Ohio State initial thoughts
(Written by kencraw)
Well, that was an interesting one. I can’t decide if I’m happy that the Bears have improved dramatically and represented us well in Columbus, or whether I’m disappointed we let one slip away.
Let’s start with the slip away:
- 9 points lost on 3 field goals
- A very ill-advised thrown ball that ended the Bears last hope
- A VERY blown coverage on the play that gave tOSU the lead.
- Why did we see so much of CJ Anderson down the stretch when Bigalow was on fire?
- How did Cal let Braxton Miller score that first touchdown? We had him totally corralled.
- 100 more yards, 7 more first downs, better 3rd down efficiency, 16 more plays, more time of possession… we dominated in every statistical category except the only one that matters.
So that’s pretty frustrating.
Yet, at the same time, compared to where we have been and the expectations going into this game, how could it be anything other than a success?:
- See those dominating statistics above? That’s a good thing.
- Turnovers were not a big problem… well, minus the one interception being at an inopportune time.
- Only 4 penalties for 40 yards.
- Maynard completed 70% of his throws, made lots of good decisions, and had only a couple of misthrows.
- Generally very few miscues and mistakes. The team seemed to have a lot more discipline than in the previous two games.
When I’m being positive, those good signs are very encouraging. We had all accepted we’re going to start 1-3, and while that wasn’t good, what we were even more worried about was whether we could beat teams in the middle of the conference. Who thinks we can’t beat UCLA, ASU and WSU now?
Yet on the flip side, imagine Cal didn’t lose to Nevada… what would we be thinking about the lost opportunity today?
Please vote in the poll on the right. I’m only giving two options. No wishy-washy voting allowed!
(Much more to come!)
September 15th, 2012 at 10:47 pm
I guess I’m happy we weren’t blown out, but is that how far this program
has fallen? We now live for glorious defeat? So pathetic, like we’re all the parents of a bad little league team or something.
Meanwhile, the ‘furd just beat SC with a first year starting QB. We’re
coming up on a decade of straight losses to SC and we’ll probably do the same against the ‘furd the way things are going.
But hey, at least we played well. I hope the players enjoyed their orange slices.
September 16th, 2012 at 3:45 pm
Stanford exposed USC’s serious lack of depth, especially on the O-Line and D-Line. This actually gives me some hope against the Trojans.
The other positive that Ken didn’t mention is that Cal played strongly in a road game in the Eastern time zone. This gives me hope that being on the road in LA won’t be as bad as usual.
Hope springs eternal!