(Written by kencraw)

(Update at Noon: misspoke in the first bullet of the “not about the road” list… correcting to match intent.)

OK, so the Bears finally win on the road, the 20-13 win over otherwise hapless WSU isn’t inspiring a lot of confidence in the Bears on the road. So, what’s the truth?

Arguments for stinking on the road:

• At home 4-0, road 1-4… it doesn’t get any more simple than that
• The OSU team that crushed us in Corvallis, lost to the UCLA team we destroyed at home
• The ASU team we crushed at home, lost a nailbiter to USC in the same stadium we got destroyed by USC
• That close loss to Arizona in Tucson looks less impressive after they got killed by Stanford

Arguments that it’s not all about the road:

• Every team we lost to is in front of us in the Pac-10 standings and every team we beat is in front of BEHIND us (something only Oregon at the top and bottom feeders WSU and ASU, and then us, can say)
• Every team we beat is behind us in the Pac-10 standings
• Nevada was not a blowout.. it was close and Nevada extended in the end. Plus, their offense is very tough to defend…
• The OSU loss can be ignored because of the Riley injury
• Based on the above two bullets, the only “true” egg-lay is USC

The point of this being, it’s not as simple and one sided as it would appear. I still think there’s something about the road that is tough for this team, but it’s not as clear cut as it seems on the surface.

(Written by kencraw)

Will the Bears finally win one on the road? (in 2008, their only road victory was WSU) Will Mansion play well? We’ll hash it out here live at 1 PM.

(Written by kencraw)

We independently posted on the same news within an hour of one another here (Jason) and here (me) and somehow managed to have almost ZERO duplicative information.

It may look like we’re masters of coordination… I can assure you, we’re not.

(Written by kencraw)

The conference announced the schedule for 2011 and the rotation moving forward. You can view both here.

So here’s what it means for Cal: (UPDATE at 1:45 PM:… I misread the schedule… updates below in bold/italic)

Every year we’ll play UW, WSU, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford in division. Then we’ll also play USC and UCLA as cross-division rivals. (This of course, we already knew.) Then we’ll alternate between playing ASU and Utah in the odd numbered years (i.e. next year, 2013, etc.) first two years (2011-2012, assumably doing a home and home) and Arizona and Colorado in even numbered years (2012, 2014, etc.) the following two years (2013-2014). That four year cycle repeats indefinitely from there (the listed shedule goes to 2018). (That’s the new revelation.)

Stanford’s schedule will be identical to us, just flip which years they play UA/CU and ASU/Utah.

USC and UCLA have a similarly conceived setup, playing everyone in the south (AZ (UA and ASU) and mountain (CU and Utah) schools) every year along with Cal and Stanford for their every-year cross-division rivals. Then they play a pair of the Northwest schools (Oregon and UW make one pair and WSU and Oregon State make the other). UCLA gets the WSU/OSU pair in odd numbered years the first two years and the OU/UW pair in even numbered years the two years after that and USC gets the opposite.

You can extrapolate everyone else’s schedule, minus which other team from the south the Northwest schools miss each year, from that, but the key news is that the Northwest schools play either USC or UCLA every year, alternating between the two each year playing the same team for two years in a row and then switching to the other (again assumably as a home and home).

It’s a classic, very formulaic Pac-10 minded schedule, just with all the extra provisions that the Pac-12 and it’s annual rivalries require.

I’ll leave the specific of when we play who in 2011 for after the season, because it’ll likely change as non-conference and bye-week tweeks get made, except to say one thing: Just as I predicted on last week’s EMFMV podcast, EVERY Pac-12 school has a game scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, something that in the past has been fairly rare (at most there would be two games). Now that the last week of the season is reserved for the conference championship game, there’s no other way around the block if you want a bye in the middle of the season.

Told-ya-so! 🙂

(Written by jsnell)

The 2011 schedule is out, as well as the scheduling system for the first eight years of the new Pac-12 conference.

Here’s how Cal’s schedule stacks up:

9/3/11: TBD
9/10/11: TBD
9/17/11: TBD
9/24/11: Cal @ Washington
10/6/11: Cal @ Oregon (Thursday night)
10/13/11: USC @ Cal (Thursday night) (AT&T Park)
10/22/11: Utah @ Cal (AT&T Park)
10/29/11: Cal @ UCLA
11/5/11: WSU @ Cal (AT&T Park)
11/12/11: OSU @ Cal (AT&T Park)
11/19/11: Cal @ Stanford
11/26/11: Cal @ ASU
12/3/11: Pac-10 Championship Game

Of note: Cal’s got two “bye weeks” but they’re on either end of the two Thursday games, which are played in successive weeks. Cal plays its first Thursday home game ever. And the post-Big Game game on Thanksgiving weekend that we’re probably going to be getting most years is a road game, thankfully.

Also note that the Colorado game previously scheduled doesn’t appear on the schedule, and is listed as an open date for both teams. So now Cal has all three of its nonconference games to fill. That’ll be interesting.

(Written by jsnell)

Jason and Ken return with thoughts about the Oregon State loss, a preview of Saturday’s must-win Washington State game, a salute to Kevin Riley, a digression about what’s fair to criticize about college athletes and what isn’t, and much more. Also, Jason is loopy because he had just spent the day at the Giants parade. Cal’s Rose Bowl berth, you are OFFICIALLY on the clock.

You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

Say the secret word, win a no-prize.

A bunch of kids tried their best (EMFMV 2010 #7) [ 45:38 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

(Written by kencraw)

This post was going to be about how the practice reports are showing that Mansion is doing well, has a quick yet powerful release, seems to have good command of the offense and the receivers are happy.

Which all sounds great… BUT…

Isn’t that what all practice reports sound like? I mean, when’s the last time we heard a practice report, other than injury reports, that said something negative? It’s reached the point that when I read that stuff about Mansion, I have no idea what to think and most definitely don’t take it at face value.

Which got me to thinking, is this a Cal specific problem? Do other schools have this problem? I mean, Cal reporters are not exactly kind when it comes to the playing field. They’ll tell it like it is with the best of them. But yet, all we get out of practice is about all the “progress” and how things are gelling. Why is that?

(Written by kencraw)

Here my thoughts from immediately after the debacle in Corvallis: What will the team be like without Riley? Have we handled Mansion correctly up until now? What else went wrong? You’ll hear about it all. While not exactly early (I always shoot for Sunday), at least I’ve got it posted during the right week.

Listen and weep:

Standard Podcast [ 26:17 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

(Written by kencraw)

Yes, you read that title right, the ridiculously, as in over a week old content that I recorded on the way home from the game, old podcast. Consider it for the record.

Standard Podcast [ 14:18 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

(Written by kencraw)

I just read this article over at the Daily Furd and was struck by this quote:

In three seasons, he took one of the worst teams in the nation, churned out eight wins and booked the Cardinal a bowl game for the first time since 2001. This season, at 7-1, Stanford now ranks among the nation’s elite and is a popular pick as the best one-loss team in the country.

Simply put, in a profession devoid of job security, Harbaugh is set for life. We could churn out four consecutive five-win seasons and Jim could replace practice with Pilates, and he would still have a job.

This young man needs to take a look across the Bay before making such a stupid statement. In 3 years Cal churned out TEN wins and already had a bowl game, and a WIN under his belt. From mid-season 2007 to mid-season 2009, a stretch where Cal never missed a bowl game, is all it took for Tedford to go from “beloved coach who could ‘churn out four consecutive five-win seasons and could replace practice with Pilates, and he would still have a job.'” to “why can’t we fire this guy yet?”

Note to people like Zack Zimmerman: Football fans have surprisingly short memories. The best thing Stanford could do right now to keep Harbaugh long term is to do a face plant for the rest of the season (minus the Big Game) and then return to consistent 7-5 to 8-4 seasons. Any sustained flirting with the top-10 is bound to lead to disappointment sooner or later, particularly with the return of 5 win seasons.

(Written by kencraw)

Word came out last night that the two MRIs, while still compromised because of the swelling, show that Kevin Riley’s career is over. Update 11/2 @ 11:30 AM: Got word from the free board on bearterritory.net:

He suffered a 60% tear in his gastrocnmius muscle in his calf, grade 2 strains to his LCL and MCL, and ruptured capsules in the back of his left knee. healing time is five weeks, full rehab is three months.

end update

Obviously the news is no surprise, but I didn’t want to post on the subject until it was official. Now that it is, I have a few words to say to him:

Hold your head high.

You gave it your all. You were a dedicated Golden Bear. “The Bear will not quit. The Bear will not die.” You lived up to that mantra. You were given more than your share of adversity and every week you came ready to play and never once gave into despair. You poured your heart and soul into the team. That is all one can ask and you will long stay in my memory as a Golden Bear worth honoring.

Good luck in your future endeavors and God Bless.

(Written by kencraw)

It’s been nearly shocking to me how little play Riley’s injury is getting in yesterday’s loss. I mean, sure, there’s a good chance that the Bears still lose that game without the injury, but NOBODY seems to be recognizing that the Bears were only down 0-7 at that point, had just completed a big pass to get out from under the shadow of their goal line and were starting to show some progress.

Imagine that Riley leads the team down the field and scores a touchdown. Imagine the potential emotional impact that has on an otherwise uninspired defensive effort. Instead the team goes into shell shocked mode.

Am I saying they would have won? No, I’m not. But I am saying that it should be the NUMBER ONE story. Not the road or the uninspired play, the injury. The game had barely started and we were forced to play a QB with basically no playing experience for a game which there was no preparation for him to actually play. It’s a miracle they did as well as they did. Think about it, the instant he went down, we all knew the game was a lost cause, right? Why is it that nobody seems to be looking at it that way today?

So everyone please, be as critical as you want about how important it is to get your backup QB playing time or how the defensive game-plan seemed weak, but don’t forget that we have very little insight into how this game would have gone had Riley not gone down.

(Written by kencraw)

They’re extremely good. After watching the Bears today with Mansion and watching Oregon, even on the road versus USC, I’ve got to believe that it would take a near-miracle for the Bears to beat them in Berkeley.

I don’t care how much better we play at home.

(Written by jsnell)

(Written by kencraw)

I can’t speak for other providers, but there is indeed a channel on DirecTV that will be carrying the game this weekend: 617.

(Written by kencraw)

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve got 6 tickets for sale for the Oregon game at 4:30 PM on 11/13. For those of you who don’t have a big cable/satellite package, you won’t be able to see this game on TV (it’s going to be on Versus). Be there to watch the Bears take a shot at history and beating #1 for the first time in history.

And I’ve got great seats…

While I don’t have donor seats, I still think I’ve got some great seats. First of all, I’m on the isle, in two rows of 3. This helps with knee issues as the person behind you is a friend, not some random dude. Second of all, there’s no seats in front of me. We’re the first two rows above the concourse tunnel, which also gives you more room to stretch out. Add in being close to the tunnel for easy in/out access, that they’re at the right height to have good visibility across the whole field and I think they’re as of seats as you’ll find in the non-donor section. (FYI, this is section DD).

See this graphic for details:

(the blue and gold seats are mine)

I’m asking face value for the tickets: $53 each. I’d prefer to sell the block of 6 to one person but I will consider breaking it into two groups of 3 if no one is interested in the full set for the game.

E-Mail me at tickets AT excusemeformyvoice DOT com if you’re interested, or leave a comment in the comment section.

(Written by kencraw)

For those of you who pray, take a moment to pray for the soul of the Notre Dame student who died yesterday while filming the football practice. Apparently they had him up on a scissor lift to get a good angle and there were high winds in the area that blew the scissor lift over, killing him in the fall.

Such a tragedy. Football may be fun, but it’s nothing worth dying over.

May God have mercy on him and us all, and grant him Eternal Peace.

(Written by jsnell)

Jason and Ken return with thoughts about Arizona State, a preview of the OSU game, talk about the Pac-12 championship, and much more.

You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

Topsy-Turvy [ 57:11 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

(Written by kencraw)

Usually as the season goes on, questions get answered about each team and the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into space. This year, every week all I have is more questions:

• I still don’t get how this terrible UCLA team beat Texas. Is Texas really THAT bad?
• ASU stinks, how did they go toe to toe with Oregon for 3 1/2 quarters?
• If Cal’s defense is as good as it has shown every other week, why was this mediocre USC able to expose it so badly?
• OSU goes down to Tucson and beats Arizona but gets handled early by UW… Is Oregon State any good?
• Speaking of Washington, what’s their story? (OK, this one I think I know the answer to)

And each week it doesn’t get any better. This week, Stanford let WSU hang around, while the supposedly weaker than I thought Arizona laid the wood to Washington. UCLA continues to look like garbage (so I guess either Texas is worse than anyone could possibly imagine or that game was some sort of an anomaly). Finally, ASU put up surprisingly little fight against our beloved Bears.

Maybe next week the puzzle will look more complete.

(Written by kencraw)

Question (that most good Bear fans more or less know the answer to):

When’s the last time the Bears lost at home to a team not named Oregon State or USC?

September 6th, 2003 (to Colorado State of all teams).

Yes, SEVEN and a half seasons ago. Two THOUSAND, six hundred and four days ago on Saturday. 224973000 seconds when the games starts (plus or minus a thousand or so).

Wait, there’s more! Because we only play USC and Oregon State in odd numbered years there are really two streaks:

1. The above mentioned streak
2. Not losing at home at all in even numbered years since November 16th 2002 (in a shootout to Arizona)

And it’s not like no good teams have come to play during that time. ASU was ranked twice (20th both times), Oregon also twice (11th and 23rd), Tennessee was ranked 15th, and last year Arizona was ranked 18th.

Those streaks may end this season when Oregon, currently ranked #1, comes to town on November 13th (although call me an optimist because I think Cal still has a shot at that one if the defense comes to play), but here’s what I can tell you with a fair amount of confidence:

These streaks will not end tomorrow. There’s no way ASU breaks the streaks. No way; No how. Not this unranked, 3-3 team with a mistake prone quarterback and penalty gobbling team that Tedford only lost once to (in the disaster in the desert in 2007) and hasn’t beat the Bears in Berkeley since 1997. Nope, not going to happen. It’s not even going to be close:

Bears win 30-13

(PS. Just in case, bring your vocal A-Game in the rain tomorrow. You’re going to be wet, you might as well have some fun with it. Think Oregon 2008.)