California Golden Blogs - Gameday coverage as Cal falls 27–21 to USC on Halloween.The OG CGB team moved to WriteForCalifornia.com. Cal Golden Bears coverage by SBNation.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48267/cgb-fave.png2015-11-02T07:01:02-08:00http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/rss/stream/94141112015-11-02T07:01:02-08:002015-11-02T07:01:02-08:00CGB Podcast: Episode 10
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<figcaption>Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>We made it to 10 of these things, that's pretty impressive</p> <p>So this is the tenth edition of the Bearcast, where we had a very special guest in Michael Rollins! We talked about the USC game and much more. That includes:</p>
<ul>
<li>Our thoughts on the positives and negatives to take from the USC game</li>
<li>Thoughts on Pac-12 refs vs. ACC refs</li>
<li>How we're all more sad about Wazzu losing to Stanford</li>
<li>If you want to skip over the USC, head to 32 minutes in</li>
<li>We talk about the rest of the Pac-12 slate for this week, replete with bad poetry</li>
<li>Discussing the upcoming matchup with Oregon</li>
<li>None of us pick a team to win the next game</li>
<li>Jokes about Jeff Lockie and Cody Kessler</li>
<li>Michael Rollins shouting out @jtoyo562, @isaacscottw, and @Dalmcm</li>
<li>And much much more....</li>
</ul>
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<p>Anyhow email us at cgbbearcast@gmail.com or tweet at Rob or myself. Have a listen, tell a friend, and go Bears!</p>
<p>Itunes: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/california-golden-blogs-bearcast/id1046438570?mt=2" style="background-color: #ffffff;">https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/california-golden-blogs-bearcast/id1046438570?mt=2</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/231165135&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false"></iframe></p>
https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2015/11/2/9655638/cgb-podcast-episode-10-the-flair-says-wooooooooTrace TraversRob Hwang2015-11-02T03:00:03-08:002015-11-02T03:00:03-08:00Cal vs. USC postgame thoughts
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<figcaption>Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Bears played USC tougher than any season since at least 2007, but that rings very hollow when it still results in a 12th straight loss to the Trojans.</p> <p>Whenever possible, I try to be positive in this space, so let's start with the good news: On a play-for-play basis, Cal at least played USC even, and I would argue actually outplayed the Trojans on Saturday. Don't believe me? I understand - it certainly didn't feel that way from the stands. But the numbers bear it out. SBNation's <a href="http://www.footballstudyhall.com/2015/11/1/9656630/college-football-week-9-five-factors-box-scores" target="_blank">Five Factors box score</a> shows that Cal had a higher success rate and gained 1.6 more yards/play. That's a relatively significant advantage that would usually be enough to earn a win.</p>
<p>But it wasn't enough to earn the win. It wasn't even enough to give Cal's offense the <i>opportunity</i> to win the game at the end. We'll get into why a little later, but here's a little hint: There's one obvious reason and two slightly less obvious reasons, and all three are incredibly frustrating.</p>
<h3>Offense</h3>
<p><b>Your reminder that <span>Jared Goff</span> is still a very good quarterback, despite devilish events sent to test your faith</b></p>
<p>Has Jared Goff regressed? In my opinion, he has not. Last year, he averaged 7.7 yards/pass in Pac-12 play. So far this year, having yet to face two of the weakest defenses on the schedule, he's thrown for 7.6 yards/pass. He's throwing for just as many touchdowns, and he's had some bad interception luck.</p>
<p>The problem is that he played his best game (at Washington) early and he's dealing with a running game that <i>has</i> regressed. But he still makes plays that reminds you that he's going to be a very high draft pick if he so desires.</p>
<p>Cal is facing a must-convert 4th and 6. With the game on the line, he uncorks a beautiful over-the-shoulder 29 yard pass to <span>Darius Powe</span>, clearing an underneath defender and steering him away from a safety. On the very next play he throws a laser beam to <span>Stephen Anderson</span> on a slant, splitting the ball between two USC defenders for a touchdown. That was the conclusion of an 87 yard drive in which Goff ran or passed on all but two plays of the drive.</p>
<p><b>On the state of the 2015 offense</b></p>
<p>For all of the uncertainty in college football, everybody agreed on one thing regarding the 2015 California Bears: If they could develop even an average defense, great things would happen. And against all odds, that's exactly what the Bears have. Hell, maybe even better than average - Cal is currently 4th in the Pac-12 in conference games only in yards/play allowed!</p>
<p>And yet the Bears have a losing conference record. How is that possible?</p>
<p>If you recall, we discussed prior to the season that, despite all of the hoopla and crazy numbers in certain games, <a href="http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2015/8/25/9200803/california-golden-bears-jared-goff-sonny-dykes-tony-franklin" target="_blank">Cal's offense wasn't an elite one in 2014</a>. It was a good offense, no doubt, but not elite. Borderline top 25. The advanced stats at Football Outsiders had an average ranking around 31st best in the nation. Nothing to sneeze at, but hardly Oregon south. Still, Cal had just about everybody coming back - surely things would improve?</p>
<p>The results . . . have been about the same - it just feels like we've regressed because we had higher expectations. The advanced stats (not yet updated to include the USC game) have Cal at around 30th best in the country. On one hand, perhaps that's about what we should have expected - the same players, the same results. On the other hand, I think we all expected more with the entire core of the offense given another off-season to practice together.</p>
<p>Why has the offense stagnated? Losing Chris Harper, <span>Chris Adcock</span> and <span>Alejandro Crosthwaite</span> certainly plays some role - Harper had a skill-set relatively unique to Cal's WR corps and Adcock did an excellent job anchoring the line in the middle. <span>Daniel Lasco's</span> injury and the subsequent regression of the running game is probably the biggest issue. Teams have been able to play 7 defenders out across the secondary, and Cal hasn't been able to punish them on the ground, making Cal's passing reads so much more difficult for Goff. Of course, there's also . . .</p>
<p><b>Turnovers</b></p>
<p><i>Reason #1 Cal didn't win</i></p>
<p>Cal has now lost 19 total turnovers, which is 116th in the nation. Offensive turnovers have now been directly responsible for two of Cal's three losses. Which makes one wonder: Is there some sort of inherent characteristic with Cal's offense that causes it to be turnover prone?</p>
<p>Probably not. For my money, it's a frustrating combination of bad luck and rough performances.</p>
<p>Cal has lost 7 fumbles, which is a little high but really not much different from the national average of 5 or 6. It's the 12 interceptions that have been killing the Bears. Some of those 12 interceptions (Two tipped passes vs. Grambling, a why-not hail mary vs. Washington) have been fluky. Five came when Goff had the worst game of his career at the wrong time. Now we have two more against USC to analyze.</p>
<p>Goff said in his post-game comments that the Pick-six was caused by getting hit in the pocket. I've watched the replay a bunch of times and I can't really see it, but it's certainly true that he had Treggs marginally open down the field and the ball flutters off target in a very un-Goff-like fashion. Maybe Goff simply felt the rush and the ball slipped out of his hand. I dunno.</p>
<p>The 2nd interception is actually less meaningful as it was a 4th down play and would have had a similar result if the USC defender simply batted the ball down. I haven't been able to find a good replay angle to see if there was some sort of secondary penalty as Dykes and Goff have claimed. Really, the issue with that drive was the 3rd down play when Cal had Goff throw blind to Lasco seven yards behind the line of scrimmage with nobody there to block the man who was assigned to Lasco.</p>
<h3>Defense</h3>
<p><b>A classic bend but don't break</b></p>
<p>USC had just two drives without a first down, and one of those drives was killed in part because of a holding penalty. The Trojans were generally able to move the football. But they only scored 20 offensive points because the Bears made them earn every one of those first downs and tended to stiffen when it mattered. USC only broke three plays longer than 20 yards, and one was a trick play that was actually pretty well defended.</p>
<p>The Bears were disciplined and in the right places, and USC's success came mostly down to the pure athleticism that makes them such a nightmare to defend. But to Cal's credit they made solid tackles, occasionally forced a negative play, and generally limited USC to the absolute minimum considering how generally mistake-free the USC offense played themselves.</p>
<p><b>Helped by USC's conservatism</b></p>
<p>I don't know who USC is going to hire. They could probably hire somebody worse than Clay Helton (like Lane Kiffin or Steve Sarkisian) but based on Saturday's game I think they could probably do better, because Helton didn't help USC's cause much with NFL level conservatism.</p>
<p>I think Cal's chances were helped tremendously by the decision making of Helton, who elected to punt on 4th and 3, 4th and 2, and 4th and 1 from the 50 yard line or closer. USC's running backs averaged just short of 5 yards/carry, and you have to like USC's chances to score if they make likely conversions on those plays.</p>
<p>Beyond that, Helton called 27 pass plays vs. 42 running plays, an incredibly unbalanced number considering that USC's passing game was significantly more efficient and explosive than their running game. Granted, some of that imbalance was because the Trojans built a 24-7 lead and tried to milk the clock. . . but that very same conservatism allowed Cal to climb back into the game, and very nearly led to a punt that would have given the Cal offense a chance to steal the win.</p>
<h3>Special Teams</h3>
<p><b>Being not bad isn't good enough</b></p>
<p><i>Reason #2 Cal didn't win</i></p>
<p>We have a problem: Our expectations for special teams has been lowered so significantly, that we celebrate if Cal special teams don't have an obvious negative impact on a game. As long as we're not giving up big returns, missing easy field goals, or making major gaffes, then we shrug and move on to worrying about other areas.</p>
<p>But special teams are a problem. There were 134 plays from scrimmage in Saturday's game. There were 18 combined kickoffs and punts. Those kickoffs and punts make up 12% of the game, and on those plays, USC trounced Cal. USC's average starting field position was the 31, and Cal's average starting field position was the 18. That's 13 yards of field position on every drive. Both teams had 11 possessions, meaning that USC had a <b>total of 143 yards of extra field position on Cal.</b></p>
<p>Why? To be fair, it's not entirely on special teams. Cal's turnovers positively impacted USC's starting field position. Cal was actually marginally better at punting (average of 39 net vs. 37) although USC's numbers are heavily impacted from one stupid punt that netted just 20 yards due to a touchback. The real difference was kickoffs. USC's kicker did a great job of placing nearly every kickoff right at the goalline, and then the Trojans mauled Cal's kickoff blocking. Twice, Cal's returner was tackled well before the 20 despite Cal <i>committing a blocking penalty</i>. Quite frankly, we would have been better off not fielding each kick and letting it bounce into the end zone.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, USC had three excellent kickoff returns, and one bad return when Daniel Lasco knifed through USC's blockers for a brilliant, hard tackle on USC's returner.</p>
<p>That one play from Lasco is a reminder of what other teams get regularly from special teams. USC regularly gets solid returns. They regularly cover kicks well. They make life hard on other teams. Cal very rarely gets that, and in most games special teams are a net negative.</p>
<h3>Coaching</h3>
<p><b>Passing on an extra possession</b></p>
<p><i>Reason #3 Cal didn't win</i></p>
<p>All season long, Cal's offense has been brilliant running the hurry-up offense at the end of the second quarter. In seven games prior to USC, Cal has scored four touchdowns and one field goal in the final minute of the 2nd quarter! That's five successful drives, and Cal wasn't given an opportunity to run the two minute offense in those other two games. The Bears have been so wildly successful in these situations that it has led fans to wonder if the offense needs to pick up the pace on <i>all</i> drives to increase production.</p>
<p>So when USC was driving for an eventual field goal late in the 2nd quarter, I started mentally doing the math in my head, trying to figure out what it would take for Cal to have a chance at another offensive possession.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the official play-by-play doesn't list the exact time for each play, but I know that USC had first and 10 from the Cal 12 with roughly 2:00 minutes left on the clock. At the moment, Cal had three timeout and USC had one. As the clock was ticking prior to USC's first down play call, I was begging Dykes to call a timeout. When USC rushed for 3 yards on first down, I was begging Dykes to call a timeout. When USC ran for 4 yards on 2nd down, I again begged Dykes to call a timeout. USC knew exactly how much time they needed, and when their 3rd down play failed, they kicked a field goal with 11 seconds left on the clock.</p>
<p>Even using one time out would have given Cal about 50 seconds, which can sometimes be enough for the Bear Raid, particularly knowing that the Bears would have had two timeouts left on the board. Using two timeouts would have granted Cal probably 90 seconds. You get the point.</p>
<p>I want to be clear: I have generally been very happy with Sonny Dykes' game management this season. He's been better than probably 75-80% of head coaches in the country. But this was the type of basic clock management mistake that he cannot afford to make. It's almost like being given the opportunity to recover a fumble and politely refusing. Against a team like USC, Cal cannot afford to leave any potential opportunity untapped.</p>
<p>The consequences are obvious. Cal lost this game by 6 points, and they passed on a chance to add 3 or 7 points to the board. For my money, leaving those first half timeouts on the board and not trying to score was the single worst game management decision Sonny Dykes has made in three years at Cal.</p>
<h3>Big Picture</h3>
<p>Three things have happened. Cal has lost a one possession road game to a ranked Utah team. Cal was blown out on the road in Los Angeles. Cal has lost a one possession home game to (a now nearly ranked) USC team. In isolation, none of those results are necessarily shocking or damning. Prior to the season, if I had seperately said that any of those three things would happen, nobody would have batted an eye.</p>
<p>But all three games did happen, all in a row, and it has predictably led to a disgruntled, sniping fan base. Stop the presses: college football fans don't handle losing well. For my money, UCLA game aside, Cal has proven that they have the horses to play close with just about anybody. I fully expect at least that much the rest of the year, even if this team is, at the same time, flawed enough that they likely won't pull away for any routine wins either.</p>
<p>The good news is that Cal has arguably cleared the toughest part of their schedule. Despite the latest Vegas line, I'm of the opinion that Oregon is a significantly more tractable foe than Utah, USC, or UCLA. Arizona State falls into the same category, and Oregon State is meaningfully worse than San Diego State. I fully expect this team to bounce back and beat the Beavers, and at least split their games between Oregon and ASU.</p>
<p>And then there's Stanford. I know it's looking ahead, but I don't think we'll be able to understate the importance of the Big Game on the psyche and trajectory of this program. The difference between 7-5 + another 0-fer against California rivals vs. 8-4 and taking home The Axe? Miles and miles apart. Washington State demonstrated that the Cardinal can be had.</p>
<p>But first things first. It's time for the Cal offense to get right against an Oregon defense that has been absolutely shredded by anybody with a pulse. Breaking a five year losing streak to the Ducks would be a decent achievement, even if Oregon's own struggles have diminished the accomplishment.</p>
https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2015/11/2/9657090/california-golden-bears-usc-trojans-recap-analysisNick Kranz2015-11-01T02:53:43-08:002015-11-01T02:53:43-08:00Cal offense again the culprit in 27-21 loss to USC
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<figcaption>Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Same game. Different year.</p> <p>Stop me if you've heard this before.</p>
<ul>
<li>Cal defense plays decently well enough against USC to give the Cal offense a chance to win it.</li>
<li>Cal offense wastes it. <br> </li>
<li>Cal special teams pours salt in the wound.</li>
<li>Cal loses to USC.</li>
</ul>
<p>The good news was that it wasn't a rout this time. Cal played well for the first time in years against USC and had legitimate chances to win this game. But in the end the result was the same--a comfortable wire-to-wire second half lead for the Trojans where they led by multiple scores most of the way. Cal's offense made a game of it but only after falling behind 17, partly in a hole of their own making.</p>
<p>With a veteran Cal squad and an injury-depleted USC squad, this felt like our best shot in a long time. It's another opportunity for a signature win lost for Sonny Dykes and company, as Cal falls to 5-3 and must rebound with wins in a hurry to save the season.</p>
<p>That's your short recap. Here's the longer recap.</p>
<h3>First quarter</h3>
<p>For the first time in a long time, Cal actually started out alright offensively. The Bears moved down the field on the first drive with Khalfani Muhammad starting at running back and Kenny Lawler getting a nice catch. Muhammad fumbled and USC took over at midfield, but the Cal defense held a quick three-and-out and a punt.</p>
<p>Cal's next drive was their best of the game. It was a long methodical move of 13 plays and 87 yards, with runs by Daniel Lasco and Khalfani Muhammad combining for 46 yards on five rushes. Jared Goff completed all five of his passes to Chad Hansen, Darius Powe, Trevor Davis and finally Bryce Treggs in the end zone (just seconds after his dad was getting honored during a TV timeout!). Cal took a 7-0 lead.</p>
<p>However, the Cal offense couldn't really do anything in the next 30 minutes, and the Trojans capitalized in the next quarter.</p>
<h3>Second quarter</h3>
<p>After the two teams traded punts, the Trojans got going. A wide receiver pass by Jalen Greene found its way into Deontay Burnett's hands and set up USC deep in Cal territory, a third down conversion by Cody Kessler to JuJu Smith-Schuster set up the Trojans in the red zone, and Ronald Jones II plunged in untouched from 13 yards out thanks to the blitzing linebackers opening up gaps.</p>
<p>Cal went three-and-out. USC drove to the Cal 40 and punted after a Todd Barr sack. Cal drove to the USC 40 and punted after Stephen Anderson dropped a 1st down conversion and Goff and Lawler misconnected.</p>
<p>With 4 minutes before the half, Keslser found Burnett and Smith-Schuster for big 1st down conversions and Tre Madden and Ronald Jones rushed for 10+ yards to set up USC in the red zone. The Cal defense held the USC offense to a field goal after pressure on Kyle Kragen forced Kessler out of the pocket and missed Darreus Rogers.</p>
<p>Debatable timeout management by Sonny Dykes (Cal could have had more time if they used a timeout or two) left Cal with only :11 on the clock, and USC took a 10-7 lead into halftime.</p>
<h3>Third quarter</h3>
<p>USC received the second half kickoff and the Trojans marched down the field, with Kessler finding Rogers for 10 yards and Smith-Schuster for 18 yards. USC then took control on the ground with runs from Justin Davis (8 and 5), Jones (8 and 3), and Tre Madden plunging it in on 4th and 1 on the Cal 2 to put USC up 17-7.</p>
<p>Cal got the ball back (with again poor field position, a recurring trend in Saturday's game), and in what turned out to be the deciding play of the game, Goff threw a terrible pick-six to Adoree' Jackson, who took it back to the end zone and gave USC a decisive 24-7 lead.</p>
<p>Cal responded quickly with Goff finding Treggs for 21 and 15 yards and Trevor Davis for eight and eight, and an unsportsmanlike conduct setting up a Daniel Lasco six yard touchdown run to cut the USC lead to 24-14. Two big throws by Kessler to Burnett and De'Quan Hampton set up a USC field goal to make it a two touchdown game.</p>
<p>Cal seemed to be rolling right back after getting pinned at their 9. Goff found Lawler for 11 yards and Treggs for 43 to put Cal at the USC 37.</p>
<h3>Fourth quarter</h3>
<p>In the second weird play of the game, Goff attempted a throwback screen to Lasco on 3rd and 3 that was stuffed for a huge loss, and then Kevon Seymour intercepted a throw targeted for Kenny Lawler on 4th down. USC started running clock and got to the Cal 29, but Mustafa Jalil and Jake Kearney stuffed the Trojan run attack on 4th and short. After Cal went three and out, USC went 3 and out as well, getting stuffed on 3rd and short, this time with Devante Downs keeping Justin Davis down.</p>
<p>Cal made their last stand offensively with Goff scrambling for two big first downs of 13 and eight yards, then getting a pass interference call to put the Bears in Trojan territory. A holding put Cal in 1st and 20, but after picking up yards thanks to Lasco's legs and a Ray Hudson catch, Goff found Darius Powe on 4th and 6 for 29 yards to set up first and goal. Goff then found Stephen Anderson for the touchdown to make it a one score game.</p>
<p>USC got the ball back with under four minutes left and Cal having all three timeouts, but Tre Madden bounced off of tackles to get a 14 yard conversion on 3rd and 1 and Justin Davis reached out to get a seven yard rush first down on 3rd and 6. The Trojans kneeled down to clinch.</p>
<h3>Key stats</h3>
<ul>
<li>Special teams didn't seem to let us down, but it did in the ways that you hardly noticed: The Bears had to drive the length of the field almost all game long. Cal's average field position of the game was at their own 16 yard line. USC started at their own 32. (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2015/10/31/9613960/caifornia-golden-bears-usc-trojans-dykes-goff-kragen-helton-kessler-smith-schuster#336893937">HT chowder</a>) Theirs was normal, ours was bad. Cal needed to drive 87, 81 and 87 yards to score their three touchdowns. <br> </li>
<li>Cal had three turnovers, USC zero. Two turnovers killed Cal drives at midfield, and of course the pick-six swung the game permanently in the favor of the Trojans. <br> </li>
<li>Goff has thrown eight interceptions in three games. If he throws even ONE less in each of the Utah and USC games, Cal probably wins. And there aren't many arguments I can make in favor of bad pass protection--Goff did not get sacked once and the offensive line generally held up with help from Lasco and Muhammad. He has played well most of the time and made costly decisions otherwise. <br> </li>
<li>The Cal run game picked up 59 yards on its first seven carries. On the remaining 19 rushes that weren't Goff scrambles, Cal managed 35 yards. USC dared Cal to run early, and after initial success everything stalled out again. Cal averaged 3.6 yards per rush from its running backs, so the struggles continue on that front. </li>
<li>Aside from the USC points off turnovers and the Trojans finishing things off on their final drive, the statsheet indicates a fairly even game in terms of plays, first downs, yards per play, and everything else. Cal and USC basically played to a draw in everything but field position and turnovers, which made up the final difference.</li>
<li>The only other key stat is 3rd downs: Cal went 2 for 9 (poor), USC 6 for 15 (below average). </li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Final Cal-USC stats: Cal with 389 yards total offense, Goff 23-31 272 yards 2 TDs 2 INTs; 30 passes, 31 runs. <a href="https://t.co/sK2x1SDsr1">pic.twitter.com/sK2x1SDsr1</a></p>
— Cal Rivals (@CalRivals) <a href="https://twitter.com/CalRivals/status/660602445689581568">October 31, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Cal has now won or lost all but one of its Pac-12 games by six points. It's like we're playing the same game every week!</p>
<p> </p>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Conclusions</h3>
<p>Cal's defense allowed only 20 points. That should have been enough for victory. If Goff doesn't throw that costly pick-six, Cal stands a 50-50 shot to win. But Adoree' Jackson made a spectacular play and that was the difference between a potential Cal victory and a fleeting shot.</p>
<p>In the big picture, this came down to (once again) the USC offense eliminating mistakes (the Cal defense forced no turnovers) and the Cal offense making just one too many. It was a workman-like effort with a depleted Trojan squad. And it's been the story of the Cal offense all season: They don't start games well. It put them in a hole again and they couldn't dig out of it.</p>
<p>With Cal through the gauntlet of October, winnable games are all over the place in November, which means they are all quite loseable too. The Bears still have a reasonable shot at closing the season right, but they need to start clicking in a way that hasn't really happened in Pac-12 play.</p>
<p>So I'm ambivalent.</p>
<p>I'm quite encouraged by this loss. This is the most competitive game Cal has played against USC since 2008. After the UCLA debacle, this is right in line with the Utah game in terms of the type of game I'd like to see against top 25 competition.</p>
<p>But I'm also bummed that this streak to USC endures and that this program missed another chance at a signature win. Hanging on against Texas and hanging on against the Washingtons is good times, but they were essentially coin flip games. Heads came up for those three games, tails for our Utah and USC losses.</p>
<p>And after a year of slow starts, it doesn't seem like this team is going to break through and start clicking this year. It doesn't have that ceiling.</p>
<p>For once though, I'd like to feel elated watching Cal football. It's been too long.</p>
<p>I know it'll happen the day this stupid streak ends.</p>
https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2015/11/1/9652270/usc-trojans-california-golden-bears-recap-jared-goff-sonny-dykesAvinash Kunnath2015-10-31T20:45:11-07:002015-10-31T20:45:11-07:00Cal-USC quotes: Sonny & Jared unhappy with refs
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<figcaption>Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Press conference video above and below.</p> <p> </p>
<h3>Sonny Dykes</h3>
<ul>
<li>On the Pac-12 refs: "You guys see the officials every week, so draw your own conclusions. I'm not gonna say anything about it. Pretty obvious." </li>
<li>On Goff: "We're all frustrated. O should be better. Gotta figure it out and play better." </li>
<li>On Cal defense: "Played well enough to win. We gave them field position and turned the ball over. Play hard & sound football. Defense let them have a few screens, but overall good." </li>
<li>On the run game: "Good early in the game. Then a few series where they couldn't get going. Must run to get the QB time & protection"</li>
<li>On USC: "Not surprised that SC played well b/c great players. Not trying to take anything away from Clay." </li>
<li>On losing streak: "Winning & losing has to do with whom you play. Schedule is backloaded these 2 yrs. Want to get to the point where we beat good teams" </li>
<li>On lack of takeaways: "Reduces your margin of error when you can't get takeaways. Probably the biggest difference these past 3 weeks." </li>
<li>On if teams are playing us differently. "More press coverage, more man. Offense has to execute at a higher level. Zone means lots of grass. Must make plays against man, when there's less grass."</li>
<li>On establishing the run: "Offense can be explosive when we make big plays. Credit the SC D. Lots of 2 deep, daring Cal to run. We had number advantage in box."</li>
<li>On Jalen Jefferson: "Jefferson in a sling, but don't know details." Hasn't met with medical staff.</li>
<li>On moving forward: "Team is disappointed. didn't play well enough vs. UCLA, but vs Utah & USC, we had chances in the 4th quarter. That's the next step."</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Jared Goff</h3>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1R7zbdPOE0Y" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<ul>
<li>"Defense played well. Unfortunately we couldn't score. SC played well." </li>
<li>On improvement from last week's loss: There's s lot more fire out of us this week. Offensively, defensively...there's a lot more... </li>
<li>Team is "fine, confidence-wise. Not looking down the road. Focused on Oregon." </li>
<li>On Lasco coming back: "He did a good job early. Their D made plays and adjusted. They played the run better than they did in the 1st." </li>
<li>On bad field position: "It doesn't bother our O too much. We practice against our own end zone. We've gone 90, 95 and scored before. </li>
<li>On having Muhammad & Lasco in same play: "More pass protection and more for USC defense to think about" </li>
<li>On the interceptions: "First one, I kind of got my hand hit, so it fluttered. I had Bryce open over the middle. They got a piece of my arm on the way out. The second one, I was upset, but I'm not going to talk about why, because I'm not going to talk about the officiating."</li>
</ul>
<h3>Daniel Lasco</h3>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4U5Yqj_IMcY" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<ul> <li><span>"When there are 2 minutes left, the offense raises its level of play. Defense played great, but offense didn't do enough."</span></li> <li><span>"Feels good to be back with my team and contribute in different ways, but I'm not there yet. Didn't capitalize on 1-on-1 opportunities" </span></li> <li><span><p data-aria-label-part="0">At end of game, SC "played hard-nosed & have athletes all over the field. O didn't execute. Playcalls were good."</p></span></li> <li><p data-aria-label-part="0">"Don't want to put it on 1 player, like a WR to climb the ladder or Goff. But we have to get the job done."</p></li> <li><p data-aria-label-part="0">We must "figure out where our edge is. We had it in beginning of season. We have to make plays."</p></li> <li><p data-aria-label-part="0">"It hurts. The seniors and I wanted this game. It's huge for the community, Berkeley, Cal alums. It hurts. To say the least. It really does hurt. Not a good feeling to be here 5 yrs and not beat SC."</p></li> <li><p data-aria-label-part="0">"Everything happens for a reason. Great depth at RB means my absence wasn't tremendous b/c others can step up."</p></li> <li><p data-aria-label-part="0">I had lots of support from the team. Frustrating to not be 100% and not be able to contribute"</p></li> </ul>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Bryce Treggs</h3>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OLvhlofO3qA" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<ul> <li><span>On his father being there as he caught a TD: "Great honor."</span></li> <li> <span>On offensive woes: "Offense has too much talent to only score 28 per game. In future, can't get ahead of themselves w/ <a dir="ltr" data-query-source="hashtag_click" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/drop50?src=hash">#drop50</a> or <a dir="ltr" data-query-source="hashtag_click" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/drop60?src=hash">#drop60</a>. </span>Must establish the run game. All good teams can run. Then make plays"</li> <li>On missing opportunities: "We had shots, but just didn't take as many as we should have."</li> <li>On man coverage: "We know that means Goff has more pressure, so we focused this week on getting open quick."</li> <li>On moving forward: "Comes down to senior leadership. We can sulk or move on. Tomorrow, we come back to work."</li> </ul>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Stefan McClure & Hardy Nickerson</h3>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BYPkx54pIns" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<ul>
<li>Hardy on 3rd down play: "We had him. I tripped, dove, and missed. These are the kinds of plays you have to make."</li>
<li>McClure on 1st down: "We have to see how we did on 1st downs and 3rd downs. Have to limit 1st down plays to < 2 yards."</li>
<li>McClure on the offensive struggles: "We have to get takeaways so the offense can get rhythm and make big plays. That helps the defense with energy." </li>
<li>Hardy on the future: "We can turn things around. Have to look at film and prep for ORegon. Excited to face Ducks. Should be a game we can get." </li>
</ul>
https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2015/10/31/9652358/california-golden-bears-football-daniel-lasco-bryce-treggs-hardy-nickerson-press-conference-videoAvinash Kunnath2015-10-31T15:10:08-07:002015-10-31T15:10:08-07:00Fill out your Cal-USC report cards here!
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6skx0P_ylBJLsFL5iIdD0dcvPXU=/0x90:2424x1706/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47559495/GettyImages-495154102.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Ezra Shaw/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Same song every year—USC beats Cal.</p> <p>Well, at least this was a competitive one. The <a style="background-color: #ffffff;" class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/">California Golden Bears</a> got off to a hot start and had our first lead over the <a style="background-color: #ffffff;" class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.conquestchronicles.com/">USC Trojans</a> for the first time since 2007... But then USC just blazed ahead and never looked back en route to a 27–21 victory. At least I got a delicious sugar cookie and Cal-branded M&Ms. And—according to Nam—there's always next year.</p>
<p><iframe width="760" height="500" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1F7cBkoXOPiNOXkSaTGLRf-k3SOhbHGH503ZcdP3OeTI/viewform?embedded=true">Loading...</iframe></p>
https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2015/10/31/9613960/caifornia-golden-bears-usc-trojans-dykes-goff-kragen-helton-kessler-smith-schusterLeland Wong2015-10-31T14:26:44-07:002015-10-31T14:26:44-07:00Q4: USC starting to run away, up 27–14
<figure>
<img alt="Get it? Because he's running." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/PX2JD-IqDEMBnm2HGLJM-0X34To=/55x0:4391x2891/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47559223/GettyImages-495154148.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Get it? Because he's running. | Ezra Shaw/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Is the 4th quarter ours?</p> <p>It <i>was</i> a close one, but a pick-6 by Goff really made things worse for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/">California Golden Bears</a>, who now trail the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.conquestchronicles.com/">USC Trojans</a>, 27–14.</p>
<p><a data-widget-id="378939009554055168" href="https://twitter.com/GoldenBlogs/golden-tweeters" class="twitter-timeline">Tweets from @GoldenBlogs/golden-tweeters</a></p>
https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2015/10/31/9613940/caifornia-golden-bears-usc-trojans-dykes-goff-kragen-helton-kessler-smith-schusterLeland Wong2015-10-31T13:21:53-07:002015-10-31T13:21:53-07:00Q3: USC's FG gives them a 10–7 lead
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gzWmZn0_N0c4S52oRu7Tsyx5zAo=/0x0:4896x3264/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47558933/usa-today-8894164.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cal isn't faceplanting against USC. It's a miracle!</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/">California Golden Bears</a> and the <a style="background-color: #ffffff;" class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.conquestchronicles.com/">USC Trojans</a> are battling in an exciting game. USC got a FG to end the first half with a 10–7 lead, but the Bears are still in it! And that feels so weird...</p>
<p><a data-widget-id="378939009554055168" href="https://twitter.com/GoldenBlogs/golden-tweeters" class="twitter-timeline">Tweets from @GoldenBlogs/golden-tweeters</a></p>
https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2015/10/31/9613938/caifornia-golden-bears-usc-trojans-dykes-goff-kragen-helton-kessler-smith-schusterLeland Wong2015-10-31T12:39:27-07:002015-10-31T12:39:27-07:00Q2: Cal leads USC for the 1st time in 8 yrs, 7–0
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<img alt="Don't warm up too much, Cody." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/M0sMppc0PlolpetCcgtG44G2rQI=/0x227:1957x1532/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47558753/usa-today-8894059.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Don't warm up too much, Cody. | Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is a foreign feeling.</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/">California Golden Bears</a> are leading the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.conquestchronicles.com/">USC Trojans</a>. WHAT?</p>
<p>Thanks to the 7–0 score, we're leading the Trojans for the first time since 2007. Let's keep that momentum going, Bears!</p>
<p><a data-widget-id="378939009554055168" href="https://twitter.com/GoldenBlogs/golden-tweeters" class="twitter-timeline">Tweets from @GoldenBlogs/golden-tweeters</a></p>
https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2015/10/31/9613936/caifornia-golden-bears-usc-trojans-dykes-goff-kragen-helton-kessler-smith-schusterLeland Wong