Initial USC postgame thoughts
(Written by kencraw)
First set of thoughts after the game…
- Bigelow comes in for one drive, gets 4 caries for 30 yards, gives some life to the running game and then… DISAPPEARS FOR THE REST OF THE GAME. What. the. heck!
- This was a pretty typical “good” loss to USC. Outmatched for the most part, and yet the Bears do their best to hang in, but are ultimately doomed by a lack of offense.
- Speaking of which, 6 trips deep into USC territory, 9 points. That is just never going to get it done. What USC does best against Cal is win the redzone battle.
- Just like last week this game can be viewed very differently depending on what your perspective is. Here’s a few:
- If you’re wondering if Tedford has this team where it should be after 11 years at the helm then there’s nothing other to be than disappointed. The 2012 Bears are NOT conference contenders. There’s just no other way to say it.
- If you wanted to see Cal make the next step after coming close against tOSU, then this game is a disappointment. USC was better than tOSU and the Bears played similarly against both. Cal got fewer breaks and didn’t have as good of luck, but overall it was a similar performance.
- However, if you assumed the Bears were going to come home from the brutal 2-game road trip with an overall record of 1-3, but wanted to see the Bears in a position to win games after that stretch, then this game feels like a continued step in the right direction. D’Amato got some of his mojo back. The defense has cleaned things up. The offense is having better execution. This team probably would have beat Nevada and can beat a lot of the teams in the conference. It’s not unreasonable to hope/expect this team to get to 4-3 after the next 3 games (ASU, UCLA, WSU).
- The key is going to be team chemistry and emotion after this loss. It doesn’t have the same positives as the tOSU game. Tedford and the coaching staff, and the leaders on the team have a big task in front of them to say: The season starts now.
- But it bears repeating, where. in. the. name. of. all. that. is. good. was BIG-E-LOW!?!
September 23rd, 2012 at 8:05 am
I think it’s totally unacceptable that we’ve lost 9 straight games to USC and we’ve only won 1 out of 10 games in LA. I mean, it doesn’t get much worse than that. We haven’t seen anything more than mediocre QB play since Longshore hurt is leg in 2007 and when I look around the PAC 12 I’m really hard pressed to consider Cal a team on the rise. If anything, I think we’re headed in the opposite direction.
For me, It’s as simple as this: Tedford needs to go .500 and beat either the ‘furd or Oregon or it’s time for a change. When was the last honest upset this team pulled off? Big Game 2009? That’s a long time ago. I think the game and the conference have passed him by. You think Chip Kelly would sit a talent like Bigelow in some slavish devotion to seniority & the depth chart. No chance. I used to be in the camp of thinking we shouldn’t get rid of Tedford because we wouldn’t find someone better to replace him but those days are almost over. I’ll give him the year to see if he can accomplish what I listed above. Otherwise, it’s golden handshake time.
September 23rd, 2012 at 8:49 am
Very hard to see this game as a “continued step in the right direction” for either the offense or defense. Other than penalties, I don’t see much improvement from the Nevada game to now. You are right about Bigelow. On his 4 touches, he was rolling. Why would we COMPLETELY give up on that? Frustrating.
If Maynard is our best QB…yikes. So inconsistent. The o-line got punished today, but our QB still needs to make plays when they are there.
September 23rd, 2012 at 8:51 am
Totally understand your perspective Joshiemac. This definitely wasn’t a forward progress game and people are running out of patience waiting for improvement.
So what if the Bears go 7-5, losing only to the Furd and Oregon… Do we fire him then?
September 23rd, 2012 at 8:55 am
MN, I think you’re forgetting the level of the mistakes in the Nevada game. One has to assume our offensive line wouldn’t have gotten pushed around as much by them and the running game would have been in better shape, plus Maynard wouldn’t have been harassed all day.
That said, the one player who for sure made a step back was Maynard. You’re right, there were too many plays that he just didn’t make, that he needs to make whether or not he was being harassed on other plays. The overthrows are very troubling.
That said, it wasn’t a horrific performance, and he’s shown just enough positives recently for me not to entirely give up on him.
September 23rd, 2012 at 12:21 pm
Ken,
I’m not sure. I guess it would depend on how we do in those two games I mentioned. Not that I’m looking for moral victories, but if we play well against those two teams and go 7-5 and then Tedford deserves to keep his job. But it’s not like we can look forward to much more next year–we’ll be bringing in a new QB and I just have no faith in this program to develop talent in that position. It’s pretty obvious that Cal will always be also-rans (at best) without someone good in that position.
I wish I didn’t feel this way. I have a ton of respect for Tedford. He runs the program the right way. He brought us back from the ashes. He’s should have a statue built for him on the faculty glade. But I’m pretty much out of patience after 5 straight years of mediocre (and worse) play. I’ve had season tickets my whole life and for the first time I’m wondering if I really want to renew next year. There are better ways to spend a fall saturday.
September 23rd, 2012 at 12:22 pm
But our lines did get pushed around in the Nevada game. I went to Columbus to visit my friend and the Horseshoe, and my friend listened as I narrated, in advance, what should happen vs. will happen.
Not giving Bigelow 10 touches a game at 1-3 is a terminable offense.
September 23rd, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Daniel, yes they did. But I’m saying if they had played the way they did against USC, they wouldn’t have. I think they’ve improved substantially. Not that they’re great, but they’re much better than their woeful performance against the much smaller guys at Nevada.
September 23rd, 2012 at 9:51 pm
I wMy gripe with Maynard is that “good” Maynard is a decent game manager, only makes a few errant throws, and does not do anything to hurt the team. Unfortunately, if that is all that he is capable of on his best days, then I don’t think that merits an unquestioned starting role. Moreover, “bad” Maynard shows up often as well, which is definitely detrimental to the team.
September 23rd, 2012 at 10:01 pm
I wish I shared your view on Maynard about showing a few positives, but he just seems so out-classed relative to the rest of the conference QBs. If he was deemed more of a threat in the passing game, opposing Ds would be more reluctant to blitz with safeties and LBs, which would alleviate some of the pressure on our already-mediocre O-line. My gripe with Maynard is that “good” Maynard is a decent game manager, only makes a few errant throws, and does not do anything to hurt the team. Unfortunately, if that is all that he is capable of on his best days, then I don’t think that merits an unquestioned starting role. Moreover, “bad” Maynard shows up often as well, which is definitely detrimental to the team. I’m no expert by any means, but it just seems that continuing to do what you’ve done before but expecting different results is not a recipe for improvement.
September 24th, 2012 at 7:26 am
I think you’re under appreciating “good” Maynard, MN. “good” Maynard went toe-to-toe with Luck in last year’s Big Game. “good” Maynard outplayed Braxton Miller a week ago.
Yes, the “good” Maynard is still not a top of the conference QB. It takes a mediocre Luck performance and one of Maynard’s best to have him outplay Luck. At the same time, “good” Maynard is in equivalent company with the 2nd tier of good QB’s in the conference. Said differently, he’s not elite, but he is good.
The problem with Maynard is not “good” Maynard, it’s “bad” Maynard. Part of being a truly good QB is consistency and that we’ve seen Maynard is lacking.