(Written by kencraw)

After the somewhat shaky Illinois game, there was a bit more trepidation amongst Bear fans. All of that trepidation was something for another day as their next opponent would not be the game that a mixed performance should hurt the Bears.

New Mexico State was a middle conference team and not a good one at that. They were in the middle of a rebuilding process. Everyone was sure that this was another Sac State game in which the game was not a test but an opportunity to work out the kinks while cruising to an easy win.

The first drive of the game, the Bears cruised to an easy touchdown, confirming everything Bears fans had thought. However, the extra point was blocked off the edge and nearly ran back for a “opponent 2-point conversion”. Nevertheless, nobody was too concerned, leaving the Bears up only 6-0.

That concern however would come quickly on 3 consecutive plays for the NMSU Aggies. The first was an outside bomb where Mixon was beat. The second was a broken play where the Aggies QB was able to escape pressure and gain big yardage into the redzone. The third and final was a 1st down run for another 10 yards giving the Aggies a 1st and goal. The Bears defense stiffened and held the Aggies to a field-goal, the Bear lead cut to 6-3.

The Bears only took two plays to get back into the endzone with Forsett bouncing outside for a long run into New Mexico State territory. The second was a play-action pass to a wide-open DeSean Jackson who showed off his speed down the seam en-route to the endzone. After a unsportsman-like penalty took the Bears out of 2-point conversion range, the Bears went for the extra-point, now leading 13-3.

New Mexico State struck back on the kick-off empoying a hidden-ball strategy to fool the Cal coverage team. By the time the Bears realized which of the 3 potential runners had the ball, only kicker Tyler Fredrickson had a shot at him. Fredrickson didn’t take a very good angle and it was an easy touchdown, the Bear lead cut to 13-10.

The Bears were continuing to do well on their next possession when Lavelle Hawkins made a mistake he would later be all to associated with. After catching the ball for an easy 1st down on 3rd and 9, he back-tracked to try and get more yards. Instead of gaining more yards, he gave up the 1st down and the Bears had to punt.

Luckily for the Bears, New Mexico State committed a holding penalty on 4th down giving the Bears an undeserved 1st down. Unfortunately the Bears were forced to punt again after an ineffective set of downs. The momentum was clearly on the Aggie side of the field.

The Bear defense, finally given a second chance to prove themselves, forced a punt after only one 1st down. The offense showed their gratitude my methodically marching the ball down the field with offensive balance. Ayoob completed all of his passes and Forsett took advantage of the defense being on their heels. In the end it was a quarterback draw from Ayoob that scored the touchdown, putting the bears up 20-10, still in the 1st quarter.

The Aggies were able to chip away at the Bear defense on the next drive. A marginal personal-foul for a late hit put New Mexico State in field-goal range with a fresh set of downs. After the Bears held the Aggies on the next set of downs, they escaped without allowing a score as the 42 yard field-goal attempt was pushed right.

A trend that had started in the last couple series for the Bear offense killed the Bears on their next possession. Ayoob, who had been making good reads and hitting the short passes, was also missing some touch on the longer passes. On 3rd and 4, Ayoob missed an open receiver, forcing the Bears to punt.

The Aggies decided to repeat their previous drive. Chipping away for 17 plays, including converting a 4th and 1 put them in field-goal range. Yet again the attempt was missed, pushed right. Thomas DeCoud may have gotten a finger on the kick, but more likely his pressure forced the kicker to push the ball.

With the Aggie defense starting to wear down, the Bears returned to their run game. They got everyone minus the injured Marshawn Lynch involved on the drive including Williams and Manderino. It was then Ayoob who ran it in on yet another quarterback draw from the 6 yard line to put the Bears up by their first semi-comfortable margin considering the speed of scoring in the game, 27-10.

Damien Hughes made one of his signature interceptions on the ensuing drive. Coming off of his man and jumping high in front of the receiver he both picked off the ball and then ran it back from the Cal side of the field back to inside the Aggie redzone.

With just under a minute remaining in the half, the Bears put the ball in Ayoobs hands. Two incompletions, a procedure penalty and a sack later, the Bears were pushed back to the Aggie 24 yard-line. The resulting field-goal attempt was the defining memory of the game for many Bear fans. Head coach Hal Mumme proceeded to call three consecutive timeouts. It worked as Schneider missed the attempt, pulling slightly the 41 yard attempt. It was the coach’s jubilant celebration and arrogant looking smile that irked many a Bear fan wondering what a coach who was trailing by 17 would be so excited about.

Looking over the 1st half, overall it was an acceptable performance. Again Ayoob’s performance was a bit uneven, particularly the long-ball. While his numbers looked good, it was clear that his touch left something to be desired. The defense’s performace, although again acceptable, wasn’t as dominating as one would hope. While they only gave up 10 points, they also allowed two sustained drives that made it into the redzone before being shut down. Nevertheless, there was little to be concerned about for the Bears going into the 2nd half.

That comfort level increased when Mixon picked off a pass on the first drive of the 2nd half on an over-thrown deep crossing route. Unfortunately the Bears offense was unable to convert on 3rd and 2, Forsett getting stuffed on the inside run. The Bears punted back to New Mexico State.

After another NMSU punt, Cal went back to the run game marching nearly the length of the field. Ayoob threw two ill-advised passes in the redzone, stalling the drive. To add insult to injury, the field-goal attempt was blocked, ensuring an otherwise productive drive was literally pointless.

New Mexico State went back to chipping away at the Bears on another sustained drive into Cal’s redzone. Yet again the Bear defense stiffened, looking a lot like the yet-to-be-named Bend But Don’t Break defense, holding the Aggies to a field-goal attempt. Unlike the previous two Aggie drives that would otherwise be clones of this one, the field-goal attempt split the uprights for the first score in a long time, closing the Cal lead to 14, 27-13.

With the game now into the 4th quarter, the Bears continued to emphasize the run game. Although a big chunk of yards came on a 33 yard catch by Hawkins (another mis-thrown ball, this one under-thrown), just about every other play was a run play. It was capped by yet another Ayoob touchdown run, this one a bootleg, putting the Bears up 34-13.

After another Aggie punt, the Bears continued to work on the clock. Mixing in a couple of screens and a reverse to keep the defense guessing, the Bears marched down the field while taking 7 minutes off the clock. The resulting touchdown on the back of Williams, was a unneeded but desired bonus, putting the Bears up 41-13.

New Mexico State was able to chip away on their final possession of the game. However, like their last productive drive, the speed with which they were able to move the ball was a hindrance while trailing by so much. The game ended after they were unable to convert on a 4th and 3 around mid-field and the Bears ran the ball one final time to run out the clock.

Overall, while the final score of 41-13 seemed to reflect a dominating performance, the quality of the foe and the weaknesses the team showed, did not bolster the confidence of most Bear fans. While Ayoob got some of his touch back towards the end of the game, he was still plagued by inconsistency. Whether it was a case of conservative formations or whether the defense under-performed against a young and struggling offense was a matter of debate. Nevertheless, the general consensus was that next week’s game against Arizona, a team with a much more stout defense, would be the first real test for the Bears.

Tune in on Friday to see how it turned out.