California Golden Blogs: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:

Around SBN: Race to the BCS: rankings, in-game scores & blogs Bar-right-arrows

Immediate USC Post Game Thoughts Thread

Script_cal_tiny by HydroTech on in Football

Put your post-game thoughts here.

This game came down to Cal's offense versus USC's defense.  Our defense kept the game winnable for 3.75 quarters.  Our offense just needed to score. 

As back breaking as the ineligible receiver penalty was - I think it was the right call.  It looked like Boateng and Ross messed up their alignment.  Boateng covered up Ross, and when Ross went down field, well, that was that. 

On the other hand, the phantom penalty was obviously an incorrect call.  Perhaps USC would have scored later on, perhaps not.  We'll never know.

But what we did do, was help ourselves lose the game.  We had 8 penalties for 50 yards.  Many of those penalties were on offense.  False start.  Holding.  False start.  Holding.  The list goes on.  We shot ourselves in the foot with a machine gun tonight.  We were fighting with one foot on offense.  It was ugly. 

Longshore was just okay.  He had a good completion percentage (11/15) but he threw 2 would-be INTs. 

Riley on the other hand, well, he didn't do any better.  He certainly gave more life to the offense and made USC's defense watch out for his running ability but he went into overthrow-athon mode tonight.  Quite a few throws were over thrown.  A few were dropped, a few were off target.  In general, neither QB was great.

Our OL played pretty poorly.  We had no running game.  The QBs were pressured...

Ugly all around on offense.

Well, let's stay sane.  This wasn't wholly unexpected.  This game was closer than Vegas thought it would be - we all knew that it would be. 

But the game really came down to Cal's offense versus USC's defense.  USC's defense won.

 

ADDENDUM

Apparently the "ineligible receiver downfield" was really an "illegal formation" penalty.  I concur.

Cal only had 6 men on the LOS.  Boateng and Ross were off the LOS (one of them should have been on the LOS), and thus Cal only had 6 men on the LOS.

Although it looked like Boateng got up on the LOS - he didn't do so prior to the snap.

0 recs | Comment 171 comments | Add comment

Read Related

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

easy

inept offense, solid defense that finally caved because our offense couldn’t move the ball.

“L”

We should all pray Pete Carroll will get run over by a 18 wheeler for CAL to win.

by ultraseven on Nov 8, 2008 8:19 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

I think the Riley is better than Longshore meme

Should die. Both quarterbacks were horribly below average. Neither were good. Neither gave us a chance to jack squat.

by LeonPowe on Nov 8, 2008 8:24 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

er

neither gave us a chance to DO jack squat.

by LeonPowe on Nov 8, 2008 8:25 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

No no, according to many of the fans here. Only Longshore could have won the game for us. Surely they know what they are talking about. Surely Longshore is the best Cal QB ever!

"I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose."

John F. Kennedy

by CaliSeth on Nov 8, 2008 8:27 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

STFU. They both suck.

by BeastMode on Nov 8, 2008 8:27 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Way to go smart guy! Calling our QB of the future a POS is really positive thinking. Damn, you are really a great guy! YEAH!

"I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose."

John F. Kennedy

by CaliSeth on Nov 8, 2008 8:28 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I didn’t see Mansion, Bridgford, or Sweeney mentioned ANYWHERE! What are you talking about? XD

by BleedinBlue on Nov 8, 2008 8:29 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

OK, here’s your positive spin: It didn’t matter who the hell we started, both guys have equal strengths but in different areas. Happy?

by BeastMode on Nov 8, 2008 8:29 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Let’s stay calm, guys. The whole offense played like crap. Let’s not just pin this on Longshore or Riley. Neither QB played great, and neither did the entire offense.

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by HydroTech on Nov 8, 2008 8:29 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Agreed. Still lots of drops, lots of bad routes. Not recognizing blitzes. False starts. AND, poor QB play.

by BeastMode on Nov 8, 2008 8:30 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

not the WHOLE offense

Tucker had a suhWEET game.

The Bear will not quit, the Bear will not die

by Calfan on Nov 9, 2008 11:13 AM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Mommy, daddy, stop, please stop!

by BleedinBlue on Nov 8, 2008 8:27 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

the entire offensive squat

needs to go back to basics and learn how to pass, catch, and block, and perhaps suck a lollipop. I only hope most of the key players on D will stay next year.

by ultraseven on Nov 8, 2008 8:26 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

I'm OK with the loss but...

Will this damage Cal’s psyche for the next several games? I don’t want to see a repeat of last year where the team folded after losing to OSU.

by Tizoc on Nov 8, 2008 8:28 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

Nah. I have Big Game tickets. It’s impossible.

Regardless of how anemic our offense was this game our D played spectacularly. I’m sure our O can do enough, and our D can score some TD’s too, for the last 3 games.

by BleedinBlue on Nov 8, 2008 8:30 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Dude, it was the 1st and 20s which totally murdered us

And some inaccurate throws to open receivers

...nuh nuh nuh gone

by Thoroughbred on Nov 8, 2008 8:29 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

Riley is the future. Period.

I challenge anyone to say otherwise. I’m waiting…

"I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose."

John F. Kennedy

by CaliSeth on Nov 8, 2008 8:29 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

no no no, Beau Sweeney

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by HydroTech on Nov 8, 2008 8:30 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

scratch that

It’s all about Bridgeford

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by HydroTech on Nov 8, 2008 8:30 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Hmm. Maybe. Look, I hate to argue. We lost, OK? We lost this game. Blaming it on Riley is beyond Laughable. It is contemptible!

"I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose."

John F. Kennedy

by CaliSeth on Nov 8, 2008 8:31 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

And not recognizing Riley’s flaws are just as bad as Longshore’s is laughable.

by BeastMode on Nov 8, 2008 8:31 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I give up. I feel like shit. What do you want me to do? We lost. Period. We lost this game. We have to try to pick up the pieces and move on. While not waving a flag of surrender, I am offering détente.

"I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose."

John F. Kennedy

by CaliSeth on Nov 8, 2008 8:34 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Man, I just really wanted this. We all did. Nothing we can actually do. Let’s just hope they pick up the pieces, and our receivers and Riley improve. We still have a Holiday Bowl in our sights.

by BeastMode on Nov 8, 2008 8:37 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Amen

"I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose."

John F. Kennedy

by CaliSeth on Nov 8, 2008 8:41 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I think we played just well enough to win.

Two bad calls separated this from a 10-6 Cal lead going into the 4th. Just too many mental mistakes all over the place. Cignetti’s got some ’splainin to do.

Oh, and our O-line inexperience finally cost us.

by BearsNecessity on Nov 8, 2008 8:29 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

I think you hit the nail on the head. The false starts and other penalties plus sacks were pretty much on the O-line. Ah well, maybe next year.

by sec119 on Nov 8, 2008 8:37 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

if everything went our way (nd many things did) we could have won. But plain and simple, we got outplayed.

by Moscow Doug on Nov 8, 2008 8:37 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

We out-penalized ourselves for the loss

I think Riley will get better with experience. I’m definitely not giving up on him. Just show up for us next week kid; our D will keep us in it!

This was Riley’s first half at the Coliseum… it was daunting I imagine

...nuh nuh nuh gone

by Thoroughbred on Nov 8, 2008 8:32 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

help

I’ve lived in Russia for more than 3 years, and I’m moving back to the states on Nov 20th. I want to go to the Big Game, and there are apparently tix available. But I went to the Cal website and they wanted $66!!! Seriously? Is that what tix cost now? Or should I try to get a scalper at Shattuck BART?

by Moscow Doug on Nov 8, 2008 8:34 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

Since it is in Berkeley this year, you may have to pay that. Last year at the farm it was a graveyard.

"I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose."

John F. Kennedy

by CaliSeth on Nov 8, 2008 8:36 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

In Soviet Russia, tickets buy you

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Nov 8, 2008 8:58 PM PST to parent up reply reply   1 recs

It’s pretty close to what the true price is. The season tix were $300 or so, and if you consider supply/demand for the Big Game vs. the other games, that sounds about right.

by sec119 on Nov 8, 2008 9:02 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

THE COVER AND THE UNDER FOR THE WIN!!!!

We played admirably against ‘TEH BEST DEFENZ EVAIR’ … Let’s win out with some pride!

...nuh nuh nuh gone

by Thoroughbred on Nov 8, 2008 8:37 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

we need a different mentality

it’s not “protect riley”, its do what it takes to win. riley was cleared before the game…START HIM!!! Longshore is crap…and Cal lost this because of coaching decisions. Not to start riley, and not to request replay on sc’s touchdown at the end of the half. concussion are recoverable. start your best players. end your caution. don’t get too sensitive on me bears….

by oski4u on Nov 8, 2008 8:40 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

This is just silly. Riley had plenty of chances the second half, and he failed to capitalize. While I’m not blaming the loss on him, to pin this on coaching suggests that Riley didn’t have an opportunity to win the game, when it’s quite clear he did.

by sec119 on Nov 8, 2008 8:41 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Hmm, I would respond, but I am already too beaten down by the rest of the Longshore lovers. So you’re right! It’s all Rileys fault! HE SHOULD HAVE WON THE GAME!

"I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose."

John F. Kennedy

by CaliSeth on Nov 8, 2008 8:43 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Hey, take this play off, CaliSeth. Maybe take the whole night off.

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

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 8, 2008 8:45 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I'm Gone.

Keep up the Riley bashing! You guys are doing a great job!

Ciao!

"I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose."

John F. Kennedy

by CaliSeth on Nov 8, 2008 8:46 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Thanks! I’ve been working on my Riley bashing all day long.

My newest claim: “President Obama shouldn’ts it down with Riley without preconditions!”

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

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 8, 2008 8:47 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Phantom Touchdown II

Wow! Two phantom touchdown victories for $C now.
First of all, I’m very proud of how the Bears played tonight. Our defense won against their offense, and looked absolutely great. Kudos to Bob Gregory AGAIN. AND, Cal won the special teams matchup as well. To blame Riley for the loss is just plain stupid. Totally agree with the decision to start Longshore (based on preparation) and start Riley 3rd quarter — he made things happen. Again, again, AGAIN this loss belongs at the feet of the offensive coaching staff (including Tedford):
1) Tedford just hasn’t figured out how to use the challenge (basically, he sucks at it and needs to correct it). This is not just a one time thing, this is a pattern. On a scoring play like that, pull the trigger on the damn challenge!!!!!!! Notice how Carroll doesn’t have this same problem. (That being said, I think Tedford will improve on this)
2) I’ve basically said this a bazillion times this year, but to make Riley a pocket passer is just plain stupid, and that’s what Cal did with its play calling in the second half. If you’re gonna do that, ya’ might as well leave Longshore in the game.
3) Not enough touches for Jahvid. If the run game isn’t working, then throw him the ball.
Go Bears!!! The players have nothing to hang their heads about.

by RickySanchez on Nov 8, 2008 8:58 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Run game not working b/c of O-line. Some of the sacks were pseudo-sacks b/c of coverage and/or bad decision-making. Regardless, the USC D-line came to play and we couldn’t do anything about it.

by sec119 on Nov 8, 2008 9:00 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Disagree

Run game not working because of 1) too many 1st and 15 and 1st and 20’s, and
2) Not enough variety in play calling (gotta use the counter pitch play; gotta get Will more touches; gotta get designed runs for Riley).
The O-line was solid against a phenomenal front 7. Pass protection was outstanding. Jahvid came one finger tackle away from breaking one at the LOS.

by RickySanchez on Nov 8, 2008 9:03 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

All those 1st and 15’s or 1st and 20’s? They came b/c of false start’s and holding’s on the O-line. That’s why I say the O-line had the most responsibility for the loss in the game.

by sec119 on Nov 8, 2008 9:06 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Fair enough

But didn’t seem like Cal had any more stupid penalties like that than the usual. Just seemed like the officials called holding a little more than usual (on any given play ….)

by RickySanchez on Nov 8, 2008 9:11 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Speaking of which...

Did you see the hold on Hagan on $C’s 2nd touchdown that they missed???

by RickySanchez on Nov 8, 2008 9:15 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

At that point, I was too depressed to pay detailed attention. We always play USC close, but we can’t finish. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

by sec119 on Nov 8, 2008 9:17 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Ain't that the truth, brother

At least I didn’t make the mistake of watching this in a sports bar with $C fans per usual. (I feel for ya’, Twist…)

by RickySanchez on Nov 8, 2008 9:20 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I specifically say that I’m not blaming the loss on him. Your response speaks for itself.

by sec119 on Nov 8, 2008 8:51 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Despite the loss, I’m proud of this team. They kept it close for nearly the entire game. Our defense kept trying to hand us the game on a platter, but we’d drop the platter or have the platter thrown a little too far over our heads. Our offense played how we all expected them to play against one of the nation’s top defenses: inconsistently. Both QBs had their chances and neither could really do anything with it. Of all our losses so far this season, for me, this one stings the least.

ಠ_ಠ

by Berkelium97 on Nov 8, 2008 8:40 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

AGREED

Arizona stings much much more.

...nuh nuh nuh gone

by Thoroughbred on Nov 8, 2008 8:43 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

BENCH RILEY!

"I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose."

John F. Kennedy

by CaliSeth on Nov 8, 2008 8:44 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

It's all his fault! He ALONE lost this game! I knew Cal grads were smart, but you've proven it tonight!

"I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose."

John F. Kennedy

by CaliSeth on Nov 8, 2008 8:45 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Often times when my parents fight it starts like this:

Mom" We should do A."
Dad “We should do B.”

Then they fight for a bit and then become sarcastic and bitter and start going:

Mom " We should do B. I didnt want to do anything important today, anyway. Lets do B."
Dad “No, lets do A. You want to do A. Why do I have any power in this? A it is.”

Seth, do you want to be my parents? You have a cohice in all this. You have a choice.

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

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 8, 2008 8:46 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Wow. It’s like we lead identical lives.

http://mymindgrapes.wordpress.com

by 408 on Nov 8, 2008 9:48 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Are you my dad?

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

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 8, 2008 9:57 PM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Well, then, how come you want to do B so much?

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

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 9, 2008 7:43 AM PST to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I watched it at a local sporting bar. It was fun, but hte loss sucked.

Of curse, USC fans being as they are 2 harassed me on the way out. As I turned to leave one girl said “Are you happy for the USC win?” I said “Yes, even thouhg I wore my Cal hat and Cal jersey, I was, of course, rooting for USC to win. I don’t know why I wore all this Cal stuff even though Im a USC fan.”

And then on the way out I looked n the directions of a USC fan and then turned to say Bye to a friend. The USC fan, apparently thinking I was trying to dodge him, said “I see you over there! You cant hide from me!” Luckily, we were walking the EXACT SAME DIRECTION HOME! Ai! Awkward!

I tried to laugh it off, but found out that a)hes happy he didnt go to Cal bc he doesnt want to be a hippie and b)Berkeley girls are ugly. I was going to mock his girlfriend, but she, trying to root on USC and yelled “GO UC!” It was more than enough to keep me from jumping in.

I would have been a LOT better with thia loss if I wasnt harassed by all these fans on the way out, merely minding my own business.

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

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Nov 8, 2008 8:45 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

a loss against sc stings the least...

i disagree…raise your expectations!!! we determined our own destiny!!! stop sounding like the hilary clinton of the sports world! fat, ugly, and complaining! let’s win!

by oski4u on Nov 8, 2008 8:46 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

STOP THIS STUPID RILEY vs. LONGSHORE SHIT...

It’s hard to do anything with 1st and 20s… Penalties murdered us.

...nuh nuh nuh gone

by Thoroughbred on Nov 8, 2008 8:46 PM PST reply reply   0 recs

proud of the team?

There’s no moral victory. It’s a loss, a “L”. It doesn