James Montgomery fumble, he shredded the Arizona defense like a man among boys.

After you go up 28-3, and then 31-10, there’s going to be a letdown. And there was. The offense played more conservatively, and Longshore was a bit less accurate — though he wasn’t helped by some drops by his receivers. The defense softened, which (again) I can’t really fault, since they were up by three touchdowns at that point. And it’s pretty hard to defend that crazy Texas Tech-style offense, especially when they’re always in the spread due to being behind by 21. And how about that Thomas DeCoud? He was everywhere.

Here’s what I didn’t like: The turnovers. Longshore threw a couple shoulda-been-intercepted balls, plus the interception. Montgomery’s terrible fumble. I also didn’t like the stupid penalties, especially late in the game when Cal had reasserted itself. Use your head.

I also didn’t like Mike Stoops very much. He lost it a few times on the sidelines, which didn’t impress me. I really appreciated his playcalling in last year’s Cal-Arizona game, where he boldly went for it on every occasion because he knew he couldn’t win otherwise. And he won, in the game that ended up being the reason Cal didn’t go to the Rose Bowl. Ouch! But this year? Not so much. With 13 minutes to go in the game and trailing by 14, Arizona opted to kick a 32-yard field goal. I found that pretty weak, since it cut the game from two scores to… two scores. But okay, if you’re going to play the incremental-scoring, then why go for it later on 4th and 9 at the 16 when you’re down by 18 again? A field goal in that situation brings you within two scores, and yet Stoops opted to go for it. After a false start penalty, they went for it on 4th and 14.

It just doesn’t make sense, certainly not from a pure strategy perspective. Perhaps it was an emotional decision: Stoops might have figured that a touchdown to make it 45-34 would pump up his team in a way that a field goal to make it 45-30 wouldn’t. But at that point, the Wildcats needed three scores, and Stoops bypassed a short field goal. Dumb. And when they failed on 4th and 14 with four minutes left, that was the end of the game.

Short Takes: These will be really short, because I’ve got a super-early flight in the morning… All my game photos are here… Not a huge game for DeSean Jackson, but his presence caused at least one terrible punt — you’ve got to figure that punters used to kicking normally have to adjust their approach knowing he’s back there, and sometimes that simply leads to terrible kicks… My spies tell me that Versus, which televised the game, makes CSTV look like the pinnacle of broadcast excellence. Versus lost its signal for a while and aired nothing but commercials, and the main camera looked like it was mounted on the cannon on Tightwad Hill…. With the A’s on the road, AnnouncerBot 2.0 beta was reinstalled to the P.A. system, and the world yawned… The alumi section’s Mic Man today was on some severe tranquilizers. I half expected him to start reading his poetry to us. Not that I’m complaining — it was easy to tune him out… Cal is averaging 42 points per game through four games, for an average score of 42-25. Crazy! But it gets harder next week versus Oregon at Autzen Stadium. A lot harder.

Watching the TV footage to round out my commentary. Here are my thoughts:

• Wasn’t that opening kickoff return a thing of beauty? I like how Cal has been returning to their “Tedford roots” of running some trick plays early to get the opposition off-balance early. Hawkins definitely showed his speed on that one too. I thought for sure that last tackler had the angle on him until ‘The Hawk’ turned on the jets.
• There were some complaints about how the defense seems to all too often come out of the starting blocks slowly and have to make adjustments to finally shutdown the opposition. While that doesn’t bother me as much as it bothers some, the defense didn’t leave room for that criticism yesterday. That first series was one of the most painful 3-and-outs I’ve seen in a long time.
• That Longshore fumble on their first offensive possession was eerily remniscent of the Tennessee fumble on their first possession. Luckily for us it didn’t turn out the same way.
• It seems this year that every time we have a penalty this year it is on 3rd down. Add in that yesterday they always seemed to stall the drive and we need to clean-up those penalties.
• That fumble… er… incomplete… that was just HORRIBLE. Ridiculously HORRIBLE. Worse call than last year’s Oregon vs. Oklahoma… particularly bad in the replay booth. I can’t imaging ANYTHING that justifies them calling that incomplete. What a joke. It looked even worse on TV than it did in person with the JumboTron replay. BTW, way to go Pawlawski on sticking to his guns in the TV commentary and calling a spade a spade. Too many announcers backtrack after the officials make their call as to not sound too critical of the referees.
• OK, maybe Pawlawski is just a Cal homer (who can blame a former Cal QB for that?). That 2nd booth review was not as clear cut as he made it seem. It was marginal but it is at least reasonable to say that the ball hit the ground in between Jordan’s arms. Not nearly as clear cut as the fumble… er… incomplete.
• Longshore lost his touch earlier than I remembered, early 2nd quarter. He had two really bad throws and two more that if he had put it on the numbers would have either kept the drive alive or scored a TD.
• Poor Jordan Kay. He’s done great for us in relief of Schneider, so good that one wondered if he might have a shot at challenging for the starting job. That slight pull on the 39 yarder, probably put him on the sideline for the remainder of the season once Schneider is back. Hold your head high Kay! We’re looking forward to seein you with the starting job next season.
• Forsett had a great run inside to take the ball to the LT 2. He’s getting better and better at not going down on first contact and there’s no better play to show it this year than that one. To be able to stay on his feet as 3+ guys tried to wrap him up and be able to wait for your line to come in an push you for another 4 or 5 yards, that takes skill.
• Forsett again… his 2nd TD. For some reason I didn’t mention him much in my podcast, which is just my thoughts as they come to me, but Forsett really caried the team. He not only ran well himself, he also provided a spark for the rest of the team. His consistency covered for Longshore’s inconsistency and gave the defense plenty of rest between their possessions.
• One really has to give LT credit for their 1st half TD drive. They mixed things up, executed well and played up-tempo. Not a drive to be concerned about the defense.
• The one thing I really worried about with the loss of Damien Hughes was that none of the secondard seemed to have the ability to sniff out those interception opportunities. As such it was really nice to see Hampton pick off that ball. That was an opportunity that easily could have been missed. Hopefully it is a sign of things to come. Never underestimate the importance of the ability to create turnovers.
• I was really surprised that Cal continued to put on the heat with a minute left in the 1st half. That’s usually “take a knee” time for Tedford. I’m not sure whether I really like it or not, but it’s not really a big deal.
• Tedford’s pre-halftime interview was awesome. After being asked about the number of penalties, “that’s EXACTLY what we’re going talk about… it’s not going to be pleasant at halftime.” Awesome.
• How cool was it that in the background of the interview with DeSean’s father that Hail to California was being performed? One could even hear the crowd singing the final verse. It was better than the interview itself.
• The 2nd LT touchdown drive is a little more disappointing for the Bear’s defense. They were getting pushed around by the LT offensive line for no good reason. Add in the horrible over-pursuit by the corner on the TD pass that not only missed the tackle, but took out the other Cal defender with a shot at the receiver.
• I have a hard time saying this, but I really think that Jahvid Best has the potential to be the best Cal running back ever. Better than Marshawn. Better than Muncie. Better than Russel White. That guy has the wheels of DeSean but the tackle breaking ability of Marshawn and seems to have the potential to have Marshawn-esque balance. He’s also got the good hands needed to catch the ball out of the backfield. With this much talent on the Bear’s offense, how is it that this guy is getting playing time and scoring touchdowns? It’s because he’s THAT good.
• You know, it wasn’t Jackson’s punt return attempts that most soured me to his play, it was the catches. He was doing WAY too much juking and not enough just getting what yardage he can. Run DeSean Run! You’re the fastest guy out there… just run!
• A big reason the LT score was so low was because of the turnovers. At least two of the turnovers came on LT possessions when they seemed to be having success moving the ball.
• It was good to see so many 2nd stringers get time in the 4th quarter… particularly Riley at QB. He played like someone who was receiving his first snaps, but that’s the point, let’s not see those first snaps when it is important. I think the kid has potential… with some more time to develop and get some scratch time snaps.

After going through the game a second time, I find myself more impressed than the first time. Just like Jason, I think it is an indication of just how expectations are in Berkeley that we can leave a game with a score 42-12 and leave feeling flat. Now it’s time to get ready to Arizona. Tennessee may have been about redemption… Arizona is about REVENGE.

I didn’t realize this until I started watching the TV coverage but DeSean had a taped thumb from an injury (dislocation?). I hadn’t seen any discussion of it here on the blog (although I have on other sites) and it wasn’t obvious for those of us watching the game in the stadium. Was there any mention of it in the pre-game articles and discussions? While I think both Jason’s and my (in podcast) criticism are still valid, I think this is a significant qualifier. A lot of guys don’t react well to an injury and let it affect their decisions too much… or not enough. Perhaps this might explain part of the reason DeSean’s instincts and decisions seemed to be a little off and definitely explains why he had a little fumble-itis.

It’s telling, just how far Cal has come in the last six seasons, that a 30-point win at home doesn’t leave me walking on sunshine. Oh, I can see the sunshine from here, and I may go walk on it a little bit later. But enough things happened in this game that made it feel… incomplete.

• DeSean, get your head in the game. Today DeSean Jackson played like a guy who wanted to pad his Heisman highlight reel (or singlehandedly win the game), and instead he got exposed. He fielded several punts he shouldn’t have, and I have to guess that the coaching staff wasn’t thrilled about it, since he wasn’t out there to field the last La. Tech punt. He also dropped two balls, both of which were probably touchdowns. One of them was a bit tough — the pass was low and he was looking back at the sun — but he still probably should have caught it, and would have if he hadn’t been thinking about turning upfield and running for an ESPN highlight.

• Penalties’ll kill you. Lots of yellow flags today, including way too many false starts and a dumb (is there any other kind?) unsportsmanlike conduct foul. When you end up winning by 30, I suppose it doesn’t matter. But in a close game, those kind of penalties will kill you, and if you’re jumping like that at home, imagine what might happen on the road.

• Longshore’s inconsistency. Look, compared to Joe Ayoob, Nate Longshore is the second coming of Joe Montana. But while Longshore is a more accurate a passer than his predecessor, he has bouts of inconsistency where he struggles with his accuracy. During much of this game, Longshore’s passes were off, sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot. I guess what I’m saying is, when he’s good Longshore looks like a prototypical Tedford quarterback: efficient, if a little robotic. But sometimes, for long stretches, he struggles to complete a pass. Let’s hope he steps up now that Cal’s headed into the Pac-10 schedule, because one of those cold streaks could lose a game down the line.

• Pac-10 officials? Avert your eyes. Several terrible calls from the officials, most stunningly the obvious fumble that was called a fumble on the field, overruled by another official who decided it was an incomplete pass, and then upheld as an incompletion after a review. Guys, the guy took multiple steps and lowered his head while running with the ball. It could not have been incomplete. And yet after looking at the tape, the replay officialy decided he couldn’t overturn the call. Gritting my teeth for another year of bad Pac-10 officiating…

Anyway, on the brighter side. Cal’s defense played much better, giving up yardage repeatedly on one over-the-middle pass but generally doing its bend-but-don’t-break thing with excellent results. Special teams, led by LaVelle Hawkins’s opening touchdown return, also generally did well. What a bad day for the Louisiana Tech kicker — he had a field goal try blocked, missed an extra point, and had a kickoff returned for a TD. At least the Bulldogs went for two after their second touchdown, sparing him yet another indignity.

Now let’s talk running backs. Despite the legend of Jeff Tedford, the wise trainer of efficient quarterbacks, I am getting the feeling that this year’s Cal’s team is best on the ground. Justin Forsett churned up 152 yards and three touchdowns, showing power and speed that remind me of J.J. Arrington in his prime.

And every time Jahvid Best touches the ball, it’s electrifying. He had a great kickoff return, as well as a mind-blowing end around. On the end around, there were at least two Tech players in good position to stop him. It’s the sort of play you see a lot, where enough defenders are in the area to blow the play open. Except, with Best, you just know that there’s no way those guys are going to get to him. And they didn’t. Jahvid The Jet turned on his afterburners and blew right past them. What an exciting player. As electrifying as DeSean Jackson can be when he’s not preening for his Heisman close-up, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Jahvid Best is already threatening to supplant DeSean as the team’s most exciting player.

So in the end, while the pass offense’s sputtering made me a bit more nervous about this game than I should probably be, it’s still a 30-point win at home on a glorious late-summer day in Berkeley. I’ll take it.

Short Takes: See the rest of my game photos here… Cal public address announcer Dick Callahan, or as we prefer to call him, “AnnouncerBot 2.0 beta,” was nowhere to be heard today. Did his software crash? (Phil tells me he was subbing for Roy Steele at the Coliseum. Did you misplace your loyalty plug-in, AnnouncerBot 2.0 beta?)… Speaking of the public-address system, it was much less obnoxious today than in game one. Still not great, but not quite as bush-league a feeling as I got two weeks ago… Brought my kids to the game for their annual Berkeley trek, and let me tell you, the magic age appears to be 6. My daughter’s almost 6 and she was really enjoyable at the game today, which she hasn’t really been since she was very little. Of course the three-year-old was a handful, but whatcha gonna do?… Driving home listening to KGO, I was amused to hear Lee Grosscup on the post-post-game show, not because of anything Lee said but because after the Tennessee game the Cupper mysteriously disappeared and was replaced by a KGO broadcaster rambling about water rights in the Central Valley…. The crowd didn’t know whether to cheer or boo when it was announced that USC was losing (early) to Nebraska. I cheered, because my dislike of USC overrides even my pro-Pac-10 urges… Speaking of which, UCLA got spanked by Utah. Shows you how ridiculous pre-season rankings are. Did any of you really think the baby bears were good? As long as Dorrell is there, they’ll always be badly coached underperformers. Long may Karl reign over Bruins Nation… Stanford finally wins a game at the new Stanford Stadium! Even though Chelsea won there first… Cal really needs to schedule a series against Texas. When Texas was trailing in its eventual narrow victory over Central Florida(!), the score was announced to loud cheers. Yes, Mack Brown, we Cal fans will remember you and your big mouth until the day we play in Pasadena on New Year’s Day… And bringing up the rear is: Notre Dame! Insert your own punch line here.

A question, that I haven’t seen answered anywhere to my satisfaction was why wasn’t Forsett carrying the ball in the 4th quarter? It doesn’t seem he was injured that anyone can tell, and there is a rumor that he was given a tongue lashing on the sideline for some missed blocking assignments in the 3rd quarter, but nothing definitive has come out. The other theory seems to be that they were resting him but that doesn’t make sense after he didn’t come back in on the final grind out the clock drive unless perhaps he had already de-taped or something. In any case, inquiring minds want to know so if anyone has any solid info, I’d love to hear it.

An observation that I had during the radio broadcast was Starkey commenting on the officiating. While there have been numerous times he’s make reference to a particular call and whether someone looked in bounds or anything, I have NEVER heard him EVER make a SINGLE comment about the fairness of the officiating. I haven’t seen the TV broadcast yet but I know when I heard him making those comments on the radio that either Starkey is losing his objectivity, which he has done a tremendous job of not doing over the years like so many announcers have (one of the reasons I like him), or the officiating must be REALLY REALLY bad. It’ll be interesting to see the TV coverage. It also seemed like the officiating took a sharp turn in the Bears favor midway through the 4th quarter just based on the number of calls. It could be the Colorado State guys were getting desperate and they were fouling more, or it could have been that Tedford’s on-the-field complaints (who also never bashes the refs but went so far as to call them ridiculous at his halftime interview) got to them and they were making amends (which I can tell you as a former ref, happens all the time).

A shout-out to Jordon Kay for coming in as the field goal kicker and doing an amazing job. One of the things Cal seems to have a knack for is getting good special teams specialists. Long snappers, punters, kickers… Cal always seems to have top-notch talent for this. I think that’s a sign of good recruiting.

Three cheers to our Pac-10 bretheren for holding up the image of the Pac-10. Oregon drove a stake through the heart of Michigan today and Washington solidly beat one of the best non-BCS teams in the country in Boise St. Add in UCLA’s handling of BYU and the Pac-10 continues to impress. Don’t think that the national pollsters aren’t taking notice because they are. The only downside is that the Oregon victory over Michigan will be looked through the very pessimistic lens of their loss to App. State. At this point Pac-10 fans need to be big fans of Tennessee and Michigan in their respective conferences because it will help make those important non-conference victories look all that more impressive.

UPDATE 9/8/07, 7:00 AM: The Chronicle has the best data-point so far on why Forsett wasn’t in the game at the end: “Instead, Cal got the ball back and relied on its brawn to clinch the win. Montgomery, who was playing in the clutch role because starter Justin Forsett got a back stinger in the third quarter, ran five times for 25 yards on the drive, eating up the final 2:47.” So it looks like it was an injury, albeit a minor one. To steal yet again from Starkey and his comment after the Jahvid Best TD: “It’s too bad they don’t have any depth at tailback.” When you’ve got backs like Montgomery and Best to backup Forsett, I think it’s pretty reasonable to keep Forsett out of the game with a back stinger.

Well, I managed to find some sucka with an open WiFi access point up here in vacation land to work from. So it looks like I’m still in business. For those who were concerned, the vacation was explicitely planned around home games… but I was sabotoged by a location without explicit internet access and by it just happening to be the lone week that the game was caried on a TV network no one caries. The vacation organizer has been duly notified of these conditions for future trips.

Jason did a great live-blog of the game and even managed to play through what is usually a game ending injury of a kid peeing on the couch. Well done!

I’ll give a more detailed review of the game on Tuesday night after I’ve had a chance to review the TV footage. I’ll post my podcast then as well. But here are my thoughts based on the radio broadcast:

First of all, it’s clear that the defense didn’t come ready to play. They’re going to have to step it up a notch if they’re going to be competitive. On the other hand, when push came to shove, in the 2nd half, the defense stiffened… until the game was in the bag and they blew the lead on a couple of ridiculous long pass plays. They say that the only thing the prevent defense prevents is winning but I think in this case it would be safer to say tha the prevent prevents you from giving up 14 points in 53 seconds.

This is clearly a defensive unit that needs motivation to play well. They’re going to need to find a way to find that motivation irrelevant of their opponent or they’re going to get beat by someone like Arizona when we least expect it. On the upside, they look like they have the potential to keep just about any team in check and shut down the weaker teams when they put their mind to it.

As for the offense, I’m not as disappointed as I think some are. Tedford seems to have called another VERY conservative game as he is known to do when he’s got the superior team. While this too has the potential to burn us, I’m not going to question Tedford’s overall style as a coach. He’s got a very good thing going and part of that is beating the opposition in the safest way possible. If that’s called conservative, so be it.

Honestly, I called for a 38-13 game and minus the defensive breakdown in desperation times I got it right. Yeah the ordering of the scoring was a little different than I predicted but in general I think the game played out similarly to my expectations. The only thing that concerns me is the lack of consistency of the defense.

Bob Gregory… the film office would like to see you.

Let’s see… TV on, check. Find where the heck CSTV is (DirecTV 610, which I had to add via the Sports Pack and pay an extra $10 for just so I could watch this game…), check.

All righty then.

10:57 AM: I’m so glad they’re showing this repeat of the TCU-Baylor 27-0 butt kicking from last week. Wow.

11:01 AM: Phil says, “You are looking live at a non-highly-defined Fort Collins, CO.” We HDTV people are so spoiled.

11:10 AM: Three and out. Not an impressive opening drive for the vaunted Cal juggernaut.

11:14 AM: Now that’s how you punt to DeSean Jackson. Punt to the 3 and have it kick out of bounds. Geez.

11:20 AM: Another stalled series, but with a couple of first downs, at least. Roll on you Bears? Next time? Also, CSTV sucks. Fuzzy picture, terrible “news” crawl at the bottom of the screen listing who’s been suspended or arrested, and some pretty awful cheap-o commercials. And Trev Alberts!

11:24 AM: Colorado State’s driving like they’re Tennessee. Cal’s defense continues its tradition of shaky starts.

11:28 AM:

Touchdown, Colorado State. 7-0 CSU.

11:31 AM:

DeSean Jackson, the Heisman is calling. 70-yard end around for a touchdown. He makes moves on two guys and that’s it. Wow. Is this guy for real?

Roll on you 70-yard running plays… Cal 7, CSU 7.

11:34 AM: Today’s the day for the end around. CSU on a 43-yarder. Also, Phil points out, three things for Cal to work on in practice: 1) tackling. 2) Tackling. 3) TACKLING!!!!

11:38 AM: This defense doesn’t look like it can stop a… thing that’s easily stopped. And yet they seem to play pretty well at the goal line. Force a third and goal, and then hit the QB as he throws — Cal interception.

11:42 AM: Couple of good runs by Forsett to get away from the goal line. Longshore still has fantastic protection. Deep pass is a miss and the screen pass doesn’t work nearly as well as it did last week. Third and long… looks like Hawkins didn’t get it, but a generous spot gives Cal the first down. That was about as bad as the spots Tennessee got last week. But wait! This time, they check the videotape. And there’s no way he got close. If the referees don’t overturn us, they need to set the TiVo in the booth ablaze…. and the bad spot is reversed, so TiVo lives to fight another day.

11:46 AM: End of first quarter. Tied at 7.

11:52 AM: Actual CSTV headline on its bottom-of-screen crawl: “BREAKING NEWS! South Carolina Quarterback was suspended last week for missing Summer School Classes.” Last week you say? Thanks for telling me.

11:53 AM: DeSean Jackson freaks out the punter and he shanks it out of bounds at the 50.

11:55 AM: Morrah with a great leaping catch near the goal line, but now he’s down. I think he just got the wind knocked out of him — nobody hit him. Before the Morrah pass, a nice first down on a long pass to Hawkins.

11:58 AM: Forsett pushes it in from two yards out. Touchdown Bears! Cal 14, CSU 7. Really nice drive — Cal’s offense in sync for the first time today.

12:06 PM: CSU driving now, with a few good passes. Nice delay when the officials decide to review a completion that was clearly legitimate. Was the TiVo feeling lonely?

12:09 PM: Not liking the secondary. Syd’Quan Thompson with a head slap and then he lets the receiver run away from him for a big gain. Also, bad tackling. And now here comes a run by the backup Colorado State RB, down to the Cal 15.

12:11 PM: Phil says: “Basically, they’re counting on the opposing offense to make bad throws. Because they sure don’t cover guys.”

12:14 PM: Touchdown Colorado State. 14-14 tie. The CSU quarterback “broke the plane,” by which I mean he was nowhere near the plane, but I guess we college football fans have to accept that the officiating’s going to be questionable most of the time.

12:21 PM: First Longshore sack of the year. Third and 17! Well, this obviously calls for a three-yard screen pass, and now it’s kicky kicky time! Thin air, I guess. And it’s good! 47-yard field goal by Kay. Wow. Cal 17, CSU 14.

12:28 PM: Halftime! Cal leads by three, 17-14.

Halftime recap: DeSean Jackson had a great single play and the Cal offense had a really nice drive, but stalled a couple other times. The Cal defense has been playing poorly, especially (for the second straight game) in pass coverage. However, a goal-line stand that led to a turnover has kept Cal ahead for now. Still, the defense will need to adjust at the half (as it did last week) for Cal to win this one.

12:44 PM: Tedford: “We have to tackle better. We just have to tackle better.”

12:49 PM: Kickoff! And we’re back at it. Colorado State ball, 1st and 10 on the 27.

12:50 PM: Big sack on first down for Cal, Alualu tosses Hanie back to the 15, loss of 10.

12:52 PM: D-Jax fields a short punt on the run and returns it 15 yards into CSU territory.

12:53 PM: Funny shot. On special teams this week Best is wearing a number 14 jersey over his number 4 jersey, specifically so Cal doesn’t get flagged for double numbers again. Then on the sideline someone frantically yanks it off of him so he can go back on the field as number 4 — and get a first down! Roll on you Bears…

12:56 PM: CSU doesn’t fall for the fake end-around, Longshore pressured and has to throw it away. Kicky kicky again. Jordan Kay from 41… it’s good! Cal 20, CSU 14.

1:02 PM: So, uh, my son peed on the couch. (He’s three and has a fever and while we were happy that he fell asleep on the couch, that’s turned into a horror show all of a sudden) Apparently while I was cleaning that up, Cal’s defense stiffened mightily and forced a CSU punt. Fortunately I am not a superstitious fan, otherwise I would be forcing my son to pee on my couch at every CSU possession from now on.

1:05 PM: D-Jax has the first down, but tries to get more, turns around, fumbles the ball back behind the first-down marker, and falls on it. Take your first down, DeSean. Not every play must be a highlight reel play. Stupid.

1:06 PM: Cal goes for it on 4th and 2, Longshore throws to Hawkins for a touchdown, but it’s all called back on a hold on Mike Tepper. Gah!

1:08 PM: Phil says: “Someone really needs to instill in the Cal receivers the notion that on 3rd down, you should concentrate on getting the first down.”

1:11 PM: Another three and out for CSU. The pee magic is still in effect!

1:12 PM: My son is back with me (see photo above) and we’re now pee free. Hooray.

1:14 PM: Running game is stalled out. Two rushes, 4 yards. Third down. Longshore fumbles the snap, passes incomplete, and it’s punt time. At some point CSU is going to realize they can win this game, guys…

1:18 PM: Felder hits Hanie and Cal picks up his fumble. First down Bears!

1:20 PM: Another false start penalty pushes Cal back to second and long. Long pass to DeSean is overthrown in the end zone. On 3rd and 13, Forsett gains a first down on a really nice run… and it’s called back on a holding penalty on Cal. DUMB.

1:22 PM: End of third quarter. Cal 20, CSU 14.

1:25 PM: Longshore misses Hawkins on 3rd and long redux, and Cal will have to punt. Longshore not looking sharp here.

1:27 PM: Phil: “I’m getting an Arizona vibe here.” I concur. CSU offense is moving the ball again.

1:30 PM: Justin Moye gets the interception off a Hanie pass and returns it 28 yards, but then Cal gets called for unsportsmanlike. Cal ball at the CSU 42, but it should be at the 27.

1:34 PM: Jahvid Best runs for a first down on the misdirection. You get Best in space and he’s dangerous.

1:38 PM: And James Montgomery is heard from! Runs it down to the 2 yard line. First and goal, Cal!

1:39 PM: Touchdown Bears! James Montgomery again, this time for the score. Cal 27, CSU 14.

1:42 PM: That was a pretty good drive, penaties notwithstanding.

1:46 PM: Hanie with a nice long pass to the 50. I’m a lot more comfortable with the 13-point-lead, but let’s hope the Cal defense isn’t.

1:47 PM: 7:29 to go in the 4th. CSU with a nice pass play, first down at the Cal 32.

1:49 PM: Syd Thompson makes a play batting a ball away from the CSU receiver. On 3rd and 9, Cal blitzes and Ezeff knocks away Hanie’s pass downfield. Fourth and 9, an incompletion and Cal takes over on downs with 6:39 to go.

1:51 PM: Holy cow. Jahvid Best breaks a zillion tackles (okay, three) and runs for a 64-yard touchdown on what should have been a short gain. Cal 33, CSU 14 with 5:49 to go.

1:55 PM: This is the second event I’ve liveblogged this week. Gotta say, the Steve Jobs presentation on Wednesday was better. But I will take a Cal win regardless. This was one of those cases where Cal had to shake off the cobwebs and struggle a bit before pulling away. Colorado State strikes me as one of those teams that will cause you trouble but if you can get up on them by two touchdowns, you’re basically out of reach.

2:00 PM: Hanie with a 67-yard bomb to Morton, Touchdown Colorado State! Cal 34, CSU 21. 4:37 to go.

2:02 PM: CSU gets an onside kick. First down CSU at the 50. 3:40 to go.

2:03 PM: Deep pass, complete. First down CSU inside the 5. 3:15 to go.

2:05 PM: Bell on the handoff, Touchdown Colorado State! Cal 34, CSU 28.

2:05 PM: This is getting scary. That’s 14 CSU points in about five realtime minutes.

2:07 PM: CSU goes for the loft kick and it goes out of bounds. Cal ball with 2:54 to go.

2:07 PM: Forsett runs for a gain of 4. Timeout. Forsett again, short gain. Timeout. 2:39 to go, 3rd down.

2:10 PM: Are these CSU fans kicking themselves for leaving early?

2:10 PM: Montgomery with the ball. First down Cal. 2:34 to go, CSU out of timeouts.

2:11 PM: Montgomery, gain of 2. Clock moving under 2:00.

2:12 PM: Montgomery runs for a first down. 1:23 to go.

2:13 PM: The final gun! Despite a late desperation rally, CSU falls short. Final Score: Cal 34, CSU 28.

2:15 PM: Tedford: “We didn’t play very well… It’s obvious that you need to tackle, that you need to play four quarters in all phases of the game. We’re very fortunate that we got a win here.”

General thoughts after watching the game on TV this morning:

• For those of us who were at the game, the TV commentary pointed out something about the Ainge fumble in the 1st quarter. It didn’t matter if his arm was coming forward. The ball didn’t travel forward so it was a lateral even if his arm was coming forward. Nice to know there is no controversy here… wait… this just in from the Tennessee fans, looks like the controversy is that Follett hit Ainge too hard so it wasn’t fair (they’re calling it “spearing”).
• I didn’t realize while at the game that it wasn’t Schneider kicking the ball. Anybody know what happened? Nice to see that his backup filled in admirably.
• On the other side, the Tennessee kick-off guy leaves something to be desired. Cal had great field position because of him.
• The Cal pass defense in the first quarter looked worse on TV than it did in person, at least to me. Not sure which impression was more accurate.
• Gotta love the line during DeSean’s punt return for a TD by the commentator: “DeSean Jackson: The Wizard of Returns!”
• You’ve got to give Tennessee credit in the first 3rd of the game for rebounding from every Cal touchdown including DeSean’s kick return. The fact that they got back to 21-21 says a lot about their determination.
• Jahvid Best had a great debut, didn’t he? That scamper down into the redzone was so sweet. There’s no question who is REALLY #2 on the depth chart, sorry Montgomery and Vereen.
• Longshore started his funk earlier than I had remembered. He had 3 poorly thrown balls starting with 1st and goal at the end of the 2nd quarter. Resulted in our only FG because we couldn’t punch it in.
• I guess I got my answer to the Schneider question at the halftime TV interview with Tedford: Pulled his hamstring in Pre-pre-game. It’s funny how Tedford said it. It was almost as if he was making a joke.
• Looking at things from halftime, but yet knowing Cal will score on their opening possession of the 2nd half, that fumble for a touchdown on the opening drive of the game was huge. Because of the ease with which the offenses scored in this game, it was if the Cal Bears got the opening possession/score of BOTH halves. Add in that they were able to get the last possession of the 1st half and it was a HUGE advantage.
• The goal line stand on the 1st Tennessee possession of the 2nd half was huge. Tennessee was able to move down the field so quickly, just like in the first half, but to hold them without any points… just huge. It seemed to be the series on which the defense built from for the rest of the game.
• Longshore’s funk took off that one series after halftime (since I’ve established it started in the 2nd quarter), but it was in full force on their 2nd possession of the 2nd half.
• The defense stepped up in the 4th quarter almost explicitly starting with the end of the 3rd quarter whistle. It was almost as if they each said “now I know I have enough juice/energy to play all out for the rest of the game”. I mean, the Tennessee offense looked to be rolling to another TD at the end of the 3rd, but they couldn’t get their next 1st down of the 4th quarter, held the driving Tennessee offense to 3 and then forced Tennessee to punt on their next possession.
• It was nice to see the TV commentary show some footage on how DeSean was drawing double coverage and all kinds of extra emphasis. Despite not having great receiving numbers he did a great job if for no other reason that freeing up other receivers.
• Rulon Davis was the most positive surprise on defense. He seemed like the veteran, not the young inexperienced guy, especially late in the game.
• Forsett took finishing the game off on his back starting with that TD run to go up by 14… dragging and bouncing off tacklers.
• In the 1st quarter we saw Cal making a statement playing physical football. To some degree things settled down in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. But in the 4th quarter, both lines and the running backs were making a statement again.
• I heard some criticism of the “Pac-10 football” chant while the Volunteer player was down with a neck injury. After watching the TV coverage, I can understand why there was the misimpression that the chant was in response to him getting knocked down. The chant was surprisingly audible on the TV sounding like it was the whole stadium in unison. The reality was that it was only the east side of the stadium, mostly the student section, the side that didn’t have a good view of the injury both as it happened and as he was being attended to, that was chanting and that they seemed to think we were just in a TV timeout. Also, on the TV coverage, one couldn’t hear very well either of the first 2 standing ovations there were for the young man. They were as resounding and heart felt as the 3rd one that was shown as he was carted off the field. Contrary to how it seemed on TV, I was very proud of my Cal counterparts for how, despite all the animosity in the lead up to the game, we acted in that situation.
• Going over the goal-line Cal fumble, I still content like I did in my podcast that there is no way that ball made it into the endzone for the touchback. Although I’m not as convinced as I was at the game, it still seems pretty clear that Tennessee should have got the ball at the 1 yard-line. Thankfully the Cal defense decided to “over rule” the call on the field by stopping Tennessee in the backfield.
• Wrapping up the TV coverage, I think Cal got the props it deserved from the announcers. In fact, they got into those overly-high platitudes that they tend to get at the end of the game.

OK, that wraps up my thoughts on the game. Still a great win for the program and one that should counter-act some of the stereotypes of the Pac-10 and specifically Cal. Of course there will always be those homers who refuse to recognize reality (the popular Tennessee answer today seems to be that their team sucks and they’re going to get crushed in their conference schedule which is of course a back-handed put down to Cal), but can rest in the confidence of knowing that we’ll have specific stats and games to point to when the SEC homers talk about how weak the Pac-10 is.

GO BEARS!!!

Wow. What a game. You couldn’t have scripted it much better. The game went back and forth, with each team getting momentum and then losing it. At one point with Cal up 17, I was convinced that the win was in the bag. Not two minutes later I was convinced that Cal was going to blow all 17 of those points. It was that kind of day.

I’m not sure what the deal was with the Cal defense. Last year it seemed the pattern was: terrible first quarter (or first half), followed by adjustments. Today there were times when the defense didn’t seem to be able to stop Tennessee, and yet they also had an incredible goal-line stand.

It may be that Tennessee isn’t a very good passing team. When Erik Ainge passed, Tennessee’s chances of success seemed to drop. Sometimes he was inaccurate, and other times his receivers just dropped the ball. In the fourth quarter when it was certain that Tennessee wouldn’t be running anymore, all of a sudden the Cal defense looked great. So I’m going to put two and two together and suggest that Tennessee’s running game was really tough to defend, and left Cal’s defense off balance. But by any measure, the performance of the defense in general wasn’t impressive. But they had some incredibly fine moments.

The best moment, other than the goal-line stand, was on the first drive, when Zack Follett clocked Ainge and Worrell Williams ran back the resulting fumble for a touchdown:

On the offensive side of the ball, things were a whole lot better. It took a while for Justin Forsett to get warmed up, but in the second half he really ran roughshod over the Vols defense. And freshman running back Jahvid Best really impressed all of us when he touched the ball. Best is fast, by which I mean not only burst-running fast but jerky-movement fast. Two of the first three times he touched the ball, he was electric. And Best seems to have a trait that I love to see in my running backs: he hates to go down. In just a few touches I got that Marshawn Lynch feeling, as Best just kept running despite the fact that a mortal man would’ve taken a FieldTurf nap long before.

Nate Longshore generally looked good, although there was a weird set of possessions in the third quarter in which he was completely out of sync and horribly inaccurate. I’m not sure what happened there, but he eventually got his mojo back and began hitting his receivers on the hands. With the exception of those two weird drives, Longshore was pretty darned good.

It helps if you’ve got receivers like Longshore’s. I can’t describe how impressed I was with Cal’s corps of receivers. They’re fast, yes. But more impressive: they catch the ball when you put it on their hands. I noticed few if any drops of catchable balls. And several catches happened simultaneously with nasty, nasty hits from the Tennessee defenders — but the receivers held on to the ball. DeSean Jackson in particular took a nasty hit in the first drive and he held on tight. What a great thing to see.

Oh, yes, I’ve finally mentioned Mr. Jackson. You may have heard that he returned a punt in this game — and for a touchdown, no less. What can I say about that play? It was hilarious. Unreal. Everybody in the stadium was ready for an exciting return, but when the punt was lofted high and the defenders were closing in around him, it was clear that all Jackson would be able to do was fair-catch the kick. Except he didn’t. And then he made two or three moves and was gone, baby, gone. You had to laugh. He may never see another punt all year. One of the Tennessee punts after Jackson’s runback was a 12-yarder out of bounds.

DeSean Jackson is like Barry Bonds. They’re just not gonna let him beat them. Break out the rubber chickens and the Chicken Dance. DeSean will not be returning many punts this year unless he puts on glasses, a fake moustache, and someone else’ s jersey.

Short Takes: See the best of my game photos here… I’ve complained about Cal’s amateurish stadium multimedia before and I’ve got lots of new material to add to the heap after today’s game. Videos playing as quarterbacks stepped to the line to snap the ball, excruciatingly loud music, use and abuse of the Mic Man — it was embarrassing. How hard can it be to get something like that right?… To counter the “S-E-C” chants that rained down on Cal last year, we chanted “Pac-10-Football” at one point. I’m sure the SEC hard-liners will find some lame excuse to explain this game’s outcome… Best wishes to Tennessee defender (and Long Beach High graduate) Xavier Mitchell, who was injured on a defensive play very late in the game and had to leave on a cart — the Cal fans gave him several rounds of cheers as he left the field… What the heck happened to Tom Schneider? (I guess he pulled a muscle in warm-ups!)… Thanks for the classy post-game follow-up, Rocky Top Talk.

And now it’s time for me to ride off into the sunset:

A year ago I was in Knoxville, where the people were hospitable and the game was horrific. This feels so much better. And now the circle closes, and this whole Cal-Tennessee series is wrapped up with a second home win.

Good night, Jeff Tedford, wherever you are.