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The Bears did manage to get the W. But it was touch and go there for a while as to whether or not that W would actually come, which really should not be the case against an out-manned FCS opponent. And while the game was still competitive heading towards the 4th quarter, big plays (a pick 6, KA21's DeSean fumble punt impression for a TD, and Lasco turning on the jets) sealed the deal for our beloved Bears and they got their first victory of the season and in newly redone Memorial.
The responses this week were not as numerous as last week, but the same undercurrent of dissatisfaction and frustration, both with the coaches and the players, was clearly evident. Most bemoaned a lack of focus and concentration while there were again calls for Tedford's job. It seems it was pretty clear that the Bears need to tighten up all aspects of their game ahead of a big road trip next weekend.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to fill out a report card and type some thoughts. You can check out all of the usual features of the report card including your comments after the jump. Also, a reminder to please leave a handle if you want your comments used. You can still vote without a handle, but if you don't have a handle your comments will not be included. GO BEARS!
| Category | Average Score | Standard Deviation |
| Pass offense | .490 | .190 |
| Rush offense | .620 | .175 |
| Pass defense | .370 | .187 |
| Rush defense | .547 | .230 |
| Special teams | .549 | .223 |
| Coaching | .342 | .208 |
| Overall | .445 | .178 |
| Win probability at tOSU | 15.5% (-23.4%) | .159 |
Berkelium97: Wasn't this supposed to be our cupcake game? Look at those scores: what a mess! If we looked this bad against Southern Utah...well, it's best not to think about the next two weeks.
Our standard deviations were much larger than usual for all the categories. This game was a bit of a rorschach test--how you grade the game depends on which parts of the game you focused on. Some hammered the Bears for turnovers, penalties, and sloppy play against an FCS team. Others were pleased that the Bears put in a dominant 7 minutes to start the fourth quarter.
Let us hope Tedford is pulling a Rex Ryan and we come out like gangbusters against tOSU. Otherwise, it could be a long, long season. We're obviously not feeling too great about a trip to Columbus (really, who could be excited about a trip to Ohio?). Our chances against the Buckeyes have fallen from 38% to 15% in just two weeks. And Ohio State hasn't even looked that good so far this season!
Let's hurry up and get to the awards; these numbers are too depressing.
Awards
Editor's Choice Awards:
NONE. This game clearly sucked the enthusiasim and creativity out of you all.
Fortunately we have our trusty triumvirate of awards. First is Tedford's Sunshine Pumpers, which recognizes those who viewed the game through rose-colored glasses.
Tedford's Sunshine Pumpers:
| Tedford's Sunshine Pumpers | Total Score | Percentage |
| 1. GuMiBears | 5.00 | 71.43% |
| 2. TheHaywardFault | 4.83 | 69.00% |
| 3. minesweeper | 4.80 | 68.57% |
| 4. unclesam22 | 4.72 | 67.43% |
| 5. Flag Guy | 4.60 | 65.71% |
You all clearly only watched the 2nd and 4th quarters. Well, except for the last half of the fourth quarter. And the hail mary in the second quarter. Wait a minute...are you sure you guys actually watched the game?
Old Blues:
| Old Blues | Total Score | Precentage |
| 1. BALLZ | 0.00 | 0.00% |
| 2. gobears58 | 1.20 | 17.14% |
| 3. Fire Tedford | 1.60 | 22.86% |
| 4. resbear | 1.90 | 27.14% |
| 5. ososdeoro | 2.10 | 30.00% |
Come on, BALLZ, it wasn't that bad was it? Okay, maybe it was.
Finally we have The Voice of Reason, which goes to those whose grades were closest to the community average.
The Voice of Reason:
| The Voice of Reason | Deviation |
| 1. puhi | 0.075 |
| 2. BandAlum | 0.085 |
| 3. hardtobecalfan | 0.088 |
| 4. OskiPower | 0.095 |
| 5. freshfunk | 0.096 |
hardtobecalfan is always among those who are closest to the group as a whole. I'm sure we can all identify with the fact that it's hard to be a Cal fan. Nice job, y'all. We had a wild set of grades, so your achievement is all the more impressive this week.
And now, on to your comments:
Gameday Experiences
Jacob s.: Rent out the stadium to the 49's
OskiPower: In the student section, we honestly stopped caring about being loud. This was disheartening as hell.
Rollonyoubears111: There were far fewer people in attendance with enough seats open around me to kick up my feet. Again, I think the micmen are totally off temp and don't have a feel for the crowd. A 9 year old girl in section TT did a far better job in pumping up the crowd.
prd74: Pac12 Network, DirecTV, Cal football - huge sucking sound makers
SanMateoBear: Great new stadium, unfun experience. Incessant ads blasting at us - its 3 hours of annoyance.
resbear: Surprisingly good attendance, although I'm sure the free tickets helped...
CalBandGreat: Everyone likes to take shots at Twist, but I got to say I really enjoy spending pregame with him. Dude is funny. Also, I ate the most incredible sandwich ever created at the tailgate today. It was comprised of two waffles, crispy fried chicken tenders, a shit load of bacon, cheese and like a cup of syrup. No matter what happened on the field, I won today.
Storky: Illegal streams suck. Why can't the Pac 12 just have streaming-only accounts? I am not going to pay thousands of dollars a year for TV I don't want just so I can watch a few Cal games a year. I'd maybe even shell out $100 for the Pac12 network, but as it stands, the Pac12 network is getting $0 from me. (Unclesam22 note: I completely agree!)
Maxdarkfire: While the Cal game was streaming at our bar in DC, EVERY other TV in the area was out due to massive storms and tornado watches. It was awesome to not even have a hiccup with the stream.
Mallrat92204: Busby's West in Los Angeles, come watch with us if you live down here. We've turned it into a Cal bar, they even ordered Time Warner so they could have the Pac-12 networks!
Pass Offense
GuMiBears: Our receivers are pretty darn good. Either the Oline needs to step up or Maynard needs to throw better or both.
TheHaywardFault: Started off shaky, but overall Maynard had a very consistent and impressive stats. Couple of missed easy throws though
Rollonyoubears111: Maynard needs to calm down and go through his reads better. Don't know what goes through his head, but missing class may be a red flag. Anyhoos, tedford needs to chill on bubble screens because our wideouts still need to leard how to block or at least build a bit more bulk to handle the job. After maynards int, I am predicting a losing season. Me so sad.
fuzzywuzzy: Harper! Needs to be able channel the Fantastic 4's stretch guy if we wanna have half a chance against at least half of the Pac12
resbear: The stands collectively quiver in fear when the ball leaves Maynard's hand
Flag Guy: Missed some easy throws but overall looked liked the strongest part of the offense. Pass protection still needs work.
Bear in Chicago: Kline plus Harper plus Treggs equals distant hope.
BandAlum: accuracy still an issue, more consistent than last week
Oaklandishbear: If you just looked at Zach's stats without seeing the game, you'd be OK with it. But his misses were horrendous and the interception was inexcusable. Our QB play still isn't where it needs to be, and may never get there. Gotta love Chris Harper, though. The kid is good, and he along with Treggs point to good things in the future. Oh yeah, the O-line is not good.
Run Offense
PleaseNoMore: U FUMBLE BRO?
gobears58: go Lasco
puresilence: It looked okay.
freshfunk: Sofele good. CJ OK. Freshman need to work out some kinks.4Ever Golden: FEED ISI, honestly no idea why he only had 5 carries agasint nevada
Bear in Chicago: Start Cochran and Tagaloa. Their experience will be useful to Pete Carroll.
BearPharm: Much better, although still started very slowly. Has to continue to improve greatly over the next few weeks.
Nor-Cal Scott: Considering it was an FCS foe, we should have crushed them in the trenches. This does not look good headed to Cbus.
Pass Defense
hardtobecalfan: we keep letting them convert 3rd and long and that awful hail mary :(
Cannonbear: I feel like we played way too much zone, and every time we did, we got picked apart.
SanMateoBear: Once again, an opposing QB looks like a Heisman candidate (except for the bad pass to Anthony).
Wyfind: Why did we allow a FCS team to make such long completions, with receivers sometimes wide open? This will bite us HARD in the future if we don't fix this! But yay for the pick-6.
Swamphunter: Sads, of couse, this QB was pretty damn good overall so whatever.
ososdeoro: Way too few passes defended. Three of the first four of Sorenson's passes should have been caught, one of which would have set them up nicely to score
BandAlum: d-line not getting home, drop into zone = open recievers
Run Defense
fuzzywuzzy: Improved, but it's the Thunderbirds.
puresilence: It did alright. Have to make those tackles and stop them though. They got extra yards a few times on some poor play.
4Ever Golden: id like kahri Fortt to come play soon...
Swamphunter: About a million times better than last week.
ososdeoro: Anything I could say would only be theoretical, since it is only by faith that I can suppose one exists in the first place.
Mallrat92204: They did their job, 2.3 YPC against with no big runs. It still seems like they under performed because in the past I feel like we've held past FCS teams (Presby, UC Davis) to even less rushing yards.
Special Teams
kidnebraska: i don't think "muff punt, return for TD" is in the playbook, but, hey, i'll take it. otherwise, poor.
npyoung35: Good to know Vinny's range is 47' 2".
Cannonbear: I can't tell if Keenan's return made up for how bad our kickoff coverage was during the first half. That whole side of the field? Naw, we don't need to have anyone there.
puresilence: We give up far too much yardage during kick returns. We will get burned by it against the much better teams we'll be facing soon. Also, it's good to see a punt return TD. It's been a while.
Storky: Except for KA21's return (which was crazy enough that it hardly counts as a sign of competence), they continue to put the "special" in special. I don't think I saw a Cal kickoff that SUU didn't return past the 30, and the lucky bounce on the FG is not a good sign - I don't want to count on luck for the special teams because as a true blue, I know that won't end well.
Coaching
OskiPower: I'm done with Tedford's playcalling. I did like the screens that they kept going to, but they won't work against better teams. And the team just isn't disciplined enough. Our hands were slippery and our team wasn't tight.
Oski Disciple: Consecutive time out calls followed by a procedure penalty. Pappy spun in his grave.
Wyfind: We should go for it on 4th and short, especially against a FCS team. Stop being so damn conservative! Similarly, Maynard does well passing on the run and through play action. We need to play to our players' strengths and abilities. I want to see more roll outs and play actions. We also need to run more, especially when we have great backs.
Fire Tedford: Fire Tedford
puhi: at least they decided to run the ball this week
Nor-Cal Scott: Considering it was an FCS foe, we should have crushed them in the trenches. This does not look good headed to Cbus.
Overall Performance
TheHaywardFault : Nice to see the Bears turn things around at half, but Cal's D (secondary) looks BAD. No way they should of put up 31 points against us..even against our backups.
prd74: Couldn't even play our backups for any meaningful minutes. Regardless of the score, coaches and team failed.
hardtobecalfan: our offense barely outscored an FCS offense. our defense gave up 31 to an FCS offense. i'm truly worried where we will find our next win.
Oski Disciple: It's a win which as long time Cal fan I'll never ever take for granted. But we've got to do better to beat anyone else on our schedule.
npyoung35: Braxon Miller ran for 141 and 3 TDs today for the Buckeyes. The praying has begun in earnest.
freshfunk: It took 1.5 quarters to find a groove. Hopefully it won't take so long next time. NEED TO WORK ON LESS PENALTIES!
CalBandGreat: The score does not indicate how sloppy this team looked. This is going to be a looooong season.
Flag Guy: Sometimes they look amazing and other times I'm just embarrassed at the sloppiness.
Oaklandishbear: Meh. This may be our only win this year. The game was too close for far too long and relied on big plays to secure the win. We won't win like this against tOSU or in Conference. We don't look prepared and we still aren't executing well enough.