SC Pain

After the game last night I was more depressed than usual after a Cal game. That was an very winnable game against an opponent that would have given us a huge amount of credibility, and it would have sent us to the Rose Bowl, I am sure, had we won.

That being said, the eternal Cal Fan optimist in me is pleased with the results in a certain way. Cal is still effectively one of the top 25 teams in the country, and I think we will finish 9-3 and have a nice trip to the Holiday Bowl, or better yet, the Emerald Bowl, if Arizona wins out. It would be nice to save a bit of coin in these tough economic times, and see the Bears in the City.

In any event, the good news from last nights game was the defense. They held up well against a very good USC offense. Yes, they gave up 411 yards, but in the new version of the bend but don't break, the trojans scored very little. Much of that was due to stupid penalties on the Trojans, but it was also due to the fact that the Bears held tough on third down, holding them to 4 of 11, including three sacks and a number of broken up passes. Also, one very nice forced fumble by Zack Follett to keep the bears in the game late in the 3rd quarter.

The QB's did not play well, and so went our offense. SC definitely took away our running game, but they gave us plenty of room to pass. This was the typical Pete Carroll defense, which i think works well when you are not playing an excellent QB. Essentially, take the run away, put tons of pressure on the rush, and keep your safeties deep. But the Bears had plenty of opportunities to have huge passing plays, where the passes were simply misplaced.

Tedford took Nate out of the game after the first half. Statistically, Nate looked like he was doing well - 11 of 15 for 80 yards or so. But he had two picks that were luckily overturned by SC defensive penalties, and he simply fell down twice for huge losses - essentially giving the Trojans a tackle-less sack. So Tedford decided to go with Riley in the second half.

The first drive was very nice, until we scored. Because then the ref's took it away from the Bears, and that was the end of Kevin Riley. the next play was almost picked off, and the one after was picked off. And he was terrible after that . In fact, Kevin Riley only completed one pass after the first drive in the third quarter. He ended the game 4 of 16, for a dismal 25% pass completion rate.

It was clear that the play calling and the protection and all of the other things were working well. The bottom line is that there were plenty of open receivers down field - with like 5 yards separation - and Riley just did not hit them. He was clearly rattled.

I think it was the result of getting his bell rung last week, and I think that he was hearing footsteps. He did get sacked twice and he was getting the typical SC cheap-shot post throw hits. That being said, the passes were just way off. Next year, he makes all of those throws.

All in all, this was a good game for the Bears. The defense was very good. the special teams, except for the second-half kickoff going out of bounds, was fine. Giorgio Tavecchio is turning into my favorite kicker in a while. I loved his explanation to Tedford - all in his hands - about the his field goal, as he was running off the field. I think I saw Tedford shake his head and smile.

As far as it goes for the offense, I think a few things have emerged. Clearly, Riley needs to get his head on straight, but that will happen soon enough. It is clear that if he was not injured last week he would have started, and JT is quick to get him in VS Nate. So I am confident that he will start to play better. This game reminded me of the USC game when Aaron Rogers started and Reggie Roberson had to take over because he was getting pummeled in 2003. Except that we could not take him out. That being said, Nyan Boateng seemed like he is coming into his own - he is big guy and I think next year he tears it up. Also, it seemed like Verran Tucker is going to be another strong answer for us at the wide receiver spot. Getting someone else to step-up would be nice. And I think that will be Ross - I was very impressed with his end-around. He looked like a running back.

The line needs work, but there are plenty of quality players there, with more stepping up. A line next year with all of the guys getting a year under their belt will be plenty tough. It is hard this year, but they are all learning. Having only one upper classman on the line is not a recipe for success.

So there is reason for optimism. I think the offense is a work in progress and will continue to get better. The defense is playing well, and I do not see a drop -off for next year. In fact, I am really excited about next year.

This was a game that everyone knew would tell us where we are. It did. So, in a rebuilding year, the Bears go 9-3, and set up a big push for next year. Not too shabby.

GO BEARS!!