Air Force

Well, I had to take a break from our Family Ski vacation to travel over to the Tahoe Biltmore and watch the Bears vs. the Air Force. I have to say that I was glad I did. I also got to lay some coin down and get a bit of a nice return.

This was an interesting game.

First, Nate Longshore was yanked early, when the Bears were down 21-0. But let's be honest - it was not Nate's fault. Nate was 5 for 8, and the last play of the second drive was dropped (on a 4th and something). It was a pass to Layrelle Cunningham, I think. Because Nate did not have the ability to pass to Jordan or DeSean Jackson, who were sitting out the first quarter.

So, Nate got two series with the second team offense, and was yanked. The Bears were down by 21, because of poor defense (DeCoud was also out the first quarter) and poor special teams (the Falcons recoved a non-onside kick for the first time I think I have ever seen that).

Then, Kevin Riley came in and dominated the game. He had 8 series - all of them went for scores, or were the end of the halfs. And both of those there was no doubt that if time had not run out, the Bears would have scored.

It was almost as if this was orchestrated by Tedford to make the transition to Riley. The announcers had all of the details to make the public case for Riley. The lopsided score was just what Tedford needed to bring Riley in to make his presentation, and he did a terrific job. The details were not that important as opposed to the final result, but they were impressive. I think only three missed completions, one of which was a dropped Hail Mary at the end of the first half which should been caught by Hawkins, and was in fact the most apparent pass interference I have ever seen. He ran for first downs, he scored rushing touchdowns. In fact, he threw tight passes.

The difference was when he was in there, the offense clicked. Also, that we called a different game. Forsett was not as featured in the Riley offense. It was much more of a spread feel with the occasional rushing play, as opposed to the pro-style of Nate's offense. But in any event, Forsett had a great game. He ended with 140 yards, but did have the last quarter fumble that could have been a difference maker. But it was nice to see him with 1500 yards for the season.

The worst part of the game was watching Nate on the sidelines. It was a three hour second by second ruination of a career. It was like watching one of those movies where you can see what is coming, the guys falls, and by the end of the film you know he knows it was all over. Except that you know Nate know it as soon as he was taken out. I mean, even if Riley breaks his leg, the chants for Mansion will be too much to overcome. I really feel for the guy.

The defense still had a lot of issues, but Air Force was a good, tough option running team, which is hard to defend against. Their QB is (or, was, after a nasty leg injury) a very good runner and passer. The style of offense they run is the spread run as opposed to the spread pass. The interesting thing is that thier QB was a very good passer. They were a tough team, well coached, and did not give up. Let's face it, they scored more on us than Tennessee, USC, or Oregon did.

The general proposition is that in Bowl games, the teams that were ranked higher at the beginning of the season generally win the Bowl Game. This is based on the fact that they have more overall talent, that the lay-off is too much for most teams that won on momentum lost that momentum, and that the bowl process itself sort of loses the focus of the game, and the most talented teams win. I think that was clearly the case this year, in this bowl. Air Force is a good team, but clearly less talented than the Bears. Cal has a tremendous amount of offensive power, and can overwhelm you. The defense had issues stopping the two talented Air Force offensive weapons. But once the QB was out, the game was over.

So now, what happens? Does everyone think that Riley would have brought us to the National Championship game? Did playing Nate ruin his career? Is there a real competition? Or does winning the Bowl MVP give you the leg up for next year? Does the SAHPC ruling come in our favor? Does Tedford blow his entire half million bonus tonight on a great New Year Party?

More to come from as the Bears turn...

GO BEARS!!