(Written by kencraw)

Nice to start off the season with an easy win. Here are my thoughts:

• The Bears were definitely low energy to start the game. I’m not sure if they were told to pace themselves or whether the slightly warm weather had them taking a ‘take it slow’ attitude, but it was definitely true right up until the stop on 4th down in the redzone after the interception.
• I said to my son (who is currently attending UC Davis) just before the failed 4th down conversion that it was a high risk decision and for their sake they should kick the field goal. The risk of handing the momentum back to Cal was just too high and it was an admission by UC Davis that they had little hope to win without high risk decisions like that. Sure enough, that’s precisely what happened.
• Speaking of UC Davis touchdowns, I have *ZERO* idea what happened on that long run for a touchdown. I thought I was watching the play, but I guess not as it went from pre-snap to flying down the sideline. I need to get the video of the game and analyze it.
• As for our new QB… call me nervous yet not without hope. I’m willing to ignore the slow start in the 1st quarter, but he still had a number of errant passes later in the game. I worry about his consistency. There are very few QB’s who make big strides when it comes to consistency, particularly within a season. (Occasionally one sees big jumps in the off-season.)
• He also seemed to still be indecisive at times, although that’s more normal for a 1st game and one can be more optimistic that will get better with time. He’s still learning this offense and his team-mates strengths/weaknesses.
• It was nice to see the backup RB Ott come in and do well. The starter (Moore) looked horrible. That surprised me frankly. But Ott looks to be the real deal. Nobody seems to know if Moore was yanked or injured. (at least that I can tell)
• The offensive line is most definitely a work in progress. They are going to need to improve. If UC Davis gives them that much trouble, it’s going to get much worse unless they improve.
• I was overall happy with the defensive effort, although UC Davis getting a consistent 4 yards on 1st down rushes was a bit bothersome. I’m not feeling like there are a lot of power running schools on the schedule, but the teams that could bias that way could be a lot of trouble for the Bears defense.
• I was happy with the ball hawking ability of the secondary. Nice to see that tradition continue.
• Overall, this was not the UC Davis team that beat Stanford a decade ago and we shouldn’t get too excited about an easy win over them.