(Written by kencraw)

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.