Golden Nuggets: Colorado Buffaloes Coach Jon Embree on Cal

Today we look at how new Colorado coach Jon Embree is preparing his team for the Bears.  He is not focusing on the revenge or redemption aspect following last year's blowout loss.  Instead, he just wants his team to do its job without any distractions.

On California

"I watched the Fresno State game. I thought they did a very good job on the defensive side. I think they do a good job in playing to their strengths on the corners and trying to force some one-on-one matchups. They got good pressure on the quarterback. They showed a couple wrinkles from a pressure standpoint that I didn't see from their last year. Offensively, [QB Zach] Maynard did a good job with his legs, and did a good job of giving his receivers an opportunity to catch the football. I thought the kid showed tremendous resiliency, his second pass is basically a pick-six deep in his own territory and he shook it off and bounced back and did a good job in leading that team the rest of the game. They are a very good team. A team a lot like us, they have a lot to prove. I don't think they were thought of very highly before the season started. I know Jeff [Tedford] is a very good coach. I think Jeff does a very good job in tailoring his offense to his quarterbacks or his tailbacks. Factor in what happened last year; we have a tremendous task in front of us."

On what he saw from last year's Cal game

"Lack of effort, that disturbed me the most. I don't feel that we competed very well last year. I felt like we were just hoping for the clock to run out so we could get off the field. That is what it looked like watching it. I think when you talk to the kids, they will say similar things about their effort or lack of effort in that game and they were embarrassed about it."

On Cal QB Zach Maynard and how he compares to Hawai'i QB Bryant Moniz

"Moniz is a stronger runner than Maynard. Maynard, once he gets going is probably faster. The thing with Moniz that gave us issue is that he was stronger and we over-pursued a couple times and he was strong enough to run through arm tackles and obviously make some big plays. Maynard does a good job in getting on to the edge and he is more deceptive because of his long stride and all of that. Once he gets it going, he takes off. He had a run against Fresno, I think it was about a 50-yarder and that was pretty impressive to watch him go." 

After the jump Colorado may play without its best offensive lineman, Colorado struggles to sell tickets for this weekend's game, and the Bears earn a vote in the coaches' poll.

Football

• A phoenix rises from the ashes: Cal received a vote in the coaches' poll.
• The Bears opened as 3.5-5.0 point favorites over Colorado.  The line has moved to 5.0-6.5 with an over/under of 48.5.
• JO reports from Sunday's practice with some interesting quotes from Sofele.  Ordinarily, Sofele gets mad when quarterbacks throw interceptions.  On Saturday, however, he was not mad when Maynard tossed the pick.  Sofele says Maynard's confidence helps build confidence throughout the team.
• JO has more postgame quotes, featuring Zach Maynard, Mychal Kendricks, Steve Williams, Cecil Whiteside, Trevor Guyton, and Matt Summers-Gavin.
• In his "Pac-12 Rewind and Look Ahead," Ted Miller says the Bears were the conference's most impressive team last weekend.
• Marvin Jones was among Sports Illustrated's draft risers after Saturday's performance.
• Wilner gives the Bears a B for Saturday's performance.  The blocked PATs, pair of turnovers, and eleven penalties prevented him from giving Cal a higher score.
• The Bears moved up to 5th in Ted Miller's Pac-12 Power Rankings.
• Tedford discusses injuries, special teams, and the Colorado altitude during today's practice.
• In addition to suffering through the tutelage of Steve Marshall, Colorado's O-line may play this weekend without its best lineman, David Bakhtiari.
• Colorado still has 7000 tickets left for this weekend's game.  For a stadium that only seats about 53k, that is a substantial number.