Wide open and sprawling outwards, not inwards, Memorial Stadium isn't the most conducive stadium to loud noise.
However, over the years there have been some pretty rowdy crowds for various games and Saturday promises to be one of the better atmospheres due to the excitement surrounding the re-opening of the stadium.
Three games jump out to me in the Tedford era as being particularly wild and crazy in terms of crowd noise and atmosphere.
3. Cal-Tennessee '07: Both DeSean's punt return and Follett's bone shattering hit on Ainge from the blind side sent fans into a frenzy.
2. Cal-ASU '04: I believe this was the first night game ever at Memorial Stadium and for whatever reason (probably 12 hours of pre-game drinking instead of the customary three or so) it was very, very loud and wild in the stands that night even when the game was well out of hand.
1. Cal-Oregon '06: Tedford made a point of asking fans to be loud multiple times during the week, and I remember as Daily Cal reporters we made little pretense of impartiality in giving his pleas for noise way more ink than than they probably deserved in hindsight. Oops.
Just realized the other day that Cal hasn't lost a home opener under Tedford. Hopefully that continues come Saturday. Check it out:
Cal def. Baylor 70-22
Cal def. Southern Miss 34-2
Cal def. New Mexico State 41-14
Cal def. Sacramento State 41-3
Cal def. Minnesota 42-17
Cal def. Tennessee 45-31
Cal def. Michigan State 38-31
Cal def. Maryland 52-13
Cal def. UC Davis 52-3
Cal def. Fresno State 36-21
As the Internet has discussed ad nauseam, the show, set in 2010, takes a retrospective view on the news of a couple years ago (sort of like using a several-years-old MasterCard joke in a blog post!).
While critics have ripped on this approach, I find myself loving it, if for no other reason then I am a total sucker for Remember When-ing away the hours. And with the Cal's 2012 opener against Nevada bombing toward us faster than yet another Aaron Sorkin monologue, I figured, what the hell, if dramas about two-year old news stories are good enough for HBO, then posts about two-year-old games are good enough for SCF!
It started on a Thursday (September 16, 2010, to be exact) that upon first glance seemed like any other. But if you dared to dig just below the surface, you would find that, for me and my four friends, hardcore Cal football enthusiasts all, the day had that mystical tingle that can only mean one thing -- in mere hours, we would be in a state with legalized gambling and no closing time!
After work, a coworker (one of the aforementioned four) and I carpooled to the East Bay to meet up with the rest of our party. Our spirits were high -- Cal had won its first two games of the season by a combined score of 104-10. So what if those wins came at home against UC Davis and Colorado! We had no reason to believe this would be anything but a magical season!
(Quick tangent: Against the Buffs, Kevin Riley completed 63% of his passes and threw four TDs and no picks. I wonder if this was the game that made the British Columbia Lions think, "That is EXACTLY the kind of QB we want on our team for 10 days!")
Once our crew of five intrepid explorers was united, we encountered the first droplet of foreshadowing. The SUV we had planned to borrow for the trip was undergoing repairs. (Cal's star linebacker, Mike Mohamed, was also undergoing repairs, for a sprained toe, and would be scrubbed from the match as a game-time decision.) Disappointed but undaunted, we located another SUV we could borrow in Sacramento, squeezed into a Volvo and headed out into the northern wilds.
Roughly an hour and a half later, we arrived in Sac-town, traded vehicles, made a pitstop for supplies and hit the road again, this time in a comfortable Chevy SUV.
The clock read 1 AM by the time we arrived at the Reno Nugget, which is actually in Sparks, which are definitely things the Bears could have used against the Wolfpack haha ha ha ha ha ha.... We checked in and made quick work of the casino staff who foolishly objected to our insistence that they open a $5 blackjack table just for us. Once our demands had been met, we gambled and drank through the night like conquering heroes:
I was feeling a tad gingerly the next morning, and as I attempted to nurse myself back to health with Starbucks, the barista noticed my Cal cap.
"You guys are gonna lose!" he said with heavily caffeinated enthusiasm.
"Yeah, someday, maybe," I replied sleepily. "But not today and not to a team from the WAC."
"Dude, we have Colin Kaepernick!" He said his QB's name like he was proclaiming the birth of Christ. "You guys are screwed!"
"We'll see," I said while walking away with my mocha and conveniently ignoring his tip jar. "I'll be here tomorrow morning to see how you feel then."
Throughout the day -- in the casino, around town, at tailgates in the stadium parking lot -- the unabashed love-fest of Kaepernick became a real trend. The Nevada fans absolutely worshipped him. I knew going into the season that he was a talented dual-threat QB, but I had faith that either our defense would handle him or our offense would outscore him.
While walking back from the game, we saw a drunk Nevada fan crosscheck an Old Blue to the concrete right in front of us. When his fellow Old Blue confronted the attacker, he too was shoved to the ground. The guy took off in a panic as bystanders started shouting for the cops, but he was held up and quickly corralled by the police. Though it was sweet to see such a complete asshole being handcuffed and shipped off to jail, the incident summed up the game pretty well: The faster, stronger Wolfpack knocked the shit out of the creaky, broken-down Bears.
The next morning, I did return to the Starbucks, and the same barista was behind the counter. Maybe he didn't want to get in trouble for antagonizing a customer, maybe he was too busy to talk smack, but for whatever reason, he didn't say anything about the game. Our eyes met, though, and I knew he knew. Kaepernick had gotten us.
The speedy QB, now Alex Smith's backup in San Francisco, is long gone from the Nevada backfield. So when the Bears destroy the Wolfpack on Saturday to christen the revamped Memorial Stadium, it will be nice, yeah, but it won't be the same.
As my friends and I drove back to California, I consoled myself somewhat by hoping that what happens in Reno stays in Reno.
I was wrong again, as Cal would limp its way through a 5-7 season -- the first losing record in the Tedford Era. But that, friends, is a tale for another day.
CFN has named the Cal-Nevada game the Pac-12 game of the week (for whatever that's worth). I think the writer puts together a pretty good summary of what to expect.
I'm sure my fellow SCF bloggers will have much more to say about Saturday's contest but for now the biggest thing I'll be looking for are:
1). how quickly the offensive line asserts itself
and
2). how quickly the young linebackers read, recognize, and react to the Wolfpack's unique offense
We all know what happened the last two times the Cal defense defended the Pistol and I don't feel a real need to recap.
Personally, I think it's great that two of Cal's more "unproven" units get tested right from the opening kickoff. If things go as planned, the Bears should have no trouble controlling the line of scrimmage offensively against Nevada's revamped defensive front-7 and after a series or two the guys on defense should get the hang of defending the Pistol.
BUT, things don't always go as planned. While he's not Colin Kaepernick, Cody Fajardo is a damn good quarterback for that system that Coach Ault runs up there. Fajardo can sling the ball around a little bit and he can run as well so the Cal linebackers are really going to have to mentally focus for this one.
If you remember what happened the last time the Bears tried to slow down the Wolfpack offense, a couple of mental lapses can make the difference between a five yard gain and a 30 yard gain:
And forget about who is starting and who is not ... the Bears are going to need their entire linebacking corps for this one and it'll be a great learning experience for guys like Brennan Scarlett, Nick Forbes and the others to compete against an offense that will require so much from them for Cal to be successful.
The world is a mere week and a half away from the start of the 2012 Cal football season, and we here at SCF have pretty much reached the apex of possible human excitement levels.
Here are our game-by-game predictions for the upcoming campaign. Feel free to reach out to Chris to let him know what you think of his 4-8 prognostication in the Comments section below.
Chris
Brian
Finn
Stephen
Gerald
vs. Nevada, Sat., 9/1
Cal 42-28 - Emotion of New Memorial Stadium pushes Cal to an easy win
Cal 38-28 - Too bad this wasn't the home game in 2010
Cal 24-10 - Cal trails at halftime before putting it together in an embarrassing start to the season
Cal 35-17 - Cal christens new Memorial Stadium with a convincing win
Cal 42-20 - There is no way that the Bears lose their first game in their new digs, right? Plus, this is a Wolf Pack team that gave up 21 points in nine minutes in their home finale to Louisiana Tech last year
vs. Southern Utah, Sat., 9/8
Cal 55-15 - Young guys garner some much needed experience
Cal 45-21 - Closer than it looks at halftime before a big special teams play turns it into a rout
Cal 52-6 - Cal wows fans with mega route after lackluster first game; Allen scores 3 TDs
Cal 40-10 - Coming off the field fully healthy is biggest key for this matchup
Cal 60-10 - Is it time for Ohio State yet? And as the fans at Memorial Stadium suffer, the rich alums atop the University Club on the west side of the new stadium will have a grand old time watching the battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy
@ Ohio State, Sat., 9/15
Ohio State 31-7 - Cal's penchant for road stinkers continue
Ohio State 45-16 - Maynard turnovers make it non-competitive by halftime
Ohio State 20-17 OT - Fans who made trek to Horseshoe leave heartbroken after Bears blow 17-3 halftime lead in OT
Ohio State 32-30 - Early game jitters too much for Bears to overcome
Ohio State 28-27 - I can only dream
@ USC, Sat., 9/22
USC 60-6 - Ditto
USC 34-23 - Cal will play them tough, but USC's superiority will show as the game goes on
USC 48-10 - No. 1 Trojans obliterate Bears; Maynard commits 4 turnovers; Allen leaves game in second quarter with injury
USC 45-17 - Not as bad as 2010, but game decided after first quarter
Cal 27-21 - Home game makes the difference in this one
Cal 35-21 - Important to have a home game to bounce back here
Cal 21-20 - Bears eek one out at home behind huge game from Sofele; Allen does not play with torn ACL (out for season)
Cal 30-16 - Team puts two losses behind it and takes out frustration on ASU
Cal 28-13 - Todd Graham submits his resume to Sandy Barbour after this one, finally figuring out that Tempe (and Phoenix and the whole of Arizona) is actually more boring than Pittsburgh
vs. UCLA, Sat., 10/6
Cal 31-17 - Two losses in a row to the little sisters? Not gonna happen
Cal 24-17 - UCLA will fail to win for the first time in 14 years at Memorial
UCLA 30-14 - History repeats itself as Maynard chucks 3 interceptions and Bruins run all over Cal
Cal 28-17 - Spirited Memorial Stadium crowd helps Cal get off to fast start and never look back
Cal 38-17 - Like his exit, Jim Mora’s return to the Bay Area won’t be a happy one
@ Washington State, Sat., 10/13
Washington State 38-34 - The most exciting game of the year comes down to a costly turnover (or two) in the fourth quarter
Cal 33-17 - Cal has a penchant for big yardage plays in the Palouse
Washington State 35-20 - Cougars throw for 400 yards as Bears fall below .500, Cal AD Barber issues statement in support of Tedford
Cal 35-14 - Maynard turns in best performance of the season as Cal rolls
Cal 45-38 - The Palouse splits in half after this barn burner. Lots of big plays in this one (thanks Mike Leach), but the Bears have too much talent for the folks from Pullman
vs. Stanford, Sat., 10/20
Stanford 28-21 - Are the Cardinal more than just Luck? I believe so
Cal 30-19 - Cal shows some heart, avenges home pummeling in 2010 (think Cattouse, meet Luck)
Cal 24-21 - Last-second field goal gives Cal epic win in Big Game, Tedford carried off field by players
Cal 17-15 - Defense comes up big to secure nail biter; fans begin looking ahead to Oregon matchup as possible ticket to conference championship game
Cal 27-24 - To quote Joe Starkey after John Elway drove Stanford to a go-ahead field goal in the 1982 Big Game: “Now, this is the Big Game.” What did that even mean?
@ Utah, Sat., 10/27
Utah 17-10 - Cal's road roes rear its ugly head again
Utah 24-20 - If Aaron Rodgers couldn't win at Utah, can Zach Maynard?
Cal 21-10 - Bears continue to build momentum behind strong performances from Maynard, CJ Anderson
Utah 21-14 - Classic trap game with team riding high after Big Game victory and four-game winning streak
Cal 28-24 - This is a metaphor for Obama v Romney, right? If so, Zach Maynard outperforms Jordan Wynn
vs. Washington, Fri., 11/2
Washington 38-24 - Keith Price (assuming his stickman-ish body holds up) shows why he's the top QB in the North
Cal 27-20 - Cal fired up to get revenge on Tosh, and being at home helps
Cal 9-3 - Cal wins old-school, rain-soaked game under the Friday night ESPN lights to become bowl eligible; Anderson rushes for 150 yards
Washington 35-21 - Fans riled up for return of Tosh, but another primetime dud by Cal on ESPN
Cal 33-20 - Tosh who? But really, let’s hope that revamped Huskies defense continues to give up 450 yards a game like it did in 2011
vs. Oregon, Sat., 11/10
Oregon 27-24 - Many will predict blowout, but Ducks squeak by
Oregon 35-10 - No fake injuries will help Cal here
Oregon 35-13 - Oregon brings Cal back to earth, snapping 3-game win streak
Oregon 27-10 - Not enough offense to make upset aspirations even remotely possible
Oregon 33-30 - This will be closer than the experts predict and without the controversy this time. Or De’Anthony Thomas is going to have a field day
@ Oregon State, Sat., 11/17
Oregon State 31-20 - Probably the easiest game to predict all season
Oregon State 28-18 - A road game finale against the Beavers has L written all over it
Cal 24-14 - Maynard throws for 300 yards and 2 TDs as Cal finishes season strong
Oregon State 30-10 - Cal ends season on four-game losing streak in rainy Corvallis
Cal 31-20 - Who says Cal can’t win on the road? The Bears mauled the Sun Devils in Tempe to close out last season. Is Corvallis that much tougher?
There was a very intriguing article in the Oakland Tribune today about the staff's increased activity involving social media. Written by Jeff Faraudo, one of the few true scribes still out there in the world of sports journalism, the article highlighted the greater emphasis put on social media by Coach Tedford and staff.
Citing a changing of the guard, Tedford seemed to concede to the fact that the staff had no choice but to increase their level of activity in social media -- namely in regards to recruiting.
To help with the effort, the athletic department recently created a full-time "social media director" position to help cipher through all the posts, tweets, and updates that relate to Cal football in one way or another.
My reaction?
Better late than never.
Ever since the days of MySpace.com, where young athletes such as an 17-year old Andrew Bynum often jump online to express their "mood of the moment", there has been a slow yet steady shift in how athletes communicate with the public. The days of Bob Ryan sitting down and having dinner and a cigar with Larry Bird before picking his brain about the Lakers have thoroughly been replaced with quick blurbs and texts through one's mobile device.
And that's okay.
The significance of the Cal football staff finally getting on board with this social media business cannot be understated. In the article, Faraudo briefly mentions Tosh Lupoi and his departure meaning losing "much of the Bears' Facebook and Twitter acumen." That acumen Faraudo cites centers around the recruitment of high school athletes.
High school kids are a fickle bunch who often make decisions on a whim and influenced by gestures that you and I wouldn't think twice about. Tedford is in a business where courting young kids to join his team is the lifeline of his company's foundation.
And while there is much more I can write about this issue (some of which I'll probably touch on as the season rolls along) I am just extremely glad that Tedford and company seem to understand the implications of social media and the positive effect it can have on recruits.
Earlier this week, a friend of mine who is a huge Cal sports fan (and may or may not write for this blog) sent the following GroupMe text to me and several other Cal sports fan friends (who may or may not also write for this blog):
Hey, just noticed that cal gets a shoutout in the new nike hoops commercial with that chinese kid going against that black kid
If you haven't seen this ad, it's actually pretty awesome. It's for Jordan's Nike line and shows a possible future in which a Chinese NBA fan and an American one grow up on different sides of the world to become NBA rivals. It's a dynamic and exciting (inspiring, even?) take on the globalization of basketball (and Nike shoe sales, natch). Give it a quick looksie:
The relevant bit comes at the 0:26 mark. The American guy, now a high school star, is doing the "pick a college hat to announce your school choice" thing at a press conference. He picks Georgetown, but on the table in front of him is a (frankly, kind of fugly) Cal cap.
My friend's text above pointed out that it's cool Monty's squad got referenced in a huge ad. And while that's true to a degree, the message in my head was clear -- Cal is a solid second choice, a good runner-up, AKA the first loser.
(Quick tangent: Klosterman is awesome and needs his own weekly podcast. I have been a big fan of Bill Simmons and his BS Report for years, but while he has been in London covering the Olympics, I have been shocked at how great Klosterman has been filling in for Simmons on the show. Chuck brings a cerebral pretentiousness to the host role that should irk the shit out of me but that I actually love. At one point toward the end of this episode, Herbstreit makes an offhand mention of his parents' divorce, and Klosterman diverges from sports entirely to play armchair psychiatrist for a few minutes. It was totally weird, totally enjoyable and totally not something the more traditional Simmons would do. Dear Grantland: Make Chuck do a weekly pod!)
Klosterman and Herbie eventually got around to talking about the Pac-12, and they made reference to the deluge of big-name coaches in the conference: Mike Leach, Rich Rod, Chip "Couldn't Look More Like a 1920s Mobster Talking Out Of The Side Of My Face If I Tried" Kelly, Steve Sarkisian (I find this one highly dubious), etc. Of course, this being 2012 and not 2006, Jeff Tedford was never mentioned.
That Tedford is no longer considered a big-name coach isn't news, obviously. But the fact that Jim Mora and Sarkisian were name-dropped and Tedford didn't even get sniffed was somewhat shocking to me. (Doesn't anyone remember this guy?!?) You're telling me Steve Sakisian has accomplished more as a head coach than Teddy? Seriously? And don't even try to give me that "USC co-head coach" bullshit Pete Carroll was pulling back in the day. Head coaching is like Highlander -- there can only be one.
The commercial and the podcast combined to leave me feeling pretty down on Cal's public image. Not that I had delusions of grandeur that Cal football and basketball are considered in the upper echelon of college programs (although we are killing it in the Olympics -- thank you, sports-no-one-cares-about-except-for-two-weeks-every-four-years!), but I liked to think we are one or two strong seasons away from changing that image. Now, I am not so sure.
Changing perception is incredibly difficult. At this point, short of winning national titles in football and basketball, I'm not sure what could be done to improve Cal's public image. We've been the runner-up (or, let's be honest, far worse) for too long. And this football season doesn't seem like our opportunity to change that perception. But who knows? Maybe Teddy and the boys will surprise me and Chuck Klosterman. Maybe they'll pull off something magical this year that will force people to reconsider Cal football.
The start of
Fall Camp is one of my favorite periods of the year. In sports, just like in life,
hope always springs eternal. Every program in the country, no matter how the
season ended before, always comes into the new year with optimism.
Unfortunately,
that optimism becomes too infectious.
So coach,
how has the quarterback looked?
Much better
than last year.
So coach,
are you satisfied with the running back’s camp performance so far?
No question
about it.
So coach,
when are you going to decide the starter at middle linebacker?
Don’t know
yet. But they are both great players.
The Cal
football program is no exception. No matter who is doing what, there tends to
be a mind-numbing echo of one glowing report after another to come out of camp (except
for the occasional Verdell Larkins rant).
With that
said, the key to Fall Camp is to sift through the positivity. Of course players
are looking good, but what are the issues (other than the obvious ones like Zack
Maynard’s progress) that the Bears will face this year?
Here are
some of my thoughts:
With no BYE this year, the entire Cal team might look like this by the end of the season.
1. No BYE
To be
honest, I don’t think Bear Backers have made a big enough deal about this
issue. Luck has a lot to do with a good season and injuries are the main factor
of that. Cal, like 99 percent of teams, struggle to build with quality depth.
How are the Bears going to get through 12 straight weeks of football without
losing a small chunk of their roster? In my mind, not having an off week
automatically hits Cal with an extra loss (at least).
2. Kick Me
While he
wasn’t Sebastian Janikowski by any means, Giorgio Tavecchio was an effective
place kicker for Cal. With Giorgio gone, Vince D’Amato steps into the starting
role (from initial reports coming out of camp). The Bears are not going to blow
anyone out this season, so points will be at a premium. Having a steady kicker
is critical and could be the difference between 7-5 or 5-7.
3. Offensive
Line
The other issue
that I feel fans haven’t made a big enough deal about is the offensive line.
While Jim Michalczik has proven to be an excellent coach, I just feel the offensive
line will struggle this season. The Bears don’t have a single above average
tackle, have played musical chairs with their guards and are breaking in a new
center. Recipe for disaster if you ask me.
As the new season approaches, I thought I'd be fun to throw together an composite "all star" team from the Tedford era. Let's start with an easy position: wide receivers. I'll pick two starters and two backups.
Wideout performance has largely mirrored the program as a whole under Tedford. In the early years, players at the position made up for slightly less natural talent with intangibles and toughness. Then DeSean Jackson's recruitment and three seasons highlighted the peak of the Tedford era. In recent years, there is still plenty of ability, but the performance has been much more inconsistent post-Longshore ankle.
Jonathan Makonnen and Geoff McArthur were the top guys in Tedford's early years. Makonnen led the team in receiving yards in 2002, but his trip in the west end zone at the LA Coliseum will forever haunt his legacy in my eyes. McArthur was a model of consistency, as long as he was healthy. His big performance (16 rec, 245 yds) in the 2003 Big Game was one of his defining moments. Chase Lyman would have also deserved top 4 discussion if not for his injuries. This early crew also had the benefit of strong role players like Burl Toler and Vinnie Strang. Of course, everyone looks better when Aaron Rodgers is throwing them the ball.
DeSean, Lavelle Hawkins and Robert Jordan were standouts in the next generation. Jordan is probably the weakest link in this group, but his numbers were always pretty good. DeSean was an NFL player in a college uniform.
Post-DeSean has been slim pickings, when laughably, in 2008 Nyan Boateng actually led the team in receiving. Marvin Jones and Verran Tucker turned in decent careers, but no defining moments. Keenan Allen may be the most talented other than DeSean, but his story is still being written.
Backup 2: Lavelle Hawkins -- The Hawk could get down the field as well as anyone, but also did intangibles such as blocking downfield quietly well.
Backup 1: Keenan Allen -- Big play potential whenever he touches it would be a luxury as a third option.
WR 2: Geoff McArthur -- Career didn't pan out after leaving Strawberry Canyon, but his Cal credentials are undoubtedly great.
WR 1: DeSean Jackson -- Cal was a means to an end for him, but that doesn't diminish anything he did.
