Penalty!  On Cal! 15 yards! Part I

Well, even though I always sit somewhere from R-Q on the Southeast part of the stadium I always try to enter on the North Tunnel entrance and go through the GoldZone.  When I was buying BlueZone season tix, it made it easy for me to sneak into the young alum section.  The ticket people in the GoldZone would say "Hey, TwistNHook, you need to walk to the other side, just go that way."  And then I’d do such a thing and take a left at QQ.  Now that I have a real job and ponied up for the Young Alum tix, I still try to enter from the North Tunnel and go through the GoldZone.  That way I can be right by the players as they enter and exit the field.  And boy did I hit it big this time. 

The players were walking right down the stairs onto the field.  Too bad my frigging lame flash takes forever to load.  I need to buy a super expensive camera like those dudes over at ExcuseMeForMyVoice.  Or, alternatively, they could just help me out and buy me one.  I’m sure that dude with the 2 young kids has TONS of disposable income.  Either way, if you want to get close to the players as they prepare for the game, just come down through the GoldZone.

Didn’t 44 cause that fumble ran in for the TD later?   When I got down to the field, Longshore was throwing  passes. 

For the ladies:

Then, Follett came out in street clothes.  I was very sad.  But give him a chance to rest, hopefully he can come back stronger for Oregon.  We coulda used him out there at times, but the rest is more important.  

Then, I went over to watch some of the linemen run sprints. 

Then, the players all came in to get hyped up in the North Tunnel. 

And then they sprinted out to take the field for stretching. 

When it got all cleared out, Devin Bishop made his way out.  People started cheering him and he stretched his arms out to welcome their cheers.  Being the nice guy that I remember from the FanFest, he started signing autographs for kids.

Another one for the ladies:

And then, it was off to the seats.  But I would highly suggest getting to the stadium an hour early, entering through the GoldZone and just watching the players prepare.  Who knows?  Maybe you’ll even get an autograph! 

Finally!  Conference play began in earnest this past weekend, and I’m excited to get to it.  Frankly, I’ve had enough of Pac-10 teams playing Northern Arizona and Idaho State.  Now, nothing shocking occurred in the opening slate of games, but perhaps we learned a bit about how the middle of the Pac will shake out.

- USC began its defense of the co-conference title by blowing out Washington State at home, its 35th consecutive home victory.  I watched a bit of this game before it got really ugly (how’s 47-14 sound?), but I don’t have anything terribly interesting to say about it.  Wazzu isn’t awful, but USC is #1 for a reason, and most of those reasons were on display Saturday night.  What’s a little more interesting is this little tidbit from Ted Miller’s always-excellent Pac-10 notebook for ESPN (published last Thursday):  "Washington State opened its season at Wisconsin, so it has played on the road against a good team. But, after looking at film of USC, Cougars coach Bill Doba let a moment of pure honesty slip out. "[USC] would kill Wisconsin," he said."

- Meanwhile, Cal began its defense of the co-conference title by blowing out Arizona at home, its 10th consecutive home victory.  However, it was hardly that simple.  Cal went up big early, then got sloppy and started giving some of the lead back.  Arizona got as close as 11 (and it could have been a lot closer had a long touchdown run not been called back by a face-mask penalty) before Cal was able to punch in a final touchdown and win it 45-27.  Part of the problem can certainly be blamed on injuries which have sapped Cal’s depth; if Cal can get past Oregon next Saturday, perhaps the bye weekend will help the Bears get healthy.

With Stanford showing more life than they did the last couple years, Arizona might be the worst team in this conference.  They’ll win a couple games, but I think that really speaks to the depth of the Pac-10, as well as the odds of anyone (even USC) of running the conference table this year.

- Speaking of Stanford, they certainly showed some life while hosting the Ducks on Saturday, although that life was almost entirely contained within the second quarter.  Oregon went up 21-3 early, then fumbled 3 times en route to giving up 4 consecutive touchdowns to Stanford in quarter number two.  Down and embarrassed at the half, the Ducks ripped off a 31-0 second half on their way to what the 55-31 final score might indicate was an easy victory.  Stanford certainly looks like a competitive football team this year, something that you certainly couldn’t say of Walt Harris’ teams; they might not win many games, but if they catch someone napping, they might score themselves a big upset or two.

- UCLA and Washington had a slugfest followed by a shootout at the Rose Bowl.  Defense was the game in a first half that ended in a 10-10 tie.  In the third quarter, the Bruins managed to put up a couple of touchdowns that allowed them to survive the fourth quarter shootout that ensued, 44-31.  In my opinion, this was a pretty ugly game to watch.  Miscues and overthrown passes were par for the course.  Jake Locker looks legit, but he’s still a freshman, and that definitely showed in some of his decision-making.  The Bruins can play some D, and their RBs (Bell and Markey) both flashed something special, but as of now, I have no idea who their quarterback will be — backup Pat Cowan left the game with a leg injury, and the third-stringer, a walk-on, didn’t attempt a pass in relief.  Still, after watching the Bruins for the second time in three weeks, I have to wonder:  how in the heck did they ever lose to Utah?  Inexplicable.

- Finally, Arizona State beat Oregon State in Sun Devil Stadium, a place OSU has still never won at.  Despite being spotted a 19-0 first quarter lead (including a snap sailing over the punter’s head for a safety), Oregon State couldn’t hold on, eventually falling 44-32.  Oregon State is looking more and more like last year was a high-water mark (freshman QBs in the Pac-10 are rarely a good idea), while ASU finally broke into the top 25 with the win.  Still, given ASU’s schedule (San Jose State, Colorado, San Diego State, Oregon State, all at home), I still couldn’t tell you whether they’re any good or not, and next week’s trip to Stanford probably won’t tell us much either.  Follow that with @Wazzu and home v. Washington, and ASU will very likely be 7-0 when they host Cal in late October.

- Tennessee beat Arkansas State 48-27.  No one noticed.
- Colorado State lost at Houston 38-27.  If you’ll remember, Oregon kicked Houston’s butt in the first week of the season.  Just saying.
- Louisiana Tech had the week off to think about the beat-down we laid on them.  Some R&R is always good for the mind and the body.
- Notre Dame continues to reach new lows, starting 0-4 for the first time EVER.  UCLA and USC both get them in the next month, but by then, those wins won’t mean much.  However, it does mean that perhaps Stanford has a shot when they host the Domers over Thanksgiving.
- Oregon’s win over Michigan looks better after Michigan beat Penn State 14-9, and Washington’s win at Syracuse looks a lot better after the Orange shocked Louisville 38-35.
- However, USC’s victory over Nebraska doesn’t look quite as impressive after Nebraska nearly lost to Ball State 41-40.

Also, a final note:  if you haven’t heard yet, ESPN College GameDay will be broadcasting from Eugene on Saturday.  Are you hyped yet!??!?

OK, so, something a little different this morning.  Reader Danzig wanted to try his hand at blogging, and so he, unsolicited, sent us a sample post.  We were a little confused.  Most people, when they’ve got something to say, will just start posting over on the BearInsider forums.  And if they’ve got a lot to say, well, they just start their own blog!  It’s totally free, and we’re glad to link to any new Cal blogs out there.  We’re big supporters of a vibrant Cal blogosphere.

Still, despite some dissenting opinion, I’ve decided to humor Danzig.  We’re certainly not looking for everyone to start submitting their ramblings for us to edit (I’m looking at you, Mr. Gaebler!), but there’s some different ideas here that I wanted to comment on.  Also, with both HydroTech and Yellow Fever otherwise occupied at the moment, we’re running low on material at the moment.  Anyway, Danzig, the floor is yours.

==POST BEGINS==

OFF THE BENCH MISTAKES

If you watched the game, there are probably a few things that drove you crazy.  Don’t get me wrong, I think we played well… with our passing and running game clicking, and overall, I really enjoyed the game. But the one thing that drove me absolutely bonkers was the mistakes and penalties by our players coming off our bench. Here’s what I saw:

First Quarter

    * Justin Moye – missed three key tackles, two of them resulting in first downs.  In the post game, JT said Follet was “doubtful” for Oregon… ug.
    * Versus Network - in its first Cal broadcast ever, they lose video for two of Cal’s 1Q touchdowns… they randomly inserted camera shots of nothing throughout the game, and provided crappy commentating all around. Hell, they make Comcast look good.

Second Quarter

    * Mike Mohammed - dropped an easy interception when Zona was in our redzone, eventually costing us a Zona touchdown.
    * Jordan Kay - misses 38 yard FG, when it was clearly in his range (since he made a 41 yard FG later in the game).

Fourth Quarter

    * LaReylle Cunningham – a backup WR commits personal foul on a KOR for fighting (totally away from the play), cost us a half-the-distance penalty and pins us at 10 yard line.
    * LaReylle Cunningham -  again!!! Block in back foul on the very next KOR… and again, away from the play.  Costs us 10 yards.
    * James Montgomery - fumbles in 4th quarter, results in a Zona field goal.
    * John Allen – backup DT commits late hit foul on QB.  Costs us 15 yards and gives Zona a first down.  Zona eventually gets FG.
    * Robert Peele – personal foul, late hit on receiver.  Costs us 15 yards and gives Zona first down in our redzone.

Don’t get me wrong, our veterans made mistakes too (wake up Stevens!!!), but these ‘off the bench’ mistakes just make me wonder what this game would’ve been like if our starters were healthy.

P.S. – MY UNSUNG HERO OF THE GAME - Thomas Decoud

    * Caused a fumble in 1Q (resulted in Cal TD)
    * Intercepted pass in 2Q and got one foot in before going out of bounds (killed last Zona drive of the 1H)
    * Recovered a fumble in 3Q (resulted in Cal TD)
    * Intercepted another pass in 3Q, but couldn’t get a foot inbounds (looked good though)

Runners up: Ezeff (14 tackles), Williams (14 tackles, caused lots of mayhem),

==POST ENDS==

One of the best parts about having your own blog is that you get to have the last word.  Here’s my take:

- Being that I was at the game, I can’t comment on the problems with Versus’ broadcast, although these aren’t the only complaints that I’ve heard.  I can say that I watched their broadcast of the UCLA-BYU game two weeks ago and was rather impressed (unlike CSTV, they have HD cameras), so I don’t know what happened on Saturday.  I can also say that there were more than a few empty seats at Memorial, so if you don’t like the TV broadcasts, you can always come down and root on your Bears in person.

- I’m not gonna rag on Jordan Kay just yet, but then, I don’t expect anything from backup kickers.  I consider everything the Bears have gotten from him to be a bonus, and so far, that’s been quite a bit.

- LaReylle Cunningham?  He’s still on the team?  (Apparently, he’s a redshirt junior!)  Man, I haven’t heard that name in a while.  Not since the Wazzu game two years ago, when Ayoob to Cunningham was somehow a winning combination.  To me, Cunningham is a lot like Alex Pribble.  Hard worker, decent role player, but just as "Pribble Time" meant either 1) garbage time or 2) "we’re in trouble" time, I can only hope we don’t have to see too much of LaReylle.

- My post-game notes completely omitted any mention of Thomas DeCoud, an egregious error.  This guy was awesome last Saturday, and I’m glad Danzig (and others) brought him up.

- Danzig’s main point about bench players is valid.  Often, the difference between Pac-10 teams and good WAC teams is not so much the starters as the skill level of the backups.  How many times have you seen a big upset fizzle in the 4th quarter, as the underdog’s starters tire and their backups just can’t cut it against top-level competition?  Injury problems or not, our backups will play in big games this year, if only to rest the starters, and whether or not there’s any dropoff from the starters’ level of play may well determine whether a late rally succeeds or fails.

Well, Danzig, there’s your first post.  Was it everything you hoped?