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Reveling in Victory

Or, perhaps more appropriately, Shivering in Victory.  The associated press calls this game "Berkeley's worst game-day rainstorm in a decade."  I'm not sure if it was any worse than last year's USC game, which was definitely colder, but it was close.  Regardless, I feel a lot better now than I did after USC last year, and I doubt any Cal fans are complaining about the win.  And besides, RemorsefulBruinBabe reports that the ESPN crew gave a nice shout out to those of us who toughed it out in the rain: "If you are still in the stands right now [~45 seconds left in the game], you are a great fan."

There were 8 turnovers in the game, not including a snap out of the endzone for our long coveted safety (finally!  it seemed impossible that the refs could call anything else, but I was holding my breath and looking for a flag).  It was a pretty volatile game with a number of rapid, intense swings, especially in the second quarter as the teams tried to out-turnover each other.  Yet the biggest play of the game wasn't one of our four (!) lost fumbles, or even Worrell's huge interception at the end of the second half.  In a game full of huge plays, the biggest was a 5 yard false start.

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via www.dkimages.com

He's no Ed Hochuli

Star-divide

Oregon had cut the deficit to 3 on an embarrassingly easy touchdown drive (3 plays,  all of them runs of more than 15 yards) in the third quarter.  After a Cal 3 & out, Oregon marched right down the field and was poised to take their first lead since the opening touchdown.  But on 3rd and 1 from the Cal 10, an Oregon player jumped early, one of only four duck penalties for 36 yards on the day.  The 5 yard penalty made it 3rd and 6 instead of 3rd and 1, and their third down QB draw netted only 3 yards.  On the next play, kicker Matt Eversen missed a 29 yard field goal.

Cal would manage only one first down on the next drive, but Oregon fumbled the punt return and resident Duck assassin Marcus Ezeff recovered at the Oregon 6.

Sp_california101_medium

via imgs.sfgate.com

Sorry duck fans, he's only a junior.

Cal scored 2 plays later to make it 26-16.  What looked like a duck touchdown drive and a 23-19 Oregon lead became a Cal touchdown less than five minutes later.  The false start, and the fourteen point swing which ensued, determined the game.

Of course, recovering fumbles (and intercepting passes) is only part of the story.  Teams need to be able to capitalize on opposing turnovers, and Cal, despite losing the turnover battle by two, was the victor in this area.  Of the three Oregon turnovers, two (the Williams interception immediately before halftime and the Ezeff fumble recovery) led to quick Cal touchdowns.  The Oregon very-long snapper gave Cal 2 more points on the long awaited safety.  The only turnover that Cal did not convert into a score was a second quarter interception by Sean Cattouse deep in Cal territory, immediately following one of Jahvid Best's two fumbles.  Oregon, on the other hand, capitalized on the early Riley INT for a touchdown, but failed to score after any of Cal's 4 (!) lost fumbles, including the aforementioned Best fumble at the Cal 17.  That's a 16-6 Cal advantage (Oregon missed the extra point following their touchdown) and, not surprisingly, the Cal margin of victory.

This was a nice victory over a decent conference opponent, which puts Cal back into the conference race for exactly 1 week.  Win at USC next Saturday and Cal is in great shape to win the Pac and go to the Rose Bowl.  Do I expect this to happen?  No, considering the injuries and ineffectiveness of our offense (when Best was on the bench, presumably due to his 2 fumbles, we were down 6 of our 11 offensive starters - Riley, Best, Calvin, Guarnero, Malele, & Tepper, and 7 if you count Teofilo instead of Schwartz) and our less than stellar road appearances.  If we get some of our offensive players back (namely Riley and some modicum of depth on the o-line), we'll have a shot against a USC sqaud that has seemed vulnerable at times (not today, though: 49-0 USC after three.  Then again, it is the Huskies).

Regardless of the outcome next week, there were plenty of encouraging signs today.  Nasty Nate did not throw ANY interceptions (not even a back-breaking fourth quarter INT just for fun) and our receivers did a much better job of catching the ball, all the more surprising since they were playing in a bit of a rainstorm.  Our defense continues to look very, very strong (at home), creating turnovers and for the most part (excepting two drives in the 3rd quarter) making life tough for the duck running game.  Our three senior linebackers all made huge plays (as they do pretty much every week) and Syd was generally Syd.  Perhaps most encouraging to me, defensively, is the continued strong play from Cameron Jordan and Darian Hagan.  Jordan has looked good for a while, but he's been great since taking over for Rulon Davis.  I think we're getting more production from his defensive end position than we did before Rulon's injury.  At cornerback, Hagan keeps breaking up passes and making strong tackles in run support.  Both of these guys are rock solid right now and look like potential stars: Hagan looks better than Syd did at the beginning of last year (GULP I STILL LOVE YOU SYD) and Jordan is our most explosive defensive end since Ryan Riddle in 2004.  And they're both sophomores.

2169438_medium 1424637_medium

via graphics.fansonly.com & grfx.cstv.com

That said, the biggest surprise to me was our offensive line.  I was not confident in our chances today, and much of that hinged on our banged up o-line: we were missing our 1st, 3rd, and 4th offensive tackles and our top 2 guards, which would be damaging in any game but especially so against the top pass rush in the conference.  Aside from one play when all-conference DE Nick Reed destroyed LT Mitchell Schwartz and blind-sided Nasty Nate, the offensive line gave our QBs enough time to throw and opened up some holes for our running backs.  Our O line hasn't been consistently great this year, but they stepped up to the challenge and then some today.

GO BEARS!  All aboard the Pain Train!

5e95c0e35a61219421fb063f39b0ebe6-getty-82600441jj018_oregon_v_cali_medium

via d.yimg.com

Poll
USC Week! How do you think Cal will do against USC?
Blowout victory over USC!
35 votes
Close victory over USC
141 votes
Close loss by Cal
151 votes
Blowout loss by Cal
85 votes
USC forfeit
50 votes

462 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

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TOOT TOOT! ALL ABOARD THE PAIN TRAIN!

When our team had some problem with executing tackles, Pain Train was there to solve that!

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 6:53 PM PDT   0 recs

at least three tackles behind the LOS that I counted. Pain Train is ALWAYS On time.

by sec119 on Nov 1, 2008 8:19 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

We would yell “ALL ABOARD!” or “TOOT TOOT!” and wave our arms like we were pullinga steam whistle.

Also, I think it was the last Cal TD when we were at like the 2 yard line. Or it might have been the Cal TD when we got the interception returnt o the 1 yard line at the end of the halftime. But on like 2nd and Goal, Follett ran out and started yelling something to the offense. I was hoping theyd put him in as a fullback and knock it in William Perry style.

They didnt, but he was PUMPING them up! Follett is the best!

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 8:21 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

He came back to the bench a few times and did a steam whistle pull to the crowd. It was great.

ಠ_ಠ

by Berkelium97 on Nov 1, 2008 8:31 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

my friend and I got a small Pain-Train-Whoo-Whoo-Pain-Train-Whoo-Whoo chant going in the student section.

Sheriff of the Welcome Team.
Welcome.
Now Go Away.
And Stop Arguing Nate vs. Kevin.

by Spazzy Mcgee on Nov 1, 2008 10:10 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I hope Riley is ok and I hope that he starts against U$C. But Longshore played well. He held it together and didn’t melt down.

Stanfurd Delendum Est.

by Olsonist on Nov 1, 2008 6:55 PM PDT   0 recs

Someone needs to teach him to slide!

He looked fine on TV in the second half, but he was definitely woozy upon first examination.

I bet his status right now is up in the air.

...nuh nuh nuh gone

by Thoroughbred on Nov 1, 2008 7:14 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Two perspectives

(1) in person at the game I saw him try to get up and was stumbling around like he was on his eigth beer bong;

(2) a friend who watched it on TV said that the announcers claimed he didn’t know where he was (not sure how the announcers got that information, but I wouldn’t be surprised)

by LovinBlue on Nov 1, 2008 7:17 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I have to agree that Riley seemed seriously out of it. It looked to me like he fell down onto a knee (and freaked out some of the offense) when he went into the huddle.

by paleodan on Nov 2, 2008 12:16 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

The best part was when he was coming off the field, he started waving his arms like “Cheer cheer on the team!” He’s a great leader, he’s a great team-mate and he seems like a great person.

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 7:19 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Someone needs to teach him to slide!

Especially after you’ve already made the first down and there are more of them than there are of you.

BTW, I completely agree that the O-line rose to the Occasion. Good protection and in the one case where Longshore got sacked from behind, he held onto the ball.

It was a very good win and I’m very happy with how the team played. Props to the Ducks; they’re tough.

Stanfurd Delendum Est.

by Olsonist on Nov 1, 2008 7:30 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Riley's status

I don’t have any info, but I would say Riley would be thoroughly questionable for USC if he sustained a concussion – as since more and more medical research shows concussions take longer than one week to heal.

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by HydroTech on Nov 1, 2008 8:17 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

That would suck. Props to NL for playing solid, but I would really like to see Riley back there. After that first INT, he made some really nice throws on that TD drive and had a good running gain before that hit.

I may not be a funny bastard, but at least I'm a bastard.

by OskiMonsta on Nov 2, 2008 4:36 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Mad respeck for Nate. God knows I have laid into him big-time these last twelve months, but he came on in a bad spot today and held it together nicely. I hope he can keep it up, as I am not sanguine about Riley – concussions are no joke.

That said, I’m still glad I sold my tickets, because if I’d been there in person and seen those uniforms, I would have died of shame. I turned the game on in the second quarter and MY EYES MY EYES THE GOGGLES DO NOTHING!!!

by VandyImport on Nov 1, 2008 9:23 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Ironically enough, many of us who attended today’s game DID wear goggles!

And it helped protect our eyes from the Banana Suit!

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 9:28 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Was it hurting your eyes two states away?

It’s times like this I wish they’d never discovered CougCenterium.

by Maharg on Nov 2, 2008 7:36 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

this post frightens me. are we nearing the apocalypse?

Sheriff of the Welcome Team.
Welcome.
Now Go Away.
And Stop Arguing Nate vs. Kevin.

by Spazzy Mcgee on Nov 1, 2008 10:11 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Ok, ESPN sucks

ezeff didn’t recover that fumble on the punt. I’m pretty sure.

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by CBKWit on Nov 1, 2008 7:33 PM PDT   0 recs

It was Matt Russi on the recovery. Ezeff was nearby, though.

Go Bears!

by Ohio Bear on Nov 1, 2008 7:43 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

ok, maybe it was Ezeff
Cal linebacker Matt Russi fell on the ball, but Ezeff came out of the pile with his latest game-changing play in this rivalry. Ezeff also forced Oregon receiver Cameron Colvin’s last-second fumble through the end zone in the Bears’ win at Eugene last year.

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by CBKWit on Nov 1, 2008 8:20 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

It was Russi. Ezeff fell on the ball first but it squirted out… then Russi fell on it and secured it.

by danzig on Nov 2, 2008 10:22 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Lonshore still doesn't look past his first read.....

did it 1x today, I applaud him for that! Bring on $C.

by 33SwisherSweet on Nov 1, 2008 7:35 PM PDT   0 recs

Swish

I don’t know where your seats are so perhaps you don’t have the greatest view of Longshore, but today I clearly saw him going through his progressions on many many separate plays.

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by HydroTech on Nov 1, 2008 8:18 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Joking......

sarcasm doesnt come out so well over the internets…………

by 33SwisherSweet on Nov 2, 2008 12:50 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Hydro doesn’t know that you’re seats are in fact on the field as you ARE Kevin Riley! You had the best seat in the house.

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 2, 2008 12:55 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

today was the rare (and quite possibly the only) time that oregon’s unis were NOT the ugliest ones on the field.

i'm here to clean your pool but i don't have a pool *bowchica bowow*

by ch0ster on Nov 1, 2008 7:46 PM PDT   0 recs

Dude I loved the yellow on yellow. MUSTARD POWER!

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 7:48 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Dude, the yellow jerseys and the yellow pants so didn’t match! It was such a fashion faux pas.
What was Tedford thinking?

Stanfurd Delendum Est.

by Olsonist on Nov 1, 2008 7:53 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I'm pretty sure

the team captains choose the uniform combo.

by LeonPowe on Nov 1, 2008 7:58 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

It looks good on the Cal basketball team. Not sure what the difference is.

by BearsNecessity on Nov 1, 2008 8:07 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Basketball players

Are better looking.

I’m just saying.

by LeonPowe on Nov 1, 2008 8:11 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

especially sam cassell

i'm here to clean your pool but i don't have a pool *bowchica bowow*

by ch0ster on Nov 1, 2008 8:13 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I was hoping we’d go with an alternative yellow helmet. Then, it’d be BANANA SUIT ATTACK!!!!!!

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 8:07 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

The Oregon players looked a lot bigger than ours. It might be b/c it’s true, but it could also have been those glaringly white helmets.

by sec119 on Nov 1, 2008 8:21 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

The only way they could have possibly justified the radioactive-urine look is if they were thinking about maximizing visibility in the bad weather. Maybe. Possibly.

And it was still heinous.

by VandyImport on Nov 1, 2008 9:25 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

See Twist, I told you they need to try the yellow-on-yellow

by Tedfordisgod on Nov 1, 2008 8:16 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I’m somebody. And I’m bitter!

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 8:22 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I just wonder…we busted out the gold jerseys last time vs. Oregon, this time it was gold pants/jerseys. What could possibly be next? Gold jerseys/pants/helmet/shoes/socks/jockstrap?

sweet!

Sheriff of the Welcome Team.
Welcome.
Now Go Away.
And Stop Arguing Nate vs. Kevin.

by Spazzy Mcgee on Nov 1, 2008 10:14 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

It was a TEAM GOLD OUT!

I liked it. The GOLD STREAK is still alive. Oregon has now felt the golden love 2x!!

I may not be a funny bastard, but at least I'm a bastard.

by OskiMonsta on Nov 2, 2008 4:40 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Now that’s a real football game,” said Cal defensive lineman Cameron Jordan, who had 10 tackles and a sack. “If you don’t love being on a field like that, you don’t love football. Everything about the rain and the weather fired us up.”

...nuh nuh nuh gone

by Thoroughbred on Nov 1, 2008 8:11 PM PDT   0 recs

I love Cameron Jordan

just no more DUIs, ok?

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by CBKWit on Nov 1, 2008 8:15 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I think he had the sack up the middle? That was textbook — his man turned a little and then BAM he Michael Phelpsed his way to a sack.

by sec119 on Nov 1, 2008 8:33 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Some thoughts:

1. The North Endzone and surrounding area was WILDLY more watery than the Southern section. Now, Oregon was driving in the end of the 3rd quarter. They were driving towards the Southern section. So, then the quarter ends. They are now going into the Crocodile Mile at the North endzone (I’m totes doing a post involving Crocodile Mile on this game, SO DONT STEAL MY IDEA BITCHES!). That, I believe, was when they started to slow down a bit and we got that key false start.

I think that them switching over to the North endzone section was key for our D stopping them. It was a lot tougher to move the ball towards the endzone. Luckily, we had the drier one to ourselves in the 4th quarter (Southern).

2. They rushed for over 200 yards. Blount had like 4 yards according to the box score, which doesnt seem right to me. So, I dunno. But if the box score is to be believed Masoli and Johnson each had a little over 100 yards rushing. But they had 85 yards passing. A chunk of that is Roper, who only played in like the last 2 minutes. Masoli had 44 passing yards! 44. That’s not enough to make the defense play honest.

So, yes, they had 200 rushing yards and averaged 4.1 yards a rush. But, still, I think that the Cal DBs were able to hold their offense in check. I thinkt that they were only able to move the ball well on a few key drives (the first one off the interception and a few in the 3rd/4th quarters). All praise be to our D on this one.

Some photos from SFGate:

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 8:19 PM PDT   0 recs

When I say “I think the Cal DBs were able to hold the Oregon offense in check” I have no idea what exactly i was saying. I think something about Cal LBs holding the Oregon RBs or just Cal D holding Oregon O. I’m stupid after standing out in the rain for 8 hours today!

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 8:23 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Love this one

by Tedfordisgod on Nov 1, 2008 8:21 PM PDT   0 recs

Love which one?

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 8:22 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Oops, this one:

by Tedfordisgod on Nov 1, 2008 8:23 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Yah!

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 8:23 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

He deserves it.

Stanfurd Delendum Est.

by Olsonist on Nov 1, 2008 8:39 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I heart you, Olsonist!

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 8:44 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Please, I straight and you’re married. It would never work.

Stanfurd Delendum Est.

by Olsonist on Nov 1, 2008 10:58 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Yes, you straight!

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 11:01 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I’d be even more straighter if I had editing privileges. You get me editing privileges and then we’ll talk about sex.

Stanfurd Delendum Est.

by Olsonist on Nov 1, 2008 11:05 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Looks like Nate is pulling the Pain Train whistle too!

I may not be a funny bastard, but at least I'm a bastard.

by OskiMonsta on Nov 2, 2008 4:42 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

ALL ABOARD!

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 2, 2008 6:51 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Props to the Oregon o-line for all the pancake blocks they had. I begrudgingly admit that I was in awe of how often the ball would be snapped and then all the linemen would end up flat on the ground, so that Masoli could look downfield for as long as he wanted. Luckily, their run blocking wasn’t as effective against our 3-4.

Anyway, awesome game. MVP goes to the entire defense, from the D-Line to the safeties. Anytime you give up as many turnovers as we did and still win, you gotta credit the D.

by sec119 on Nov 1, 2008 8:29 PM PDT   0 recs

You sure you were seeing pancakes or cut blocks? Today, Oregon used lots of quick cut blocks to chop down our OL which gave their QBs some time to throw.

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by HydroTech on Nov 1, 2008 8:31 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Huh. Maybe it was cut blocks then, most of the time I saw them it was from section Q on the other side of the field. I called it pancake b/c I could never see the D-linemen, and I assumed they were under the O-linemen. Damn you Parallax!!! Either way, it looked really effective to me.

by sec119 on Nov 1, 2008 8:36 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Yeah, when they cut block our DL on pass plays it worked pretty well and gave their QBs plenty of time to throw.

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by HydroTech on Nov 1, 2008 8:39 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Oregon is a chop blocking team...

…worse than the denver broncos.

How is it spelled?

It's spelled S-h-u-V-3-0-0-0.

by CV3000 on Nov 2, 2008 3:32 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

I'm a bit confused

You’re talking about chop blocking? We’re talking about cut blocking. Are you confusing the two? Or are you moving the subject to chop blocking?

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by HydroTech on Nov 2, 2008 3:40 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

They do both

Cut blocking is their primary pass blocking strategy; this leads to a team-wide block below the waist mentality.

bada bing.

How is it spelled?

It's spelled S-h-u-V-3-0-0-0.

by CV3000 on Nov 2, 2008 3:56 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

oops

I meant, Oregon was using quick cut blocks on our DL (not OL).

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by HydroTech on Nov 1, 2008 8:38 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I agree, there were a lot of cuts.

Masoli was able to dance around on pass plays because Cal only rushed 3 (vs. 5-6) most of the time.

I may not be a funny bastard, but at least I'm a bastard.

by OskiMonsta on Nov 2, 2008 4:44 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Major props to the WRs for solving many of their dropsies problems, ESPECIALLY in the rain. There were some drops, but given the rain no more than anybody would expect. They caught two TD passes and did EPICALLY better than Oregon’s passing attack.

Please disregard the above ramblings as those of a clearly delusional fan.

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 1, 2008 8:34 PM PDT   0 recs

Longshore’s 17 yard (?) 4th down completion…or maybe it was 3rd down … ? And I don’t even remember who it was to …

ANYWAY the guy made a diving catch, and it was exactly the same type of catch that was a drop last week.

by sec119 on Nov 1, 2008 8:37 PM PDT