Bridgford needs to get some experience and a chance to see if he has the ability to be a Pac QB.

1. 2004 USC 23 Cal 17.
You may ask why do I pick this game as the most impactful game for Tedford when we lost? Well, because USC was (and is) the bellweather program in the west. On a national level, Cal gained tons of respect by playing USC tougher than any other team all year long. Cal dominated the Trojans on both lines of scimmages, outgained USC 424 to 205. Cal looked to be the stronger team and everyone who saw that game knew it. This game, more than any other the in recent history, legitimized the Cal football program as a potential contender for a national championship!

2. 2007 Cal 31 Oregon 24
Cal goes into Autzen Stadium and beat the Ducks in dramatic fashion by forcing a fumble near the goal line as Oregon was closing in on a game tying TD in the final seconds of the game. Cal demonstrated a tremendous will to win with a gutsy 4th qtr performance. Cal jumped to #2 in the rankings after this victory and seemed to finally get that signature win to put the program into national championship contention. Little did we know that Cal would endure one of the greatest collapses of any Cal team in the following weeks….but for a brief moment, Cal and Tedford were Kings of the Hill!

3. 2003 Cal 34 USC 31
Triple overtime thriller where Cal defeated national power USC. Teford showed great leadership when he pulled an ineffective Aaron Rodgers for Senior QB Reggie Robertson. Robertson rewarded Tedford, by playing the game of his life and he engineered one of the best upsets in Cal history.

4. 2003 Cal 52 Virginia Tech 49 Insight Bowl
Va Tech had a rebuilding year in 2003, but was still viewed as a nationally relevant program. Cal came in with zero credability as an up and coming program. Aaron Rodgers played an amazing game and positioned the Cal program as a potentially top team for the upcoing 2004 season.

5. 2006 Cal 45 Texas A&M 3 Holiday Bowl
This game restored some credibility for the Cal program. Cal had lost to Tennessee earlier in the year and also had lost decisively to highly ranked USC. Texas A&M was one of the few “quality” wins for the 2006 Cal team. Cal dominated this game on both sides of the ball and played like a top team in front of a national audience.

Honorable Mention
2009 victory over Stanford 34-28
2005 victory over Stanford 27-3
While beating Stanford is not nationally “relevant” event…but these were great victories over our arch rivals and offer great memories for all Cal fans.

The fog of Rodgers is lifting and the wretched, unthinkable truth is now coming into focus.

Bizarre secrecy (closed practices), overt hostility towards the media, subtle intimidation disguised as sturdy benevolence, a bizarre attachment to sunglasses, repetitive propaganda, overstatement of achievement, a near cult like following, flagrant nepotism (his son was installed on the team), scared colleagues (Barbour), nefarious courtship of valuable foot soldiers (KA), all while living in a remote compound far from his people (Lafayette).

Tedford has become a bloated dictator.

Rise up Golden Bear faithful, rise up.

1. 2006 Tennessee 35 Cal 18

This game was the opening weekend of the 2006 NCAA season, game was on national TV during the east coast prime time slot (7pm start time, I believe). This game was also about conference pride…SEC brawn vs the “soft” Pac-10. Cal was a top 10 ranked team and was a 3pt favorite despite playing at Knoxville. Tennessee was coming off a poor year the prior season and Vol fans were calling for head coach Phillip Fulmers head. First play of the game…Tennesse knocks out Cal’s TE (Craig Stevens) which foreshadowed what would happen in the game. Cal played soft and Tennesse just “out muscled and out hit” the more talented Cal team. Cal scored a bunch of points late in the game to make the final score semi-respectable…but most of the nation had already turned the channel….final impression. Cal was a fraud.

2. 2004 Holiday Bowl Texas Tech 45 Cal 31

Cal was robbed of the opportunity to play in its first BCS Bowl game by Texas and the national media was emphathetic to the Cal situation. Many viewers had never seen Cal play and wanted to see if the 4th ranked team in the country was for real. Cal featured a balanced offensive attack with Aaron Rodgers at QB and the nations leading rusher JJ Arrington who ran for over 2,000 yds. (Still don’t understand why he did not get much Heisman hype) Cal played the game without 3 or its top 4 WRs due to injuries. As the game started it became clear that Cal could not stop the long passing game of Tech, but Tech could not stop the running game of Cal. Cal jumps to a 14-0 lead, primarily through its strong running game. Tech answered back with long passing plays and tied the game at 14. So what did Tedford do…he focuses on the passing game…by calling 42 pass plays instead of relying on the ball controlling running game. The little used WRs were not in sync with Rodgers and dropped a bunch of balls, which allowed more possessions for Tech. Mike Leach called a full air attack on the overwhelmed Cal secondary and racked up over 500 yards in the air. Even the announcers were puzzled at Tedford’s decision to pass the ball instead of running down Tech’s throat. Net impression…Cal was out-coached and was over-rated. To add insult to injury, Texas defeated Michigan in one of the greatest games ever played at the Rose Bowl.

3. 2008 Maryland 35 Cal 27
Cal had won its first two games in convincing fashion (Michigan St. and WSU). Meanwhile, Maryland had just lost to Middle Tenneesee St. Cal came in a 14 pt favorite. Jahvid Best was an eary Heisman candidate. In the first qtr, Maryland hits Jahvid Best so hard it forced Best to lose his lunch…which was caught by the close up cameras during the ESPN telecast. This play became the highlight on SportsCenter and symbolized the state of Cal and Pac-10 football. Cal got blitzed and fell behind 28-6…although a 4th qtr flurry made the final score respectable…but lasting impression had already been branded.

4. 2009 Oregon 42 Cal 3
For West coast fans, this was a more humiliating loss…but since no one east of Nevada watches Pac-10 games unless they are on Thursday night…this game went unnoticed by most of the country. But Cal came in a 5.5 pt favorite and Oregon had lost to Boise St. and suspended their RB LeGarrette Blount. But Cal gets blown out and was not taken seriously the rest of the year (or since).

5. 2010 Nevada 52 Cal 31
By this time, Cal was no longer a program with any relevancy on a national level…but since this was a Thursday night game on ESPN…there was a national audience. Cal gets blown out by a better team. Nevada simply out-schemed, out-coached and out played the Pac-10 team. This game really cemented Cal current status as a mediocre football program

I wish I could take credit for the vids but I can’t. A Buffalo University football blogger posted them MORE THAN ONE YEAR AGO as Maynard shopped himself around. I think they provide an interesting insight into the arrangement JT succumbed to in order to land KA.

I actually don’t think Zach Maynard is a bust…certainly his game has serious flaws…but most QBs have weaknesses. As a fan, I have seen a significant diffeence in Maynards accuracy when he is throwing on the move vs. standing in the pocket. One would think the coaches have noticed this trend as well…and a logical outcome, would be to call more plays with Zach rolling out to make a pass. We seemed to see this during the Utah game…but that game plan disappeared against UCLA. Aren’t the coaches job is the put the players in the best position to succeed? I don’t see Tedford doing that. In fact, I have never seen him do that.

http://bearinsider.com/news/story.php?article=1555

I have just heard the news that you are out. I have a lot of respect for you as a journalist. Leaving this team in flames is the best thing that could have happened to you. What good is there in folowing a team when the coach refuses to open practises except for windsprints.

Best of wishes to you.