(Written by kencraw)

Hello from Autzen Stadium in Eugene! I’ll (Ken) will be Live-Blogging the game from the press box and Jason should be joining in from his work conference in the midwest where he’ll be watching via Slingbox. Make sure to add your thoughts in the comment section.

Some pregame thoughts… The environment is a lot more relaxed than 2 years ago when Gameday was here. I’m sure it’ll get a lot more intense by game-time. The rumor about throwback jerseys is true although I have yet to catch a glimpse of them. The players on the field are still in workout clothes.

It’s an absolutely beautiful day. High is supposed to be 81 and there’s not a cloud in the day. Right now it’s cool enough that in the shade you can feel it but when you’re in the sun it’s a perfect balance of cool air and warm sun. This is as good as football gets, well, minus not being in Memorial stadium which has by far the best views in the Pac-10 if not the country. The Williamette Valley is very beautiful too, and if it wasn’t a bit smoggy (Was there a big forrest fire somewhere in Southern Oregon or Northern California recently? This haze has been there along most of the trip starting around Red Bluff.) it would be strikingly beautiful. I’ve got a great view of the mountains from here perched high above the stadium in the press box. The press box is literally the highest floor in Eugene so you can see for miles from here. It would still be no match for the view from atop the Memorial press box.

The Cal band has been out in the parking lot entertaining the Bear fans who made the trip up and the Oregon band is in the stands practicing, including their own rendition of Stanford’s fight song “All Right Now” (assumably to be used to intimidate the Bears at some point during the game. The band does realize that these Bears have only heard that song twice in their lives with how little Stanford has had to celebrate about in recent Big Games, right? They may not even recognize it.)

It’s going to be a great day of football! More to come…

11:45 PM – pregame: Here are the throwback jerseys:

(Jason would be so proud of me, focusing on the uniforms and all)

12:15 PM – pregame: OK, sometimes this can be deceptive, but based on who was warming up with who when they were running their pregame drills, it looks like Josh Hill will start in place of Hagan (as a caveat, the two-deep provided to the press has Hagan as 1st team).

12:25 PM – pregame: The Cal visiting section seems smaller than years past, only on full section and a few spillovers. There are even a few Duck fans in the Cal section.

12:27 PM – pregame: Joey Harrington is here today to be honored and the crowd went wild. Man the crowd gets loud here! Even though I’ve been here before, it still is shocking to hear. They are LOUD here.

12:33 PM – pregame: Cal wins the toss and defers. Shows they trust the defense as always.

12:35 PM – pregame: 71 degrees and winds from the North at 8 right now.

15:00 – 1st Quarter: FUMBLE on the kickoff. Cal recovers the ball. Not the start the Ducks were hoping for but something we’ll take ANY day.

15:00: Jason: “sure looked like a fumble from here. 1,000 miles away.”

14:35: Riley hit as he throws. Good job by Mark Tepper being heads up enough to fall on the ball. And now it get’s REALLY loud.

14:05: The Bears aren’t going to be happy if the refs let Oregon be as physical in the secondary as they were on 2nd and 3rd down. D’Amato redeems himself with a 47 yard field goal.

14:00: Jason: “Thanks for spotting us the 3, Ducks.”

13:53: THERE WE GO on the kickoff. D’Amato just needed a long FG to get his leg warmed up. Two yards deep in the endzone. Nice.

13:16: After picking up 8 on 1st down it was pretty nice to force the 3 and out. And Syd nearly got another interception. Hopefully that’s the sort of play that keeps Masoli nervous.

13:08: Jason: “wow, I don’t have the sound on. but that oregon coach is acting crazy!!”

11:25: The receivers needed to be more aware on that play where Riley was scrambling. There were some open zones to go to. Jason: “I know that was a throw-away, but great footwork by riley plus good decision to throw it away.”

11:15: Jason: “And there, Riley wasn’t as accurate as he could have been. A shame.”

11:09: Rough break on the punt. Nearly perfectly placed punt but took too sharp a bounce to corral.

10:31: What did they put on the ball? Two fumbles!?! That’s a really tough break as it would have really given the Bears a chance to quiet the crowd and stick a nail in the coffin. Jason: “oh, silly people, hold onto the ball after the other guy doesn’t hold onto the ball…” (that silly person would be Josh Hill who’s starting in place of Darian Hagan)

9:49: They really need one more player out there with the 3 man WR formation. They’ll do that all day if we don’t.

8:25: What a great effort by Syd. He’s got an amazing ability to get his hands out for a tackle while being blocked. And then he wisely calls for a timeout when Oregon goes to the formation they don’t yet have an answer for on 4th down.

7:54: They call a timeout and then don’t make the needed adjustment. What the hey? Jason: “Uni Watch: Love the Ducks throwbacks. Great look. Wish it was still the standard look.”

7:02: Horrible coverage by Bishop. That was his assignment and he completely blew it. He redeems himself with a 4 yard loss on Masoli. Jason: “Can’t give Masoli unlimited time to throw, Bears.”

6:00: That was a very tricky play by Oregon. Lots of motion and deception. Great job by the secondary in staying disciplined and forcing 4th down and the field goal attempt, which is good. Score 3-3

3:27: For the first time today the Bears look rattled. Two plays in a row where I was left scratching my head. Then the 3rd down play which Oregon seems to have well scouted. Then Anger punts it too far. Ugh… a drive that had good promise that goes south fast.

0:57: This is really the sharpest I’ve seen the Ducks and Masoli all season. They’re doing what they’re offense is supposed to. Move the ball around a lot and give the defense too many options to cover. Jason: “Ducks aren’t exactly struggling to move the ball.”

14:55 2nd quarter: It’s that 3 WR set again. They need an extra guy over there. This time they bit on the swingout pass and it hurt the Bear defense down field. Bears in a one TD hole: 3-11

13:41: I don’t like the wildcat, but I guess it worked this time.

12:03: Stinking Tucker! He needs to learn to SHUT UP and play the game. That cost Cal the ball at the 15 yard-line. Jason: “Where’s the Cal team that played with composure the first three weeks? Wilting under pressure.”

10:50: The Bears are doing too much stuff in the middle and the Oregon defense is loading the box like it is the end of the rainbow. Then D’Amato just misses a 42 yard field goal. This team needs to get it back and FAST!

10:20: Jason: “Well, let’s say this: Oregon at home is still Oregon at home. A serious, serious force.”

10:14: Another really nice play by Oregon. They did a LOT of work in the off week to improve their offense.

10:00: But luckily for the Bears they’re just as mistake prone. FUMBLE! OK Bears, let’s get it done this time. Uhhh… NO! That’s TWICE! This is killing the Bears. Jason: “I know it’s an eight-point game right now, but this game’s not even playing that close. Timely turnovers… they can sure make a difference. Oh my. Every break breaks back the other way.”

9:08: There are two plays that are burning the Bears: The 3 WR to one side play and the TE on the delay out of the backfield. Other than that, things are going… um… mediocre.

8:20: Jason: “Can I change my Pick ‘Em prediction? I’m sensing a different outcome.” Sorry Jason, no can do. You’re going to have to hope like the rest of us that the Bears find their heart again. Another all-to-easy TD: 3-18

8:20: The Bears really need a TD just to get some confidence back and to give them hope in the half time locker room. Oregon is still susceptible in my mind and very mistake prone. We’re just matching them, quite literally, mistake for mistake.

8:07: Best was a lighter shoe-lace from taking that one to the house. The Bears definitely need to pound the ball, but they need to do it with the Oregon defense more spread out and their formations aren’t forcing Oregon to do that.

6:33: Horrible throw by Riley. The whole field was open. He needed to throw more to the middle of the field and that would have made it so his touch wouldn’t have had to be so precise. And then he picks by far the wrong option on 3rd down. Jason: “Wow, I’m glad we finally have a Heisman candidate. So we can throw on first down and hand it off to the backup straight up the middle on 2nd down.”

5:43: This is a key defensive series. If the Bears hold, it gives them another shot at getting within a score by halftime. If they don’t and give up another TD, it’s probably time to starting digging the hole we’re going to bury ourselves in tonight. The first couple plays are NOT encouraging and these Bears look overwhelmed and tired the way they’re tackling.

4:15: One can always count on Alualu to step up at a key moment. And the Bears are given ANOTHER break with that 5-yard punt. That’s what most scary about this game… the Bears have been given plenty of opportunities, they just haven’t taken advantage. OK, here’s that key drive for the offense. They could really use a TD right about now confidence wise.

3:40: But the Bears are stubbornly sticking to these bunch/tight formations that just allow too many defenders too close to the ball. It’ll be great if Best ever breaks one because he’ll be gone, but let’s not count on that. OPEN THINGS UP! Bears have to punt again…

1:55: Ugh… matching them mistake for mistake, AGAIN!?! Anger, you didn’t need to match his 5-yard punt.

0:59: Eddie Young’s play on that TD run was perfectly exemplary of what’s happening to the Bear defense. The running back came right at him but he was not thinking he had the ball. The RB practically walked by him and he didn’t even try to tacking him. Jason: “Cal seems to be straining out there… wait, what’s this? They appear to have deposited something at midfield It looks like — it IS! It’s an egg. Cal has laid an egg at Oregon.” Time to buy that shovel: 3-25

0:12: OK, this is the sort of thing that makes me grumble at the Oregon coaching staff. Call a timeout? Why? There’s 12 seconds left. At best you’re hoping for a botched punt, and then they don’t even force that. Jerks.

Halftime: Well, what is there to say? Let’s start with credit where credit is due: Oregon’s offense came to play and did a lot to open up their game and make the most of the players they have. Very few drop-back passing situations for Masoli but still plenty of passing to keep Cal honest. They had a great set of plays doing a lot to confuse the Cal defense. But for the Bears… they’ve played like last year’s team on the road. They look rattled. They look overwhelmed. They looked like they didn’t care to put in a good effort. Tackling was horrible.

But at the same time, a lot of the failures in the 1st half belong on the coaches shoulders. The offensive game plan was horrible. They need to spread Oregon out. They’re basically letting Oregon put 9 men in the box, sometimes 11. This just isn’t the offense that is going to work against a reasonably good team. All Oregon has to do is make sure they all fall down in a pile and there’s no where for Cal to go with the ball. Riley has been off the mark too, which hasn’t helped things one bit. But again, the schemes could do things to make his life more easy, particularly once he started struggling.

Then on defense, the schemes used against the 3 WR’s to one side have just been fundamentally flawed. While I won’t say for sure that the open TE across the middle of the field is necessarily a scheme problem, but it kinda seems that way. Or at least, Bishop and the other linebackers responsible for that spot don’t “get it” on how they’re supposed to cover that, which is a coaching defect as well.

I think I speak for all Bear fans everywhere when I say: ARGNRGARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGG!?!

15:00 3rd quarter: I’ve got the first piece of good news for Bear fans in a long time… at least the Bears get the ball to start the 2nd half.

14:59: Oh, and don’t make too much of that long D’Amato kickoff, it’s clear it was with a significant wind pushing it.

14:50: Nice. That’s a great way to start the half. Nice YAC by Tucker too.

14:24: But then it’s back to the same ‘ol same ‘ol. Bad throws by Riley. Not involving Best. Bunch formations. I know it’s at the edge of D’Amato’s range, but I would have tried the field goal.

12:34: We’re only a half drive into the 2nd half and the defense already has their hands on their hips.

10:48: What was with that defensive formation? They had a bunch of D-Linemen all bunched to one side. So what does Oregon do? Duh, they go the other way for a sizable gain.

9:23: ARG!?! That was a forward pass refs!

9:05: ARG!?! That was a forward pass Bear defense!

9:05: This is worse than Oregon’s debacle in Berkeley in 2006. The Bears just don’t have it and they’re not seeming to make any attempt to get back in it. No way they climb out of this hole: 3-32

8:00: Well, there were a couple of good plays there, but overall, it’s still troublesome and they still have to punt. Same three things: No Accuracy, Bunched, No Best (NABNB, pronouced Nab-n-buh, since I’m worried we’ll need a quick way to reference this moving forward).

2:06: And here’s the real problem (well for a desperate hope at winning the game), the Oregon run attack can eat some clock when it wants to… Ugh…which doesn’t much matter when they go for big TD runs like that. This Cal defense is stymied like it never has been before. Yeah, this is really the score: 3-39

2:06: OK, now all the REALLY bad emotions start to come it. You guys don’t have to be here and continue to watch this debacle. You can walk away. I’ve got to keep my eyes glued to this like some Stanley Cubrick movie and then I’ve got to go ask the Bear player and coaches questions after the game without being a complete asshole. Then I’ve got to come up with something to write about without ripping my heart out.

And while I’m on my rant, I didn’t go to last weeks game so I’m still on a losing streak of making the effort to travel on the road and watch the Bears lay egg after egg. This is the 5th in a row. And I’ve got 3 more to go to this year and I’m not liking it one bit at this moment.

(end rant, we feel better now, yes?)

15:00 4th quarter: The wave has started at Autzen. Yes, the Bears suck so much the fans are bored enough to start the wave.

13:32: Ah, and now they’ve started in on my favorite cheer: “Over-rated! Over-rated! Over-rated!” I find it funny because it’s a implicit admission that the home team isn’t that good. They didn’t just beat #6 handily. Nope. They still suck, but we suck more.

12:45: OK, I have a semi-cathartic assignment for those still reading… can you think of a more humiliating loss during the Tedford era? So far in my mind I’ve got Tennessee 2006, which this is worse without a 4th quarter comeback. Perhaps, UCLA 2005 or USC 2005? Other candidates? Arguments for why which is worst?

8:16: Another one of my pet peives from a little bit ago, that 4th down conversion where Oregon got a very generous spot. It wasn’t put on the replay screen so the Cal coaching staff couldn’t see if it was worth challenging. I didn’t see whether it was on the TV replay, but I have an inside refing source that indicates they don’t see anything we don’t see and if it wasn’t on TV, the replay officials couldn’t decide whether to review it. In any case, that led to the successful 42 yard field goal and Oregon is in the 40s: 3-42

(point being that the home team controls those things so they can purposely keep things from being reviewed)

6:06: The other unmentioned problem is the receivers complete inability to get open. It’s not so obvious from the TV because you can’t see the coverage, but every down, every receiver, they’re just going through the motions and not running hard or cutting out of their breaks well. They’re not giving Riley a chance. That’s what those two sacks were all about.

3:30: Oh wow, here’s one that people will talk about. Why Sweeney instead of Mansion in garbage time?

And with that, I have to head down to the field for interviews. For those who pray, pray for me to have some good questions that won’t destroy these poor kids who are just as heart broken as we are.