What a day. Beautiful and sunny, and a Football Championship Subdivision opponent playing pretty much as you might expect against a I-A opponent. Cal just had too much talent for the Aggies of Davis. And in Keenan Allen, Cal has found a rising star.

Shane Vereen bowls toward the End Zone:

Riley tossing it to Vereen:

Here’s a video I shot showing most of Allen’s TD run on the failed option pass.

You can see a few more photos in my Flickr set.

We watched the game so you didn’t have to. What, you watched anyway? You silly person.

The entire transcript of the liveblog after the break…
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I seem to be the only one out there who had a lot of confidence/hope when Stanford had 1st and 10 at the Cal 13. Those last yards are the hardest and the clock was down low enough that handing the ball to Toby 4-5 times in a row was not an option. That game was far from being a lock for Stanford at that moment.

So, imagine that Mohammed wasn’t there. The receiver was well covered and it wouldn’t have been caught (in fact, if Luck had put some air under it like he said he should have, it might have been intercepted by Cattouse who was all over the receiver). In any case, let’s pretend that there was no interception. After the incompletion, it would have been 3rd and 10 from the 13. That’s two plays to get a touchdown (I’m ignoring the 1st down scenarios because it’s unlikely that close to get a 1st down but not a touchdown when going to the air or screen passes or the such.) and it’s even more difficult to figure out how to get Toby the ball in a way that works, because you’ve basically got two plays. Personally, I think the smart money at that moment is still on the Bears, particularly the way Luck was playing.

Don’t get me wrong, I was glad that Mohammed put an end to it. I just don’t think it was as desperate as many suggest.

I kept saying it in the car on the way home from the CalTrain station: I can’t believe we won that game.

But we did.

Oh, and before the game, your faithful correspondents met up. We only see each other at Stanford Stadium. I’m serious. It’s weird.

Jason (that’s me) on the right, Ken on the left.

I’ve been thinking more and more about that double pass and I’m not sure the QB’s mistake of throwing a second pass was as big a deal as the consensus is. I’ll make my case:

1. At best, the QB decides to knock down the ball instead of catching the deflection. Then it’s 4th and 3 at the 25, setting up a 42 yard field goal. This kicker’s lifetime long is 37 and his one shot at a 40+ yard field goal was missed. Definitely not a gimme, but I also doubt Stoops goes for it on 4th and 3. I’d give the kicker a 1 in 3 shot at best at that field goal.
2. More realistically, the QB catches the ball but decides not to throw again. Well, Cal was hot in pursuit and again, at best, he’d have made it to the 30 yard line before getting tackled. Now we’re talking about a 47 yard field goal or if Stoops thinks that’s too long 4th and 8. This, ironically, might have been the best thing to happen to Arizona as it would force their hand to go for it on 4th down but it wouldn’t have been 17 yards, only 8-10.

So yeah, putting it back to 4th and 17 didn’t help Arizona’s cause, but I think it wasn’t as big a deal as some make it out to be. The instant that pass was blocked, Arizona was in a tough spot.

It sure felt good to leave Memorial Stadium for the last time in 2009 with a win.

Jahvid Best seems to have sustained a concussion but otherwise can move his extremities, according to the AP.

That’s fantastic news after what was a terrifying scene at Memorial Stadium tonight.

Hopefully a concussion is all it is. However, given that Best apparently suffered a “mild” (and I use the term loosely) concussion against Arizona State, let me say this as a Cal fan.

After two concussions, Best should sit it out. And I’m talking the month of November, and possibly December.

Brain injuries are serious business. Read Malcolm Gladwell’s piece in the New Yorker if you want to question yourself about being a football fan, given the damage it does to the brains of many players.

I’m sure the doctors and coaches at Cal take this seriously. So should the fans. Jahvid Best is a wonderful athlete to behold. But I’m not interested in watching him risk serious brain injury by returning too soon. If Jahvid needs to hang ’em up for the rest of the season, I’m going to take a breath and say it’s absolutely the right thing to do. Even if we want to see him play, and Cal win, his health comes first.

All our best to Jahvid and his family.

I’ve noticed some grumbling about whether the pass by Vereen out of the wildcat formation was a good decision on 2nd and Goal from the ASU 5 yard line with 30 seconds left. I wanted to add a couple thoughts to the discussion.

First of all, by the numbers, it was most definitely the wrong thing to do for a few reasons:

1. It stopped the clock which meant ASU could prevent Cal from running down the clock to 3 seconds on 3rd down.
2. It’s a low percentage play.
3. It’s a risky play as an interception would effectively end the game.

So the “right” thing to do is run the ball again on 2nd down. It’s low risk. It’ll increase the percentages of a TD, particularly on 3rd down. And finally it’ll mean there’s no chance of a last second comeback by ASU after the field-goal.

But I think there’s a bigger picture here and I support the call. First of all, so many of us Bear fans complain about our play-calling being TOO by the numbers. We can’t have it both ways. You want it less predictable? Well, there it is. There’s nothing less predictable than what the Bears did then.

Plays like this, as well as the play-calling for the majority of the season, have been keeping our opponents on their toes. Clearly Cal is going to keep running the Wildcat and don’t you think that every defensive coordinator left on the schedule will be able unable to ignore that call? You think the next time Cal has 2nd and goal and they go into the wildcat that this play won’t be on their mind? Of course it will.

I also like it because it was going for the jugular. Being down by 1, a touchdown and a 2-point conversion mean that ASU can only tie even with a desperation drive with a few seconds left. Particularly when you’re kicker is struggling, I like going for the jugular.

There’s no doubt it was ballsy. Some argue too ballsy. I might be even inclined to agree. But if anything, this team needs more heart and more emotion and I think ballsy play-calling like that can only help that. Cramming the ball into the line, while it may be the “right” thing to do, is not nearly as exciting. This team needs more excitement.

I’m more than willing to see the team take these risks.

You can read the entire liveblog after the jump…
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Before I head off to Tempe (any suggestions for things to keep me occupied in the car for 10 hours each way besides talking to myself? “Phsh! What a stupid joke Ken” – GAH! It’s started already!?!), some thoughts on the end of the 2nd quarter scores the Bears have been giving up. First of all, this has not been just a recent problem. It’s been plaguing the team for most of the season. Let’s recap:

• Minnesota: After Anger punts from his own 12 yard line with just over a minute left, Minnesota is able to score on a two-play 29 yard (it was a short punt with a personal foul) touchdown drive ending with 40 seconds left to narrow the halftime score to 21-14. In what was looking like a dominant Cal performance, the one-score halftime lead was key to Minnesota getting back in the game.
• Oregon: After a disastrous 1st half, the Bears were only down 3-18, just two scores, with two minutes left. Anger shanks the punt from midfield, netting only 5 yards, and Oregon runs on 4 consecutive plays confusing the Bears who are expecting Oregon to pass with this little time left, scoring a surprisingly easy touchdown with 59 seconds left to effectively put the game away before halftime.
• USC: No end of 2nd quarter score – HOORAY!
• UCLA: After scoring a touchdown with 46 seconds left to put the Bears up 35-17, three scores, the Bears go into hyper-prevent mode and let UCLA march down the field and make an easy field goal as time expired to get back to a two-score deficit.
• WSU: After giving up their first touchdown with under 5 minutes left in the half, Cal uses just over a minute going 3 and out and then lets WSU march down the field in 8 plays to close the score to 35-17 with 33 seconds left, giving the WSU faithful (singular) hope that a comeback could be in the works.

So there you have it. In our last 5 games we’ve given up scores in the last minute of the half in 4 of them, for a total of 20 points, 2 touchdowns, 2 field goals.

What’s the deal?

When I asked Coach Gregory about it, he called it a lack of focus. I completely agree. I think these guys are mentally getting ready to go into the locker room too early and not playing the last minutes like they matter. And while the end result probably didn’t change in any of those games because of the scores (only Oregon is minorly in doubt, if that, as it killed the idea of a comeback, but we won the rest), I think it’s a really troubling sign to see the players checking out too early before halftime. Luckily Coach Gregory has recognized the root problem with the players.

But I also think there is something else.

I also think that the defensive play-calling is too soft during these times. I think they’re going too prevent, particularly in the UCLA game. While I’ve done my best to block out the Oregon game, I also remember thinking that the defense looked too prevent-ish in that last TD drive. Since I didn’t see the WSU game it’s hard to tell, but I get the feeling they were playing too soft that time too. So I really think that it’s bad game-planning as well.

And here’s the key question: Is the passive prevent encouraging the players to mentally check out? I think it’s a real possibility. And it worries me. A lot.

Here’s hoping it won’t matter in Tempe either.

Here are some select photos. You can see the whole gallery on Flickr. The good folks at other Cal blogs are welcome to re-use any of my photos with attribution or a linkback to Excuse Me For My Voice.

I’m just warning you, there are a lot of photos of guys in the end zone or running toward the end zone.

Marvin Jones scored early on (above). Jeremy Ross scored on a punt return (below).

Shane Vereen also scored in the first quarter.

Jahvid Best got in the action, too.

I love this shot.

Vereen ripped off a long one later in the game.

Hi everyone. Ken’s at a wedding and I’m about to head out to Berkeley. But if you’d like to talk about the game, feel free to post in comments. I’ll have a report—with images!—when the game is over.

Read on for the liveblog… (more…)

Boo to this guy.

Yay for this guy.

Boo to this guy.

As I left the stadium…

…the lady said to me, “NO RE-ENTRY! IF YOU LEAVE YOU CAN’T COME BACK?”

“Is that a promise?” I said. “Because I’ll hold you to that.”

Thoughts after re-watching the disaster:

• I’m glad that they showed that “from Riley’s perspective” replay of the interception. Because from the stands and from the standard TV view it was completely inexplicable. But when you see it from Riley’s view, I can see how he’d think he could loft it into Jones. It just wasn’t there. Still a bad decision, but at least now I “Get it”.
• I’ve heard it said that the interception was the early turning point of the game. I disagree. I think it was the early 3rd down conversion for USC and to a lesser degree the McNight touchdown (which was a TD). That’s what sucked the air out of the crowd, which I think was key to how things went downhill. The team’s intensity quickly followed the crowd’s (something for us to remember).
• You know, rewatching the first couple series for Cal were pretty good as far as diversity of play calling. I don’t know that the 3rd down play that Riley never gave a chance by over throwing Best was going to work anyway, so it might just have been the first bad play call of the game. Nevertheless, that was a pretty good sequence of plays. I wonder if they’re scripted and when they run out of scripted plays is when they start running into trouble.
• Now, the Bears were helped by a holding call to slow the USC redzone drive that would have put them up 14-0, but you still have to give the Bear defense some credit for coming up with a stop. I know that at that moment, the Bears down 10-0 I still was pretty optimistic from what I had seen from the Cal offense so far that they could get back into it. However, I was feeling a bit uncomfortable about the defense and that gave me more hope.
• Now the Bear’s next possession was pretty pathetic. Additionally, everything already felt recycled. The Riley rollout, the crossing route to Ross (that wouldn’t have gone for a 1st down anyway), it was just too predictable. Also, they did the run in the wrong order. You run Best first and then do the Riley rollout. When you reverse it the defense can corral Best more easily because they’re OK with a 3 yard gain (unlike on 1st down).
• But that defense really continued to do its job, including coming up with those 3rd and 4th and short stops. Again, the defense although not stellar, for the most part held up their end of the bargain. They’ve definitely got some problems with linebackers in coverage and confusion in the secondary (the latter being very surprising to me), but for the most part the players are giving it their all and executing to Gregory’s game plan.
• You know, I hate to bring it up because it had nothing to do with the outcome but the Bears didn’t get any breaks from the refs. That personal foul on Tucker for his block was COMPLETELY bogus. Even what the announcers were saying is a penalty that is very rarely called and it didn’t apply. Then the punt return for a touchdown his foot was out of bounds. I’m 85% confident USC scores a touchdown on that 1st and goal from the 4 if the replay is properly called, but it was still a bad call.
• Now, back to that punt return, what frustrates me about our special teams is that it always seems to fall apart when we need them most. It was horrible coverage and it felt like the coverage team wasn’t trying very hard. It also felt like there were only 3 guys on that side of the field to be blocked. And what was with Anger’s punts? When did this guy become an average punter? Again, just when we needed him most, he kicks a low, easily returnable punt followed by a semi-shanked 27 yard punt.
• I think the problem with the Cal offense by the time the 2nd quarter rolled around is that they had already given up on the running game. I’m not talking amount the gimmicy, trick-play to throw off the defense, running game. I’m talking about the line up and smash USC in the teeth running game. Would it have been productive? Probably not very much, but you know what, it helps keep balance and just importantly, it keeps the offensive players in the right mindset of playing hard, physical, football. Instead they were already in panic mode and the defense was forced back onto the field after quick 3-and-outs again and again and again.
• And then the field goal attempt with 12 seconds left has the same effect. It just gave everyone from the players to the fans the idea that the coaching staff was playing for moral victories instead of to win the game.
• Going back to the defense, while I feel there is a lot Gregory is doing right, what. is. the. story. with. the. WR. screens!?! Are we ever going to solve this problem? EVERY team is going to run those over and over, particularly when they really need a drive extending play, if the Bears don’t bring 3 players over when the opposition has a 3 WR bunch set.
• I’ve been a big hater of the wildcat formation but I’ll tell you what, it was reasonably effective when they ran it over and over mid-3rd quarter. They need to look on film on why it worked in those instances but not when they’ve used it on single plays other times during the season (and in this game for that matter). At the same time, wasn’t that just another sign of already having given up or at a minimum, a sign of desperation? While I don’t think the game plan was as horrible in this game as against Oregon, I do feel like the signs of giving up were more obvious from the coaching staff than in the previous game.
• On the opposite side of the play calling spectrum was the sideline huddle/hide Vereen on the sideline play. A perfect call for that moment in the game and it was a sure touchdown if Riley had thrown even a halfway reasonable ball.
• That’s what is most frustrating about Riley. Riley has some brilliant throws, some brilliant escape moves with his feet and sometimes shows signs of wonderful leadership and execution. At the same time he gets in funks that are inexplicable, terrifying and disgusting at the same time. Comparing him to recent QB’s at Cal, Ayoob is really the most apt comparison, and I say that without saying it to curse at Riley like some would assume. The lone difference is that the coaching staff has molded him much more firmly to not throw the ill-advised interceptions that Ayoob was known for.
• I don’t think the offensive line was to blame for this loss, but they sure didn’t help matters on that 4th and 8 in the redzone. The collapsed like a wet plywood bridge with a tank on it. Actually, it kinda feels like they got weaker and weaker as the game wore on. In part that’s because they were taking on the strongest, best conditioned, most talented defensive line in the Pac-10 if not the country. But I think they also had given up a little bit and weren’t using the best technique.
• That long run that McNight had in the 4th quarter that was the final re-enforcing nail in the coffin was not a horrible play by the defense but it was Eddie Young who was responsible for the lost containment. He bought on Barkley’s action and was too far up-field to make the tackle on McNight. Again, not a horrible play, just that’s where the contain was lost.
• Well, that botched punt return by Syd was the perfect way to sum up the night. Another special teams failure when we need them most and poor execution across the board.

Overall, give credit to USC for taking advantage of Cal’s offensive ineptitude. And while I want to keep my hope and despair stuff for separate posts, let me just say that I think USC is going to win out and go to the BCS Championship game as long as Barkley stays healthy. They’ll beat Oregon’s gimmicy offense in Eugene with their great defense that yet again, despite all of the talent turnover and losses to the NFL, is the best defense in the conference.

How bad was it?

I never leave games early. I left at halftime.

And went and had a lovely dinner with my wife instead, to bring a little bit of joy into an evening full of nothing but anger and unpleasantness.

There’s more to say, sure, about how Memorial Stadium with a bunch of tunnels closed off is really quite dangerous at its current “full” capacity, and about the classlessness of a Cal fan right behind me, and of how the coaching in this game — specifically the fact that the coaches seemed to have given up in the second quarter — disgusted me in a way I can’t recall ever being disgusted in a Cal game before.

But later. Not now.

Well, that was a very disappointing performance. I’m not sure whether the interviews with the players and coaches give me some confidence or further increase my despair. On the one hand, I was very happy with the taking of responsibility and the attitude. They seemed to be very determined to learn from this loss and get back to work to beat USC. On the other hand, there seemed to be very little recognition of how horrible the game plan was.

The biggest problem was that the Cal offense did nothing to spread the field against Oregon. What happened to all the reverses and the diversity of play calling that we’ve seen in the last 3 weeks? Why were the Bears constantly making in easy on Oregon who wanted to put 9 in the box by bringing in their wide receivers and running a very tight formation? It was just a horrible, horrible offensive game plan.

The defensive performance is harder to judge. The two areas that were clearly an oversight, were not as bad as the offensive scheme problems. One was how they let the TE run wild in the middle. They weren’t having an inside linebacker stay deep enough so that the TE couldn’t escape him for a long gain. The other was corrected as the game went on, the 3 WR’s to one side, they really needed 3 defensive guys there (OLB, CB and Safety) to corral the blocking options. And by the 2nd half they had that figured out.

But in the big picture, this is the side of the ball I give a lot of credit to Oregon. Masoli was on his game and looked really strong offensively. The whole Oregon offense, particularly the offensive line, was in sync and looked sharp. Considering that the Bears offense couldn’t do anything to give them a rest, the Cal defense was given an exceptionally difficult task.

So, I’m left scratching my head. Does the players attitude give me confidence or do the scheme problems bother me too much for that?

I don’t know; I just don’t know…

(more to come)

Hello from Autzen Stadium in Eugene! I’ll (Ken) will be Live-Blogging the game from the press box and Jason should be joining in from his work conference in the midwest where he’ll be watching via Slingbox. Make sure to add your thoughts in the comment section.

Some pregame thoughts… The environment is a lot more relaxed than 2 years ago when Gameday was here. I’m sure it’ll get a lot more intense by game-time. The rumor about throwback jerseys is true although I have yet to catch a glimpse of them. The players on the field are still in workout clothes.

It’s an absolutely beautiful day. High is supposed to be 81 and there’s not a cloud in the day. Right now it’s cool enough that in the shade you can feel it but when you’re in the sun it’s a perfect balance of cool air and warm sun. This is as good as football gets, well, minus not being in Memorial stadium which has by far the best views in the Pac-10 if not the country. The Williamette Valley is very beautiful too, and if it wasn’t a bit smoggy (Was there a big forrest fire somewhere in Southern Oregon or Northern California recently? This haze has been there along most of the trip starting around Red Bluff.) it would be strikingly beautiful. I’ve got a great view of the mountains from here perched high above the stadium in the press box. The press box is literally the highest floor in Eugene so you can see for miles from here. It would still be no match for the view from atop the Memorial press box.

The Cal band has been out in the parking lot entertaining the Bear fans who made the trip up and the Oregon band is in the stands practicing, including their own rendition of Stanford’s fight song “All Right Now” (assumably to be used to intimidate the Bears at some point during the game. The band does realize that these Bears have only heard that song twice in their lives with how little Stanford has had to celebrate about in recent Big Games, right? They may not even recognize it.)

It’s going to be a great day of football! (more…)

Here are my thoughts on the Minnesota game after re-watching it:

• The half-back pass thing to start the game is just too obvious these days, particularly since Best can’t pass. It’s most definitely a “tell” that Vereen is in the game to start instead of Best. I think the play still has some legs if used later in the game at a point where it is natural to sub in Vereen for Best. It was a good job by Vereen to take it and tuck it for a nice gain for a broken play.
• The unexpected star of this game, was Ross. After the Maryland game I felt like he was done, but in both the last two games he’s been a strong contributor. He’s been our end-around/fly sweep guy (is that perhaps a “tell” too?).
• What I really liked about the start of this game, on both the opening drives, was how much Cal showed its diversity. They even through in the QB keeper on 3rd down. Between the sweeps, the fake sweeps, the deep throws, the underneath throws, even the half-back pass, it really gives the defense a lot to think about.
• Best’s first TD run was just awesome. We’re going to see that on ESPN for a long time to come. Very Bush-esque with the leap into the endzone.
• We’ve all been impressed by Holley as a receiver and runner, but his pass protection so far hasn’t been as stellar. The first sack on Riley was definitely a blown block by Holley. His run blocking has seemed OK to me.
• If I had to say one thing that I think was the best thing to see out of this game it was Riley continuing to improve. The Bears really have balance now and Riley is doing what Longshore wasn’t: making clutch throws when things break down on 3rd downs.
• I’m pretty sure it was Tucker who had a play against Arizona where Longshore threw one of his trademark interceptions for a touchdown, but in this particular case, Tucker had an opportunity to play defensive back and break it up, but didn’t even make an attempt at it. As such, it was really nice to see him maturing and breakup the would be interception. There’s been a lot of growth on this team in the last year.
• OK, it’s not time to freak out yet, but D’Amato’s first attempt at a longer field goal doesn’t inspire much confidence. Am I right in thinking he’s now 1-3 on the season? I’ve seen him kick in practice and he looks really good (particularly the height he gets on his ball preventing the potential block) so I’m optimistic that he’ll get on track, but definitely something to watch for.
• For what it is worth, Minnesota’s worst field position of the 1st half was after that missed field goal (the Minnesota 30 yard line). Pathetic.
• Another thing to really like about this Cal offense is the WR run-blocking. Marvin Jones had a key block on Best’s 3rd TD run, which was impressive because the run was up the middle so Jones had to run a long way into the center of the defense to make the block.
• One of my complaints of personal foul calls is when they call both guys involved. Sure, sometimes it is merited, but I think about 75% of the time it’s a courtesy call to offset the real call so they don’t get boo’ed/yelled at. What you have to do is analyze each player assuming the other guy hadn’t done his part. So to use an example not from this game, when Blount hit the Boise player and there were calls to throw the Boise player out of a game or two, you have to think that if Blount hadn’t hit him, no one would have even thought to care about that guys actions. Same thing with the Cattouse incident in the 2nd quarter. Yeah, he did a light verbal taunt of the receiver, but if the receiver hadn’t shoved him, there’s no way he would have gotten a personal foul.
• I still disagree with the offensive play-calling on the last Cal series of the half. I would have at a minimum thrown the ball on 3rd and 7. Let Minnesota keep their last timeout if you don’t complete it, but don’t concede the lack of a 1st down by running on 3rd and 7. It was particularly bad because Minnesota didn’t need to use their timeout because the holding penalty stopped the clock anyway.
• You’ve really got to give it to the Minnesota QB for avoiding sacks with his shovel passes, two of which were completed for gains. Otherwise Cal has 6 sacks again.
• I was going to say that I was happy that at least one of Minnesota’s touchdowns wasn’t to Decker (seriously Cal D, it was pretty obvious who they were going to pass to) but when Decker is the one throwing the ball… it doesn’t give one much solace.
• Riley had yet another game with zero interceptions. He got lucky a few times in the game, but there’s something about the way Riley throws that even when he’s off the mark or throwing a risky pass, he seems to have a feel, even last year when he was struggling, for when a risky play is worth taking and won’t burn him.
• While there was criticism of the defense for not covering Decker, you still have to give them a lot of credit. Particularly consider what horrible field position they had to deal with, they did an exceptional job, most notably against the Minnesota run game. (They only gave up 37 yards!)
• Another clutch throwing play by Riley was with less than 10 minutes left in the game. The Bears hadn’t had any success yet in the 2nd half and it was 3rd and 15 and Riley laid a perfect throw to Ross for a 1st down. The Bears may not win this game without that play.
• D’Amato had two kickoffs. One was just beautiful down into the corner of the endzone. The other he got under and went to a Tavecchio like 16 yard-line. Inconsistent to be sure, but I still think it is time to give D’Amato an extended period to work out his kinks now that Tavecchio got plenty of time to work out his and never did.
• Despite the fact that the Cal D has been great in pass-protection, I heard a lot of grumbling about the lack of interceptions. Even though two of the three were garbage/end of game interceptions, hopefully it let the air out of that complaint.
• One of my favorite parts of the game is the garbage time pep-talk the announcers give to the losing team’s fans. They always talk about the positives to take from the game, the great things the program is doing, the recruits on the horizon or if worst comes to worst, they talk about the tough breaks. I guess it’s more funny when it’s not your team being patronized.

In summary, not the most beautiful game and the special teams were a big problem, but a win on the road is a win worth celebrating after a couple of frustrating road years. They should have never let Minnesota back in the game, but the emotional benefit of having to re-group and proving to themselves they could do it is well worth it in this case particularly since the final score doesn’t indicate a close game.

GO BEARS!