Comments on: Football: Game coverage

By: Steve W

Steve W — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:53:24 +0000

Even if Cal wins out and goes 10-2, it is also likely that USC will win out and go 10-2. There is no chance in hell any BCS bowl committee will pick Cal over USC with the same records. The more likely scenario is Oregon to the Rose Bowl, USC to the Holiday Bowl and the trash bowl pickings left for the rest of the conference, as usual. How depressing would it be to have a 10-2 Cal team play some crappy Big East team in the Sun Bowl? Remember the exciting Sun Bowl matchup between Oregon State and Pittsburg last year that ended up with a 3 to 0 score? It could very well happen.

Cal is probably better off losing a game or two and ending up in the Emerald or Vegas bowls. Better matchups, better games.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:48:11 +0000

PS- Toparchibear and Rollonyoubears – no way Cal can get to BSC at large because of the magnitude of the 2 losses. I love your optimism, but you are once again setting yourselves up for disappointment, Cal-style. Even if Cal woins out, which is highly questionable, too many teams have to lose too many games for a 2 loss Cal team with two blowout losses to be a viable option. Even if we win out, we don’t really deserve it for the nature of those 2 losses. Even the last 3 wins have been unimpressive against inferior talent. Also, TCU & Boise State both going undefeated will seal Cal’s chances, and both will win out.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:40:52 +0000

Terrible play call there. You have a red hot QB who can rollout, run, etc. That was a stupid, risky play there…unless you have Tim Tebow running it. And Cal doesn’t.

I would rather have seen Riley run that play, fake the QB draw, stop and jump pass, ala Tebow. Throw it away if the TE is not open. As stupid as having Vereeen throw it there is throwing it to “Butterfingers” Miller. While he is developing nicely, that guys drops a catchable pass every game. Again, just stupid at that juncture of the game. I even wonder how many tiomes they practiced that play. Not too many times I bet.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:39:48 +0000

Terrible play call there. You have a red hot QB who can rollout, run, etc. That was a stupid, risky play there…unless you have Tim Tebow running it. And Cal doesn’t.

By: Pete Carroll

Pete Carroll — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:42:52 +0000

i don’t fault the call. With Cal’s return coverage being suspect, it would have been conceivable that ASU could get in position to get a game winning field goal. In that situation getting a touchdown and a two point conversion gives you a much better cushion. Besides, the kick could have been blocked or any number of bad things could have happened. When you get the chance to score, you score. The only problem with the play is Vereen was just too tentative.

By: rollonubears

rollonubears — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:07:42 +0000

sc will have to lose another game for us to get an at large berth, and we’ll also have to win out, but it could happen. oregon could collapse as well. doubtful, but who knows? go bears!

By: ToparchiBear

ToparchiBear — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:35:02 +0000

I agreed. That play should be a running play to get the clock down and cost the ASU a timeout. Cal is very fortunate to have that win. And, if Cal win out. They should be ranked around 14, and may be at large berth to the BCS, if Oregon win out, a chance to the NC and $C lost another game.

Hey, anything is possible.

By: H8sRed

H8sRed — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:13:57 +0000

Obviously, it was a play they have practiced, and I liked the call — which is not to say that my heart didn’t skip a beat (or two) when the ball was tipped. It certainly beats the Bobby Bowden school of thought, where he always plays for the field goal, and then somehow gets disappointed when the FG attempt is blocked or just missed. Especially given the inconsistent kicking game, it made sense to go for the endzone.

By: Will

Will — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:12:16 +0000

I didn’t like the Vereen wildcat play call either, but I’d like to point out that for years, people have criticized Tedford for being too conservative. I’m not saying that you guys are the people who did such complaining, but it makes me wonder – is anyone who was unhappy with Tedford’s conservative playcalling in the past pleased with the play calls in the ASU game?

By: Lady Bear

Lady Bear — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:53:27 +0000

Agree – there was some very bizarre play-calling that lands squarely at the feet of the coaches. Not just the Vereen pass at the end, but a number of slow-developing pass plays called on third down & short, rather than just running the ball or giving it to the fullback. Weird.

Hey, did anyone else notice that during the last Tavecchio field goal, they forgot to run the game clock? After Cal failed to convert on 3rd down, ASU called time out with :21 remaining. Then Cal kicked the field goal on 4th down, with the clock remaining at :21. The clock did not start running again until Cal kicked off to ASU.

Had ASU come back to win, that could have been a very costly error. Alas, nobody seemed to notice!