Live-blogging the Arizona Game
Well, I’m not sure if Jason is going to be able to join me for the live-blog, but I’ll host one from Arizona. I’m back in the press-box tonight. They actually gave me a first row seat! The stadium is still 1/2 empty despite being only 15 minutes before game-time.
7:07 PM (15:00 1st) – Arizona wins the toss and defers so Cal is going to get the ball first. They kick it to the back of the endzone. Wonder what it takes to get a kicker like that? BTW, the stadium is now 80% full with the only place looking a bit sparse being the upper deck on the student side. Cal has one full section on the alumni side. Pretty well represented in my humble opinion.
7:10 PM (13:13) – First few plays looking really sharp. Even the not very productive swingout pass was not bad considering Best made something out of nothing… here’s an important 3rd and 4, I mean 9, nice one guys. That killed that drive.
7:15 PM (12:10) – FUMBLE! What a big break for the Bears. Now let’s see if they can convert!
7:18 (10:22) – What a nice slant by Longshore. Too bad it ended at about the worst spot on the field from a touchdown perspective, between the 8 and 12 yardline.
7:20 (9:19) – TOUCHDOWN. Well, the Bears didn’t let the position bother them. The all-whites are working! Jason says: “It’s actally a pretty good look, I think. They wore the blue shirt and white pants against ASU, and it was much worse than I thought it would be. But it made me think the all-white look might actually be good. The only good Cal looks, I think: Blue shirt and yellow pants, white shirt/blue pants, all white. Notice I didn’t say yellow shirts.” 7-0
7:23 (9:12) – What is it with Tevechio during the games. He looks so good in practice and then he shanks it in the game. Back kickoffs again… ugh!
7:25 (7:50) – The Bears are going to have to tackle better on the edges if they’re going to contain Arizona. UA is really trying to seal off the Bears.
7:28 (6:19) – Jason says: “So little pressure on Tuitama, it looks like he’s waiting for a bus back there… oh my. That’s not how to throw the screen pass.” Apparently he got on the Longshore botched screen pass tour bus. What a gift for the Bears. The way UA was moving the ball, they really needed that.
7:35 (3:38) Tavechio missed a 50 yard field goal. Jason says: “that seemed like a bad idea”. Yeah, but it was pretty darned close. Can’t argue too much. What was a bad idea was going 5 wide on 3rd down and then Longshore not seeing he had 10 yards of running room and 5 covered receivers.
7:37 (3:05) Jason says: “okay, turnover ever series, Wildcats. every single one.” It’s a nice dream, isn’t it?
7:40 (1:10) The coverage schemes that Cal is throwing at Tuitama aren’t fooling him in the least. And they’re so “tricky” there’s lots of open guys. Time to go for something more simple guys. And while you’re at it, how about tackling more than just shoes. Jason says: “Tacking, folks, Tackling.”
7:42 (End of 1st) Well, despite Cal being up 7-0, Arizona is moving the ball all too easily. The only thing keeping them from scoring so far is their own mistakes. If the Bears can’t start tackling a lot better, this could be a VERY long game. As Jason says, “These guys can really move the ball.”
7:45 (14:14 2nd) Touchdown Wildcats. The Bears need a good LONG offensive drive to give the defensive coaches some time to make some adjustments and bang them over the head about good tackling. The Bears are using too many fancy formations and the only people who are fooled by them are the Bears. Jason says: “The old “empty defense” defense.” 7-7.
7:51 (13:04) This could get ugly really quick. The Bears need to TACKLE. And while we’re at it they need to cover their receivers. And while their at it, TACKLE. That was way too quick of a touchdown and the Bears are in a hole, 7-14 far too quickly. Jason says: “TACKLE…I mean, yeah, he’s fast at the start and they can’t touch him. But then they miss the tackle…ugh…Linebackers looking bad…TACKLE…jeez.”
7:56 (11:15) That was Longshore both at his best and worst. His best because he didn’t force a ball he shouldn’t throw. His worst because he didn’t improvise and see that there was 60 yards of running room to the opposite side of the field.
8:00 (10:15) Phil says: “So did Cal take that whole week off thing seriously? Because they are playing as if they never saw a practice field in 10 days.”
8:01 (10:00) Jason says: “Bryan Anger, the second coming of Nick Harris. How I remember the days when Cal’s punter was the best player on the team.” What I remember is how important it was that Cal have an exceptional punter in those days. I’m sure that’s what Holmoe told recruits, “you’ll get a chance to display your talents at Cal like no other school.”
8:02 (8:35) And the Bears defense actually comes up with a stop!?! There may be hope left!
8:04 (8:04) There’s an attempt to get the wave going here at the stadium. Apparently their amateur fans here…
8:05 (7:51) And the football gods punish AZ fans for their incompetence and arrogance. Best displays why he’s so beloved. TOUCHDOWN! Tie game: 14-14
8:11 (7:11) The defense seems to have made the needed adjustments and the pass coverage looks a LOT better. You’ve got to man up and play those guys close in the spread. 2nd 3 and out in a row for AZ. That 1st 3 and out was a turning point of the game, momentum wise.
8:18 (3:34) TOUCHDOWN… or not as we review. It looks like Morrah held the ball all the way down and this should stand. Sure enough. Jason says: “He is the best receiver on the team. of course, review. sigh.” Bears up 21-14. What a swing of momentum when the Cal defense got their act in gear. More from Jason: “Morrah, really, I’m so impressed by him… When the WR corps is so depleted, having a TE like that… is gold… Get the feeling this is gonna be a shootout, folks.”
8:25 (2:15) Jason says: “Not sure quite what the rationale was for that directional punt. I mean, I like it, because it suggests someone is trying something different… but not sure if it made sense.” Probably true. But it make more sense than Longshore’s arm movement with the ball or running it on 3rd and 22. Now they’ve got to put to AZ with 1:35 left.
8:29 (1:16) OK, AZ spends two timeouts getting the ball back and then runs it up the middle, forcing them to take their last timeout. Huh? And then get sacked, so that Cal can play the same game with their timeouts… what a weird futile end to this half.
8:34 (0:35) Wow. Syd. Jason says, “wow… syd!” That may have been just enough to have a chance at scoring. Field goal is GOOD! Bears up by 10 at the half if they can just survive these last 3 seconds: 24-14.
8:40 (End of 1st half) Now that the 3 seconds have been survived, some halftime thoughts: 1st, the defense really turned the corner there in the early 2nd quarter. They made some significant adjustments and manned up. It looked like the Gregory was really concerned about the long-ball and was doing all sorts of scheming to prevent it as opposed to bringing his men forward to prevent the quick throws. After the Bears proved the could get back with the best of them, the scheming changed significantly and the Bears were in a much better position. The tackling also seemed to improve, although, I still fear that if AZ were to return to their running game, something they surprisingly abandoned in the 2nd quarter, we may see some more troubling misses if they haven’t got their act together. On offense, the unit has been pretty consistent throughout the game. Sure, not every possession was a gem, but overall there was good play-calling and plenty of good execution. Best is still, well Best, when he got in the open field. I expect to see a lot more of that in the 2nd half. If the Bears defense can continue it’s good trend, perhaps making the needed adjustments for AZ’s halftime adjustments, this should remain a very winnable game.
9:00 (14:55 3rd) Tavechio kicks it into the endzone. That’s the first time this season ANY Cal kickoff guy has reached the endzone, albeit only by a yard or two.
9:01 (14:27) See, here comes that running game for AZ again. I bet they realized how one dimensional they got at halftime.
9:03 (13:14) And when you can run the ball, all of a sudden, passing routes open up and Syd can get beat pretty bad on a slant. He should have gone for the tackle, not the tip.
9:06 (13:03) That’s the longest 7 yard run I’ve seen since Marshawn was doing his freaky elusive thing a couple years back. Nice to see the creative running.
9:08 (12:15) And nice to see the refs have NO idea that pass-interference includes climbing over the back of the receiver a half second before the ball gets there.
9:10 (12:00) Coaching update: Stoops face is half way to the obligatory construction sign red he must approach by game’s end after the marking of that punt.
9:15 (10:45) That was a great time for play-action. Everyone knows that Tedford likes to run with the lead in the 2nd half.
9:19 (9:20) Oooo! If only Boateng could have held on to that. It was a tough catch, but it would have been huge. Of course, it’s nice to see Tavechio kicking so well. 2 for 3 now and good on everything inside 50. Bears up 27-21.
9:24 (7:47) When the Bears blow it on a running play, it’s always pretty ugly. There’s no safety backup and it tends to go a LONG way. A goal-line stand would be HUGE here. No such luck. Bears in a 1-point hole: 27-28
9:34 (6:10) There were two people at fault on that INT. One was Tucker who needs to wrestle that ball away from the defender. The other is Nate who’s double clutching a ton today. You can tell 2006 is etched in his brain and he’s over-thinking it. Too bad he didn’t re-think that one. Thinking more globally, the Bears are doing everything underneath and the AZ secondary is biting on it HARD. We need some stop and gos or one of the many other ways that make corners pay for that.
9:37 (4:09) It’s pretty close to time for Tedford to call a “momentum” timeout. The Bears are realing and they need a moment to re-group. Tedford never does that though.
9:41 (1:29) That’s a really tough play to defend. There were some warning signs early that there could be trouble down the road: The running game of AZ and the “feel” of a shootout. Neither were good for the Bears and both are coming true in the 3rd quarter. The Bears need a BIG turnaround right here. A touchdown drive and a stop would go a LONG way.
9:46 (0:25) OK, I like that the Bears are going down the field, but there still needs to be some semblance of trying to move the chains. These refs are calling the game VERY loose on pass-interference and Cal’s secondary needs to play accordingly.
9:48 (End of 3rd quarter) Anytime you let your opponent score 28 points in one quarter, you’ve got a BIG problem. WAY too many big plays. The problems that were plaguing the Bears in the 1st quarter are back and unlike the 1st quarter where the Bears were gifted a couple of turnovers, AZ converted on all those drives. The defense needs to play very physical to get back in this.
9:53 (13:04 4th) WOW. I just don’t get Tedford these days. I would have NEVER expected this. We’ll see how it goes, but this breaks every Tedford template there is.
9:58 (11:45) This clock is moving awful fast for a team down two TDs. The Bears only have this last punt in them (another great one by Anger) and then they just have to execute and score. There’s not two punts here.
10:04 (8:32) Now we’re at the desperation point. There isn’t time for anything less. For all you Riley lovers… ask yourself, does Longshore over-throw that ball so that it is tipped up for the INT? I don’t think so. Not that Longshore doesn’t have his issues. But my point is that Riley is not savior right now either.
10:17 (3:44) Well, time to go down to the field for the interviews. I think we all know this isn’t going to happen.
