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We know the Pac-10 features USC…and another nine teams. Each week, I
will pick one of the "forgotten nine" who has an interesting matchup,
watch its game, and provide you with some observations/analysis that you
can bring to the cooler talk.
Week 2's "Forgotten Nine" feature team is the California Bears. After shellacking UC Davis in Week 1, the Golden Bears played host again, this time to the Buffaloes of Colorado. Everybody thought this game would be a blowout, and everyone was correct. However, the game interested me because Cal's bandwagon has gotten heavier after two 52-point outbursts and because Colorado is a future team of the conference. Here are five observations from watching the game...
1. Bears Special Teams
Berkeley almost opened the game with a disaster. Its kick returner did not cleanly catch the ball, but luckily he pounced on it before any Colorado players could. Although the mistake might lead you to think lowly of the Bears' special teams, it was only a blemish on an otherwise strong special teams performance. In fact, I think that special teams is one of the Bears' strengths. Cal's punter, Bryan Anger, has a thunderous leg, and it was in full force Saturday. He punted four times for 193 yards (48.3 yard average) and had a long of 66 yards. Sixty-six yards! That is an NFL-caliber punt. Not only that, but he has solid accuracy as well and he showed it by pinning Colorado inside the ten on a couple of occasions. Special teams is a very underrated aspect of football, but Anger will be able to keep the Bears in close, defensive games all season.
Meanwhile, punt returner Jeremy Ross gives Cal a dangerous punt return game. Although Ross did not break any returns for a touchdown on Saturday, he had two returns for 33 yards, including a 23 yard return that featured various spins and jukes. He is able to make the first guy miss, which is important for kick returners. If Cal blockers can give him a few lanes, he will have plenty of chances to visit the end zone.
2. Bears Defense Adds to Scoreboard
Cal's secondary looked pretty good on Saturday. Decent teams have players in the secondary that provide nice coverage and keep receivers from getting behind them. But good to great defenses have playmakers that force turnovers and put points on the board. And Cal's secondary did that this past weekend. Defensive back Michael Mohamed picked off Colorado QB Tyler Hansen's pass with 0:11 left in the first half and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown to give the Bears a 31-0 lead heading into the break. Then with 0:34 left in the game, Darian Hagan returned a fumble 82 yards for the final score of the contest. Defensive touchdowns completely kill the morale of the opposing offense. It takes all momentum away and gives your own offense a break and a boost. With the two scoring touchdowns on Saturday, the Bears defense single-handedly beat the Buffaloes (14-7) without the help of the offense.
3. Colorado is its Own Worst Enemy
The Buffaloes turned the ball over five times against Cal (3 interceptions, 2 fumbles). If that is not bad enough, the team really shot itself in its own foot all day. Colorado was called for nine penalties that cost them 75 total yards. However, to be fair, eight of those came in the first half, so the team was able to turn it around for the most part. Furthermore, Hansen was unable to throw the ball with any accuracy (18-for-34), and even when he did, his receivers were not catching the ball. On Colorado's second drive of the game, it suffered back-to-back dropped passes and then a near interception on its way to a three-and-out. Look at each of the team's offensive drives during the first half and how each drive ended:
4 plays, -2 yards, Punt
3 plays, -5 yards, Punt
4 plays, -8 yards, Fumble
3 plays, -4 yards, Interception
3 plays, 7 yards, Punt
17 plays, 36 yards, Missed FG
3 plays, -2 yards, Punt
3 plays, 17 yards, Interception returned for TD
2 plays, 23 yards, Halftime (Ran the clock out)
Simply anemic. If Colorado hopes to have any success when it moves into the Pac-10 and plays teams like Cal, USC, and Oregon on a consistent basis, it has to correct its own mistakes.
4. Cal Has Legitimate Pass-Rush
The Bears defense sacked Tyler Hansen six times. While that statistic is impressive, it does not take into account hurries and knockdowns. The defense pressured Hansen all game and, as a result, Hansen never got into a rhythm in the pocket. The Bears sent a variety of packages from different angles that kept Colorado's passing attack completely nullified. Perhaps even more impressive, five Bears got in on the sack party. It was not a dominant effort by any one individual. Rather, it was a collective effort that showcased the depth of the Bears pass rush.
5. Riley Untested and Unimpressive
In two lopsided victories so far this season, Cal senior QB Kevin Riley has the following stat line: 29-for-44, 455 yards, 7 TD, 0 INT.
While Cal fans are penciling in Riley's Heisman bid as I write, I am not so convinced of Riley's ascendance into the national picture (or even the Pac-10 picture for that matter). Look, I will not deny that those are gaudy numbers. But who has he played thus far? UC Davis and Colorado? Those defenses don't exactly fly to the ball. In Saturday's game against the Buffaloes I thought Riley was rather unimpressive to be quite honest. I thought his accuracy could have been better and I also thought that he took too long to make his reads. Cal's offense, for all the playmakers that the media says it has (Vereen, Allen), looks a bit slow. Nevada will give Cal a decent challenge next weekend and then Pac-10 play begins. We will see if Riley continues his "hot" passing as he sees better defenses across the line of scrimmage.
Week 2's "Forgotten Nine" feature team is the California Bears. After shellacking UC Davis in Week 1, the Golden Bears played host again, this time to the Buffaloes of Colorado. Everybody thought this game would be a blowout, and everyone was correct. However, the game interested me because Cal's bandwagon has gotten heavier after two 52-point outbursts and because Colorado is a future team of the conference. Here are five observations from watching the game...
1. Bears Special Teams
Berkeley almost opened the game with a disaster. Its kick returner did not cleanly catch the ball, but luckily he pounced on it before any Colorado players could. Although the mistake might lead you to think lowly of the Bears' special teams, it was only a blemish on an otherwise strong special teams performance. In fact, I think that special teams is one of the Bears' strengths. Cal's punter, Bryan Anger, has a thunderous leg, and it was in full force Saturday. He punted four times for 193 yards (48.3 yard average) and had a long of 66 yards. Sixty-six yards! That is an NFL-caliber punt. Not only that, but he has solid accuracy as well and he showed it by pinning Colorado inside the ten on a couple of occasions. Special teams is a very underrated aspect of football, but Anger will be able to keep the Bears in close, defensive games all season.
Meanwhile, punt returner Jeremy Ross gives Cal a dangerous punt return game. Although Ross did not break any returns for a touchdown on Saturday, he had two returns for 33 yards, including a 23 yard return that featured various spins and jukes. He is able to make the first guy miss, which is important for kick returners. If Cal blockers can give him a few lanes, he will have plenty of chances to visit the end zone.
2. Bears Defense Adds to Scoreboard
Cal's secondary looked pretty good on Saturday. Decent teams have players in the secondary that provide nice coverage and keep receivers from getting behind them. But good to great defenses have playmakers that force turnovers and put points on the board. And Cal's secondary did that this past weekend. Defensive back Michael Mohamed picked off Colorado QB Tyler Hansen's pass with 0:11 left in the first half and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown to give the Bears a 31-0 lead heading into the break. Then with 0:34 left in the game, Darian Hagan returned a fumble 82 yards for the final score of the contest. Defensive touchdowns completely kill the morale of the opposing offense. It takes all momentum away and gives your own offense a break and a boost. With the two scoring touchdowns on Saturday, the Bears defense single-handedly beat the Buffaloes (14-7) without the help of the offense.
3. Colorado is its Own Worst Enemy
The Buffaloes turned the ball over five times against Cal (3 interceptions, 2 fumbles). If that is not bad enough, the team really shot itself in its own foot all day. Colorado was called for nine penalties that cost them 75 total yards. However, to be fair, eight of those came in the first half, so the team was able to turn it around for the most part. Furthermore, Hansen was unable to throw the ball with any accuracy (18-for-34), and even when he did, his receivers were not catching the ball. On Colorado's second drive of the game, it suffered back-to-back dropped passes and then a near interception on its way to a three-and-out. Look at each of the team's offensive drives during the first half and how each drive ended:
4 plays, -2 yards, Punt
3 plays, -5 yards, Punt
4 plays, -8 yards, Fumble
3 plays, -4 yards, Interception
3 plays, 7 yards, Punt
17 plays, 36 yards, Missed FG
3 plays, -2 yards, Punt
3 plays, 17 yards, Interception returned for TD
2 plays, 23 yards, Halftime (Ran the clock out)
Simply anemic. If Colorado hopes to have any success when it moves into the Pac-10 and plays teams like Cal, USC, and Oregon on a consistent basis, it has to correct its own mistakes.
4. Cal Has Legitimate Pass-Rush
The Bears defense sacked Tyler Hansen six times. While that statistic is impressive, it does not take into account hurries and knockdowns. The defense pressured Hansen all game and, as a result, Hansen never got into a rhythm in the pocket. The Bears sent a variety of packages from different angles that kept Colorado's passing attack completely nullified. Perhaps even more impressive, five Bears got in on the sack party. It was not a dominant effort by any one individual. Rather, it was a collective effort that showcased the depth of the Bears pass rush.
5. Riley Untested and Unimpressive
In two lopsided victories so far this season, Cal senior QB Kevin Riley has the following stat line: 29-for-44, 455 yards, 7 TD, 0 INT.
While Cal fans are penciling in Riley's Heisman bid as I write, I am not so convinced of Riley's ascendance into the national picture (or even the Pac-10 picture for that matter). Look, I will not deny that those are gaudy numbers. But who has he played thus far? UC Davis and Colorado? Those defenses don't exactly fly to the ball. In Saturday's game against the Buffaloes I thought Riley was rather unimpressive to be quite honest. I thought his accuracy could have been better and I also thought that he took too long to make his reads. Cal's offense, for all the playmakers that the media says it has (Vereen, Allen), looks a bit slow. Nevada will give Cal a decent challenge next weekend and then Pac-10 play begins. We will see if Riley continues his "hot" passing as he sees better defenses across the line of scrimmage.
