2016 Cal vs. WSU Report Card

Berkelium97: Remember when we beat Utah? That feels like ages ago.

The highest grade of the week was a 33% to a passing game whose statistics looked far better than the team actually performed. Despite giving up an “Oh, it’s going to be one of those nights” touchdown, special teams was the only other category to earn a score higher than 20%. As expected, our predictions of a Big Game win have plummeted. Our only hope is that, like so many voters last week, the Lobsterbacks stay home and are brutally punished for it. Even the jokes are depressing this week!

Cal lost (again) so we’ll start off with the worst grades of the week (again).

Sonny Yikes!

8-way tie for first! Mitchgobears barely missed the cut with a total score of 0.0000015873.

Next we’ll look at the best-worst report cards of the week.

Sonny Yikes!

Winbear leads the way with our highest score of the week. 40%. Four-zero.

Finally, we have the report cards that were closest to the community average.

The Voice of Reason

thebeer dethrones NinjaNed to top the standings this week. You know things are bad when Fire Dykes is a reasonable opinion to have.

Now let’s see how you felt about the game in words!

GoldenBearsBandwagon: After three straight losses, it’s not too hard to guess how most of the Cal faithful, myself included, feel this week.

Gameday Experience

AlwaysLookOnTheBrightSideOfLife: Really glad that i didn't travel to go see that in person. Kudos for those of you that did.

BearOnAMesa: I mentally checked out of this game around halftime.

WnatARoseBowlB4IDie: Glad I slept through most of it

Nor-Cal Scott: Popcorn, Cheez-Its, and an assortment of craft beer. Recliner was super comfy. TV remote worked well flipping to other (better) games in second half.

Winebear: I finally got to go to sleep before 9:30pm on a Cal football night!

I married a Longhorn: The late games are getting really old. I have stayed up to watch all of them, but they run past 1 AM here and that makes for a tough Sunday.

CoBears: I can't believe I kept watching it. Why do I intentionally hurt myself so?

Goldenlikethebears: I have a comfy couch, with booze and a nice place to cry.

1988goldenbear: Miserable game to watch from the start to the end. I must be masochistic to have watched the entire game. To be honest, I was waiting to catch a glimpse of Bowers...

Pass Offense

Sacman701: Moved the ball ok for the most part, but the pick was a killer.

AlwaysLookOnTheBrightSideOfLife: Broken record comment: why not give the backup QBs some playing time when the game is out of hand?

PRD74 : BACKUP QBS. Where the f*** are they? Makes no excuse that Webb stays in when the games are blowouts.

Sxz: David Webb was lucky he didn't end up with more inceptions

WnatARoseBowlB4IDie: Flashes of adequacy, line is weak

NinjaNed: I feel like our offense is incredibly predictable. Try to run outside, screen to any wide receiver, let Robinson run really really fast and hope he gets behind the defense. It's obvious the longer the season goes, the more film opposing teams have and hence why we seem to play worse and worse every game.

Mitchgobears: When will any of our other quarterbacks get experience? The game/season is done and let's start looking forward.

Zuzupetal: The big plays are scary and show weaknesses in opposing Ds.

Nor-Cal Scott: Webbs stats look good on the surface but if you watched the game you would have been disappointed. I know I was.

BTown85: It's our strength, and we looked weak…..

Skatethompson: As always - 3rd and 3 - 25 yard fade pass attempts are really the best example of inadequate play calling by the coaching staff.

I hate to say it, but I feel like the play callers - who have all grown up playing Madden - act like they are playing a video game.

Look, I drive a little faster on the road after playing Pole Position - but there are real world consequences.

Just because a 30 yard fade on 3rd and 3 works on Madden does not mean it translates to the real world.

I married a Longhorn: A few nice long balls, but wasn't consistently effective.

BrooklynBear: Somethings I'm noticing but unable to track down any stats on. 1st, in Coaches Spavital and Dykes' offense, when a WR makes a catch, he typically comes out for the next play. Hansen substituted for Wharton (from my view) on 6+ of his catches. (A) Are our WRs unable to make the next play without rest? Gabe Marks hardly came out. Cracraft (pre-injury) barely came out. (B) Doesn't this slow down the game tremendously? 5 or 10 seconds per play. 2nd, I've heard Coach Dykes talk about how X/Z and H/Y are interchangeable. If so, why can't an X (Robertson) who takes a catch across the field in YAC then line up in the Z while the original Z hustles over to the X. Instead Robertson has to run all the way back to an X position slowing down the game.

CoBears: Bad. I think this was the worst performance of the season. And Chad limping off left me really depressed for the two games that remain.

1988goldenbear: Webb is a bit of a mystery. He makes some really nice throws, but also has some pretty bad misses. The o-line has played pretty well to give Webb time, but we can't seem to open big holes for the RB's.

Run Offense

Sacman701: Ineffective.

AlwaysLookOnTheBrightSideOfLife: While it had some moments, too many failures at key times. No fumbles lost.

PRD74 : No blocking. No yards.

NinjaNed: It pains me to see our RB put in so much effort and such little gain. Muhammad and Watson are fast and smart, but they're not hard to take down unlike Vic Enwere. Couple that with no push on certain plays and you get 1 - 3 wasted plays every drive, which also messes up the passing offense. It's just sad when it's 3rd and 1, and you don't even know if they can get that, and when we do it's normally a 2 yard gain.

Uthaithani: Terrible. What happened to our O Line??

Skatethompson: What run offense? It is one of our strengths as an offense and it is forgotten to try and show off Webb's arm.

How is that working out for you?

I married a Longhorn: Never got on track. They seemed to abandon it pretty quickly and focus on passing.

BrooklynBear: 4th and 1. We run the same weird play that we ran versus Utah. Does the Bear Raid have no well-practiced, normal offensive play with a 80% hit rate for 2 yards? That seems unbelievable.

CoBears: Nothing good to report.

1988goldenbear: We had to throw a lot because we were behind so quickly. Shades of 2013. RB's are either not getting good enough holes from the o-line or they are not explosive enough or making the right decisions.

Pass Defense

Sacman701: Made a few plays here and there, but mostly just got shredded. No sacks on 55 Wazzu attempts. Vanderbilt played pretty well.

AlwaysLookOnTheBrightSideOfLife: Past defense was pretty good, back in the day. Oh, you asked about pass defense?

Sxz: If we keep getting more injuries, I, as a short scrawny cs major, might be able to walk on the team.

Mitchgobears: How many yards would you like this down?

Zuzupetal: walk on trials?

BTown85: Luke Falk is a really good QB. REALLY good.

Skatethompson: Rushing three all day. Enough said.

Winebear: Where'd ya go?!

I married a Longhorn: I'd like to recommend against playing prevent defense for the entire game. They were consistently driving against us, so we had nothing to lose by going 4 down and/or blitzing.

BrooklynBear: Like 2013. Really. Look Cracraft's a nice receiver. Like Nelson Spruce. He has no business being so open in the end zone repeatedly.

CoBears: How is it that we can be blown by all game? I'm just stunned at how porous our defense is.

1988goldenbear: Falk is good and Craycraft and Marks are special. The Cougs were built to demolish our defense though the air.

Run Defense

Sacman701: Awful. 254 yards to Wazzu at 8.2 a pop shouldn't happen.

AlwaysLookOnTheBrightSideOfLife: Luckily Stanford won't run the ball against us, right?

WnatARoseBowlB4IDie: Was there one?

NinjaNed: I think in general, there are no star players on defense. Nobody on the team is a physical beast or all Pac-12 talent. Last year Kragen was good for a few sacks or turnovers in a game, and in the Tedford era there were a bunch here and there. When you don't have anybody that can make a play by themselves or make others better there isn't much hope. Like as much as I want to think Looney is a great player, he's the guy that would get sacks if the offensive line was focused on containing another player. But in general with the run defense, nobody is getting off their blocks and it's forcing linebackers and the secondary to make 1 on 1 tackles in space without momentum. That's too much to ask for at the collegiate level consistently.

Mitchgobears: Pardon me, let me get out of the way.

BTown85: CMcCaffery is going to eat us alive……..

I married a Longhorn: We got gashed several times. I think all of the injuries are showing.

CoBears: Couldn't stop the run. So nothing good to say here. Gave up another, what, 250 yards rushing?

1988goldenbear: Huge YAC and too many holes to contain the run in the first place. I think Leach passed so much because it was so easy, but they could have just as easily run the ball down our throats.

Special Teams

Sacman701: Disappointing to see Anderson miss a mid-range FG.

AlwaysLookOnTheBrightSideOfLife: Would it be good to onsides kick every time? Shorter field for the other team means less yards for them, less plays for our D?

Mitchgobears: Special, like Jerry's kids.

Uthaithani: We got out-classed by WSU. Yah, that's right.

Nor-Cal Scott: Average.

Winebear: Did you find the pass defense wherever you guys went?

I married a Longhorn: I like all the touchbacks on kickoffs. The punt return for a TD showed very poor angles.

BrooklynBear: Well 3 touchbacks. Why can Beito do that in Pullman but not in Los Angeles?

Fossum's return. Northnagel is the first man down. He's a senior. Then Jacob Anderson runs into him (seriously). Freshman Cam Walker is ends up to far to the field side. He's in trail position. Senior. Evan Rambo pursues a bad angle. He's in a trail position. Sophomore. Only Worstell seemed to take the right angle.

CoBears: Nothing positive here either. But special teams only gives you an advantage (or not). It doesn't typically mean the difference in the game. With how we don't play defense and can't move the ball on offense, this wasn't the difference-maker.

1988goldenbear: Marginal. Poor coverage, missed FG, one kick-off out of bounds. But decent yards on the punts.

Coaching

Sacman701: Blah.

AlwaysLookOnTheBrightSideOfLife: Is Spav losing his touch, losing the element of surprise?

PRD74 : After Oregon I thought there was no way Sonny could be on the hot seat this year. Wrong again. Even if all the injuries are just bad luck, Sonny needs to take that bad luck out of Berkeley. The team looks terrible. Guess where the buck stops?

BearOnAMesa: Bad preparation, horrible discipline on penalties that killed several drives, and questionably leaving players in during a blowout and risking even more injuries. Some of the worst coaching of the season.

Sxz: How are we going to develop next year's quarterbacks if we don't give them actual playing time?

NinjaNed: You know, I don't like the coaching staff because they seem unoriginal. But the biggest pet peeve is that they can't recruit defense. And I know that Kaufman doesn't recruit, and they should get some criticism for that as well. So please, please, please get better recruits, because if not, we need to find someone who will. Honestly, I'd rather have USC's problem where they have a bunch of great athletes but trash coaching, then have trash coaches, and mediocre athletes. It's like they say in basketball, you can't teach 7', in football, you can't teach size and speed. I personally believe that the best athletes for one reason or another can't academically compete, which is why we might have a hard time getting them, so idk how to address that issue but hopefully people getting paid a bunch of money to figure this out do.

Mitchgobears: Time to admit that this season is a dumpster fire now and let's get some game time experience for next year.

Nor-Cal Scott: Still not a fan of Spavital. MUST get a running game to open up passing attack. Oline average at best.

Defensive schemes can only do so much, players must execute, and Cal just doesn't have good talent on defense.

Winebear: Bless their hearts!

I married a Longhorn: There seemed to be no defensive adjustments. I realize we are painfully thin in the secondary, but you can't continue to rush 3 if you aren't getting any pressure.

AlohaBear: The choice to not put in another QB when Webb was out there getting hammered in trash time is absolutely baffling.

BrooklynBear: Wanting to show we were competing is the logic of keeping Webb in the game? That's poor. Not going for every 4th down and 6 or less is poor. We NEED points.

CoBears: We seem to be getting worse as the season goes on. Maybe it is the caliber of competition making us look as bad as we've actually been all season, but I'd expect that with improvement, we'd at least make a game of it here and there. Nada. These coaches are giving us nada.

Goldenlikethebears: This makes me sad.

1988goldenbear: I'm solidly in the camp to make a change away from Kaufman. Fair or not, we have too many injuries and not enough talent to be effective in any scheme. And I'm moving toward the opinion that the Bear Raid offense is a huge liability in terms of fielding a healthy and effective defense - they just don't have enough time to rest between series and they are forced to play too many snaps. I thought the offense would be able to out-score the opposing team to the point where the effect on the defense could be marginalized, but that hasn't happened. It didn't really even happen with Goff here.

Overall Performance

Sacman701: This is really starting to look like 2013. We just look like we don't belong on the same field with our opponents.

BearOnAMesa: Had a feeling this one would be bad, and it was. But the bitter taste of an embarrassing blowout where the team was outplayed in every single phase of the game is only compounded by the number of injuries that took place. Those might have sunk the rest of our season.

Rollonyoubears111: I'll put on my filters and say this, FTS man. Forget this situation and move on. When the season done (which it already feels like), let's really start talking about some ways of improving but perhaps with a different set of pricinples.

ABVidale: From the first series (three and out) followed by the punt return for a touchdown, there wasn't much to say positive about this game. Cal simply doesn't have the talent to survive the injuries.

Nor-Cal Scott: Worse than expected. WSU defense played much better than I've seen in other games. I'm thinking Jake out coached by Wazzu DC.

Look around the conference. Leach started at WSU in 2012. MacIntyre started at Colo in 2013. They both have their teams in position to win division championships as they "control their own destiny."

IMO, Dykes and his Bear Raid offense need to go if Cal ever wants to be relevant in the Pac12 North. #FireDykes

BTown85: I'm deflated.

I married a Longhorn: 3 games in a row where we weren't competitive. That' just not good.

BrooklynBear: Disheartening.

CoBears: I wish I hadn't even turned it on. I am traveling to Big Game with my 9 year old daughter, and I pray that it will at least be close enough to be fun. Either way, I suppose we've got the campus to tour and the Cal Band to see on the steps of Sproul and at the stadium.

I really want one thing, however. The Axe. C'mon, Bears! Pull together for the upset that we all need to bring this program back from the brink of another coaching change!

AngryBear: Performance? Performance? What performance?

1988goldenbear: Sucks to be a Cal Bear fan right now, but a win against Furd next week will cure a lot of our ills. Go Bears!

Not the most uplifting report card, but hopefully we can turn things around this week in the Big Game as our Golden Bears fight to wrest the Axe back from Stanfurd. Hoping for the best, as always. Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you next week. Go Bears!