After losing against Hawaii (I am almost over it), the last thing the Buffs wanted to do was watch film of last year’s debacle at Cal, but I am pretty sure they did, maybe even on the flight home. I know the entire Buffalo family, from the thousands of Buff fans in attendance, to those of us who watched on TV on couldn’t even turn it off, to the lowest player sitting helpless on the CU bench, to the now-senior starters, to Mike Bohn and Brian Cabral, and especially Embree, was embarrassed by that performance. Embree has stated numerous times about how often fans and alumni have mentioned the Cal game over and over to him and he has become visibly agitated at the mention of it. The players have hinted at wanting revenge. Although, as we approach game time, Embree is playing all that down with a “that was last year….different team” company line now. Let’s hope they can channel their true feelings at both last week’s Hawaii and last year’s Cal game to put together a full game and right the ship.
Cal is likely feeling really good about last year’s game, and after watching film of Hawaii, they are hopefully feeling very cocky about this game. They had a solid outing in a 36-21 win over Fresno State while they watched CU struggle with a mobile QB. They manhandled us last year, and have two of our former coaches helping with the game plans (more below). However, Cal has not been a very good road team of late (well, no double-digit losing streak but…) and we have to take advantage of these two combined factors. A good start against an over-confident team on the road would go a long way. It’s a shame that there are still so many tickets available, but with the nice day, they should get some walk-up sales. Those of us that are there will need to cheer loud and support the Buffs as they will need it! Coaches have stated there won’t be any significant changes to the depth chart so we are going to battle with basically the same group. Here’s a look at where we stand at each position group and how the matchups look:
OFFENSE: Everyone at every position needs to improve, make a few plays, and most importantly, not make any stupid mistakes. It all starts with the OFFENSIVE LINE and they need to improve as a unit, so that everyone else at the skill positions can be better. It doesn’t look like LT Bakhtiari is going to be able to play so it will be Jr. Ryan Dannewitz again (although I haven’t heard if they switched Harris to the left side, which is always a possibility in cases like this) and he should be better with all the reps this week (don’t think he could be worse). Above all, Ryan Miller, All-American candidate that he supposedly is, has to lead this line and not let himself get pushed around. They were not the physical bunch we were promised last week against a WAC team. Cal’s D-line does not sound spectacular but they are solid, and certainly as good as or better than Hawaii. If the Buffs can be a little more consistent and work as a unit in the offensive trenches, Rodney should get better holes to hit and Tyler should feel a little more comfortable standing back there. An interesting side story here is that O-Line coach Steve Marshall came from Cal last year and their fans hate him with a passion. They claim his line never improved over the last two years and were very happy to see him go. Let’s hope he gets his unit going. If not, it could be another long day.
QB: Tyler should be way better with a game in this offense under his belt and after going over film with his coaches. He just didn’t look like the senior quarterback we expected, was not quick to get the ball out, and by the end of the game he was scared and made poor decisions. He should be particularly motivated to win this game to prove many naysayers wrong as well as avenge last year’s dismal performance. It would help to get the first snap cleanly. If they can make some plays (without any mistakes) early, as they played at the beginning of the 2nd half vs. Hawaii, they can gain some momentum and this offense could be dangerous. They used some screens effectively later, but need to spread the ball out more. I would expect that Tyler could run some bootlegs, take some pressure off and give him a few different types of options. However, if the line doesn’t give him some time, he will likely tuck and run and make some poor throws again. Another interesting coaching twist is that Eric Kiesau is now coaching at Cal again and is likely going to have some notes on Tyler for Cal’s DC Pendergrast about his tendencies and, more importantly, his weaknesses, like how to rattle him. They will probably throw a variety of looks and blitzes at us.
RB: One of our biggest advantages should be the 4th quarter and the ability to pound on tired teams with the running game, especially at home. However, if we are always in putting ourselves in passing situations with mistakes and getting behind, it won’t ever matter. Embree alluded to the fact that if they don’t fumble the first play, Speedy picks up good yards and the tone of the game is very different. Embree and EB have stated all week that the run game needs to improve but I am not sure what they are doing to make sure it happens. I was surprised not to see either Tony Jones or Josh Ford at all-both have both looked great running the ball in practice, but just don’t have the pass protections down well enough to get on the field. Maybe one of them can get in the game and provide a spark for the home crowd. The fullbacks didn’t get much of an opportunity to make plays yet (1 catch) but they need to make some blow-up blocks first!
WR: This group, outside of P-Rich (only 3 catches but 2 for TDs), this group was very disappointing and basically quiet. Tony Clemons was actually benched for much of the game after he dropped an early pass and then a made a “mental mistake”(likely a missed block). Supposedly he cleared the air with Kennedy and Embree and is ready to go and “do whatever it takes…(even) special teams” to help the team. Tyler McCollough made a couple of grabs in the 2nd half and should feel a lot more comfortable. I would expect him to get the start and be a bigger part of the game plan this week. Someone else, anyone, Cefalo maybe, but someone else has to help out here. They should be able to take advantage of the secondary some as it is coached by former CU assistant Ashley Ambrose, whose unit here greatly underachieved last year under him and had some weakness that we might be able to exploit.
TE: Deehan looked solid and Thorton got a catch, but this should be a standout position for this team. Look for them to be more involved, although I wonder how much Bahr got reamed for that lame penalty that killed a drive.
DEFENSE: The good news is that overall our D played relatively well against Hawaii, but of course the bad is that they lost containment on the QB’s mostly spontaneous runs. For better of for worse we will be facing another team with a lot of receiving options and a mobile QB. They need to continue solid team play and make sure it doesn’t breakdown when the QB does run, or one of their speedsters gets the ball in the open. Once again it will all start in the trenches with the DEFENSIVE LINE, who got some pressure on Moniz, but also gave him huge chunks of time on numerous plays and let him get around and through them into the wide open middle. Cal QB Zach Maynard also has some zone option read plays that Moniz had so much success with, running for more yards in the first half of the opener than he had in all of 2011. We can’t let that crap happen again and they need to keep the pressure on Maynard. He has a lot of weapons and was able to bounce back last week after an early pick. Hawaii’s run game was all but non-existent, and Cal’s wasn’t much against Fresno St. so we can expect some continued success there and maybe force Cal into passing more when they might not want to.
LB: Doug Rippy was very active, fast and actually not too bad of a tackler (only a couple of misses-not as much as I first thought) and he looks to be the centerpiece of this D and will rarely leave the field. Unfortunately, Jr. Captain Jon Major was almost invisible. Webb is aggressive but that cost us big time when he blew right by Moniz to crush the ball-less RB. Hence, Patrick Mahnke played more in the second half and his safety experience helps vs. these passing teams. They played a ton of nickel and will likely continue to do so and therefore, only 2 LBs will be on the field most of the time.
DB: As worried as we all were about the CBs, they played well and did not give up any huge passes. They all did some decent tackling. The safeties were solid but not spectacular; Polk had the one costly penalty, but Embree did say he would take a couple of those borderline calls. They will be challenged much more by this group. O-line coach Steve Marshall talks about how much speed is in the Pac-10/now 12 and Cal is no different, especially Maynard’s half brother Keenan Allen, whose name will be called often as WR and kick returner.
SPECIAL TEAMS: TFr punter Darragh O’Neil was solid, as was his coverage, with some long kicks and some high ones that were caught inside the 20. Another TFr. Wil Oliver was also solid hitting his 2 PATs and a 34-yard field goal. We’ll see what happens when he has to kick a meaningful one. Cal's kicker had major problems and had 2 PATs blocked very low-maybe we can get one! Unfortunately, kickoffs were very shaky after Castor boomed the first (adrenaline-powered) game opener for a touchback; he kicked one short that gave up a big return to midfield and one out of bounds. We’ll see how long he lasts as Embree was not happy about that one. Coverage was scary on two returns and they need to shore that up quick. I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of the TFr. safeties Kyle Washington or Wil Harlos burn their redshirt to infuse some speed into the unit. They will be going against Allen and a good return team. [Interestingly we played 6 true and 5 redshirt freshmen, while Cal actually played 10 true and one redshirt, along with a bunch of true sophomores who played a lot last year.]
Everyone needs to play at a higher level, minimize mistakes and go after a team that might be a little cocky. A quick start is paramount so we don’t get behind and forced out of our game plan. I like our chances in a close game at home and a clutch young kicker.
Go Buffs!
Here’s a few other sites for previews, info and stats on the Cal Bears and the matchup:
http://www.cuatthegame.com/2011/preview-california-2 / Stuart’s TIPS preview
http://www.ralphiereport.com/2011/9/7/2410330/colorado-buffaloes-vs-california-golden-bears-the-key-matchups David Gerhart’s Key Matchups
http://www.ralphiereport.com/2011/9/7/2409548/film-study-california-vs-colorado-perfection-at-the-point-of-contact Great breakdown of a Cal running play by Bob Bell
http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/ is the main Cal fan site (same network as Ralphie Report) and they actually have a lot of good material for the entire Pac-12. It is one of the best, most comprehensive fan sites around with a lot of their own material and they have a lot of links as well.
http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090611aaa.html The Cal official website
***Interesting Tidbit: Huge TFr. Stephane Nembot will move to Offensive Tackle (from D-Line) and redshirt to learn the position. He requested it and it actually seems like a natural fit given his size and ability-many of the same traits that made Nate Solder a natural OT.
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