That was terrible
(Written by jsnell)
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.
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:54 pm
I fear this may have been the death knell for this program. I just don’t see how we can recover from this spiral this year (and we’ve still gotta long way to go. Not good.), much less next. Our reputation as a program could hardly be lower after this lay down. How does this type of death spiral happen to the same program 2 out of 3 years? Where is the sense of urgency in these players and coaches? Show me half the anger that I have watching this debacle. The guy who swings the chain on the sidelines wasn’t even doing that. Truly astonishing.
October 4th, 2009 at 12:09 am
Hey Jason-
You don’t sit in Sec QQ do you? (I don’t. -JS)
October 4th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Yeah, the tunnel/crowd situation at the start of the game was horrible. I didn’t get to my seat until the end of the 1st quarter. I’ve never seen anything like that in my 25+ years going to Memorial.
October 4th, 2009 at 8:33 am
I know the emotion of wanting to leave and I’ll tell you, I was as tempted as I’ve just about ever have (I’ve only left one game early in my life: November 3rd, 2001, not long after the 4th quarter started and the Bears were down 38-3 to Arizona, who themselves were winless in Pac-10 play going into that game, just like the Bears who were on their way to 0-8 overall.)
But I’ll tell everyone this, yesterday proved to me that it’s important to stay until the end. I think I’d be much more angry today if I hadn’t stayed there and worked through the emotions I was having. I was in a much better place at 8:30 PM last night than if I had left midway through the game like I wanted to.
(At the same time, how can you blame Jason for trading up to a nice dinner with his wife? I know he’s been on the road a lot lately for work and an evening out at dinner without the kids is always nice to have.)
October 4th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Ken, I was in a much better place emotionally after talking about why we left in the car and then forgetting about it during dinner. 🙂 Another half of cold wind, ridiculous crowds, jerk fans, and give-up coaching would not have improved my frame of mind…
October 4th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Ok. Now can we say it: Fire Tedford? Still too soon? He just needs a few more years, right? Maybe 8? While Stanfraud goes to the Rose Bowl in the near future? Yeah right. Tedford can’t coach, and these players could [care less].
October 4th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Greg, as far as I’m concerned, any discussion about this has to wait until MUCH later in the season. We just lost to the best two teams in the conference and I wouldn’t be too worried about Stanford and Roses just yet.
If this team gives up all season and we miss a bowl game, then maybe, just maybe I’ll be willing to consider the idea. But even then I’m more likely than not willing to give Tedford another chance to re-tool and get back on track. But I must admit that another collapse will be hard to take.
October 4th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Yeah but Ken, losing to the two best teams is acceptable (although Cal was supposedly one of those teams). It’s the fashion in which Cal has gone down that is so dispiriting. Washington State gave SC a better run for its money. Come on…things won’t rebound quickly. Tedford is 13-17 in Pac10 road games and has never won in LA, so the game in 2 weeks will be an uphill climb. Stanford is looking sharp, Washington will be ready for Cal Dec. 5 in Seattle, Mike Riley is always a challenge….Cal will be flirting with .500 again this year.
Clearly Tedford is a great guy and mentor, and his players do well in the classroom and he works EXTREMELY hard, but the wins that should have transpired have not, and I don’t see that changing, especially now that it looks like most Pac 10 schools are getting their acts together. Tom Holmoe and Ben Braun were nice guys too…
October 4th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I hear what you’re saying, and you may be right, that we’re seeing indicators that the rest of the season is going to be a disaster. But let’s wait until it actually is before we assume it is going to be. As I said in my previous comment, if the team falls off a cliff (and I was perhaps over explicit to say missing a bowl game, but the sentiment is the same) then I think it’s at least worth discussing. Until that collapse materializes, it feels premature to me.
Said the other way, if the Bears go to LA and Beat UCLA and then only loses one more (OSU, ASU, Stanford?), do you think Tedford still should be fired? It wouldn’t be great, but I’m willing to let him do that for a few more years while the building projects are completed and we’ll see what sort of recruits we can get then and how much Tedford has learned from his mistakes.
Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s really falling short now in a number of areas and I worry that you’re right. I’m just not ready to give up yet.
October 4th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
How many downs did Tedford play? How many Ayoob type passes did he throw? Yes Tedford made some mistakes like the FG with 12 seconds left in the half, not going for it on fourth down when we were down by 20 points. Eight other coaches in the PAC10 can’t beat SC on a regular basis either. I didn’t see players giving up on their coach, but I did see some fans give up on their team & coach.
October 4th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I agree with Greg. It’s not so much that CAL lost, but the way they did it and the recurring themes in CAL’s losses (ie Tedford’s inability to make in game adjustments, JT’s inability to win from behind, and his inability to prevent his players from throwing in the towel).
Miami (a team that CAL beat last year), was down 10 to Oklahoma. Now granted Oklahoma is no USC, but there was absolutely nothing in the second half that showed CAL had any confidence. And I think that starts with coaching. The players need to learn to shake off what happens in the first half, incl. the first drive, and just play. The game is 60 minutes people!!! Look at Oregon- Did they fold after fumbling the kickoff last week? On the contrary.
I don’t think fans are giving up on Tedford based solely on last night. But I do think the last 2 games are piling on to the frustration from the last 3-4 years with CAL not meeting their expectations. CAL had the talent and the opportunities to get past the Las Vegas, Armed Forces, Emerald bowl. But they didn’t. And last night just added to the disappointment and maybe the realization of what type of team CAL will consistently be in the pac-10.
October 4th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Ken,
If Cal loses only one more game this year, then Urban Meyer will have been calling the plays, not JT. I would be most pleasantly surprised should Cal lose only once more. But, something is still amiss with Tedford and his staff. Last year, Cal scored 3 against SC. Same this year. And against Oregon. So my response would be yes, Cal needs a new coach. It saddens me that Tedford is not the answer to Cal’s woes; it seemed he was. And spare yourself, they won’t lose only once more, it’s going to be nasty for the Bears. And next year will be painfully similar. We’ve seen this movie before. Tedford has made Cal a respectable program, but they need another coach, with a different attitude, to make them perennial non-jokes. Cincinnati’s coach maybe?
October 5th, 2009 at 4:45 am
Well, one of two things will be true at the end of the season if your prediction comes true. Either my optimism for the future will be crushed and I’ll be in your camp or there will be signs that Tedford is learning from his mistakes too late for this season but enough that I’ll be willing to let him retool for the future.
Either way, I think we should wait until then to start the “fire Tedford” discussion.
October 5th, 2009 at 6:40 am
Let’s be honest here, Greg. You started off by saying, “While Stanfraud goes to the Rose Bowl in the near future? Yeah right.” This is Harbaugh’s third year at Stanford and he has yet to even go to any bowl, much less the Rose Bowl. So that’s 0-2 in going to bowl games. Tedford’s brought Cal into bowls 6 of the 7 years he’s been coaching (and the other year they qualified but were under sanctions from Holmoe). It’s amazing how much playing UW, WSU, and UCLA compared to USC and Oregon can affect fans perceptions of a team. Maybe going to the Big 10 scheduling (8 conference games, 1 FCS, 2-3 directional MAC schools) is what we really need more than a new coach…
Just for the record, if you think it’s a given that Cal collapses now (despite losing to probably the two other best teams in the conference), all you need to do is look at Oregon State to realize that’s not a given.
2006: Oregon State starts off 2-3, getting crushed 42-14 by Boise St, 41-13 to YOUR California Golden Bears, 13-6 to Washington State, with wins over Eastern Washington and Idaho thrown in. They proceeded to go 8-1 (including wins over USC and Oregon) in their next 9 games, with only a loss to UCLA to finish the year with 10 wins and ranked 22/21 in the country (Coaches/AP). (They played Hawaii so they played 14 games)
2007: Oregon State starts off 2-3, getting crushed 34-3 by Cinncinati, 40-14 by UCLA, and with a 44-32 loss to ASU. They had wins over Utah and Idaho State at this point. They proceeded to go 7-1 in their next 8 games, with only a 24-3 loss to USC to finish with 9-4 and ranked #25 in the AP poll.
2008: Oregon State opens the season with a loss to STANFORD, then gets crushed 45-14, wins its next 2 against Hawaii and USC before losing to Utah. They then go 7-1 over their next 8 games (which included getting destroyed in the Civil War) to finish 9-4 and ranked 19/18.
The point is that’s just college football. This was the first example I thought of, and it shows exactly why two losses to the likely top two other teams in the conference is just that – two losses. It doesn’t mean Cal’s collapsed. It doesn’t mean Stanford, who beat probably the 3 worst teams in the Pac-10 so far, is better than Cal. Just stop. How did we get to the point where it’s acceptable to call for a coach’s firing based on games that haven’t even been played yet…?
October 5th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Hey B,
I appreciate the OSU context. But they:
1. Have Mike Riley
2. Don’t play home games on top of an Indian burial ground
3. Trend the opposite way that Cal does, ie slow starts with strong finishes
I’m not suggesting Tedford be fired because the crystal ball looks down on Cal, I’m saying the proof is in the pudding. After 7+ seasons, he is a known commodity, and has a record. Granted, he is a great guy and has put the program in a different stratosphere from the Holmoe, Gilbertson, and Mariucci eras. But there are these ridiculous losses littering his resume. You implied Ucla is one of the 3 worst teams in the Pac 10 (which I disagree with). So I really hope JT wins his first game in LA on the 17th. I love Cal and recognize the quality of person Tedford is, I just don’t know why it’s heretical to say we can do better
October 6th, 2009 at 7:29 am
Ah it all comes back to perceptions, which are often flawed. Mike Riley has not been as successful of a coach as Tedford. Plain and simple fact. Since Riley took his program over (time #2) in 2003, he’s finished ranked 3 times. Those rankings – 21, 25, 18. Tedford has also finished ranked 3 times. Those rankings – 9, 25, 14 (and a 26 finish last season). This is based on the AP polls, we also were ranked in the coaches poll last season. So I’m not sure why that’s something that OSU has going for them that we do not.
Point number two…I’ll concede you that one. Cal is cursed. It’s unfortunate. Point number three…I really don’t know if that’s meaningful at all. Sample size issues and all that. Plus different teams, different assistant coaches, different schemes, schedules, and what not. I just don’t think you can say “trends” the past couple of years have any bearing on the future whatsoever.
“After 7+ seasons, he is a known commodity, and has a record.”
And that record is great. Cal hasn’t been to a Rose Bowl in almost 50 years, and has been one play away from arguably playing in the National Championship under Tedford, and even given that loss (USC 2004) still took a major screwjob to keep them out of the Rose Bowl. Tedford transformed Cal from a 1 win season to being ranked 3 or 4 (depending on AP vs. Coaches) times in 7 years. When a coach has been successsful like that, you stick with him. I don’t know when Tedford will bring Cal to the Rose Bowl, but barring any absurd fan movement to push him out, I have no doubt he’ll get there at some point.
As for UCLA, I do think they’re bad. We don’t know for sure yet, of course, it’s still early in the season, so you could be right. I just see a team that was bad last year, hasn’t solved it’s QB problems, or it’s o-line problems, doesn’t have much talent at RB, struggled for most of their game against SDSU, beat UT (who isn’t very good, the best they’ve done is be competitive in losses so far), beat KSU (who isn’t good at all, see loss to Louisiana Lafayette), and lost to Stanford. Their D seems to be pretty good, I’ll at least give them that, but I just don’t see them having much success in the Pac-10 this season. I expect a win in LA or Cal. We shall see.
As for “I just don’t know why it’s heretical to say we can do better”…
It’s just because Tedford is one of the best coaches in the country, and you’re much more likely to do worse than better. Also accept the fact that Cal isn’t the most prestigious football programs in the country, they should be able to hang on to a very good coach like Tedford, but even under the unlikely probability that you find a better one, the Ohio St’s, Michigans, Alabama’s, ND’s, UT’s or OU’s of the college football world will come calling the second one of those jobs opens up because you’ll have the hottest coaching commodity on the market.