California Golden Bears 52, UC Davis Aggies 3
by Avinash Kunnath on Sep 4, 2010 8:15 PM PDT
in California Golden Bears Football
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PrintKeenan Allen's debut album at Cal made sweet music at Memorial Stadium.
After the Golden Bears fumbled on the opening drive, Cal's offense steamrolled their northern UC counterparts for 35 unanswered first half points and coasted to a 49 point victory over the Aggies. Much of that was due to Allen's big plays, utilizing his size and athleticism to simply speed past overwhelmed Aggie defenders. He had one big touch on each of the first four scoring drives, racking up 99 yards and a touchdown on two rushes and receptions.
Kevin Riley completed his first nine passes and finished with three touchdown throws on 14 completions, and Shane Vereen notched up three touchdowns in a modest performance (14 carries for 67 yards, 2 receptions for 28 yards). The Cal defense dominated the line of scrimmage, allowing only 14 rushing yards on 19 carries, 81 yards overall on 45 offensive plays, and four first downs.
Congratulations are in order for Jeff Tedford, who becomes Cal's third winningest coach with 68 victories, passing Pappy Waldorf. He trails only Andy Smith and James Schaeffer, but could pass both this season with seven more wins.
More details after the jump. (Also, keep on filling out the CGB Report Card.)
Let's start with the defense, because we'll ignore them otherwise. But the defensive line looked absolutely solid. On one play, Deandre Coleman literally barrelled the offensive lineman backward that he ran into the running back and brought him down for a loss. Coleman finished with four tackles to lead the linemen. And he's only on the second unit. Cameron Jordan, Kendrick Payne, Ernest Owusu started, but Aaron Tipoti, Coleman and Trevor Guyton all got plenty of time up front..
Cal's linebacking corps showed marked improvement in both run stoppage and pass coverage. D.J. Holt was particularly impressive, breaking up two passes and making some good open field tackles. Keith Browner got a sack off the edge. Mike Mohamed again led the team in tackles with seven. The Aggies got a first down on the first play from scrimmage. They didn't get another one until the third quarter. Cal's front seven dominating UC Davis's offensive line wasn't exactly a huge surprise, but it was a nice sign. Good start for Clancy Pendergast's unit.
On special teams, Giorgio Tavecchio showed remarkable improvement on his kickoffs, and the Bears kickoff coverage was much improved. Other than one possession where UC Davis took advantage of a celebration penalty and a kickoff from the 20, UC Davis started their first possession on average on their own 21 yard line. Encouraging signs for those looking for kicking improvement under Jeff Genyk.
Riley looked much improved in his footwork, and showed off some nice throws. He showed off his improved short inside throws by firing a couple slant routes to Marvin Jones, including one for his second passing touchdown. He still made a few mistakes (overthrowing to the sidelines on an out route to Allen). Jones had another strong performance, with 5 catches, 81 yards and a touchdown. He found Vereen on what looked like a similar play to the USC 2008 tying-touchdown-that-never-happened-because-of-mysterious-penalty (fake the screen, find the running back in the corner).
Cal's offensive line remains an enigma--although the Bears got 242 rushing yards, they needed 47 carries to get there. Vereen averaged an average 4.8 yards per carry, although he did get two goal-line scores and manage to bounce off of first contact pretty easily. Isi Sofele had a few more dynamic carries with 52 yards and a big 17 yard scamper on Cal's first drive, where he literally rebounded off of Aggie tacklers and kept his feet moving for more yards. But all the shifting and shaking on the line after Matt Summers-Gavin's departure did seem to cause some problems because I never felt the offensive line dominated the run game like they used to.
But the story on offense was Allen. KA21 started out with a 17 yard run where he burst through the Davis linebackers. On the next drive Allen caught a short pass at the line of scrimmage, then scorched his way for 19 yards. He would catch two simple slant routes from Riley and turn them into 45 and 49 yard footraces respectively (the second a touchdown).
And the play of the game was where Allen rolled right on what looked like a designed wide receiver throw, but then he saw plenty of blanket coverage back. Seeing this, he tucked it in and cut it back the other way to the other side of the field, running diagonally to the end zone and barely being touched along the way. Allen had 4 catches for 120 yards, and I'd say 90 to 100 of those yards came after the catch. It's been a long two years without YAC, and it's nice to see it back.
Beau Sweeney was a little bit shakier dropping back to pass. He did complete 6 of 8 passes but for only 29 yards, often choosing the safe option (although I'm guessing Tedford and Andy Ludwig emphasized no turnovers). What was most impressive was his running ability, where he rolled out on 4th down and goal, faked out the defender, did a few stutters near the goal-line, and then dived to the end zone to make it 49-3. He had a few more runs on his final offensive drive, rushing for thirteen yards on two consecutive plays and again made plenty of defenders miss on the way.
Other than a fumbled center-to-quarterback exchange between Chris Guarnero and Riley, the bizarro celebration penalty on Allen (high-fiving fans in the stands is apparently an egregious offense) that ended up leading to the Aggies only points, and Riley and Allen failing to connect on one or two completable pass patterns, it was a solid victory for the Bears.
Just remember: The victory was against UC Davis. So at best, it's just a dress rehearsal for the rest of the season. Unless UC Davis was a budding juggernaut that wins the rest of its games by a combined 500 points, we've learned very little about our team.
Well, outside that Keenan Allen is as good as advertised.
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Great Write-up
I agree with just about everything here. The defense and offense both looked great, and Keenan Allen is my new favorite player. But we will see how this team plays against tougher competition.
I was super impressed with Keenan Allen as well, but I must disagree with Avi on that long ball just off his fingertips. I’m in section F, and it looked to me like he ran slower than max speed from the first, then saw the ball in the air, and sped up to full speed, but it wasn’t enough to catch up. If he had just flown from the beginning, he would have got it easy.
OTOH, I think this was maybe because earlier Riley slightly under through him on a long pass. Not a big deal, I think they’ll get better as the season goes along.
Am I known as Cugel the Clever for nothing?
It was a miscommunication by someone. I was pretty close to the play, and I do agree it didn’t feel like Allen was running in stride. But it could’ve also been slightly overthrown. Both are possible.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Sep 4, 2010 9:49 PM PDT up reply actions
I’m impressed you got a recap up so quickly considering you were there. I think I’m still recovering.
It should’ve been up earlier. I was distracted by the football on my TV.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Sep 4, 2010 9:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Thanks though!
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Sep 4, 2010 9:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Is the best news of the day . . .
a) Keenan Allen’s dynamism and talent?
b) Genyk’s improvement of special teams coverage
or
c) a win with no injuries (that I’m aware of, at least)!
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
I believe Jarrett Sparks was injured. I saw him taken to the locker room at halftime. But no official word on that yet.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Sep 4, 2010 8:46 PM PDT up reply actions
Jeff said post-game that the x-ray results were negative. It looks to be day-to-day.
"Today's weather, excessively violent with a chance of dismemberment. Tune in later for our 5-day forecast!"
~ Three Dog - Fallout 3
by Swamphunter on Sep 4, 2010 8:53 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Oh, we're total BFFs.
I wanted to take him out for a drink after the game but he had to get back home for some alone time with the Missus Tedford. I’m assuming because he just passed Pappy on the Cal all-time wins list.
"Today's weather, excessively violent with a chance of dismemberment. Tune in later for our 5-day forecast!"
~ Three Dog - Fallout 3
Hey man!
Thanks for the positive words, and looks like you guys took away a W as well, congrats! REALLY looking forward to the game next game next week :)
Hope the leg’s feeling better!
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
Look at this retarded comment by an Aggie fan:
I really am more interested in, why can Berkeley recruit all these out of state kids and we, apparently, cannot or do not. Do they pay the $26,000 out of state tuition fees out of the athletic budget, or not? If yes, then I inderstand. Does Berkeley use the 5% "under represented" loophole to get all these kids into UC in the first place? At the expense of non-athletes? If so, we really should know about that or is this just "something we do not talk about." The incredibly different demographics on the field today re: two UC football teams just screams to be addressed. Either they are doing something way bad, or we are out of touch with reality. Call your local AD for the answers.
In other words, Go Bears!
Answer this question with another question:
Q: What do a UC Berkeley and a UC Davis student have in common?
A: An acceptance letter to UC Davis.
by danniedarko on Sep 5, 2010 2:16 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Tough to read anything at all into this kind of win
But two things I took away to go with my sunburn:
1) The change in special teams looks legit. The kind of improvement that will probably save at least one game this year.
2) I basically never pay attention to recruiting and such (I know, I’m a deviant, esp. being from Alabama) but this Allen kid basically reduced me to one of the barbershop guys from Coming To America. “THAT BOY’S GOOOOOOD!! HE’S GOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!” If he does that against $C and Oregon and etc. he may be at risk of being nicknamed Sexual Chocolate. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to have a home-run-threat playmaker.
Also, for those going to Memorial: the entrances are a bigger show than ever with the construction, so don’t dawdle if you want to see pregame. The rule on bottles this year is no opened containers, so if you have to bring your water bottle, bring it sealed before you get there and open up later.
Furthermore, a 12-oz Nalgene flask of bourbon will go unremarked upon if you keep it in the hip pocket with your shirttail out. Just sayin’.
Finally, nothing against Davis – whose fans and band gave a yeoman effort today – but I hope this is the last we see of this kind of opener for some time. I don’t think playing I-AA opponents accomplishes much (except for the visiting program’s budget).
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
I’d almost forgotten what it was like to have a home-run-threat playmaker.
Remember this guy from last year?
I get what you’re saying though. Allen looks special.
by atomsareenough on Sep 4, 2010 11:12 PM PDT up reply actions
Touche.
Although it seems like Best didn’t get nearly as many breakaways last year – I seem to remember a big blast against fUCLA but it seems like once he was the starting tailback, he didn’t get as many of the “put him somewhere on the field and just let him create” kind of plays.
I wonder if Detroit will risk letting him return kicks?
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
I don’t think playing I-AA opponents accomplishes much (except for the visiting program’s budget).
1) We start the year off with a win. NEVER a bad thing.
2) All the other kids are doing it, and sadly, that’s reason enough to do it. You don’t start off the season with either a big OOC game or a gaudy win, no one’s going to pay attention to you.
3) Gets the players some always-needed confidence.
4) Gets the fanbase excited. More fan excitement means more word-of-mouth, and more word-of-mouth means more cheeks in the seats.
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
I guess a 52-3 blowout is exciting, but I’d prefer even a low-quality FBS opponent like Colorado or Maryland than an FCS team like Davis.
by atomsareenough on Sep 4, 2010 11:44 PM PDT up reply actions
Well, fortunately for you we have a low-quality FBS similar to Colorado coming up in one week!
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Here's another great reason to have scheduled this game:
Golden Bears happy to provide UC Davis much-needed football payday
Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour figured as long as the football program was offering guaranteed money for an opponent, she might as well keep it in the family.
The Bears open the 2010 season this afternoon against UC Davis, and part of the reason the Aggies are on the schedule is because of the state budget crisis.
UC Davis is getting $300,000 for the game, and Barbour is happy that money will be going to another school in the UC system.
“We agreed that it made financial sense,” Barbour said. "If you’re going to have a guaranteed payout, why not help a fellow UC school? It makes all the sense in the world.
“It’s the kind of thing we need to be thinking about.”
Just another reason I freakin’ LOVE Sandy.
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
Cosign
Tough to quibble with the logic – if Cal is struggling for money, I can’t imagine what it’s like for a non-BCS-level program trying to stay afloat. And if you have to play a game like this, I’d much rather play a team that’s part of the family (esp given the ties between the bands).
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
The more I think about it
The more I’m disappointed with the run blocking by the O-line. Sure it produced good enough numbers but for fuck’s sake this is Davis. These numbers are good vs a team like Arizona not UCD. We needed our O-line to simply blow their d-line away and open many running lanes. Vereen, Isi and co looked like they had to work for their yards.
In other words, Go Bears!
Hopefully a little MSG will spice things up.
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
by norcalnick on Sep 4, 2010 9:12 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs
I sure hope so but the more I think about it, the more disappointed I get. I should stop thinking
In other words, Go Bears!
I agree. The O-line and QB’s didn’t look as good as they should have. Maybe Tedford needs to stop having the line fielding punts for fun.
Because God forbid anyone involved with the Cal program forget that the fans have expectations, dammit.
"Let me tell you a story. I was a political prisoner for two years. The instant I was released I ran to McDonald's. I had a Big Mac and a Coke.
It was fantastic."
-Toyama Koichi, US Presidential candidate from Japan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGZqOkeYbB0
We had a saying when I was in school
If you have no hope, they cannot crush it.
I think it’s fair to say that the OL should’ve been opening up some bigger holes for the RBs to gain more yards from. Still, they weren’t bad or anything, just not as dominant as you’d hope.
by atomsareenough on Sep 4, 2010 11:45 PM PDT up reply actions
I guess I’m just trying to get a benchmark for what Cal should have done compared to what Cal did do.
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Do you want a YPC baseline? I don’t know if I could give you one. Really, just basing it on my perceptions of what I saw (and it seems like other people here felt similarly), the O-line didn’t really move UCD’s line around and open up huge running lanes. We were consistently gaining yards, but… it seemed like the RB’s really had to work for it.
by atomsareenough on Sep 4, 2010 11:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Do we know what the nature of the UC Davis’ interior defensive line running defense is?
Im not saying that we ran great through the tackles today. I saw a lot of the same stuff that you did. I guess I just lack the knowledge to say what the talent levels were on the our OLine copmared to their DLine and what we should have been doing.
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
It’s UC Davis. Of course I don’t have good perception of exactly how good their run D is. None of us do. But clearly the reasoning is that, well, they’re a middling FCS team, so one would hope we’d be able to have our way with them. I’m not particularly worried about this, and obviously it’s hard to find too many faults with a 52-3 shellacking, but if you’re looking for any areas of concern, this is one of the things that might be worth filing away under “things to keep an eye out for over the next couple of weeks”. I’m honestly not really concerned about our run game, as it’s been a huge strength for us pretty much the entirety of the Tedford era. I’m sure when MSG comes back, and as the team gets into the groove of the season, we won’t even remember this.
by atomsareenough on Sep 5, 2010 12:06 AM PDT up reply actions
Their two starting DT’s weight about 260-270 lbs each. And their best DT was out for this game.
We should have been able to blow them off the ball handily. I thought that we had some decent push on the left side of our line with Schwartz and Schwenke.
The 2nd TD drive that ended w/ Riley to Jones was dominated by Vereen runs. He was getting to the 2nd level pretty easily, but was running mostly left and up the middle.
I thought the right side of the line with Cheadle/Edwards didn’t get the same type of push. Perhaps that’s where a healthy MSG makes a difference.
After we were up 21-0, I think Davis changed their defense a bit. It looks like they were rushing a lot more guys both on run blitzes and to get to Riley. ’Could be why so many of them were out of position when Allen got the ball on both of his crazy-good TD runs.
Old Toothwrangler
"Will you marry me Keenan?"
In other words, Go Bears!
by royrules22 on Sep 4, 2010 9:12 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs
“Next year, I’ll take care of the offense. Get our freshman linebackers and the Grant Union defense for defense.”
by JoeCarr on Sep 4, 2010 9:31 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
“I am much better than you at playing football”
All aboard the Dasarte Yarnway Battering Ram!
by rollonubears on Sep 4, 2010 10:05 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs
“UC Davis. I see PAY DIRT!”
Go Bears!
by California Pete on Sep 4, 2010 10:53 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs
"Sorry, no hitchikers. "
CGB: Come join the LOLigarchy
by Spazzy Mcgee on Sep 4, 2010 11:33 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
For the last time
No, I don’t want my inseam measured!
California Golden Blogs! To be grammatically correct, it`s "Sacramento!", not "Sacramento".
by Maisbikkja on Sep 4, 2010 11:48 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions 4 recs
Forgive me, God, I didn’t recognize you in that football uniform!
Member of the Lost Tribe of Mooch
by katster on Sep 4, 2010 11:57 PM PDT up reply actions 5 recs
So, it’s jump step pop step thrust step lock?
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
by TwistNHook on Sep 5, 2010 12:08 AM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Based on the fact that pretty much every other suggestion is highly recd and green, I clearly failed here. I was attempting one of those dance routine lingos, but could not remember th elingo. I think the concept was there, but execution was clearly poor.
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Don’t worry about it. Volume comics like you are always going to miss on a few. Just be sure the batting average doesn’t dip too low.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
Have mercy on me!
Davis is right outside of Sacramento!
California Golden Blogs! To be grammatically correct, it`s "Sacramento!", not "Sacramento".
by Maisbikkja on Sep 5, 2010 12:12 AM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Off topic: Mike Tepper, Verran Tucker, and Worrell Williams were all cut day casualties. Williams is expected to make it to the practice squad, though, and a cursory scroll through the Cowboy’s SBNation blog gives the impression that Tepper is a borderline prospect as well. Nobody seems to miss Tucker from KC, though.
"Let me tell you a story. I was a political prisoner for two years. The instant I was released I ran to McDonald's. I had a Big Mac and a Coke.
It was fantastic."
-Toyama Koichi, US Presidential candidate from Japan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGZqOkeYbB0
Is it mean of me to say I understand about Tucker? We have a saying around the house when any receiver drops a well thrown ball, “damn, he just Tuckered it”. I hope Tepper & Williams find a place, they deserve it.
Am I known as Cugel the Clever for nothing?
Tucker was a dude who, when you think about it, did pretty well for someone who only picked up football in his senior year of high school.
"Let me tell you a story. I was a political prisoner for two years. The instant I was released I ran to McDonald's. I had a Big Mac and a Coke.
It was fantastic."
-Toyama Koichi, US Presidential candidate from Japan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGZqOkeYbB0
Tucker adjusted to Riley’s bad throws often and had a lot of great catches.
JRoss and Calvin have worse hands than Tucker
Calvin’s had what, like ten total career passes thrown his way? No way we can make that call…
CGB: Come join the LOLigarchy
by Spazzy Mcgee on Sep 4, 2010 11:34 PM PDT up reply actions
This
California Golden Blogs! To be grammatically correct, it`s "Sacramento!", not "Sacramento".
by Maisbikkja on Sep 4, 2010 11:49 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
After LaShaun Ward, I don’t know how you can give that phrase to anyone else….
by Missing Barry on Sep 5, 2010 11:46 AM PDT up reply actions
They opened a bunch of space on the east side that used to be I believe the weight room etc., and the views are just gorgeous. The stadium administrator dude roaming around stated that the space/views would stay open after renovation, I think the casual fan will be much more impressed with CMS’s location.
Awesome stuff.
Of Giorgio’s many non-penalty kickoffs, I think only one of them didn’t hit inside the 10yard line, and that one hit the 15. In fact, seeing his first kickoff hit the 5 was a happy way to start the season. Riley did well completing his passes, for the most part, whereas I think the praise for Beau Sweeney’s running ability goes hand in hand with concern about his decision making. Also, why was he trying to juke, dive head first, etc … ? Keep yourself healthy Beau!
It was hard for me to tell how the o-line was doing from the stands, but one thing I did notice was that a lot of Davis’ incompletions had less to do with the defense and more to do with the ball not being catchable either due to QB or receiver talent levels. Even though we usually had people in position, I don’t think any questions were answered about the secondary yet this afternoon.
Damn these FCS season openers for being such a tease!
The kicks looked different this year – must be a different technique?
It seemed like they were lower kicks, in general, but were also much longer (if this was a result if the lower kicking angle, I don’t know). The one kick that was higher, like they used to be, was also the shortest.
Either way, me likey progress.
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
I was really excited about the kicks. To the point where I think I drew a few looks from people nearby in the stands. The nice thing is that it does not seem like there should be any reason for improved kickoffs to not continue throughout the season, whereas other positives from today’s game are hard to judge in light of our opponent.
Yup
The opponent doesn’t influence how far you get the ball off the tee – and Forza Italia is definitely hitting it better than last year. I firmly believe that special teams improvement will be worth at least one win this year.
As for the Davis QB, I was told by one of the Aggies that their primary QB last year, who was quite a stud, dropped out of school to pursue a career in preaching, and that the replacement has only had fall practice with the first team. Couple that with them holding out their best back with a suspect leg, and I can see why a lot of passes were off-line or a bit short. He certainly puts zip on the ball, though – I suspect he will be a very serviceable QB given time to click with the receivers…
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
OL run blocking
……..was pedestrian at best….nice write up Avinash but that was the first thing I noticed.. especially between the tackles….our RB’s were fighting for every yard and no real holes opened up to any great extent….off tackle was better due to our speed….this really worries me because against Pac 10 teams, how are we supposed to open up holes when we weren’t doing it against UCD….don’t get me wrong, I loved almost every other aspect of the game….mostly ST’s and the way the LB corp covered ……and of course KA..but our run blocking was AVERAGE….at best
Two minor corrections:
First, I believe this was Tedford’s 68th win, which is a milestone because it puts him one ahead of Pappy Waldorf, who has 67.
Secondly, I believe Riley started 10/10, not 9/9. Just wanna make sure we’re pumping the right amount of sunshine! :)
1) Correct. Fixed.
2) 9/9 is what CalBears.com’s play-by-play says.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Sep 5, 2010 12:03 AM PDT up reply actions
You know what, I think that’s right after all. It was 9. The announcers obviously can’t count.
by atomsareenough on Sep 5, 2010 12:10 AM PDT up reply actions
CELEBRATE
CGB: Come join the LOLigarchy
by Spazzy Mcgee on Sep 4, 2010 11:36 PM PDT up reply actions
On my computer, mine showed up before yours. Both are at 11:42 PM.
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
When your mind syncs with Twist’s, does anyone win?
by atomsareenough on Sep 4, 2010 11:46 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Congratulations!
California Golden Blogs! To be grammatically correct, it`s "Sacramento!", not "Sacramento".
Now that I think of it...
Shepherd`s Pie might have been a good choice for the “eating the enemy” segment…
California Golden Blogs! To be grammatically correct, it`s "Sacramento!", not "Sacramento".
…how so?
Oh, aggies are cows, aren’t they? But they’re mascot’s a horse, so i got confused.
mmmmmmm, shepherd’s pie…
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
I was thinking Shepherd = Sheep and Sheep = agriculture.
I dunno. Made sense to me.
California Golden Blogs! To be grammatically correct, it`s "Sacramento!", not "Sacramento".
AAUUUUGH HORRIBLE GRAMMAR FAIL
Butthey’retheir mascot’s a horse
blaghlaghlagh i am so mortified :-(
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
I do agree re: Sweeney. Even though it was fairly limited passing action, I was not incredibly impressed with his abilities. Hopefully, Riley will stay healthy (knowck on wood) and it will not be a concer.
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Since it’s just garbage time and I’m assuming he’s playing with the second unit receivers and (more importantly) second unit O-line, it’s hard to get any read on his abilities. I’ll cut him some slack and keep in mind that he did lead a successful scoring drive and converted two 4th downs with his legs (a valuable skill).
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Sep 5, 2010 12:07 AM PDT up reply actions
I believe they said that Tedford kept the 1st unit O-line in for Sweeney and Sofele, at least for the first drive or two.
by atomsareenough on Sep 5, 2010 12:11 AM PDT up reply actions
As long as he runs to the end zone, I won`t complain.
California Golden Blogs! To be grammatically correct, it`s "Sacramento!", not "Sacramento".
Exactly. He stared down the guy he wanted to throw to on at least half of his passing attempts, and in at least one case missed someone who was wide open on the other side of the field.
You guys are inferring way too much from two and a half drives in a 40+ point game.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Sep 5, 2010 12:50 AM PDT up reply actions
Whoa man, chill.
Wait until we see him in a seriously competitive situation before we start making all these critiques.
Garbage time doesn`t tell us anything.
California Golden Blogs! To be grammatically correct, it`s "Sacramento!", not "Sacramento".
I don’t think the “chill” is really necessary. Saying he stared down receivers was not meant to trash him, but I watched his head not move on multiple pass plays, and I think looking at the field is something that he needs work on. I am hoping we have more situations where he can get in the game and get comfortable and develop that. I also hope that Tedford continues to let him have a chance to pass if we do have more games with large enough leads to take Riley out. I really appreciated Tedford doing that this game. Anyway, at this point, garbage time is all we have, and I don’t think it is unfair to state what I observed.
I would agree if you took away step 1. It was really only steps 2 and 3.
All aboard the Dasarte Yarnway Battering Ram!
by rollonubears on Sep 6, 2010 12:13 AM PDT up reply actions
it will not be a concer.
Has he been to the oncologist?
California Golden Blogs! To be grammatically correct, it`s "Sacramento!", not "Sacramento".
freshman
Any other of the freshman get PT or impress? KA is huge, but am hoping Coleman or Clay step up also; having one more weapon on offense or special teams can turn this team into a contender
Coleman Edmond wears #2, right?
I think he was in when Sweeney was QBing; I distinctly remember a play where Edmond’s knee hit the ground at the LOS right after catching a quick pass.
Yes, that was Coleman. Wark got plenty of time, blocked well, had one nice catch but fumbled. Forbes and Wilkerson both played a lot in the 4th. Wilkerson looked really fast. He had a couple of pressures.
Old Toothwrangler
by Kodiak on Sep 5, 2010 11:19 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Also, Coleman’s not technically a frosh; he’s a JuCo.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Sep 5, 2010 4:44 PM PDT up reply actions
The fumble wasn’t a fumble since Wark’s forward momentum had already been stopped (and really the only reason he didn’t have a knee down was because there was a Davis player in the way.)
"Let me tell you a story. I was a political prisoner for two years. The instant I was released I ran to McDonald's. I had a Big Mac and a Coke.
It was fantastic."
-Toyama Koichi, US Presidential candidate from Japan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGZqOkeYbB0
I put this in the othe thread, but here is the Cal All-Access Highlights of the game.
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Morning after thoughts...
I re-watched the first half while running this morning. Some stream of consciousness thoughts.
We started with a lot of double TE, single-back sets. Ludwig was pretty smart about giving Riley a steady diet of easy throws to build his confidence and rhythm.
Ladner was often used as an H-Back and did a nice job blocking. When Sparks was in, he wasn’t nearly as formidable as a blocker. (converted WR, so no surprise there) I could see Wark stealing his time simply from blocking ability. On at least two plays, Sparks completely missed his guy (the DE) and headed downfield…not sure if that’s by design or not. But, it gave the unblocked DE a clear shot on our RB’s. In both cases, Vereen and then Sofele made a great move and juked this DE. Against Pac-10 athletes, we would have been stopped for a loss.
The O-line didn’t perform as poorly as I thought. Cheadle did a really nice job getting out and pulling. We were generally successful opening holes to the 2nd level on the left because of this. We were not as successful opening large holes to the right, perhaps because Schwenke or Galas didn’t pull as effectively. It also looked like Edwards would stand up his guy, but never really blew him back. That worries me moving forward.
Also, Davis made a quick adjustment during our 2nd TD drive. After being gashed by consecutive long runs by Vereen, they started moving 8 and 9 guys in the box. We had a few runs stuffed for little gain because they outnumbered us at the point of attack.
However, the inside post from Riley to Jones for the TD was successful because there was no safety deep enough and that left Jones singled up on the outside.
Allen’s long TD run where he was supposed to pass was very well blocked initially, and also worked because they had too many guys overcommitted up close with no deep safety help.
One play that stood out in my mind as being beautifully designed and executed:
We went double backs, double TE. Motioned Sparks to the right side of the line. Then put Kapp in motion shifting strongside…looked exactly like the power strongside run we’d be running all game. Instead, Kapp fakes a counter run left, Vereen releases as a receiver, and Riley hits Allen on the deep out.
Old Toothwrangler
Whoops. Wasn’t quite done yet.
I was encouraged by the improvement by our LB’s in sticking their TE. After his initial completion, both Holt and Kendricks had him locked down.
Our safeties/CB’s weren’t challenged enough to have an idea of where we are. Whenever they threw deeper patterns, the CB’s were in good position. Conte was in good position on that one mid-ranged pass that went off Creadick’s hands. Hill was a little out of position on a 3rd and short out pattern to their WR that the QB just missed.
The fumble was after the exchange. Riley’s hands ran into Cheadle’s elbow who was pulling. I think I read that Tedford called this Riley’s fault for not having better ball security.
It concerns me when a senior QB forgets the snap clock or allows delay of game penalties.
Jordan had a monster game. He was consistently double-teamed but still shut down the run and lived in their backfield.
I really like how you could never tell how many guys were coming or from where.
Kickoffs that land inside the 10. Whowouldathunkit?
Old Toothwrangler
And last…on further review, Riley’s “struggles” in the late 2nd quarter weren’t totally his fault. (besides the penalties – those were on him)
Our running game temporarily stalled because they were putting 8+ guys in the box, or blitzing their safeties. That put us in 2nd/3rd and long.
Edwards single-handedly managed to kill one drive. On back to back plays, he whiffed badly. On 2nd down, he missed his block which let the DE crash and stop Sofele for a 3 yd gain. Then on 3rd down, he missed his block again which forced Riley to throw it away.
MSG…Paging MSG…
Old Toothwrangler
Great pictures taken from the game
Fairly high-res, too:
http://bearinsider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32589
i'm here to clean your pool but i don't have a pool *bowchica bowow*
I was most impressed with our speed
Sure it might have looked more impressive due to the lack of speed on Davis’ part but as I said in the game threads it was refreshing to see the corners and safeties (especially Conte) just fly to their assignments and whack whoever was unfortunate enough to be there
In other words, Go Bears!
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Golden Bears Football Schedule
| Fresno St. | Sat 09/03 | W 36 - 21 |
@
Colorado
|
Sat 09/10 | W 36 - 33 |
| Presbyterian | Sat 09/17 | W 63 - 12 |
|
@
Washington
|
Sat 09/24 | L 23 - 31 |
|
@
Oregon
|
Thu 10/06 | L 15 - 43 |
|
USC
|
Thu 10/13 | L 9 - 30 |
|
Utah
|
Sat 10/22 | W 34 - 10 |
|
@
UCLA
|
Sat 10/29 | L 14 - 31 |
|
Washington St.
|
Sat 11/05 | W 30 - 7 |
|
Oregon St.
|
Sat 11/12 | W 23 - 6 |
|
@
Stanford
|
Sat 11/19 | L 28 - 31 |
|
@
Arizona St.
|
Fri 11/25 | W 47 - 38 |
|
@
Texas
|
Wed 12/28 | L 10 - 21 |
Pacific-12 Conference Standings
(updated 1.2.2012 at 11:12 PM PST)
| North | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
|
Oregon Ducks
|
8 | 1 | 12 | 2 |
|
Stanford Cardinal
|
8 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
|
Washington Huskies
|
5 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
|
California Golden Bears
|
4 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
|
Oregon St. Beavers
|
3 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
|
Washington St. Cougars
|
2 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
| South | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
|
USC Trojans
|
7 | 2 | 10 | 2 |
|
UCLA Bruins
|
5 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
|
Utah Utes
|
4 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
|
Arizona St. Sun Devils
|
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|
Arizona Wildcats
|
2 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
|
Colorado Buffaloes
|
2 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
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