Cal-Utah Report Card: Defense, Bears! Defense!

Berkelium97: So close. So very close. No, I’m not talking about how close Utah was to the game-winning touchdown. I’m talking about how close the passing offense came to being dethroned in this week’s grades.

Pass offense has rightfully dominated all other categories for every game this season. Technically “Overall” was higher than pass offense, but that is not a category that pertains to a specific unit on the field. So it doesn’t count. What is even more improbable than our much-maligned run defense nearly earning higher marks than the pass offense is that the special teams grades were even closer! We’ve had countless complaints about both units this season, but both turned in great performances on Saturday. Pass defense earned a solid score and the coaching grades were quite positive despite some questionable decisions at the end. And look at those OSU predictions! We’re feeling pretty good going into Corvallis to take on the Pac-12 bottom dwellers.

Awards

We won, so we’ll first recognize those who handed out the highest grades.

Sonny Delight

It was such a great win that I’m handing out an extra award this week! Mostly because there was a 6-way tie for perfect scores. Keep on pumping that sunshine! Just missing the cut this week was “I got 99 problems but defending the goal line ain’t one,” who gave grades of 99% in every category.

Sonny Yikes!

Now let’s recognize the Oldest and Bluest of the Old Blues.

I think calgoldeneb02 must have had the Pac-12 Now app crash when trying to watch the last series. At least, that’s what happened to me. THANKS LARRY SCOTT. Fortunately I only missed the incomplete pass on second down and was able to get it restarted in time to catch the final play of the game. That probably cut at least a year off my life expectancy. After calgoldeneb02, everyone handed out scores above 50%! And three of of you tied for third, so no one finished fourth or fifth. Clearly there were no losers this week. Except Utah, of course.

The Voice of Reason

Finally we highlight those whose report cards were closest to the community average.

What an intelligent and attractive group of VoR winners we have this week! And I’m not just saying that because I finished second among them.

GoldenBearsBandwagon: Up and down, up and down, up and down we go. Let’s see what people think this week (especially of Coach Dykes’s decision to not call timeout in the last 2 minutes).

Gameday Experience

@Broden_Duff: Lots of red. Mostly quiet. Thank god for beer.

Sacman701: I take these games too seriously. I end up yelling at the tv which is very undude.

J.lee: Get loud!

Hardtobecalfan: most stressful and exhilarating win yet

Uthaithani : How can you not love a game like this? Homecoming, top 20 opponent, and of course it comes down to defense making TWO huge stops in the fourth quarter after spending the entire game on the field.

Hire Les Miles as a clock management consultant: You know you've been watching a Pac-12 game when both fan bases have legitimate reason to think they were screwed by the officials.

Justbear: I had a heart attack. Again. And it wasn't even a shootout nor Pac12 after dark.

PoohBears: Perfect weather! Homecoming! Half empty stands! $20 million deficit. Cal football!

Harmonpreservationsociety: Weak fan support. ESPecially weak on the alumni side (see what I did there?) The playing of Hells Bells on 3rd down made my guts roil (since that's the same hacky shit that USC and LJSU do as a substitute for actual fan interaction. The current crop of mic men have a lot of room for improvement.

Oski Disciple: Wow. Great atmosphere, the fans really got behind the team. I love the 3:00 starts, in this case the game ended at dusk and the walk through campus with the Cal band was gorgeous.

One nitpick, can students please arrive before the Cal Band takes the field, makes it so much more powerful.

Bowlesman: Same cardiac event, different outcome- this time. Hurray, but, seriously, this torture. I embarrassed to say it, but I turned it off when Utah had their last First and Goal. Was it a breach of my faith? Or a wise management of my expectations and health?

Young_bear: Announcers kept talking about how long Utah drives were taking the Cal crowd out of it, but the crowd was big at the end, even causing a questionable Utah timeout.

BTown85: I made an appointment for a pace maker……

Nor-Cal Scott: We went to Tailgate Town for the first time in 3 years. What a joke. $9 beers and basically no food. Not even a hot dog. I'm sure the Utah Alumni Association looked around and laughed at Cal.

1988goldenbear: OMG WHAT AN AMAZE-BALLS ENDING TO AN AWESOME GAME! Crazy beautiful weather at Memorial, what a great day.

Wiata78: Was at the Giants game so missed the first quarter. Then I didn't have cable access, so I watched from my iphone, and the Pac12 app was flakey. Plus, I wasn't able to post to CGB. But I got to see the win, so I can't complain!

Pierrezo: DEFENSE! I'm so happy for them. They needed a boost and it doesn't get much better than a goal line stand to win the game.

I was sitting on the goal line in EE. Amazing view of the last play (although partially obstructed by the tv camera crane). Crowd was jumping and screaming. I'm so pumped and basking in the afterglow.

Referees tried all they could to give the game to Utah. Fair refereeing and California manhandles Utah. : Excellent weather. Not nearly enough California fans in the stadium.

Too many red shirts in the crowd: embarrassing.

But a great last second, last play win forgives a lot of sins and makes it a great day!!

OsoDeOro83: At home, finally PAC-12 HD!!!! Thank you! I had my doctor on speed dial JIC and I almost punched it several times!

JoJoSungy: PA announcer needs to prep more. Kept calling Vic Wharton "Luke Rubenzer".

Student section filled up with only a few rows empty. COME EARLIER FOLKS.

The Athletic Ticket office was kind enough to exchange my tickets for an ADA one. I was able to sit with my wife in Section D first row (she was in a wheelchair). I wasn't too thrilled about not seeing the whole field, but man did I get to see the plays that counted the most at the end.

Pass Offense

Heyalumnigo: Robertson and Hansen are studs. If you double Hansen Robertson is gonna burn you. Still can't believe Utah played press coverage with just 1 safety over the top. (didn't see the 3rd or half of the 4th so maybe it wasn't all game)

THANKYOULOONEY>NOTHANKUREFSPAC12: We've seen better. Webb is trying too hard. Just take the yardage that the defense gives you so that they don't have time to adjust~! I liked how we stopped calling WR screens after the 90th time of its failure.

Sacman701: Good. Not consistent, but we burned Utah with enough deep balls to make the difference. Just one sack, 8.7 yards per attempt, and even the pick wasn't too damaging because it was a deep ball on 3rd and long.

LeonPowe: More subdued than normal for the Bear Raid. Still 4 touchdowns by Webb Hansen and Robertson is pretty damn good. Just not living up to their own high standards though.

CALiforniALUM: Still some questionable run calls in passing situations.

Harmonpreservationsociety: Since the jet sweep we're running is technically a pass, I have to say I like the way we mixed up the play calling. I like that we went away from the bubble screen after it got sniffed out a couple of times. I like that Robertson got some looks downfield. The pass protection was adequate, and Webb's one interception wasn't costly.

Thrasher: Encouraging to see Robertson starting to emerge as another viable option. We all figure Hansen's numbers would drop once opponents started paying more attention to them. However, kudos to Hansen who still pulled down two TDs to a near 100 yard game. And Robertson's emergence now should keep defense honest, opening up more for all the receivers to cash in on the bounty of passing opportunities

Oski Disciple: Four TD passes. Webb wasn't perfect, the O-Line had a few leaks but we got the job done. Robertson's about to go big time and teaming with Hansen and Stovall we're about to really light teams up.

2004-present: Good overall, though I would like to see other receivers besides Hansen get involved. Too often the passing game has disappeared for stretches when defenses figure out how to contain him. Robertson did help with that today though. Davis Webb also made a few more questionable decisions for someone with NFL aspirations but I'm mostly nitpicking at this point.

FiatLux - I am so thrilled with that game I will not let the ridiculously inordinate size of this box annoy me: They weren't out there long but it was beautiful. I just love watching Webb's throws arc and then land in the arms of the receivers in stride.

Also, every time Hansen catches yet another TD my friends all comment on how that must annoy some CGB readers who think we go to him too much :-)

Mitchgobears: We use the sidelines well but not the middle of the field.

Wiata78: Inconsistent but will likely get better.

Referees tried all they could to give the game to Utah. Fair refereeing and California manhandles Utah. : Outstanding when it counted. The side line pitch-screen got no where and now is too predictable by opposing teams. Need to dial this play down more until the surprise factor returns. Webb threw only one meaningless interception.

OsoDeOro83: While I get the Bear Raid is an up tempo deal, we really need to pay attention to the end of the game and how much time is on the clock. Three and out's are brutal and killing some clock could pay dividends at the end of the game and give some bear fans some cardiac relief.

JoJoSungy: As much as we had explosive plays, I want to see more consistency from Ray Hudson and Brandon Singleton. Our O-Line protected really well when it had to. Have to stay out of 2nd/3rd and long for the offense to work instead of trying to bail out of long distance.

Chad Hansen and D Rob - FANTASTIC. Stovall - INSANE. VWIII - Welcome back!

Run Offense

THANKYOULOONEY>NOTHANKUREFSPAC12: Mediocre at best, but I don't mind it. We need to do more. Watson was great on RB screens.

ABVidale: Utah has a stout rushing defense; our running game did just enough to keep them honest.

FrmrG8r: Great in spurts. Kept the Utes off balance for awhile. Too many holding calls!

Justbear: Without Khalfani, Watson did a nice job. Vic needs to step up.

PoohBears: This line is fair, at best.

Thrasher: What more can be said? Anemic, but with spurts of promise. More importantly, I felt like the run did just enough to take the pressure off of the pass.

BTown85: It was totally THERE !!!! Except when it wasn't…… I guess I'm baffled by how we can drive down the field on one possession and then go 3 and out on the next (or not get very far). Mostly our run game was great and kept us balanced.

Mitchgobears: Unproductive, but necessary.

Goldenlikethebear: We need more of this.

1988goldenbear: Really missed Muhammad out there. Cal offense took what they were given and kept throwing to single coverage, and the run game did just enough to keep the Utah defense honest.

OsoDeOro83: I felt like we gave up on the run too early and tried to reinstate it later so kudos for doing that but then went for the quick score via the air on the last possession. Touchdowns are absolutely necessary but we need to see the big picture and kill some clock after a first down. It kinda sends the signal that our defense can't hold but when you give the other team 4 plus minutes at the end of the game, are we really helping our defense?

PRD74: I liked the pitch out to the tailback. Different. Nice. The rest was kinda of meh.

JoJoSungy: Need to limit the < 1 yard gains.

Made sense to stop running and use the RB as an extra protector on the speed guy and use our WR speed against their defense. Totally circumvented the D line.

BearOnAMesa: Started slow and worked up to a lazy amble. Pretty much a non-presence for much of the game. Any news on when Khalfani will be back? Please?

Pass Defense

Sacman701: Pretty good for the most part. The pass rush could have been better, but there weren't any egregious breakdowns. Utah ended up around 6 yards per attempt.

LeonPowe: Man, those PI penalties were pretty iffy - especially that goal line on Marloshawn Franklin.

Drayden stepped up and played well in Allensworth's absence. Huge break up of the 2 point conversion in the 4th quarter.

Kam should've had a pick and ended that game early.

FrmrG8r: Too soft. Although it is tough to cover when you are tackling RBs all day.

Old Bear 71: Yep. Refs tried to give Utah the game. But the guys , our sturdy Golden Bears got it done when they had to.

J.lee: Solid I guess, but hated the huge cushions our dbs were giving Utah's receivers

Thrasher: Expected good results against a team not known for much passing. However, giving up those long passes in the second half and the passing TD doesn't add much confidence to the D. Don't expect the same kind of results when top notch teams like Washington or even Oregon come along!

Oski Disciple: Weren't facing a great pass offense but did what they needed to and didn't give up any big plays.

2004-present: Okay. No big gashes but often gave receivers too much separation off the line. And that PI nearly ruined everything.

FiatLux - I am so thrilled with that game I will not let the ridiculously inordinate size of this box annoy me: I've been saying all year the defense has been not only "not terrible" but has been perfectly defense. They have been getting better and better and once again they totally showed up yesterday. Just a thing of beauty.

1988goldenbear: Good effort, good tackling for the most part. We were fortunate that Utah's QB didn't have a great day, but maybe that's at least partly due to our secondary.

JoJoSungy: Josh Drayden - way to step up young dude. Sure got beat on a few but never got broken for a big play.

I wish our secondary would turn and look for a ball in the air sometimes - there were some where the ball would be closer to where they're angling but they run towards the WR rather than look for the ball.

Run Defense

Heyalumnigo: Had the 2 plays of the game!

Slaphancock: Dear run defense. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. You're the best! I heart you forevs! That time when I was like, "another 4th down? ugh." Well, I was wrong! And that other time when I was like, "1st and goal from the 2 with 20 seconds? Welp, we lost." I was wrong then TOO. There is so much mud on my face that I could start a petunia garden on my forehead. But once those petunias bloom, I'm going to tie them up with a ribbon and give them all to you. Because you're the best!

Sacman701: Pretty good considering how long the defense was left on the field by the offense's inability to make first downs at times. Tackling was much improved: the longest run we allowed all day was just 13 yards. Line push often wasn't all that good and we were poor in short yardage situations...until we got those big stops on the 2 drives at the end, when we should have been most tired.

LeonPowe: Awful . . . until they weren't. Looney was getting penetration all day - and it paid off in the end.

FrmrG8r: Completely inept... Until it mattered. Throat slash, really???

Two YUGE stops!

Loonie !!!!!

CALiforniALUM: Luckily this game played straight into the run. We knew what was coming and we picked our spots to win the line.

Georgia-bear: signature victory for our defense

Hardtobecalfan: let them convert way too many 4th downs early on, but all is forgiven for that final stand!!

Harmonpreservationsociety: It felt like we were giving up solid yardage on every run, but the stats didn't bear it out. We didn't give up any long runs, and we locked it down when it mattered most.

Thrasher: Wow, what a shocker! Until that last goalline stand, I had the run defense as expected, letting the Utes pile on yards like a given. But actually, the first 4th and 1 stuff at the latter end of second half revealed that this D actually has some guts. And then to pull off the goalline stand as time expired...man made me sweat a ton. Even my 5 year old son couldn't contain his excitement!

2004-present: Outstanding day for this unit. They went up against one of the most physical rushing attacks in the country and outplayed them at their own game. An enormous step forward for a rush defense that has struggled so much this year to stop the run.

Dbromn: Wow, did the defense show heart. 97 plays defended and they won the game with a goal line stand.

Pierrezo: Looked ugly for a while. Some long, sustained drives. I'm not sure they need to pass the ball.

Referees tried all they could to give the game to Utah. Fair refereeing and California manhandles Utah. : Did outstanding at the end when it counted. And they did this under extreme adversity.

BearOnAMesa: YEAAAAAAAAHHH BOIIIII

Most improved unit, hands down. Got bulldozed on two painfully long drives but still ended up holding Utah to 3.3 yards per carry, as well as being the first team to stop the Utes on 4th down this season. Oh yeah, and they won the freakin' game. My only concern is that they don't get too cocky going forward.

Special Teams

FrmrG8r: Very solid for a change. Great kick coverage. Nice to see someone else miss a FG for a change.

CALiforniALUM: Definite improvement over previous years.

Uthaithani : I can't remember a season where I've felt this good about ST play. Maybe it's the depth of talent?

I got 99 problems but defending the goaline ain't one: Did special teams even play today? I like when I don't know

Justbear: Utah kicker missed a FG? How is that even possible?

Utah kicker kicked off and the ball went out of bounds? How is that even possible?

Oski Disciple: Didn't play a huge factor but the kicking game and coverage was good.

BTown85: I don't remember, which means they did a good job!!!!

Mitchgobears: Thanks for making kick offs much less stressful.

Nor-Cal Scott: If you can't remember anything about special teams it means they did a good job. No punt returns and only 3 kick returns. Klumph is solid.

1988goldenbear: Solid play, not much to complain about. Good length on kickoffs by Beito. I still don't understand what the heck happened on the punt return - that block in the back seemed so blatant.

PRD74: In the world of Superman comics there is the Bizarro World. "Us do opposite of all Earthly things!!" Yesterday, the special teams play of both Cal and Utah switched places like they were in the Bizarro World. Utah kicks out of bounds for a penalty, Cal kicks them deep into the endzone. Automatic Andy misses a field goal. Bizarro World Cal Stadium announcer says that the return man was Luke Rubenzer (actually was Vic Wharton III) and never corrects himself for the entire game.

Coaching

Heyalumnigo: I thought Sonny made a mistake letting the clock run down

THANKYOULOONEY>NOTHANKUREFSPAC12: Whittingham is a great coach. Dykes is Dykes. I think our D will jell notwithstanding Kaufman after this win.

Sacman701: I think the decision not to call time outs at the end was correct. Utah had all 3 of their time outs until the very end. If we start calling them with 2 minutes left and then get a stop (as we would have had if not for that damn PI), then Utah can burn theirs and get the ball back with over a minute left.

ABVidale: A good job!

LeonPowe: Nothing awful .. . except the very very very very very very very very very very very very very very questionable time out strategy at the end of the game.

FrmrG8r: Hung in there. Big pelotas at the end not taking a timeout

Old Bear 71: Got it done in spite of the bogus calls by the refs.

CALiforniALUM: Lots of hand ringing over whether Sonny should have called a timeout, but I'm not so convinced that stopping things benefits our defense as much as one might think. In fact it puts the pressure on the offense to be ready - which they were not. The was the equivalent of a safety blitz by the coaching staff (bring the heat when it is least expected).

Hardtobecalfan: i was questioning dyke's time management at the end, but it worked out beautifully

Uthaithani : Give credit to both teams' coaches, that was a well-coached game on both sides. And Dykes came out ahead, so major credit.

Sacramento Bear: The coaches did an outstanding job getting the team ready after ASU.

Why didn't SonnyD use his timeouts in the last 2-3 min when Utah had the ball? Always use your timeouts on defense to preserve time, not offense. If Utah had scored, no time for Cal to come back.

Hire Les Miles as a clock management consultant: Despite Dykes graduating with honors from the Les Miles school of late game clock management, Cal somehow managed to win.

Justbear: I still think not calling timeout and letting clock keep running was a bad decision by Dykes. Especially at 4th and Goal. He should have called a timeout and stopped the clock. If they scored TD, we need time for our offense. If they fail, then we win the game, with or without time left in the game.

Well, turns out Utah got 1st down on PI call. Still, bad clock management.

Harmonpreservationsociety: It was a gamble on the part of Dykes to let the clock run on Utah's last possession, but the defense (eventually) prevailed, making coach Dykes look smart. True to form, we bent, but we didn't break, and everything paid off.

Thrasher: Gutsy call by Dykes to let the time run out! That was truly a gamble for the ages. I'm sure had Utes scored, we would have questioned everything Sonny Dykes did...but because the gamble worked, we're here to praise his decision! Hey that's life in college football. Live or die by the calls! Kudos to Sonny Dykes for what I think is perhaps one of the gutsiest calls in the last 10 years of Cal football.

2004-present: Not impressive. I get that you want to give the defense a potentially enormous moral victory, but you can't put THE ENTIRE OUTCOME on the line just for that. There's being gutsy (think Raiders vs. Saints) and then there's just being reckless. A coach's job in game managing is to give his team more chances to win, not fewer. This decision needlessly took away a chance for Sonny's guys to go win the game in the event they gave up a score there. Not smart at all. On top of that multiple silly penalties nearly cost us the game before that-something you can't do against this kind of an opponent and expect to win consistently.

BTown85: I love the Sonny Dykes victory celebration !!!!! I never know how to rate coaching, but generally liked the play calling, mix of runs/passes, when coaches were fired up (stupid penalties or bad calls) and when they didn't, so good job.

FiatLux - I am so thrilled with that game I will not let the ridiculously inordinate size of this box annoy me: While I was questioning it in the stands, turns out to be an INCREDIBLE bit of COACHING by Sonny to not use those times out at the end. The defense knew it was on their shoulders and they didn't shrug.

Also, for as much as we love "go for it" coaches (and I do too) it totally cost Utah yesterday because had they kicked that Field Goal earlier on instead of going for it and failing on 4th down, that game could have been very different.

Nor-Cal Scott: Poor clock management at the end of the game. On the last 3 & out series one play still had 20 seconds on the clock. Had Webb taken down to 1 second that's 19 less seconds Utah would have had meaning my blood pressure wouldn't have blown up at the end.

Great shuffling of the D-linemen to keep them fresh. NINETY SEVEN plays. 97. Again, 97.

1988goldenbear: I thought Coach Dykes was going to get skewered on CGB for not calling time outs on the last drive, but with the 4th-and-11 PI in the end zone it turned into a moot point. I still think it was a mistake, but it all certainly played out well. Great calls on offense to keep toasting the Utah secondary.

PRD74: How can you not rate them a 1.0? From the huge ballsy play calling to the recruiting of DRob, Webb, and Melquise, this group deserves a high five this week from all of the fans at the stadium whose palms are bruised from high fiving everyone within arms distance.

BearOnAMesa: Sonny after the game: https://youtu.be/Wlf0PBO1ed0

Yeah it won the game but not calling time outs at the end had me screaming at the screen. We still need to see better in-game adjustments too.

Overall Performance

Heyalumnigo: We won!!! With our D!!!

THANKYOULOONEY>NOTHANKUREFSPAC12: What a great win for the Bears, with the GRIT with which we won. It wasn't finesse, it was grit. I LOVED IT.

@Broden_Duff: C- We totally shouldn't have won the game, but who cares!

Sacman701: We were a bit lucky to win, as we were a bit lucky to beat Texas and a bit unlucky against SDSU and ASU. The defense appears to be improving, this was the first game where they didn't crumble against either the run or the pass.

FrmrG8r: How does a team lose every statistical category, including plays, time of possession (2.5-1), yards, turnovers and still come away with a win??? This one is inexplicable. Came up big when it counted. Fantastic win against a top 20 opponent. No one unbeatable in the PAC12 this year.

Hardtobecalfan: i'm so proud of our defense. they believed even when i doubted. the symmetry between this game and how we failed to score on our last chance at utah last year.... Redemption.

Harmonpreservationsociety: Scary. Watching our offense string together nothing but 3-and-outs for 30 minutes was worrisome. Our defense is thin and weak, and it leaves me wondering what we could do with even average talent and depth along the line and at LB. That said, defense won us the game. Solid win. Go Bears!

Thrasher: Someone please install a defibrillator in my heart! I can't take this roller coaster anymore! I will say one thing...because I know that the offense can score, it has added such an excitement to every game...that on any given night, we can probably shoot it out with the best of them!

Oski Disciple: Wow. Such an atypical Cal victory with the defense providing the heroics at the end. A real gutty performance with just enough spectacular offense sprinkled in. We've got a special team that fights back against adversity. This is a team which is really going to demonstrate that the Bear does not quit and the Bear does not die.

2004-present: As many issues as there were today, this was an enormous win-probably bigger than the Texas win. Not only did we beat a ranked team that this time likely isn't fraudulent, this is the first time in the Dykes era we've outplayed a physically dominant team in the trenches. Of all the great things Sonny has done in his 4 years here, we've never seriously contended because good teams consistently school us at the line of scrimmage. But this time we finally broke through! Big step in the right direction if we can stick to that blueprint.

Dbromn: The offense needs to be able to sustain some drives to let the defense catch their breath. Quick strikes and 3-n-outs is going to wear our defense into the ground.

Mitchgobears: Congratulations to the CAL defense. The Bear will not quit, The Bear will not die! I probably will from a heart attack during a CAL game.

1988goldenbear: Love this team, there is no quit in them. Offense took advantage of the looks, and we look like a very dangerous team now that DRob is getting into the flow. Defense is looking up and this has to be a fantastic boost to their collective confidence, great job by Coach Kaufman to coach them up after a painful loss last weekend.

OsoDeOro83: We are improving in all phases overall but we have got to avoid the 3 and out's in consecutive series. It sometimes kills an entire quarter. We have gotta work on the finer details like avoiding bad penalties. Giving the other team a fresh set of downs near the goal line is like playing 52 card pick up!

BearOnAMesa: Defense gets better every game. Offense seems to function in a boom-and-bust cycle: score a touchdown or stall out in the first 20 yards. Coaching still has me tearing my hair out.

Cal finally seems to be rising to the occasion in big games. When we play well, like we have at home we can hang with just about anyone.

Thanks again for stopping by, and hope to see you back next week!