Don’t forget how good the Bears play the Ducks
(Written by kencraw)
OK, I know we’re all still in somewhat smarting from last year’s loss to Oregon. I know most of us have blocked the 2009 game out of our minds (but I’ll bring back the pain with a looking back posts in the next couple days). But it’s important to remember that this has been one VERY balanced series since the Tedford took over the helm in Berkeley:
2002: Didn’t play
2003: Cal loses a tough one in Eugene, 17-21, when some prankster… er… “computer glitch” turned off the lights in the stadium giving Oregon a 2nd halftime to regroup just as the Bears were sticking it to the Ducks.
2004: Cal wins 28-27 in an otherwise equal game that came down to a missed extra point by Oregon (and Oregon’s extra emphasis on 2-point conversions in future years had absolutely NOTHING to do with this game) and the inability of a wide open tight end to catch a perfectly thrown ball on 4th down that would have put the Ducks in easy field goal range at the end of the game.
2005: Cal loses 20-27 in the first overtime after a hurried field goal attempt by the Bears falls inches short at the end of regulation and would have won the game for the Bears.
2006: Cal lays the wood to Oregon, 45-24 in the one lopsided Cal victory where mistakes by Dennis Dixon doomed the Ducks from their first possession
2007: Cal comes away with their one road victory, 31-24, where Oregon was in position to tie in the final seconds of the game but an jarring Ezeff hit on the wide receiver forces a fumble through the endzone for a Cal touchback.
2008: Cal continues their winning streak to 3 games, winning 26-16 in a defensive struggle most memorable for the Cal turfs inability to drain water in a downpour (you think a team named the Ducks would do better on a flooded field).
2009: Cal gives up their one blowout loss 3-42, in a game where Cal recovered a fumble on the initial kickoff and never scored again in what might just be the most painful game I’ve personally witnessed.
2010: Cal loses for the first time at home in this series, a tight 13-15 loss where Oregon’s preemptive 2-point conversions (see earlier note) and Cal’s successive failed attempt to make up the difference was the difference in scoring, although a missed late field goal by Tavecchio will not soon be forgotten by Bear fans despite the fact that Oregon drove inside the Cal redzone in their last drive to run out the clock.
For those counting, the Bears and Ducks are 4-4 against each other, with one blowout to each team’s name and one road victory to each team’s name. Both times the road team won, they were the higher ranked team. However both times there was a blowout, it was the lower ranked team doing the damage. Of course both blowouts were in favor of the home team.
What does all this mean for Thursday night? NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Really… what could those teams possibly have to do with this year’s matchup? Nevertheless we all know that it does matter, right? Just like some teams play the Bears well (Washington, Oregon State), the Bears, with one exception, have played Oregon tough even when they were expected to lose.
Food for thought.
October 4th, 2011 at 10:02 am
Cal always seems to get the big recruiting class each year, and it is frustrating that they nab the top recruits from Oregon out from UO and OSU’s noses. Players like Charles Siddoway, Gabe King and Brennan Scarlett come to mind as big one’s that got away to Tedford. Despite great recruiting, Cal has consistently underachieved on the field and although much improved under Tedford, he has never been to a BCS bowl.
Are Cal fans like those at OSU who crave greatness and respect and look longingly at their neighbor (OSU to UO and Cal to Stanford) wishing they could trade places? Are Cal fans like OSU fans who put up with their mediocre head coaches because they have “done so much for the program”? I suspect they are and I hope Cal fans continue to support Tedford because he will ensure the teams place in the middle to bottom of the Pac12 every year!
Expect a beatdown similar to the last time Cal ventured into Oregon…remember Cal was ranked #6 in the country until the team was destroyed and humiliated by Oregon 42-3.
October 4th, 2011 at 9:04 pm
Duckfan,
Cal fans do not look longingly at Stanford. The Cardinal are having a good run because of an outstanding QB. Luck will leave, and Cal will get the upper hand again.
October 4th, 2011 at 9:15 pm
Rick, good point. I’ll be glad to see him go too. Do you still support Tedford?
October 5th, 2011 at 7:51 am
Duckfan,
I could list several things I don’t like about Tedford. However, he has taken Cal football to a higher level. You are right about recruiting. Cal is on par with UCLA and Washington in that area.
Changing successful coaches is risky business. It worked for Auburn and it failed badly at Michigan. I support Tedford because I think the alternatives would be far worse.
Cal has a solid future. New facilities and strong recruiting generally improve outcomes. As the PAC conference expands, Cal benefits from its highly visible position. Of course USC, UCLA, ASU and Washington will benefit, too.
I think Oregon has a good future as well. It has a terrific system, strong management and tremendous support from the community. Obviously, Oregon can compete with the big boys in southern California. It has been a good run for Oregon, but unlike Stanford, the Oregon system is very sustainable.
In the years ahead, I see the the Cal/Oregon game very competitive.
October 5th, 2011 at 9:00 am
Rick, I still don’t understand how Cal can recruit so well. I mean the academic standards are rigorous and until recently the facilities were sub-par. Can’t be just the weather because other schools have great weather (UCLA, AZ, ASU) but don’t recruit well either. And Cal recruits nationally with gusto too!
So I guess it boils down to Tedford and his staff can really do a great job recruiting but judging from his record, his game day coaching needs to be improved. He’s not an ignorant clown like Les Miles so I guess he will continue to learn and improve and you can expect better things to come.
By the way, Cal fans seem to be intelligent, rational calm posters that don’t seem to get riled up when “provoked” by inflammatory comments. Interesting. Maybe some day Duck fans can rise to that level! Cheers!
October 5th, 2011 at 10:03 am
I can give you a few reasons Cal recruits as well as it does:
-NFL development: Cal runs a system that is a lot like the NFL and we’ve had great success putting players in the NFL who have succeeded in the NFL. Adding an NFL defensive coordinator made a big difference for our defensive recruits the last couple years. This always gets 4 and 5 star player’s attention.
-Quality education: There have been a few articles in recent years talking about how Tedford has learned how much mom and dad care about the education and he’s got an unparalleled story to sell them. It continues to be the #1 public University and the Nobel prizes keep rolling in. Tedford’s reputation for graduating kids with meaningful degrees and having a player win the Draddy helps too.
-Promise of facilities: While it’s taken longer than it was supposed to, even in 2004 there was the promise of the SAHPC that is just now being completed. That helped bridge the gap (for what it’s worth, Tedford has expressed some remorse for those students who were promised new facilities during their time here and never saw them, so it’s clear he pushed hard on this on the recruiting trail).