California Golden Blogs - GAMEDAY! Cal v. Washington Stream!The OG CGB team moved to WriteForCalifornia.com. Cal Golden Bears coverage by SBNation.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48267/cgb-fave.png2018-10-27T18:41:02-07:00http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/rss/stream/67259782018-10-27T18:41:02-07:002018-10-27T18:41:02-07:00CAL BEATS #15 WASHINGTON: Instant Reaction + Report Card
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<figcaption>Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>We might have the best defense in the country </p> <p id="kO6sO0">Cal defense was otherworldly tonight, shutting down Washington and the Memorial roar is back. Evan Weaver was a man possessed tonight, leading the team in tackles and touchdowns (includes offense and defense). Go Bears! </p>
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https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2018/10/27/18025734/california-golden-bears-washington-huskies-wilcox-petersen-garbers-kunaszyk-weaver-noa-fuck-seattleAndy Johnston2018-10-27T17:54:26-07:002018-10-27T17:54:26-07:00Q4 Live Chat: Cal leads 12-7 after three
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<figcaption>Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The defense is simply incredible</p> <p id="Mu7Hdc">Evan Weaver pick six puts the Bears on top to start the fourth quarter. Join us for the final quarter! </p>
https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2018/10/27/18033374/q4-live-chat-cal-leads-12-7-after-threeAndy Johnston2018-10-27T17:06:19-07:002018-10-27T17:06:19-07:00Half and Q3 Live Chat: Washington leads Cal 7-6 at the half
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<p>The Bears just missed their chance to lead #15 Washington at the break</p> <p id="g1E14L">The Bears have been dominant defensively and both teams are hurting for touchdowns. Join us for the second half! </p>
https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2018/10/27/18033300/half-and-q3-live-chat-washington-leads-cal-7-6-at-the-halfAndy Johnston2018-10-27T16:26:15-07:002018-10-27T16:26:15-07:00Q2 Live Chat: Washington leads Cal 7-3 after the first
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<p>Close game thus far</p> <p id="1cKNQ8">Outside of the roughing the quarterback penalty that allowed Washington a fresh set of downs at the Cal goal line, things have gone well for the Bears. Join us for the second quarter! </p>
https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2018/10/27/18033198/q2-live-chat-washington-leads-cal-7-3-after-the-firstAndy Johnston2014-10-14T10:54:37-07:002014-10-14T10:54:37-07:00What Cal coaching decisions baffled you vs. UW?
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<figcaption>Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>What coaching decisions left you scratching your heads on Saturday?
</p> <p><b>Avinash Kunnath</b>: Two stand out in my mind.<b><br><br>Why, why, why do you let <span>Jared Goff</span> try a quarterback sneak at the goal-line?</b> Goff hasn't taken maybe more than one snap under center since he's gotten to Cal. At all the practices, the Bears are running shotgun exclusively. There are simply not enough reps to think this is a good idea. <b><br><br>Punting on 4th and 4 at Washington's 41 down 7-0. </b>Cal has been excellent at converting 4th downs this season (75% coming into the game, and they'd go 2-4 on the game), and you need to put some points on the board right now to overcome the fumble recovery. It's such an obvious decision to go for it that I'm disappointed Dykes and Franklin went conservative at a point where aggressiveness was probably the best course of action.</p>
<p>(Don't have any strong feelings on the late 4th and 11 punt down 24, our chances of winning were smaller than our chances of Jared Goff getting hurt on another <span>Hau'oli Kikaha</span> pressure.)</p>
<p><b>Ruey Yen</b>: The choice of a QB sneak with Goff was rather baffling. If we are going to use 2 QBs, we should have run that play for Rubenzer. Then again, maybe Dykes and the coaching staff are going for the surprise element by using Goff there. Ultimately, I'm more disappointed by the lack of execution on that play (why just one hand rather than two hands for more ball security?) than the call.</p>
<p>Overall for the game, the Bears obviously took fewer down the field shots than last week. While credit has to go to the UW defense to not give Goff as much time or allow the Cal receivers to get open down the field, the Bears somehow showed the ability to have a long, time-consuming drive, which is something that we doubt that the Bears are able to do given the blown leads earlier in the year, when they should not be doing that. So the reliance on run plays when trailing by more than 2 possessions was a rather curious decision.<br><br><b>boomtho</b>: Like everyone before me, the choice of a QB sneak was odd to me, especially given how well we ran on that drive and how successful Lasco had been in short yardage this year. I also disagreed with some of the punting decisions, but those were probably not material in the outcome of the game. I mostly agree with Ruey's point about us not taking shots down field, though it looked like UW was consistently playing two deep safeties to make us win through intermediate routes.</p>
<p><b>Nick Kranz:</b> I agree with both of Avi's choices. Regarding the goalline sneak: If it's 4th down, maybe you make that call. But Cal has been great at the goalline this year in part because of <span>Daniel Lasco</span> and in part because of great endzone receivers like Kenny Lawler. When you have options like that, why go away from them? My sense is that Giving Goff the ball on a sneak (particularly against UW's line) is both a lower percentage option in terms of success and a riskier option in terms of the chance of disaster.</p>
<p>The punt . . . well, when that happened in the stadium, I yelled out to nobody in particular, "Sonny, we hired you so that you would go for it in these types of situations!" By now most of us are familiar with game theory that states that coaches should go for it much more often, particularly in situations exactly like 4th and 4 from the 41. Even worse, Cal's particular reality dictate going for it. We all know that the Cal defense isn't going to be shutting anybody out. As a result, Cal's offense needs to take advantage of every opportunity to score.</p>
<p>True, Cal's defense ended up holding up pretty well, but so early in the game nobody knew that would happen. Oddly, it turned out that Cal punted away one of the few chances they had to score when the game was still in doubt.</p>
<p>There weren't any glaring issues the rest of the game - just the down by down evidence of a really well-prepared team taking on a team that was less well-prepared. Being out-prepared by Chris Petersen with a bye-week (I'm not convinced that bye-weeks typically matter, but I suppose this is strong anecdotal evidence) is hardly grounds for dismissal, but it's not great either.</p>
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https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/cal-vs-washington-2014/2014/10/14/6976247/cal-coaching-decisions-not-the-best-against-washingtonAvinash KunnathRuey YenNick Kranzboomtho2014-10-13T07:30:02-07:002014-10-13T07:30:02-07:00Cal beat themselves before Washington did
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<figcaption>Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>This is your press box report.</p> <p>This wasn't really all that bad a loss.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, we got rocked. But it didn't really feel like your usual rout, like one team didn't deserve to be on the field. Washington was clearly the better team, but I imagine if these two teams played each other, a plurality of them would end in about a one or two score game.</p>
<p dir="ltr">No, this was a classic "beat yourself" game. The Bears took themselves out of the game with three ghastly mistakes.</p>
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<p class="caption">Shaq Thompson (Photo credit: Stephen Lam, Getty Images)</p>
<ul>
<li>The Jared Gaffe at the end zone that swung the game 14 points and put Washington in control for the rest of the contest. That didn't end the game...</li>
<li>The second Goff fumble kind of did, as it gave Washington a short field with which to capitalize. Here you have a 21 point turnover swing points.</li>
<li>The poor defense on John Ross on his 80 yard touchdown scamper. Honestly, I thought there would be way more breakdowns like this one, so I'm kind of pleased that this was really the only one through the game. But there's your 28 point swing right there. </li>
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<p>Turnovers decided the outcome of this game long before either team could really settle down, and Washington could settle down and tee off for the rest of the game. Washington converted 17 points off turnovers and Cal lost a sure 7 on one of theirs. That's a 24 point swing.</p>
<p>Hey, look what the final score of the game was!</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong, the Huskies probably would win this game most of the time--their defense was the best unit on the field, and turned Cal's offensive production into mud by midway through the second quarter. But our mistakes ended this game before we could even blink, and we can't afford to make many mistakes.</p>
<p>Let's go back to the first play. Let's say Goff scores on what could have been a gimmee touchdown. The Bears settle down and are probably way more confident in their ability to score on the Huskies. Cal's defense is probably a bit more aggressive now that they have the lead and tries to make Cyler Miles pay instead of playing back. For a team with so little depth and plenty of weaknesses with to exploit, that massive play is the biggest football swing you can hope for, and it doesn't help that it's Shaq Thompson either.</p>
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<p class="caption">Jared Goff fumbles (Photo credit: Ed Szczepanski, USA Today)</p>
<p dir="ltr">We're all big fans of Jared Goff, but he had a poor game on Saturday. Before the fumble, he was 5 for 7 for 68 yards (over 9 yards per pass attempt). After, he was 30 for 44 for 236 yards (just around 5 yards per pass attempt), plus three more fumbles including that second one lost. Goff didn't feel comfortable going down the field and couldn't stretch the field after that first near scoring drive.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And honestly, Goff never looked the same after that first turnover. It's as if he was still internalizing that fumble and how much it cost his team. That, plus the line failures, made it impossible for him to have any real impact on the game. It's hard for Cal to come back from a turnover like that. They're not that type of team yet.</p>
<p dir="ltr">That's why Goff still has plenty of questions to answer before we anoint him the next chosen Cal quarterback. He has to prove he can improvise when the pocket breaks down. He has to be able to scramble for yardage when someone gets rushed. He has to have the confidence to release downfield when the pressure is coming and not worry about getting picked. He has to be more aware when a rusher is about to get on him and secure that football--his grip has always been questionable. He can't make those mistakes. It's frustrating to hold him to that type of standard, but he's made that big a leap in his play that quickly.</p>
<p>Goff will be fine. He will get better. This was one of those "learning experience" games, and he will learn. You have to fail before you succeed, yada yada yada. He will do better.</p>
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<p class="caption">Jared Goff sacked (Photo credit: Ed Szczepanski, USA Today)</p>
<p dir="ltr">Goff wasn't great on Saturday. His offensive line was worse. I'm trying to think of a positive thing they did all day, but after the first quarter they made sure we did absolutely nothing. They gave us no chance of achieving victory on Saturday.</p>
<p> </p>
<p dir="ltr">It all started in the interior, where Alejandro Crosthwaite was straight up undressed and was eventually benched. Crosthwaite has been struggling even against average defensive linemen, and of course he had all sorts of trouble teeing up against the second best interior line in the Pac-12. Steven Moore was even worse, allowing Goff to get blindsided at least twice and nearly forced him running for his lives at least a few times. Hau'oli Kikaha had a career game, mostly due to Moore's lapses.</p>
<p>Chris Adcock was sending plenty of low snaps to Goff, seemingly in a rush to help out Crosthwaite defend Danny Shelton or Evan Hudson, but neither he nor Chris Borrayo did a good job. Jordan Rigsbee was often beaten on the other side by Andrew Hudson or whatever blitz Washington sent his way too.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The result? Goff had no pocket with which to throw passes, and he had to escape the pocket to have the vision to find anyone downfield.</p>
<p dir="ltr">This game is the danger of having your offensive linemen in the two point stance. If they face superior linemen, they will get driven back because they don't have enough leverage to keep their men in the dirt. This is exactly what happened yesterday, where everyone up front got embarrassed for three hours.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The offensive line has been much improved through five weeks. This was a huge step back. Zach Yenser needs to get them ready to handle elite competition in a hurry. Four of the conference's best defenses are on the way, with the Furd waiting at the end.</p>
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<p class="caption">Cal defense! (Photo credit: Stephen Lam, Getty Images)</p>
<p dir="ltr">I come away more impressed with Art Kaufman each and every week. No Michael Lowe, no Stefan McClure, no Brennan Scarlett, injured Griffin Piatt, and the Bears give up only two real long-sustained scoring drives. The Cal defense recovered from a pretty ghastly performance in Pullman and held the fort at home. (That, or the Washington offense is Stanford-levels of underachieving. Maybe a little of both.).</p>
<p dir="ltr">Walk-on wide receiver Patrick Worstell was getting safety snaps in the second half. Tony Mekari (a defensive tackle) had to slide over to defensive end and start most of the game. David Garner (son of famous Dwight) also got himself in the action. Cal has burned the redshirt of just about every member of the 2014 recruiting class, and they're all playing and making tackles: Hamilton Anoa'i, Arthur Wainwright, Noah Westerfield, Aisea Tongilava, Darius White, David Davis.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Cameron Walker had two near interceptions. Jake Kearney had his best game as a Golden Bear. The return of Hardy Nickerson to full health gives the Bears much needed linebacker depth. We have really no safeties left, but we're making do for the most part.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Washington averaged a grand total of 2.9 yards per rush. Take away the two long Cyler Miles touchdown passes and he averaged six yards a pass attempt. The Washington offense was pretty average aside from the Ross touchdown run, and the Bears could have kept pace if they had gotten anything on offense.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Cal actually won the time of possession battle, running 84 plays in comparison to 67 for Washington. Turnovers!</p>
<p>The Cal special teams had their best game in a long time. Cole Leninger was booming punts, averaging 44.7 yards per punt, sent three kicks inside the 20, and Washington didn't return a single punt.</p>
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<p class="caption">Trevor Davis can't hang on (Photo Credit: Ed Sczepanski, USA Today)</p>
<p dir="ltr">I'm not shocked the Cal players let their success of the past month get into their heads a little. They're kids and they've had nothing to celebrate for nearly three years. They've gone 4-20 in the past two seasons and been miserably embarrassed week-after-week, especially at home. They haven't had a good stretch in forever.</p>
<p dir="ltr">So of course when positive attention came their way and they started receiving national looks, they basked in it. It's natural to want love after receiving none during your college careers.</p>
<p dir="ltr">(Don't think this is just the players too--some of the coaching performances were a bit flat. Notice how the defense got chewed out all weekend and came back with their best performance since Northwestern. Notice how the offense got praised all week by the national media and came out and just died. This was a bottom-five Tony Franklin performance at Cal.)</p>
<p dir="ltr">Well, now they've been humbled. Time to see how they respond when they've been knocked down a bit.</p>
<p>And remember this. Cal has yet to play a complete game in any of their wins, losses, anything. So far we're getting bits and pieces of the teams the Bears can be.</p>
<ul>
<li>Northwestern & Arizona: Cal puts together complete 1st half performances on both offense and defense<br> </li>
<li>Colorado & WSU: Cal offense dominates the 2nd half<br> </li>
<li>Washington: Cal defense and special teams put together complete games.</li>
</ul>
<p>Is a complete performance on the way? Is it possible that this team is just what it's going to be this year (flashes, but no storm)? And what will this team looks like when the rejuvenation project is complete?</p>
<p>Those are a lot of exciting things to contemplate on what was otherwise a pretty gloomy Saturday.</p>
<p><b>Other notes</b></p>
<ul>
<li>There weren't many things that went right, but one thing that was good was seeing Cal bring the alumni back. Getting greats like Andre Carter and Cameron Jordan (on a bye week) to show up was big-time. Kudos to Cal Athletics for finally doing something that should have been done a long time ago.<br> </li>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>Thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/CALCoachDykes">@CALCoachDykes</a> for bringing us back to where it all began. Go Bears!!!! <a href="http://t.co/aEjzVXVUl3">pic.twitter.com/aEjzVXVUl3</a></p>
— Andre Carter (@mr_carter93) <a href="https://twitter.com/mr_carter93/status/521342068833013760">October 12, 2014</a>
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<p style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px; word-wrap:break-word;">After experiencing tailgating a Cal football game for the first time it's time to get back to work #gobears #whodat</p>
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<ul>
<li>Announced attendance was around 44,449, but I think there were a bit more than that. I imagine a lot of tickets were bought second-hand to try and avoid paying full price. In fact, the West Side was surprisingly loud. I'd venture it was louder than the East Side! <br>
</li>
<li>Student section was sparse, as was QQ (which was painfully empty). I imagine a lot of young alumni and students stayed home so they could channel surf between Cal-Washington State and Giants-Cardinals (which started about two hours after the Cal-Washington game), headed out to Fleet Week, or did other things. We have a long way to go to win back the 20-somethings of Cal. The UCLA game will be telling, especially since I'm not sure if the Bruins turn out in the numbers I thought they would two weeks ago. <br>
</li>
<li>Crowd noise was fairly good through the 3rd quarter, even when the Bears were down 28-0. It's nice to know that we can still bring it even when things aren't looking so good. I venture to say fans were pretty supportive of their team, especially considering how good the defense looked in the second half.<br>
</li>
<li>Gameday experience positives: I will say there were only a few commercial ads compared to recent years, although there were still plenty of Cal Athletics internal promotions that didn't feel all that important. I want to hear the band play.</li>
<li>New annoying feature: Piped-in music on 3rd downs that drowns out the crowd. Stop with this NFL nonsense. </li>
<li>Cal alumni band was the highlight of the game. The Cal band still doesn't play enough (the Washington visiting band got far more music time in and was bland as Wonder Bread), and it was a good move to put them in the end zone so they could get more run.</li>
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<p>Cal Band and Cal Alumni Band, eternally great. <a href="http://t.co/kDrQXNNLfG">pic.twitter.com/kDrQXNNLfG</a></p>
— Avinash Kunnath (@avinashkunnath) <a href="https://twitter.com/avinashkunnath/status/521085340925579264">October 11, 2014</a>
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https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/cal-vs-washington-2014/2014/10/13/6967105/cal-washington-photos-notes-stats-recap-california-golden-bears-uw-huskiesAvinash Kunnath2014-10-12T03:01:45-07:002014-10-12T03:01:45-07:00Cal fumbles away 31-7 loss to UW
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<figcaption>Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Bears came into Saturday's game against Washington flying high, especially on offense. #Drop 50? #Drop 60? Not exactly. </p> <p>The <a href="https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">California Golden Bears</a> came into Saturday's game brimming with confidence, riding high after two victories in which their offense seemed unstoppable. On Saturday at Kabam Field at Memorial Stadium, the Bears ate a serving of humble pie as the <a href="https://www.uwdawgpound.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Washington Huskies</a> came into Berkeley and held Cal to a mere 7 points on the way to a lopsided 31-7 win.</p>
<p>The win was Washington's sixth straight over Cal, dating back to 2009. Coming into the game, the Bears had high hopes of breaking their losing streak against the Huskies. Cal had scored 119 points in its last two games and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sfgate.com/collegesports/article/Tweet-helps-Bears-fan-get-the-drop-on-T-shirt-5810305.php">hashtags like "#drop50</a>" and "#drop60" had become a novelty. But on Saturday, Cal could not even #drop10, due in large part to its own mistakes. Indeed, Washington seized a 14-0 lead in the first quarter due to Cal's fumbleitis.</p>
<p>The Bears' second offensive possession of the game looked like what we had come to expect from the Cal offense. Cal moved crisply from its own 20 to the Washington 1-yard line in eight plays and faced a second-and-goal. Then...disaster. For those of us who wondered whether <span>Jared Goff</span> could run a play from under center, the answer is yes. But on this occasion, Goff took the snap and fumbled as he tried to dive over the top on a quarterback sneak. Washington's Shaq Thompson picked up the loose ball in the end zone and returned it 100 yards for the dreaded 14-point turnaround: what should have been a 7-0 Cal lead was instead a 7-0 Cal deficit.</p>
<p>"I was just trying to make a play. I tried to go over the top and unfortunately it didn't work out the way I wanted it to, and even worse, gave them seven points," <a target="_blank" href="http://www.calbears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30100&ATCLID=209710165">said Goff. </a> "But it didn't really affect our momentum, it really shouldn't have. Offensively today, I just don't think we did enough and I don't think I did enough today to get us the win."</p>
<p>Cal Coach Sonny Dykes had a slightly different take on the effect of the goal line fumble and Thompson touchdown.</p>
<p>"[It] just seemed like - for whatever reason - we had a hard time responding after that," <a target="_blank" href="http://www.calbears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30100&ATCLID=209710165">Dykes said.</a> "We put a good drive together. We knew coming in that Washington was going to make us be patient and drive the ball the length of the field. That is the way they play defense. They aren't going to give up easy touchdowns. We have been getting so many big plays that it was going to be a very different approach for our players. We talked to them about it this week, told them about it, anticipated it, but we just didn't handle it very well."</p>
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<p>Whatever momentum Cal lost from the stunning touchdown by Thompson the Cal defense tried to get back later in the first quarter. The Washington offense marched to the Cal 31-yard line, where it went for it on a 4th-and-3. <span>Hardy Nickerson</span> and <span>Griffin Piatt</span> stopped Washington quarterback <span>Cyler Miles</span> on the fourth down play, giving Cal a big defensive stop and handing the ball to the offense on a high note. But the Bears gave the ball right back: Goff and running back <span>Daniel Lasco</span> fumbled an exchange on the very next play and Washington recovered. One play later, Miles found <span>Joshua Perkins</span> for a 25-yard touchdown and it was suddenly 14-0.</p>
<p>Cal was never in the game after that. The lead grew to 28-0 by halftime, the last seven points coming when Cal gave up the big play -- an 86-yard touchdown pass from Miles to John Ross. The Bears finally got on the scoreboard in the third quarter on a three-yard run by Lasco (17 rush, 71 yards, 1 TD) but could get nowhere near their 50 points-per-game average.</p>
<p>"It was us. Absolutely it was us," <a target="_blank" href="http://www.calbears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30100&ATCLID=209710165">Lasco said</a> of the reasons for the Bears' struggles on offense Saturday. "Throughout the last couple of weeks, we've had so much notoriety; throwing the ball and running the ball and so much success on offense. I think it kind of got to our head. We messed up. Offensively we didn't hold on and we started off rough. The defense was spectacular. They played well enough to win. We had too many turnovers and it is just unacceptable as an offense."</p>
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<p>The game was not without some bright spots. After giving up 59 points and 812 yards of total offense to Washington State last week, the Cal defense held Washington (5-1, 1-1 Pac-12) to 24 points and under 400 yards (notwithstanding being victimized by the big play). And the special teams made a play with a blocked field goal. But a loss is a loss and this one certainly leaves a bitter taste in Cal's mouth. But the Bears (4-2, 2-2 Pac-12) must learn from it and move on. It does not get any easier as UCLA comes to Berkeley next week.</p>
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<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p>Huge shoutout to our defense. They played their asses off and we let them down.</p>
— Trigga (@BryceTreggs) <a href="https://twitter.com/BryceTreggs/status/521160905045069824">October 12, 2014</a>
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https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2014/10/12/6964359/cal-fumbles-away-chances-against-washingtonVlad Belo2014-10-11T18:21:12-07:002014-10-11T18:21:12-07:00Fill out your UW Report Card here!
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<figcaption>Stephen Lam</figcaption>
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<p>Well, at least now we know: committing seppuku in-game is not the best way to achieve victory. Who would have thunk it? We're sure that we've had worst homecoming games...but it's hard to think of one at the moment. Cal face-plants at home, losing to UW 31-7. Report card inside!</p> <p>Rate our performance against the Huskies. Hold your cursor over the survey to scroll down or <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Zpaj2vo8XN1lU-KYc54QndgjJJHGEMRrJd0ghfu6js4/viewform?usp=send_form" target="_blank">click here to access the report card.</a></p>
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