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What were the biggest negatives to take from Cal's loss to Arizona?
LeonPowe: That we keep losing.
Vlad Belo: Losing itself is the biggest negative. This program needs a win over an FBS opponent in the worst way. Coach Dykes has talked about changing the "culture" in the program; that's all well and good and I appreciate that. But it would sure be nice if the hard work and buy-in to the culture change were rewarded with a victory.
As far as negatives besides the scoreboard, I am disappointed that Cal did not do more to seize the opportunity to win the game when they had a chance. When Cal got the ball back down only one score late in the third quarter, Jared Goff threw the interception that led to an Arizona TD to put us behind by two scores again. And then we couldn't finish the job on the drive where Goff threw the pick in the end zone with the score 33-21 and still 10:27 left in the game. Maybe it's the lack of experience generally or lack of experience being in tight game situations specifically, but Cal certainly didn't look like a team that was ready to go out and take what was there to be taken.
Sam Fielder: I didn't think that Goff looked great. He was decent, but there were some great catches made by the WRs on some iffy throws. The other huge negative for me is that we still can't defend a running QB. FRUSTRATING.
Leland Wong: The most disappointing development from the Arizona game is, for lack of better term, a continued limiting of the offense, which is the opposite of what one would expect as a team has more experience in running a system. Arizona would routinely rush three and drop eight into coverage, leaving lots of open field in front of the quarterback. We might have had some success with the quarterback running more readily, like Goff scrambling (which he did once for a big ten-yard gain) or even using the Boehmcat in select situations. We might have been able to sneak Lucus Gingold out in the flat for a solid gain in all that empty space. On that note, I'd love to see us run out of the Grizzly for some more power and balance rather than the shotgun, which resulted in a safety against the Wildcats. I'm calling this limit placed on the offense because we've seen these packages used in the past, but they've essentially disappeared since then.