WOW!  I did not expect that.  Before I get to the meat of the game I’ve got 3 intro non-game related issues:

1. DirecTivo SUCKS!
2. Duck fans are getting worse.
3. For the remaining Duck fans: take heart, you can make this game your Tennessee.

Going in order:

#1. Every week I record the game on my TiVo (via my DirecTV subscription) so that I can review the game at home afterwards, particularly any plays that were difficult to see at the game (or missed during a food/bathroom break).  This week when I looked on Friday afternoon to pick the show to record, all it had for the game was a subscription ESPN game-plan channel.  I decided to record it just in case.  I also went to the timeslot where the football game was supposed to be on ABC to see that it just had the title “College Football” without any information about the teams.  I assumed the reason was because the guide had yet to update with the specifics because I knew the game was going to be on ABC (which I was right), so I recorded it too (I’ve got a duel tuner so it can record two shows at once).  I got home today to find that the ESPN premium channel (which I don’t subscribe to), while it recorded, showed up as a blank screen (for obvious reasons) and the ABC broadcast wasn’t recorded at all.  I assume the reason the ABC broadcast didn’t record is because the title of the show probably changed between when I set it up to record and when it was supposed to record to include the teams involved.  The result was that it dropped my recording of a now “non-existant” show.  The end result is that I didn’t get the recording of the game all because my DirecTivo SUCKS!

#2.  Was I the only one who thought the Ducks fans this year were the most obnoxious I have ever seen them?  They were beligerant, disrespectful and showed a complete lack of class.  They were bad enough that I though Phil should be issuing a Whammy, but seeing as how they lost I guess a Whammy doesn’t make any sense.  Or perhaps he issued the Whammy before the game and that’s what explains the result.

#3.  For you noble Duck fans, take heart.  I saw talent in your team.  While I don’t know if the Ducks could have won that game even if they came with their ‘A’ game, I do know that they didn’t bring their ‘A’ game.  Upsetting USC can still be in the cards for the Ducks as well as running the rest of the Pac-10 table.  Make the Cal game your Tennessee, not the game that unravels your season.

OK, onto the game.

As much as I need to eat some humble-pie for chastizing those who said Cal would blow out Oregon, I do feel some vindication in my pre-game predictions as the issues I brought up as being key to the game were indeed the keys to the game.  Turnovers, Punts, Containing Dixon, Ball Control (particularly in the 2nd half) and slowing down the Spread were all what turned this game into the blowout it was.

The part that impresses me most was how Cal kept Dixon confused and made the spread ineffective.  The key to the Spread seems to be the quick reads and throws.  Because the offense is just as spread out as the defense, long plays allow the defensive line to close in on the QB.  It seemed that about every other play I saw a couple of linebackers dramatically shift their zones after Dixon had made his pre-snap reads.  Just about every time that happened, Dixon looked hesitant and confused as he was trying to find the open reciever after the snap.  It was a genius plan and I’ve got to give all kinds of credit to Bob Gregory.

Beyond that, the defense played very disciplined and tough defense.  They were able to cover all the recievers even with all of the trickery and the line was able to consistently put pressure on Dixon (and by the way, the Oregon offensive line was holding on so many plays that the refs should have run out of penalty flags and Cal STILL got pressure).

And that was the difference in this game.  The offense played just as well as I expected them to play.  The only thing that surprised me was that the Oregon defense was still lining up man-on-man for Cal’s wideouts.  How long is it going to take for a Pac-10 team to recognize that doing that is giving 21+ free points to the Bears?  I mean, I’m not complaining but come on, this is not Ayoob’s Bears anymore!

Looking forward, while I know Tedford will keep the Bears focused on each game (as well he should), I don’t see anything before the USC game that should concern Bears fans.  WSU is looking impotent offensively and Cal should be able to light them up.  Washington although stout, is probably still an easy win because the game is in Berkeley.  UCLA shouldn’t be any trouble either again in part because the game is in Berkeley (they are another team like ASU that just can’t seem to get the job done in Berkeley).  Arizona on the road shouldn’t be a problem either in part because they continue to suck and in part because the Bears own Arizona.  Then we play USC in LA.

Looking at that game, based on what we know now, I think Cal has a VERY good shot at winning that game.  In fact, I still wouldn’t be surprised to see USC with a couple losses by then.  But even if they don’t, I think Cal has the game, both on defense and offense, to win that one.  The mistakes will be the key factor and one of the things I like about this team is how mistake free they are.  I’ll be watching the USC vs. ASU game with great interest next week because I think it will tell us a lot about USC.  Combining that with Cal’s game vs WSU and we’ll then have two direct comparision teams to evaluate the matchup from so I think the picture will be much clearer next Sunday.

Finally, I need to make a request of FoxSportsNetwork:  Could you guys PLEASE pick up the Cal vs. Washington game and play it during your 7:00 PM time slot?  PLEASE!  See, I’ve got a big sailing regatta that weekend that I can’t miss and I could choose option ‘c’ (all of the above) if you guys got the game moved to 7:00 PM.  If you do, I’ll be singing your praises until you don’t answer one of my future pleas.  Deal?

GO BEARS!

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 8th, 2006 at 6:09 pm and is filed under Sports, Sports - Cal Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.