BearTalk

 In the wake of their first defeat of the season — an 81-56 thrashing at the hands of host Wisconsin — coach Mike Montgomery is expecting more from his team.

Not just Sunday, when the Bears face No. 21 UNLV at Haas Pavilion.

But all week in practice.

“It’s one game,” he said Tuesday. “We’ve got some underlying issues weve got to solve. We’ve got to play harder in practice. We’ve got hold ourselves accountable. We’ve got to want to try to improve and find ways to do that.

“We didn’t have a good week of practice. Guys didn’t push themselves. I knew that we were going to be in for it there.”

Wisconsin has lost just 16 games at home since the start of the 2001-02 season, and Montgomery understands that winning in Madison was going to be difficult under any circumstances.

“We go back to Wisconsin at our best, doesn’t mean we’re going to win there,” he said. “There were 17,000 people there. Then the (Big Ten champion) football team showed up — that changed the energy level in the building a little bit.”

The game started poorly for the Bears, then got worse.

Read the rest of this entry »

Even before he sits down with Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour next week to discuss his future, Jeff Tedford said he will dissect what’s gone wrong in his 11th season as coach of the Golden Bears.

“The first place I will look is in the mirror. … How can I be better as a coach?,” Tedford said Tuesday as his team prepared for its season finale Saturday night at Oregon State.

Asked if he’s received any assurances from Barbour, Tedford said he anticipates meeting with her early next week. The Bears (3-8, 2-6 Pac-12) will miss playing in a bowl game for the second time in three seasons, so their game vs. the Beavers (7-2, 5-2) is their final chance to make a statement.

Click here to read the rest of my Cal football notebook.

Still reluctant to give a definitive answer, Cal coach Jeff Tedford said after practice Thursday that backup Allan Bridgford “most likely” will replace injured starter Zach Maynard against No. 2 Oregon.

Notoriously slow-starting this season, the Cal football team cannot afford to be sluggish out of the gate Saturday night against No. 2 Oregon.

Among the long list of scary offensive numbers the Ducks boast is this: They have outscored their opponents 176-29 in the first quarter. By halftime, the nation’s high-scoring team has racked up an average of 36 points.

If Cal, which has scored just two first-quarter touchdowns all season, follows that script in its home finale, this could get ugly. Fast.

Click here to read the rest of my story on Oregon “blur” offense.

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If you’re in the mood to be frightened a bit, check out this list of Oregon’s scariest offensive numbers:

1 – Number of times Oregon has scored fewer than 23 points in first half
2:20 – Average elapsed time of 18 scoring drives the past two games
6 – Games the Ducks have scored at least 50 points
14 – Times Oregon has scored at least three touchdowns in a quarter
36.0 – Oregon’s season first-half scoring average
42 – Season-low point total for a game
43 – Rushing plays of at least 10 yards by Kenjon Barner
44.3 – First-half scoring average over the past three games
54.3 – Season scoring average, tops in NCAA and on pace for Pac-12 record
68 – Touchdowns scored in nine games
83.64 – Percentage of red zone chances (46 of 55) Oregon has scored TDs
101 – Oregon’s national ranking in time of possession
132 – Points Oregon scored in past two games
181 – Plays of 10 yards or more this season
341.22 – Average rushing yardage per game — No. 1 in the nation

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MAYNARD UPDATE: No further word from Cal on the status of quarterback Zach Maynard, but it’s abundantly clear he will not play Saturday against the Ducks.

For the second straight day, Maynard left the practice field Wednesday wearing a brace on his sprained left knee and riding on a cart. He was dropped off at an elevator that takes him to the locker room, so he didn’t have to hobble down the stairway with the rest of his teammates.

Coach Jeff Tedford does not meet with reporters on Wednesday. He may provide an update Thursday, but it’s hard to imagine how Maynard could play.

Backup Allan Bridgford, taking all the first-team snaps this week, said he has not been told he will start.

The news doesn’t appear to be good, either, for senior right tackle Matt Summers-Gavin, who injured his right knee late in the Washington game last Friday. Summers-Gavin was wearing a T-shirt and knee brace as he limped toward the locker room after practice.

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Here’s a story from Bob Clark of the Register-Guard in Eugene on Tedford, the one-time Oregon assistant.

Cal is not the only team playing Saturday at Memorial Stadium with injury issues along the defensive line. Here’s an Oregon notebook.

Click here for an Oregon-Cal game preview by Rick Neuheisel and Glenn Parker of the Pac-12 Networks.

Here’s an interesting piece by Yogi Roth, an analyst with the Pac-12 Networks, on how the Oregon offensive line is the key to everything the Ducks do.

Zach Maynard, Cal’s starting quarterback the past two seasons, left the practice field Tuesday morning riding on a cart with a brace immobilizing his left knee.

Hardly an encouraging scenario with No. 2 Oregon, the nation’s high-scoring team, coming to town on Saturday.

Injured four days earlier against Washington, Maynard’s status for Cal’s home finale remains iffy. “I have no idea,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said.

An MRI showed no ligament damage to Maynard’s knee but there is not even a timetable on when he might resume practicing. So junior Allan Bridgford is being prepped to start while Maynard rehabs.

Click here to read the rest of my Cal football notebook.

UPDATED

Cal junior wideout Keenan Allen, who broke the school’s career receptions record last Saturday at Utah, may also have been injured against the Utes.

His status for Friday’s game at Washington is unclear.

I was at Memorial Stadium for an interview (with Avery Sebastian) this afternoon but there was no word on Allen’s status. An athletic department spokesman said afternoon that Cal would have no comment on the situation for now.

Let me make this clear: I was not on hand this morning when players came off the field and walked past reporters to the dressing room. But Ryan Gorcey of Bear Territory reports that Allen did not appear to be at practice and that he was told Allen may have been injured during an onside kick try in the 49-27 loss to the Utes.

Will update as information is available.

I’ll be writing more on this topic later in the week, but former Cal player/assistant coach/recruiter Tosh Lupoi told Seattle reporters today he’s not giving Friday’s UW-Cal game any special significance.

“I really haven’t thought about it, honestly,” said Lupoi, who bolted to Washington last January, just prior to signing day.

Uh, right.

Anyway, courtesy of the Seattle Times, here’s a four-minute video of an interview he did after practice Tuesday.

After a 49-27 loss at Utah, coach Jeff Tedford kept his postgame remarks to a minimum and encouraged players to have their say in the locker room.

Senior defensive end Kendrick Payne said there was clear consensus: “Nobody’s giving up.”

At 3-6 and coming off back-to-back blowout defeats, the Bears need to win the final three games on their schedule to become bowl eligible, starting Friday night at home against Washington.

Click here to read the rest of my Cal notebook.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times explores Washington’s offensive shortcomings.

Cal offensive coordinator Jim Michalczik conceded that Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei won’t make every tackle Saturday night when the teams clash in Salt Lake City.

“He’s just overpowering,” Michalczik said. “A lot of times you see the guard going backwards. He may not make the tackle, but he’s disruptive.

“He was a tough guy for us last year and he’s an even better player now,” Michalczik said. “He’s just so big and so strong, he overpowers guys. You’ve got to try to help guys with him.”

Click here for more on the challenge facing Cal’s offensive line.