Golden Nuggets: Cougar Week Kicks Off! Me-OW!

Clearly most media outlets aren't nearly as excited (yet?) about Cougar Week as I am, because I could only find one tidbit related to Cal-Wazzu:  Cal is favored by 35.5.

JO has Tedford's post-game comments.  He also has comments from Riley, Jones, Kendricks, Gregory, Best, Vereen, Jones, and Hagan but I don't have room for all of them.  It's a great insight into how the team felt about the win, the heat, and various position battles.  Here's a sample of what Tedford said:

On what he liked the most from the game

That it was a team effort. We made a lot of plays on both sides of the ball. We played really well together. That was the main focus going into this game. Our preparation the last two weeks was that we needed to stick together. As naysayers and critics step up, the people in that locker room are the ones who believe in each other. I thought we did a nice job of playing hard for each other. I was pleased with the way the guys hung in there. They kept battling. They were answering and making some plays of their own. Nobody ever panicked. They just hung in there and kept playing hard.

 

On managing the heat

We played some different players at times, just to make sure we kept people fresh. Shane was getting a little worn down. Jahvid was hurt at halftime and wasn’t ready for the first series or two. It was great to see Jahvid come back. It was important that we try to keep people fresh.
...

On huddling the team together before the fourth quarter started

The last two weeks, we really focused on being together and owning the fourth quarter. The message right then was now it’s the fourth quarter and we need to own it. Play together and have each other’s back the whole way.
...

On the importance of the first drive

It was just one drive. You can’t get too high after one drive, but to go down and put points on the board was a nice way to open the game. But there was still a lot of football  left so nobody was too giddy about it. We went about business as usual.
...

On the dynamics of the bus ride

We were able to meet for an hour on the bus. Everybody was loose and relaxed and we watched two movies, and then we were there. It was easy.

 

On what movies they watched

"Shooter," is that a movie, with what’s his name? Wahlberg? The second one was some Western.

After the jump I have a ton of stories about the game, including health updates on Syd and D'Amato, grades for performances, player-of-the-week awards, and a look ahead to what Cal has to do to regain some national respect.  I also have recaps from the rest of the weekend in Cal sports.

• JO talked to Sandy Barbour after the game and learned that Cal didn't have to pay for an extra (Thursday's) night at the hotel.  JO also believes the cost of lights may have been why Cal didn't televise this week's game (since they wouldn't have received any extra revenue from Comcast anyway).
• Syd should play this weekend, but D'Amato's status is uncertain.
• Bryan Anger was named the College Football Performance Awards' punter of the week.  Best and Vereen were honorable mentions for running back of the week.  Bryan Anger was the Pac-10 special teams player of the week.
• Cal moves up to 5th in Ted Miller's Pac-10 power rankings.
• Rob Calonge talks about what Cal will have to do to earn national respect again (hint: it's a 10-2 record).
• Dr Saturday gives Cal some love: Cal won "Best School Spirit" in dismantling the Bruins and praised the Vereen-Best tandem.
• Buster Sports gives Cal a B, but says Best has to get better.  Unless they think Best can steamroll through 8 guys, I'm not exactly sure why they're blaming Best for his recent struggles.
• Monty picked up a 6-10 250lb player who will redshirt this year due to transfer rules.
• No. 3 Washington swept No. 15 women's volleyball 3-0.  Cal followed up with a sweep of their own over OSU.
• No. 2 men's water polo defeats No. 16 Santa Clara 13-9.
• Bad weekend for No. 10/13 men's soccer: they fell 1-0 to No. 2/4 UCLA on Friday and were upset 2-1 in OT by San Diego State.
• No. 17 women's soccer rallied to force OT, but ultimately lost 3-2 to No. 9 USC.
• Three second half goals allowed field hockey to cruise to a 4-1 victory over Pacific.
• Women's tennis senior Kasia Siwosz captured the White Flight singles title at the 2009 St Mary's Invitational.
• No. 7 women's golf finished tied for tenth at the Stanford Invitational.
• Women's cross country finished 13th and the men finished 18th at the Pre-National Invitational.