Cal vs USC

I just read the October 22 issue of Sports Illustrated, where Marvin Jones goes though his journey to making a decision to select Cal over Oregon as a scholarship player for 2008. I almost cried.

The article goes though the process of Jones going to Oregon, very impressed by the situation there, with the fancy locker room, and the very impressive facilities. He says he "liked it even more than he thought he would."

Then, he goes to Cal. And it goes through the process of staying at the Claremont Hotel, then moving in with the team for the Oregon State game at the Berkeley Marriott, and then going to the game (which we lost, by the way). He goes to a party at the dorms (Clark Kerr, formerly Dwight Derby when I went there). He was impressed with the facilities (because football is not just the weight room, baby - you actually have to live there too). But more importantly, he was impressed with the people and the team. He felt at home.

I think that is the best thing about Cal. There is something for everyone. It is so diverse, that anyone can find a home there, and no one feels left out. That is what a family should feel like, and that is what makes Cal great. Excellent academics, excellent student body, and excellent diversity of opinion and thought. It is not all about football, or whatever else you may think it is about. There is no typical Cal student.

It is great students striving to make the best of themselves. Some of them do it on the athletic field, and some in the other areas. But all make their way through the great University and grow to become something better than when they came. It is a great experience in itself.

When you think about the kids who are playing tomorrow (almost today - it is getting late), you realize that they are not half as hard on themselves as us fans are on them or on the program. They are having a good time, they are working their ass off, but they are also being college students. And that means, doing the stupid things that College kids do, and not always trying as hard as they possibly can, and having lapses in judgement. And all of that is OK. It is not the end of the world. But at the end of the day, when they go out there, they give it their best and if it works out good, then that is all gravy. Sometimes it does not work out. That is OK too. We will all wake up tomorrow.

As Cal fans, we have all been in situations over the past 50 YEARS where the best was not good enough to get to the top of the Pac 10, let alone the national conversation. The past few years, we have been in the national conversation, and that is because we have a coach who has been able to focus those college kids into a group that has, for whatever reason, been able to do well on the field. Some of them are great athletes that he has recruited, and some of them are strong persons who have decided to make a strong effort and dominate. And some are both. And when you get someone where the coach is excited to have them, and the player is excited to come, that is a great combination. Hence, I almost cried when I read that Sports Illustrated article. Those are the type of kids that I want playing for my University.

We have a coach that has dedicated himself to growing the type of team at Cal that is perfect for Cal - diverse, intelligent, and hard working. Kids who strive for the best but are not entirely focused on the game. But, like all Cal fans, they have dedicated themselves to the knowledge that beating those arrogant bastards from USC is the sole defining purpose in their lives.

Football is a true team sport - if someone is injured, or someone is not pulling the weight, then the whole team is impacted. That has been the case with the Bears, and frankly, the Trojans for the last few weeks. Both teams have had their leader out, injured and not playing up to the level expected of a leader.

If you look at USC over the past few years, you can see that their team has been a QB driven team, with Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart leading them through the tough times, and doing a great job, and winning championships. Booty has also been a leader, although not quite up to the level of the other two. Yet, he still was a very good QB last year, and USC tied with Cal for the Pac 10 championship.

Cal, on the other hand, has had spotty leadership on the QB front. We had a damaged Kyle Boller, who stayed for a year, and frankly was healed under our coach. Then, we had a great guy who went pro after two years, but brought us to our pinnacle in 2004 (Aaron Rodgers). We then had a major injury, and our leader was out for the season. So Joe Ayoob came in. Joe was a good QB, but not what we needed. We needed our leader. And Nate was out. So we struggled. Then, our leader came back and started to get us back in the game, and we excelled. We beat Tennessee, Oregon, Texas A&M. We were golden. But he got hurt, and we have been hurt ever since. The coach knows this, and has tried to finesse the situation, but it has not worked entirely.

Last week, it looks like USC got their leader back. So far, we have not. Tomorrow is the chance to get ours back. If we do, we have a very good chance of beating these guys.

We do have a better team. We have the better program. We may not have all of the better players, but we do have the better focus. We have the better University. What we need is a better leader than them on the field. And if we have that, then we win.

If we don't, then I guess we can always hire an SC grad to clean our pool or something, and feel better about that.

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SC has not played well in the last few weeks. Against Oregon State, Arizona and Oregon, they only has two scoring drives longer than 25 yards each game. They have been opportunistic, and still created TOs that lead to their victory in two of the three games. But Baring that, they would have lost all of them.

Cal, on the other hand, would have won each game but for the turnovers.

It is easy to see the difference and what the focus should be - avoid the interception and the fumble, and we win. Lose the ball, and it is all over for us.

That is what I think the coaches believe, and that is what USC will play for. Therefore, they will blitz, and they will stunt, and the will be a little aggressive on defense. We just need to have a QB who can take advantage of that. Nate will play, and play the whole game. He needs to be rested and ready. We can not afford to make mistakes and make the errors that we have been making. In other words, we need to play looser than we have. I am hoping that a wet field helps us out (it generally helps the offense, and SC strength is defensive). I also believe that Nate is finally feeling better. If the crowd helps him, I think we can play a dominating game on both sides of the ball, and come out with our first victory against these guys in four years. The coaches will play a ball control offense. I just want them to play a ball control offense with 20 yard passes in the red zone, so we do not have to run it up the middle there.

GO BEARS!!