Cal Football Blog

“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.”
–Bill Shankly

As a hardcore Cal fan, Cal football IS life. It’s so sad that during the offseason most people didn’t expect too much out of the football team. Maybe an 8-4 and hopes for a 9-3 season. No one expected a Rose Bowl but no one expected this either. It’s so bad that Cal is actually doing worse than Ted Miller’s Worst Case Scenario. So what’s all the concern? Well here’s a few things on the laundry list of worries: Pendergast is now 1-6 against spread offenses and zone read offenses, Cal’s offensive line is getting torn up left and right every game, the running game both offense and defense is terrible, Bigelow seems like the next Jahvid Best but Tedford won’t play him because of “missed  assignments” (though I’m sure each offensive lineman has missed way more assignments than Bigelow), and overall the team looks lackluster and defeated. Where’s the motivation? Where’s the fire?

 “Pro football is like nuclear warfare. There are no winners, only survivors.”
–Frank Gifford

It seems like every single program in the Pac-12 is fighting to be relevant. Even though Washington State are looking pretty bad right now, at least they tried to change things up by hiring Leach and at least they are trying to rebuild. Oregon State had a terrible past two seasons but look at them now. Mike Riley knew he was on the hot seat so he brought back the intensity to Oregon State. What about Tedford? Sure Sandy Barbour have continuously supported him, but look where the program is now. Tedford has not brought any motivation to the team since 2006. He keeps trying to change things around him but really he’s been changing himself. He has lost his identity -  that Tedford from 2002-2006. He keeps looking for help from others, even studied plays under Bill Belichik, but really all he needs to do is look inward not outward. Tedford needs to know that it’s time to fight and it’s time to win. He has to take responsibility and blame for everything because right now only he himself can win the battle and ultimately, the war.

“We can’t run. We can’t pass. We can’t stop the run. We can’t stop the pass. We can’t kick. Other than that, we’re just not a very good football team right now.”
–Bruce Coslet

Is it time to panic? Maybe. Fans on BearInsider have already started a thread on who should be our next Head Coach. Everyone is blaming everyone and everything, and only a couple more losses before all chaos lets loose. But hey you know what? The Bear Will Not Quit, The Bear Will Not Die! Cal is going to need one hell of a comeback to go 9-3 (if Cal does, I assure you we will be ranked at the end of the season). I’d even be happy with an 8-4 season. However, it all begins this Saturday against ASU. You want to know where this season is gonna go? Then watch the ASU game. We win this Saturday with certainty and just maybe we’ll get our mojo back, but if we lose look for pitchforks and torches outside of Tedford’s office.

There are not too many Cal fans that have no disdain for those wretched USC Trojans. That’s because Cal hasn’t defeated the Trojans since 2003! That’s 9 long aggravating defeats.

Every year, Cal seems to have a change against the Trojans but for some reason they always bring out their best against Cal. USC has always had the top athletic and toughest team yet sometimes they lose to middle of the Pac teams like Oregon State. However, that loss is never against Cal. What the hell is up with that?

Well, forgive me for ranting about how the hell Cal loses to USC all the damn time while Stanford manages to defeat them 4 years in a row. HOW??? Luckily, Cal may be able to observe what Stanford was able to do last week against the Trojans, and possibly mimic what Stanford did. This Saturday could be the best or worst timing to play the Trojans. Barkley and company could be so hungry and focused for a victory after their loss that they might come out fired up against the Bears, or they may still be struggling and confused after their big defeat against Stanford. Whatever the case is there are a few things that the Bears must be better at than the Trojans in order to win.

1. Establish a running game

This means that our beat up offensive line MUST create holes for our talented backs. With Tedford’s new revelation that Brendan Bigelow is the fastest and most balanced runner since Jahvid Best, Cal may have an easier time establishing a run game and also creating some interesting play action plays. If Cal can pound USC’s defensive line much like what Stanford did, Cal will definitely be toe to toe against USC.

2. Stop the running game

As important as it is to establish the running game, it might be even more important to stop USC’s running game. Yes, Barkley and his speedy receivers have ridiculous play making ability, but if Cal has to force the Trojans to pass more than they would like to, Cal can force Barkley to make just enough mistakes to steal the game.

3. Win the Turnover Battle

The last time Cal had less turnovers than USC was in 2003. Yeah, that’s the last game we actually defeated the Trojans. Cal just has to stay focused on the game plan without over doing everything and the ball may just bounce Cal’s way. Barkley tended to hint at where he threw the last three games so maybe our Defensive Backs can catch onto that but at the same time be cautious that Barkley may have fixed that problem after his loss last week.

So here are all the away stadiums that the Cal Football team will be going to. At each location I have placed a few of the top eateries according to Yelp & Zagat. Each eatery’s marker  has a Yelp link with it so that you can judge yourself. Enjoy! And let me know if you want me to add any special locations!

Overall: [8-3]

Meh, got to learn to pick with my head and not my heart. It looks like the Pac-12 is going to be a two team top heavy league this year with a lot mediocrity unless a few teams can pull off some upsets this weekend.

Utah 35 – Utah State 14: Utah should be on upset alert. Keep in mind the Aggies almost upset Auburn last year if it wasn’t for an onside kick recovery.
Sacramento State 21 – Colorado 24: Colorado should have a better showing this week. Needless to say, the loss of Paul Richardson is hurting the Buffalo’s offense a ton.
Southern Utah 13 – California 55: I hope the stadium is at least half full.
Eastern Washington 21 – Washington State 37 : Home cooking should help the Cougars get back on their feet. Expect a lot of passing this game.
USC 35 – Syracuse 7: Probably the first of two trips for Matt Barkley to New York City this season.
Wisconsin 35 – Oregon State 12: Too much talent and too much Ball on one side. Plus not having a tune-up game last week hurts the Beavers. Oregon State probably starts slow again this season only to wreck BCS havoc later.
Fresno State 17 – Oregon 48: Lot of pushups on the schedule for Puddles today.
Washington 17– LSU 31: LSU hasn’t lost to a Pac-10/12 team since 1979 against USC. Granted there have been some close calls. What a huge win this would be if UW can pull this off.
Nebraska 24 – UCLA 35: Vegas really likes Nebraska so I’m going to go the other way. Two similar offenses should make for an exciting game.
Oklahoma State 31 – Arizona 27: Will the third time be the charm for Arizona? Oklahoma State doesn’t have Weeden or Blackmon, but Mike Gundy is still a man and can coach high octane offenses.
Illinois 24 – Arizona State 42: Illinois had two wins against Pac-12 teams last season and it would be nice for Sparky to get one back against the Big-10. Hopefully the Sun Devils aren’t looking ahead to Missouri next week.
Duke 16 – Stanford 31: I expect a better showing from the Cardinals this weekend. Duke has been making progress under new coach David Cutcliffe but it’s still a basketball school and will be first. Interesting note: Duke has two Rose Bowl appearances.