(Written by kencraw)

Football is an amazingly stupifying sport. Prognosticators such as myself can try to say they know what is going to happen, but we’re constantly humbled by reality.

Who amongst us after the first 3 games would think that the problem going into the 2nd half of the season would be our inability to score points?

I, like everyone else, was of the mind that we could win a few shootouts, but the defense was going to be the weak link. SURPRISE! Now the problem is the offense is putting the defense on the field after the fastest 3 and outs in the country and their mediocre talent is doing it’s best but can’t be expected to work miracles.

Where did the offense go?

I think there is a few things:

1. Improved competition: Has anyone else noticed how mediocre Northwestern is? Or how many points Ohio State is allowing? The reality was those first 3 games, particularly their defenses, weren’t what they were billed to be. Oregon, Oregon State and Washington have all had better defenses.
2. Game film has help opponents: It’s very tough for defenses to prepare for early season games against new head coaches. Looking at the team’s old games only shows the talent. Looking at the coach’s previous school doesn’t reflect how he’s changing it at the new school. However, by the time we got into conference schedule, they had plenty of game film to digest and exploit.
3. Goff has regressed: It’s actually easier for a confident true freshman to go out for his first game than his 4th. He hasn’t made any mistakes that can be the demons in his head yet. You can tell Goff is just a little bit more cautious and hesitant these days. He’s definitely regressed.

I think the long term doesn’t look so bad for the offense, but the rest of the season is going to be pretty rough. And considering the defense, while improved, still isn’t great, the offense is going to have to get A LOT better for Cal to win any more games.