Life of Riley (Oregon State 31, Cal 28)
(Written by jsnell)
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?
October 13th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
I don’t know why, but this loss is one of the most painful to take in my 25+ years of being a diehard Bears fan. There’s been plenty of heartbreaking losses (some of those Big Game loses in the early 90s were just gutwrenching) but this one has left me feeling depressed. I know it shouldn’t bother me that much because Cal still has a clear path to the Rose Bowl, and the National Championship was always kind of a pipe dream. I dunno, maybe I bought into that pipe dream and allowed myself to dream the impossible dream.
I’d feel better about the rest of the season if I had any confidence whatsoever in the defense.
Ugh.
October 13th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Definitely the most painful Cal defeat of the Tedford era.If Kevin Riley only had a brain a la wizard of oz has been running through my head for hours. He certainly played well above his level for fifty nine minutes but couldn’t do the simple thing when it mattered most.
Should also give major credit to lavelle who played one of his best games while tha1 was barely a factor.
October 13th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
I dunno, dd — Arizona last year was mighty painful.
October 13th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
. . . and just when I was finally getting over the Arizona loss from last year. This is absolutely the worst loss I can remember in my 28 years of following Cal. It is in so many ways typical of previous Cal disappointments, but this loss was still very different in how it ended and what was at stake.
I too was really dismayed by the fans reaction to the LSU score. Amateurish. It’s as if no one had been paying any attention to the game up to that point. We were clearly struggling and anyone who’s watch what’s been happening nationally should know better than to feel over-confident going into ANY game.
I don’t know why I had the courage to flip to ESPN when I got home, but I did. Now all of the Gameday guys, Holtz, and others are touting Ore again. What a difference a couple of weeks makes, huh? I can see where this is going: The ultimate disappointment. Cal wins out, finishing with it’s best record since God knows when, only to get snubbed for a Rose Bowl birth by an Oregon team that it beat.
On another note, the Ore St. field goal before the half is all on Tedford. I knew that decision to squib would cost us, and it could be argued that it cost us the game.
I feel like throwing up.
October 13th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
Wait a minute! Let’s go easy on the Kevin Rileys. OK, so one goes crashing spaceships into planets and another fumbles footballs. Ahm … well … LOL
October 14th, 2007 at 12:15 am
As I said to my smoking friends, “Drag that sweet smoke deep and long into your lungs. That’s the feeling of being a Cal fan. Fantastic, yet fleeting.”
Scramble right, asshole! Towards the sideline. Didn’t they teach you that at Beaverton…oh wait…conflict of interest…
October 14th, 2007 at 12:22 am
Hate to be a downer but this is clearly the beginnning of the end for the Bears. We had a golden opportunity and we pissed it away. but maybe we were overrated anyway. UCLA has a great defense and ASU is simply a better team. We could easily end up going into the SC game with 3 losses. Best hope is that DeSean decides to stay another year because we will have a chance to do some great things then but this year is done.
October 14th, 2007 at 1:33 am
“but this is clearly the beginnning of the end for the Bears”
Are you serious? Jesus. We just lost, but we only have 1 loss. ASU is a simply a better team? UCLA has a great defense? giving up 44 to Utah is a great defense?
Look, I’m disappointed to, but you’re clearly insane. We’re 5-1. We’ll be fine. Nate will be back next week – and while Riley didn’t really lose the game for us, I’m confident that with Nate back there we win this game.
October 14th, 2007 at 7:46 am
I can’t believe people saying this is the beginning of the end! This is one loss! This was a loss without are starting quarterback. And no, we cannot say this is Riley’s fault because he performed brilliantly except for the slow start and the mental error at the end.
Pre-Tedford, we would be 2-4 at this point in the season and we’d be hoping to pull out a .500 season and a chance at ANY bowl. As much as this hurts, it’s better than that.
What want to see is how far we drop in the polls. USC’s loss was worse than ours and they remained in the top 10. We will see if Cal gets that kind of respect. I doubt it.
We can still win out and go to the Rose Bowl. We are 5-1. Plus, we got a preview of what to expect when Riley takes the reigns in the coming years (sans end-of-game mental errors). What a quarterback he is going to be!
As recently as 2001 we were the joke of our league, we are not that anymore and I’m pretty happy about it.
GO BEARS!
October 14th, 2007 at 8:00 am
Before writing off these Bears, let’s see how they respond the next two weeks. They still have impressive wins vs. Oregon and Tennessee on their CV, and they’ll get a chance to add a third against an undefeated, Top-10 (Top-5?) Sun Devils team in Tempe. Take care of business on the road, and yesterday’s loss will be all but forgotten just as Oklahoma’s equally ugly loss to Colorado already is all but forgotten today.
While we’re all wallowing in self pity, this weekend still doesn’t compare to the dismay and despair of Big Game 1990. Now THAT was gruesome. If only because these Bears have ample chances to redeem themselves–and, no, a Copper Bowl victory did NOT rinse away the bilious taste of Big Game ’90–I seriously doubt we’re going to remember yesterday’s debacle in 17 years time. Indeed, I’m cautiously optimistic that in just two or three years a veteran pair of Heisman candidates named Jahvid Best and Kevin Riley will be recalling that ugly day their rookie year when they made Freshman mistakes to cost Cal a ballgame–a learning experience that motivated them ever since.
October 14th, 2007 at 8:10 am
Yes, this was a heartbreaking loss, but not the end of the world. Give Kevin Riley a break…he didn’t lose the game singlehandedly. Shame on those fans who blame him for the loss…probably the same fans who left Memorial Stadium early. True Bear fans know the last two minutes are the best of any game. We’ll get them next time, and GO BEARS!
October 14th, 2007 at 9:17 am
“Cal wins out, finishing with it’s best record since God knows when, only to get snubbed for a Rose Bowl birth by an Oregon team that it beat.”
Actually impossible. Cal has the tiebreak over Oregon by means of beating them. If Cal and Oregon finish tied for the pac-10 lead, Cal goes to the Rose Bowl. The BCS has nothing to say about it.
October 14th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Jason, thanks for clarifying. I naturally always assume the worst.
October 14th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
I can clearly remember one game that ended in a similarly deflating manner. Remember that home game against Washington in 1999 where we had a chance to beat the Huskies for the first time in my lifetime. We were getting routed and Boller went down with a separated shoulder, but our third-string QB somehow rallied us back. We had 3rd and goal inside the five with seconds to go, needing a TD to win. Holmoe called that “hunter” play with the ridiculous super-spread formation, thinking if it didn’t work, we’d still have fourth down. And then… interception. Game over. Everyone just standing there, gut-punched.
To digress, it’s instinctive for Cal fans to wonder if this is the beginning of the end. But seriously, stop it. The Tennessee game last year felt like the beginning of the end. But it turned out to be the beginning of an 8 game win streak. So let’s put our faith behind our team. They’re a great team. We didn’t start 5-0 and rise to #2 by mistake. So buck up. Roll on you Bears!
October 15th, 2007 at 9:03 am
I go back almost 50 years, 49 to be exact. And this was one of the toughest losses to take. If you look at it as what was at stake probaly the biggest. I was down in the LA area and happend to watch it at a sports bar. Something I don’t understand. After the pass interference call on DJ, why didn’t Riley run over to the side lines? Why don’t we have set plays to throw into the end zone and not have to throw the ball down to stop the clock and lose a down. Does anybody that has ever played or watched football know when your inside the 20 yd line with seconds to play and no timeouts that that you only throw the ball in or out of the endzone? You never ever run it or get sacked. That is so fundamental! What was Riley doing after he got up and ran with the football off the field. Did he realize he had screwed up ? Even in the pros it takes a minimum of 13 second to get you FG team on the field to even try a FG. I was just dumbfounded as he ran that run and it didn’t even look like he was trying to pass. and then see him run off the field with the ball in his hand and watch the time run out. I was just numb, that is how I felt. I did not hear any post game comment from Tedford or any of the players and the only newspaper I read on Sunday didn’t carry any comments. We can still get to the Rose Bowl and deep down inside that’s what I wanted anyway.
October 15th, 2007 at 9:47 am
This was tough to watch and was very harmful to their Rose Bowl chances. Trying to be realistic, the BCS championship was a pipe dream. Getting to the Rose Bowl should be this teams goal till they do it at least once. Yes, Riley did blow up. However, what do you think about his overall play? I think he was great. His mobility is a great asset and his arm looks pretty good. As I remember Nate threw some pretty bad interceptions last year once in a while. Still trying to figure out why Cal didn’t kick away. I wonder if Tedford has defensive concerns? They certainly traded about 35 or 40 yards of real estate. Regardless, the defense is going to be challenged in the next two weeks. They need to shut someone down.
I would love this team to get angry and come out to prove a point.
Don
October 15th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
This was the most upset I’ve been at a sports event since Jeremy Giambi failed to slide.
– Cal fan since ’74