(Written by kencraw)

(Today we start the looking back series for the 2008 season. Unlike prior seasons where I did these games in chronological order, I’m going to do them as what will look like previews for this year’s match up. Go here for past posts.)

Pre-Game notes and thoughts:
The Bears entered this game ranked for the first time in 2008, at number 23. This was pretty much a direct result of the 66-3 drubbing of Washington State the previous week. No one yet knew that putting up 60 points on Washington State would be par for the conference. So in many ways, the Bears were starting to get a little bit too confident with their ability. At the same time, Maryland was very under appreciated. The 2008 Maryland team was senior laden, particularly on defense. When one adds in the road game and tough environmental factors, this game had upset written all over it.

Scoring and momentum changing plays:

• Holding penalty on Cunningham brings back what would have been Cal’s first 1st down of the game. Instead, the Bears were unable to convert on their second 3rd down attempt and they had to punt.
• Maryland RB Scott runs off tackle for a 20 yard touchdown, giving the Turtles (or is it Terrapins?) an early lead, 0-7.
• Riley throws a VERY ill-advised interception that was both off the mark and a bad read. Cornerback Barnes takes the interception back to the Cal 14 yard line.
• Scott lowers his shoulder on a run-play from the goal line to extend the Maryland lead, 0-14.
• Best returns the kickoff to the Maryland 39 yard-line.
• Sewright kicks a short field goal after a short “chipping away” drive. Score is now 3-14.
• Syd’Quan Thompson bats away a would-be TD pass to Maryland WR Heyward-Bey.
• Play action pass to Maryland’s star tight end Gronkowski, who had received numerous catches on the drive, gives them their third touchdown. Score is a ridiculous 3-21 early in the 2nd quarter.
• Seawright kicks another field goal after another “chipping away” drive that stalls in the redzone. Score is still very troublesome at 6-21.
• After another “chipping away” drive stall in the redzone, Seawrights short field goal attempt bounces off the upright just before halftime.
• After Follett forces a fumble on Maryland’s first possession of the 2nd half, Maryland forces Cal to go for it on 4th down just outside of field goal range and busts up the screen play, giving Maryland back momentum just when Cal could have gotten back in the game.
• Scott is thrown down on run play and hurts his shoulder and is out for the rest of the game after having been a dominant force so far.
• Maryland tries the same pass to Heyward-Bey that Syd broke up in the 1st half but his bat-down attempt comes up a couple feet short and Maryland extends their lead, 6-28.
• Cal fails on another 4th down conversion from the Maryland 35 again.
• A marginal pass interference call keeps a later Cal drive alive, now in the 4th quarter.
• Riley passes over the middle to Morrah for the Bears first TD of the game with half of the 4th quarter remaining. Score is still troublesome at 13-28.
• After Cal fails to convert on the onside kick, backup RB Merrett runs it down to the Cal 1 yard line where it is punched in from there. Bears now have too big a hole to crawl out of, 13-35
• Riley passes to Tad Smith for another TE touchdown. The Bears are back within two scores, 20-35.
• After Cal fails to convert another onside kick, Maryland misses the field goal to keep it at a two score lead.
• Riley throws a jump ball down the sideline that Cunningham hauls in. Then Riley connects with Tucker in the endzone. Bears within one score, 27-35.
• Final onside kick is also not successful and Maryland is able to take a couple knees to run out the clock.

Observations:

• With the exception of Turner at quarterback and Scott at tailback, just about every player who made a big play or was mentioned by the TV commentators was a senior. Between Barnes at cornerback, the entire linebacker crew, Heyward-Bey at wide receiver and Gronkowski at tight end, who was HUGE in the first half, this was one senior laden team.
• After the score was 3-21, the game was much more evenly played on both sides of the ball. With the exception of the semi-long run that gave Maryland their last touchdown, the Bears defense really stepped up after that.
• After the early interception, the offenses biggest problem was their ineffectiveness on the Maryland side of the field. Between the three 1st half redzone appearances that resulted in a total of 6 point and the 3 trips to the Maryland 35 in the 3rd quarter that resulted in ZERO points, it was not a question of Cal not moving the ball, but not finishing off drives.
• Maryland actually ran a very effective Bend But Don’t Break defense. They did exactly what the 2007 Cal defense tried to accomplish: Force the opponent to earn every yard by keeping everything in front of them and then stiffening in the redzone and holding the opponent to field goals. This worked particularly well once they were up 3-21.
• Penalties really hurt the Bears again. A number of 1st downs were erased by penalties, including the dreaded illegal formation penalties where the wide receivers didn’t line up properly. There were also a couple of big-yardage personal foul calls that gave Maryland big shifts in field position.
• It was most definitely the heat and humidity, not the time, that hurt the Bears. Having been there I know just how hot it was. Also, it was visibly darker in the 4th quarter when the Cal offense finally got back on track, because a high cloud cover had come over the stadium.
• Riley was not as off the mark as people remember. Yes, he had a handful of overthrows, his “normal” mistake, but he also had a number of very good throws. He was also fairly elusive and got out of a number of would-be sacks. Really his only inexcusable throw was the early interception that gave Maryland their 0-14 lead.

Implications for 2009:
The one aspect of the Maryland team that was seen in 2008 that’ll still be in place in 2009 is the running game of De’Rel Scott. He was a powerful running back with pretty good speed. If the Maryland offensive line can overcome its losses to graduation, a big if, Cal is going to have to load up the box to slow him down. With Turner back at quarterback but his receiver core completely rebuilt, he shouldn’t be the threat it was in 2008. On defense, as we all know by now they’re bringing in a new defensive strategy and minus the personnel loses it is hard to make any conclusions from the 2008 game.

Conclusion:
The Maryland game was probably the most disappointing loss of the 2008 season, so it’s appropriate that it’s first in line after my review of the 2007 season that was so painful to look back on. For the most part it’s uphill from here.

However, there was a lot to be learned from this game. Most notably, re-watching it I was struck by how comprehensively the notable players on the team were seniors. It’s one thing to hear a defense needs to replace 7 starters. It’s another to actually see all the plays made by those seniors. The same was true on offense with just about every catch going to a senior.

The Maryland team that comes to Berkeley will almost entirely, minus the RB and QB, be a different team than the one that shocked Cal in College Park.