(Note to readers: Today we continue in our look back at the games in the 2006 season with UCLA.  Here are links to our past look backs: Tennessee, Minnesota, Portland State, Arizona State, Oregon State, Oregon, Washington State and Washington).

The storyline:
A reeling UCLA came to Berkeley as a huge underdog to the rolling Cal Bears.  Cal easily handled UCLA in a 38-24 walkover.

The reality:
This game seemed to be the inverse of the Tennessee game in that while the game was a lot closer than the score, it was because neither defense was able to step up.  Like the Tennessee game, outside of a short stretch in the 3rd quarter, the game was more evenly matched than most remember.  In losing UCLA was able to put up 516 yards.  They were able to drive within the Cal 30 on all 4 of their first half possessions.  The primary factor in Cal’s dominating score was their ability to convert drives into points.  Ignoring UCLA’s final TD that came when the outcome was no longer in doubt, UCLA managed only 10 points the 6 times they reached the Cal 30.  While it seemed that the Cal defense did stiffen towards the end of these drives, UCLA also missed a number of opportunities including 2 hooked field-goals and two ill-advised passes that resulted in interceptions while on Cal’s side of the field.

The forgotten:
Forgotten in this game was just how bad Cal’s pass coverage was.  Cowan, a fairly inexperienced QB, was able to pick apart the Cal defense even though the defensive line was able to get reasonable pressure.  Also forgotten was the high number of penalties, particularly on UCLA in the first half.

The 2006 learnings:
By this point in the season, much was known about Cal and not a lot was learned in this game.  DeSean Jackson was still an incredible punt returner.  Cal still had great offensive balance and a deep passing threat if defenses didn’t play soft.  Not to jump ahead, but it seemed with this game that the Cal passing attach was back in stride after two mediocre weeks.  Alas it was soon to be discovered that Cal’s worst offensive woes were still in front of them.

The 2007 learnings:
It SHOULD be a learning from this game that UCLA is no team to take lightly.  This was not the blowout that everyone remembered.  While I’ve heard many a UCLA fan over-emphasize how close this game was, there is no doubt that a more polished UCLA with the benefit of playing at home in the Rose Bowl could prove dangerous to Cal, particularly if the team remembers this game as an easy blowout.  For particular player learnings, this was another game where Forsett shined in his time on the field.  He had a number of good plays.  Also, SydQuan Thompson had a great game, arguably better than Hughes who despite getting an interception and two critical knock-downs was burned a few times as well.  Syd’s side of the field was surprisingly quiet on the reception front.

The Conclusion:
I was genuinely surprised how evenly matched this game was.  UCLA definitely could have made this a close game with a little better execution particularly with Cal’s defensive struggles.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2007 at 10:05 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.