(Written by kencraw)

Here are my thoughts on the Eeastern Washington game game after re-watching it on Sunday (as an FYI, the On The Road Home podcast will come out later today):

• Boy, the Bears sure did have a hard time with the 5-wide formation that EWU was throwing at the Bears on their 2nd possession. It wasn’t just the coverage, and there were a handful of coverage breakdowns, but not accounting for the QB running as well as not getting very good pressure on the QB. Luckily it only lasted for a series or two.
• I don’t know WHAT the Cal linebackers and defensive backs on that EWU touchdown. It was obvious that the back was sliding out of the backfield for a catch but there were 3 Cal defenders on the outside and all three of them kept coming towards the middle. That should have been a pass for a loss and instead it was a touchdown.
• This was quite a low-budget TV broadcast. I think they only have 4 cameras and I noticed a significant dearth of replays, particularly slow-motion replays. (Then there was the score being wrong for a long time in the 4th quarter when they forgot to add the extra point that made it 52-7.)
• Best stepping out on that called back touchdown (the correct call) was a rare mistake for Best. He had plenty of room down the sideline but just let himself drift too much to the outside and clipped the line.
• I’m sorry, I don’t care how bad the bounces didn’t go the way of the Bears, there’s no excuse for a 7-7 score after one quarter, particularly when Cal got the ball first.
• You’ve got to love how Holley played in this game, particularly in the 1st quarter. That early run where he stayed on his feet was awesome, but he also had another catch out of the backfield that he very effectively turned up field for more yards than I would expect from a fullback.
• Jahvid’s fumble on the option-pitch was definitely regrettable, but I sure hope that Tedford and co. don’t shy away from using those types of plays. Usually the team does pretty well with them and I like those wrinkled.
• It was nice to see Tavecchio get a couple inside the 5 yard line. At the same time it was very disappointing to see him so inconsistent and most of them not going nearly deep enough.
• It was interesting to see the yardage for the 1st half. EWU actually outgained the Bears by one yard and had a ton more passing yards. It’s pretty troubling that Cal only had 48 passing yards in the first game. Obviously the gameplan was to emphasize the run game and the Bears did a great job of that. At the same time, they should have done better through the air.
• Obviously I’ve been singing the praises of Isi Sofele in fall practice. In some regards he was a bit of a bust in the first game having trouble delivering against college level talent. But having had a week to get used to that pace of the game, he had a few good runs and two that were just outstanding, including the TD run in the 4th quarter.
• EWU gave a perfect example of why one doesn’t use their coaches challenge unless it’s absolutely necessary. They used it on a 4th and 1 that wasn’t converted without a lot of good video evidence to overturn and didn’t win. Then they didn’t have it when they wanted to object to Riley’s “handoff” to Best that dropped to the turf before Best got to it. EWU wanted to challenge that as being a forward pass.
• Actually when watching that pass from Riley, it looked to be very similar to the lateral from The Play that Stanford complains about, except in reverse. On the last lateral of the play the player throws the ball backwards over his head but because he was running forward Stanford fans argue that the ball moved forward in relation to the field (not the players). This play seemed to be the reverse where Riley threw it forward but because he was being tackled backwards the ball actually went backwards in relation to the field. Still EWU was hating they had already used their challenge.
• D’Amato’s missed field goal is both troubling and not so troubling. On the one hand, we need our kickers to be consistent on the short ones no matter what. On the other hand, it was barely missed (so not a horrible shank) and it was one of those close high-angle punts that college’s wide hash marks make more difficult than it would seem.
• Boateng’s half-effort on that should-be touchdown is pretty distressing. It didn’t look as bad on the TV as it did in person. He most definitely let up and would have caught the ball if he’d gone 100% the whole way.
• I won’t lie, when Cal went up 52-7, what instantly came to mind was my 52-10 prediction. “All I need,” I told my wife, “is for Eastern Washington to get a field goal!?!” Then when they got down into field goal range I let out a big bwahahahahaaaaa! Sadly EWU muffed the field goal attempt, (And then the Bears scored another TD at the end to make the point mute.) putting an end to my evil plan.
• I was really disappointed how few passing attempts Mansion and Sweeney got. Mansion didn’t get a single attempt and Sweeney only got one, which was a roll out with just one passing option (so not a reading the field play). Part of the reason to get them in is to get them experience and you’re not getting them experience if they’re just handing the ball off.
• It was a bit of a surprise to see Tedford to not start taking a knee late in the game and instead let his offense score the final TD. Not exactly the same attitude as when he yanked on Levy’s helmet in the Holiday Bowl for running it when he had called for taking a knee. Obviously a very different scenario, but still a small surprise.

Overall, the only two things to have even minor complaints about was the lack of defense in those first few series and the kickoff game. While we need to see the team improve, it’s hard not to be happy with a 59-7 win.