| 29 June 2010
Happy Tuesday Cougs, and welcome to another '10 Spring Fish wrap! Up for today is opponent number ten on WSU's schedule for this year, the Cal Bears from Berkeley. How do they look, post spring-style? Let's go....
I think many people would agree with this assessment, but Cal can be classified as a tough one to figure out. So much talent, so much speed, and what looks like fantastic schemes on both sides of the ball. But just when you think you have them pegged, they go completely against what you think they are going to do. They can be fantastic at times, almost taking your breath away with their speed, power and execution. But when you start falling in love, BOOM, they go out and break your heart with some strange performances that you honestly and truly never saw coming. Consider:
2009: After opening 3-0 and sitting at #6 in the country, they go to Oregon in a fantastic looking matchup....on paper anyway. Then the game started, and it was a barrage of yards and points from every direction. Cal would get absolutely blasted, 42-3, in one of the toughest-to-figure-out games in a long time.
I think many people would agree with this assessment, but Cal can be classified as a tough one to figure out. So much talent, so much speed, and what looks like fantastic schemes on both sides of the ball. But just when you think you have them pegged, they go completely against what you think they are going to do. They can be fantastic at times, almost taking your breath away with their speed, power and execution. But when you start falling in love, BOOM, they go out and break your heart with some strange performances that you honestly and truly never saw coming. Consider:
2009: After opening 3-0 and sitting at #6 in the country, they go to Oregon in a fantastic looking matchup....on paper anyway. Then the game started, and it was a barrage of yards and points from every direction. Cal would get absolutely blasted, 42-3, in one of the toughest-to-figure-out games in a long time.
Then the next week, they would get waxed by an above average SC team, 30-3, at home! Outscored 72-6 in the first two Pac-10 games of '09, from the team that was a "sexy" pick to win the conference?
But that's not all! Just when you thought they would be left for dead....suddenly Cal turned it around. After that SC loss, they would win five of their next six games, including an impressive two-week run of wins over then-#17 Arizona and the Big Game victory over Stanford. Cal was 8-3 and back, baby!....Right? Wrong. What do they do next, but go to Seattle and get steamrolled 42-10 by the Jake Locker's!!?! Then to cap off the whole season, they go and lose to Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl, swallowing a bitter 8-5 pill of an '09 season.
But '09 wasn't a one-time anomoly. No, this sort of Jeckyl-and-Hyde act has reared it's ugly head a few times recently in the Jeff Tedford regime.
2008: They start the year strong by beating up Michigan State and WSU in the first two games on the schedule. They then travel to Maryland and you're thinking no biggie, an average ACC team on the road, shouldn't be too tough. Next thing you know, Maryland sprints to a 28-6 3rd-quarter lead, as Cal looks like they forgot to get off the bus. They do rally from some TD's late to make it interesting, but would ultimately fall 35-27. That loss dropped them from the rankings. But they circle the wagons and win the next couple of games, and suddenly they are ranked....but then they go and lose to Arizona, and they fall right out again. But then they win two more in a row, including an upset over a ranked Oregon team, and they are ranked again....only to lose AGAIN, this time to USC.
2007: It has to be one of the weirdest ones yet. Cal comes flying out of the gates, sprinting to a 5-0 record to open the year. They are sitting at #2 in the country, and those pesky Beavers are in Strawberry Canyon as 14-point underdogs. Shouldn't be a big deal, right? To add to the drama, #1 LSU loses earlier in the day, meaning a Cal victory would push the Bears to NUMBER ONE in the polls! But, well, it didn't work out. The Beavs were in the midst of their usual mid-season surge, you know, where after about a month of slow starts they figure it all out? Anyway, Cal loses 31-28 on a braincramp from then-backup QB Kevin Riley, who shows some late-game inexperience and fails to throw the ball away or get out of bounds, instead taking a sack in field goal range as time expires.
That's enough, right? OK, just one more.
2006: They open the season as the #9 team in the country, only to get buried by Tennessee to start the year. Everyone screams that Cal is overrated, etc, and they are forgotten. But Cal gets super-hot, winning their next eight in a row to get right back up into the top ten in the rankings. It's an amazing climb, and suddenly they are staring at a big-time showdown at USC for what looks like a Pac-10 title game. But first they had to go take care of Arizona before the big game. While it's a road game, still, Arizona in '06 wasn't anything to write home about, a 4-5 team coming into the game as Cal was a 13-point fav. No big deal, right? Again, we are baffled, as the Mildcats take down Cal in Tucson, 24-20.
No, Denny Green....the Bears are NOT who we thought they were.
No, Denny Green....the Bears are NOT who we thought they were.
Why the weirdness? It's a legit question, and there are several theories as to why this happens. One could be that while Cal's headliners can go toe-to-toe with any program in the west, well, the depth just isn't up to the SC's and Oregon's of the conference. As the injuries and such pile up over a grinder of a Pac-10 season, they aren't able to keep it together. There are other theories as well, up to and including the idea that Tedford is simply a good-but-not-great head coach. I can't possibly buy that one, not when you look at his career record of 67-35 in his eight years in Berkeley. Who knows why this keeps happening, but it certainly doesn't look like a flukish, every now and then type deal. It's becoming a disturbing trend, and you wonder when exactly Cal is going to kick down that door and finally get to a cherished BCS bowl.
I know I went out there and picked Cal to win the Pac-10 last year, as I was absolutely convinced it was their time (and I talked myself out of taking Oregon in the process!). But who knows. The expectations are going to be lower than usual for Cal in '10, as the pre-season rags are picking them in the middle of the pack for the upcoming year. Maybe this is the year they break through, when nobody goes out and picks them to actually do it!? Knowing what they've done in recent years, I guess nothing would surprise us at this point.
LAST TIME vs. WSU: It wasn't as bad as 66-3 in '08, but Cal still walloped WSU 49-17 in Berkeley. As per the usual "M-O" when WSU played a football game last year, Cal would sprint out to a big early lead, up 35-3 early in the 2nd quarter. But to their credit, the Cougs never quit, and Jeff Tuel threw a couple of TD's to make it a somewhat interesting 35-17 halftime score. Cal would finish things off the second half, and that was that.
But if you are looking for positives from a WSU p-o-v, it was clearly Jeff Tuel.
Tuel went 28-for-42 for 354 yards and two TD's, zero INT's. He threw deep, he threw underneath, and he played within himself without too many mistakes. Overall just a really solid game from the true frosh. And best of all, it showed that Tuel could get off the mat after a really tough loss the game before, when ASU's D made life miserable for the Cougar offense.
FANS ARE: Just about ready to scream ENOUGH ALREADY with the non-BCS bowl stuff. It's been a nice run under Tedford, it really has. But it is time to take that next step. The fans are ready.
'09 OFFENSIVE RATINGS: Fourth in the Pac-10 and 47th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 29.1 ppg. They were third in rushing O, 42nd nationally at 169.5 ypg. They were middle of the road in passing, 5th in the conference and 53rd overall, at 222.7 yards per game. Finally, fourth in the conference in total offense, 49th nationally, at 392.2 yards per game.
OFFENSIVE SYSTEM: They might have Andy Ludwig as the offensive coordinator, but Jeff Tedford's hands are all over the offense. Cal will employ the west coast offense approach, with a running back, fullback, tight end and two WR's in their standard sets. Their system is running back friendly too, as Cal had a streak of at least one 1,000+ yard rusher in seven consecutive seasons before injuries ended it last year.
2010 RETURNING OFFENSIVE STARTERS: Depending on where you look or what you read, Cal looks to be in great shape on O, with eight possible starters returning in 2010.
TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYER: Jahvid Best has left the building, off to try and run away from NFL defenders for the hapless Detroit Lions. We wish Best all the luck in the world on the next level. Truly an electrifying player who was a ton of fun to watch every time he touched the football, there is no question Cal is going to miss his explosiveness this season. However, not all is lost. Understudy Shane Vereen is back, and this time, he gets center stage in the Cal offense.
While some may shed a tear over the loss of Best, few around the Cal universe are all that broken up about it. Vereen has done just fine, thanks, rushing for 952 yards last season as a backup to Best, at least for much of the season anyway. However, once Best went down with that scary injury vs. Oregon State, Vereen took over and started the last four games. He would average over five yards per carry for the second straight year (5.0 his redshirt frosh year, 5.2 last year), and is impressive enough in the speed and moves department himself. Check it out:
Vereen was large vs. Arizona and Stanford down the stretch, where he carried the ball a combined 72 TIMES in those two games, tallying 352 yards and four rushing TD's in those key victories. And in those four starts after Best went down, Vereen had 566 rushing yards. If he can handle the full-time load on his 5-10, 199lb frame, it's exciting to think what Vereen might do with even more touches in 2010!
'09 DEFENSIVE RATINGS: Seventh in the Pac-10 in scoring D, and 60th nationally in allowing 25.5 points per game. They were tough vs. the run, second in the Pac-10 and 23rd in the country at 112 yards allowed on the ground. But the passing yards were a bit high, ninth in the conference and 111th nationally in allowing 266.9 yards per game. Total defense came in the lower half of the conference, 7th in the Pac-10 and 72nd in the nation at 378.9 yards per game.
DEFENSIVE SCHEME: It will still be a 3-4, but it won't be the 3-4 you are used to with Cal. Former Coug Bob Gregory left for Boise State, in a kinda/sorta weird manner. Was he forced out? Was he burned out? Did he really leap at the idea of moving from the BCS-Bay Area-Tedford, for the blue turf in Boise? Who knows. As the San Jose Mercury News speculated, well, maybe it was a little of both, and Tedford didn't stop him from heading out the door. Anyway, Clancy Pendergast has arrived, armed with NFL coordinating experience ('04-'08 at Arizona, '09 at KC). The word on the street is that they will be less of a dropback into coverage style 3-4, and definitely more of an attacking unit predicated on getting more pressure on the QB.
2010 RETURNING DEFENSIVE STARTERS: Cal returns at least seven starters on defense from a year ago.
TOP RETURNING DEFENSIVE PLAYER: While Syd'Quan Thompson and Tyson Alualu have moved on to the NFL, there is still some excellent talent here. And while Cameron Jordan is back with his six sacks from a year ago, we have to go with the do-it-all linebacker, Mike Mohamed.
Mohamed is the senior leader on the defense, and has been a fantastic Pac-10 linebacker. He is up for all the Pac-10 preseason teams, as well as Phil Steele's All-American team. He was just announced as a member of the 2010 Bronco Nagurski watch list, which is awarded to the top defensive player in the nation on an annual basis. He is Cal's active leading career tackler at 245, and last year led the team in tackles (112) among eight tackles for loss, as well as leading the team in interceptions (3). The 6-3, 238-lb inside linebacker should have a huge final season in Berkeley.
TOP THREE POST-SPRING QUESTIONS:
1) WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH RILEY? It's hard to really grasp it, but for whatever reason, QB Kevin Riley has not upped his game in the biggest moments of his Cal career. It's not all his fault, of course, I mean you can't always just blame the QB when things go south, as they did in huge losses to Oregon and SC last year. And last year, when he was on, he was ON, as in over a 60% completion percentage in the throwing the ball and a 15-4 TD to INT ratio. But when he's off, he's really off. Last year in five losses, he hit just 46% of his completions, and had more INT's (4) to TD's (3).
But even with some up-and-down performances, it doesn't really look like he's in that much danger of losing the starting gig....right? Well, Riley still threw for over 2800 yards last season, with 18 TD's and just 8 INT's on 382 passing attempts. It's not like he doesn't have a clue here. There is some competition behind Riley, with Brock Mansion and Beau Sweeney (yes, Sweeney is former coach Jim Sweeney's grandson). But this is it for the senior QB. Does he have what it takes to get Cal to the upper-echelon of the Pac-10? We'll see.
Then again, maybe we won't. You only have to look back a couple of years ago, when everyone in Ted-head Nation was head over heels for QB Nate Longshore. Longshore threw for over 3,000 yards in '06, and looked like the job was his for as long as he would stay at Cal. But by the middle of '07, Riley was getting playing time due to injuries and inconsistency from Longshore. So Tedford has shown that he at least isn't afraid to mix things up at QB if it isn't going all that great. Who knows, a slow start from Riley may see him yanked in favor of the younger talent behind him. But you can bet that most likely, Riley gets the call in the opener.
2) WILL THE DEFENSE REALLY GET BETTER? You'd like to think so, and it's hard to argue against Clancy Pendergast. The man was the D-coordinator when Arizona went to the Super Bowl, and they played a physical, attacking style of defense to get to the ultimate game. Obviously the college game is a big difference, of course, and not all NFL coordinators automatically succeed at the college level.
I still remember UW'ers hyping up their defensive coordinator from the NFL, Ed Donatell. Donatell came in with an NFL heavy background, a d-coordinator for 12 seasons prior to getting the UW job. What happened? UW rolled off one of the worst defenses in SCHOOL HISTORY in '08, and was quickly shown the door along with the rest of Ty Willingham's staff after the season. Granted, that UW team was awful, and it's hard to imagine many coaches doing much with that team. So often the old saying is true - it's less the x's and o's, and more the Jimmie's and Joe's. But it is also a reminder that just because the man has an NFL background as a coordinator, well, it doesn't guarantee NCAA success.
3) AND THAT SCHEDULE? Pretty favorable if you want to know the truth. Phil Steele has them as the 32nd-most-difficult schedule in the country. Best of all, NO EAST COAST TRIPS! In fact the furthest west Cal will have to travel is Arizona. Cal will get Oregon, Stanford and UW at home, but they do have to go to SC, Oregon State and as mentioned, Arizona. But overall they get seven home games, and the biggest out-of-conference game appears to be hosting Colorado in week two, after an opening tune-up vs. UC Davis. Their only non-league road game is at Nevada.
WSU FB SEZ DOT-DOT-DOT.....If you are sitting there thinking "You know, it's been a while since we beat Cal", you'd be, uh, right. WSU last beat the Bears on September 28th of 2002, 48-38 in Martin Stadium. After missing Cal on the schedule in '03 and '04, WSU has dropped the last five in a row to the Bears. And it's been rough in the Wulff era too, 66-3 in '08, and 49-17 last year. Combined, WSU has been outscored 115-20 in the last two games. Ouch......Cal's late season fades the last couple of years have been discussed ad naseum. But did you know, per Athlon's, that Cal hasn't been ranked at the end of a football season since 2006?.....In the 2K decade, Cal finished with a 71-53 mark, behind USC, Oregon and Oregon State in the Pac-10 from '00-'09. But remember that Cal opened the decade by rolling out 3-8 and 1-11 seasons, starting a combined 4-19. They turned it around, going an impressive 67-35 from 2002-2009......One of the better home teams in the Pac-10, Tedford has done extremely well defending his turf. Tedford is 39-11 in his time at Cal. Cal had three perfect seasons at home in the last decade, in '04 (5-0), '06 (7-0) and again in '08 (7-0). This year, in 2010, they get seven home games again. Could the perfect home record every other year be a promising sign of things to come?.....Recruiting has been going pretty well thus far, now up to six commits for this recruiting season, including the #8 defensive tackle and #9 offensive guard in the nation. Cal had the #27 ranked class this last year, which is about the norm for recruiting recently under Tedford. Tedford's had some excellent classes in his tenure, including the 9th ranked class in '05 (DeSean Jackson, Syd'Quan Thompson, Anthony Felder, etc) and the 12th ranked class in the country in '07 (Jahvid Best, Shane Vereen, Cameron Jordan).....Of all the flash-n-dash one thinks of when Cal comes to mind, the offensive line has been a big staple of Cal's success. They have had eight offensive linemen drafted in the last seven years, with center Alex Mack the highest of them all, going #21 overall to Cleveland in '09. And speaking of the draft, Cal is second only to USC in the last 11 years in terms of selections, with 38 players taken......On the good news front with the offense, four starters return on the O-line. However they do lose Mike Tepper, an All-Pac-10 selection last year. Among the totals of offensive linemen returning, they have a combined 70 starts between them, so experience shouldn't be an issue. They do need to pick it up a bit though. Last year they gave up 31 sacks, and the yards-per-carry average dropped from 5.6 in '08 to 4.7 in '09.....In the guys catching the football department, Riley or whoever is the QB will have options. Four of the top five pass catchers are back from last year, with Marvin Jones the top returnee in catches (43), yards (651) and TD's (6). Jeremy Ross led the team with a 15.6 yards-per-catch average. And even Shane Vereen got into the act, with 25 balls for 244 yards and two TD's.....Some of the best stops on the web for all-things Cal include CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com, hands down the best Cal blog I've seen (and probably one of the best Pac-10 sites in existence); Jon Wilner's San Jose Mercury News has the Bears covered, and has to be right there with the evil Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times in terms of mainstream media's crossover excellence into the blogosphere; ExcuseMeForMyVoice.com, a strong Cal sports blog; BearsWithFangs.com, another Cal sports blog; CalSportsDigest.com, part of the Scout.com network; BearInsider.com, part of the ESPN Blog network; and finally, BearTerritory.net, part of the Rivals.com network.
For prior Spring Fish Wraps on the previous nine WSU opponents for 2010, go here.
All for now. Enjoy your Tuesday, and as always, GO COUGS!
TOP THREE POST-SPRING QUESTIONS:
1) WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH RILEY? It's hard to really grasp it, but for whatever reason, QB Kevin Riley has not upped his game in the biggest moments of his Cal career. It's not all his fault, of course, I mean you can't always just blame the QB when things go south, as they did in huge losses to Oregon and SC last year. And last year, when he was on, he was ON, as in over a 60% completion percentage in the throwing the ball and a 15-4 TD to INT ratio. But when he's off, he's really off. Last year in five losses, he hit just 46% of his completions, and had more INT's (4) to TD's (3).
But even with some up-and-down performances, it doesn't really look like he's in that much danger of losing the starting gig....right? Well, Riley still threw for over 2800 yards last season, with 18 TD's and just 8 INT's on 382 passing attempts. It's not like he doesn't have a clue here. There is some competition behind Riley, with Brock Mansion and Beau Sweeney (yes, Sweeney is former coach Jim Sweeney's grandson). But this is it for the senior QB. Does he have what it takes to get Cal to the upper-echelon of the Pac-10? We'll see.
Then again, maybe we won't. You only have to look back a couple of years ago, when everyone in Ted-head Nation was head over heels for QB Nate Longshore. Longshore threw for over 3,000 yards in '06, and looked like the job was his for as long as he would stay at Cal. But by the middle of '07, Riley was getting playing time due to injuries and inconsistency from Longshore. So Tedford has shown that he at least isn't afraid to mix things up at QB if it isn't going all that great. Who knows, a slow start from Riley may see him yanked in favor of the younger talent behind him. But you can bet that most likely, Riley gets the call in the opener.
2) WILL THE DEFENSE REALLY GET BETTER? You'd like to think so, and it's hard to argue against Clancy Pendergast. The man was the D-coordinator when Arizona went to the Super Bowl, and they played a physical, attacking style of defense to get to the ultimate game. Obviously the college game is a big difference, of course, and not all NFL coordinators automatically succeed at the college level.
I still remember UW'ers hyping up their defensive coordinator from the NFL, Ed Donatell. Donatell came in with an NFL heavy background, a d-coordinator for 12 seasons prior to getting the UW job. What happened? UW rolled off one of the worst defenses in SCHOOL HISTORY in '08, and was quickly shown the door along with the rest of Ty Willingham's staff after the season. Granted, that UW team was awful, and it's hard to imagine many coaches doing much with that team. So often the old saying is true - it's less the x's and o's, and more the Jimmie's and Joe's. But it is also a reminder that just because the man has an NFL background as a coordinator, well, it doesn't guarantee NCAA success.
3) AND THAT SCHEDULE? Pretty favorable if you want to know the truth. Phil Steele has them as the 32nd-most-difficult schedule in the country. Best of all, NO EAST COAST TRIPS! In fact the furthest west Cal will have to travel is Arizona. Cal will get Oregon, Stanford and UW at home, but they do have to go to SC, Oregon State and as mentioned, Arizona. But overall they get seven home games, and the biggest out-of-conference game appears to be hosting Colorado in week two, after an opening tune-up vs. UC Davis. Their only non-league road game is at Nevada.
WSU FB SEZ DOT-DOT-DOT.....If you are sitting there thinking "You know, it's been a while since we beat Cal", you'd be, uh, right. WSU last beat the Bears on September 28th of 2002, 48-38 in Martin Stadium. After missing Cal on the schedule in '03 and '04, WSU has dropped the last five in a row to the Bears. And it's been rough in the Wulff era too, 66-3 in '08, and 49-17 last year. Combined, WSU has been outscored 115-20 in the last two games. Ouch......Cal's late season fades the last couple of years have been discussed ad naseum. But did you know, per Athlon's, that Cal hasn't been ranked at the end of a football season since 2006?.....In the 2K decade, Cal finished with a 71-53 mark, behind USC, Oregon and Oregon State in the Pac-10 from '00-'09. But remember that Cal opened the decade by rolling out 3-8 and 1-11 seasons, starting a combined 4-19. They turned it around, going an impressive 67-35 from 2002-2009......One of the better home teams in the Pac-10, Tedford has done extremely well defending his turf. Tedford is 39-11 in his time at Cal. Cal had three perfect seasons at home in the last decade, in '04 (5-0), '06 (7-0) and again in '08 (7-0). This year, in 2010, they get seven home games again. Could the perfect home record every other year be a promising sign of things to come?.....Recruiting has been going pretty well thus far, now up to six commits for this recruiting season, including the #8 defensive tackle and #9 offensive guard in the nation. Cal had the #27 ranked class this last year, which is about the norm for recruiting recently under Tedford. Tedford's had some excellent classes in his tenure, including the 9th ranked class in '05 (DeSean Jackson, Syd'Quan Thompson, Anthony Felder, etc) and the 12th ranked class in the country in '07 (Jahvid Best, Shane Vereen, Cameron Jordan).....Of all the flash-n-dash one thinks of when Cal comes to mind, the offensive line has been a big staple of Cal's success. They have had eight offensive linemen drafted in the last seven years, with center Alex Mack the highest of them all, going #21 overall to Cleveland in '09. And speaking of the draft, Cal is second only to USC in the last 11 years in terms of selections, with 38 players taken......On the good news front with the offense, four starters return on the O-line. However they do lose Mike Tepper, an All-Pac-10 selection last year. Among the totals of offensive linemen returning, they have a combined 70 starts between them, so experience shouldn't be an issue. They do need to pick it up a bit though. Last year they gave up 31 sacks, and the yards-per-carry average dropped from 5.6 in '08 to 4.7 in '09.....In the guys catching the football department, Riley or whoever is the QB will have options. Four of the top five pass catchers are back from last year, with Marvin Jones the top returnee in catches (43), yards (651) and TD's (6). Jeremy Ross led the team with a 15.6 yards-per-catch average. And even Shane Vereen got into the act, with 25 balls for 244 yards and two TD's.....Some of the best stops on the web for all-things Cal include CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com, hands down the best Cal blog I've seen (and probably one of the best Pac-10 sites in existence); Jon Wilner's San Jose Mercury News has the Bears covered, and has to be right there with the evil Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times in terms of mainstream media's crossover excellence into the blogosphere; ExcuseMeForMyVoice.com, a strong Cal sports blog; BearsWithFangs.com, another Cal sports blog; CalSportsDigest.com, part of the Scout.com network; BearInsider.com, part of the ESPN Blog network; and finally, BearTerritory.net, part of the Rivals.com network.
For prior Spring Fish Wraps on the previous nine WSU opponents for 2010, go here.
All for now. Enjoy your Tuesday, and as always, GO COUGS!
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