Cal Recap

Sigh. As I begin writing my first impressions very early Sunday morning (before having read a single headline or statistic), I can definitely say that yesterday was an absolutely beautiful afternoon in Boulder and it was indeed a fabulous game to watch.  Although it ended in a heart-breaking overtime loss, there were many positives to take away from this game (Embree might even be able to pinpoint one or two in his press conference) and I will start by trying to focus on those (before I rip into the plethora of mistakes that continue to plague this team).  [Many people were complaining about the refereeing after the game.  While it was awful and they often seemed confused, that is what is to be expected from this conference-they have been at the heart of most every weird call of the past decade.  Even with their ineptitude, we cannot blame the refs for his loss!]

After a very solid run by Ralphie V the Buffs opened in textbook fashion with another three-and-out defensive series.  Then, the offense took over, executed the first snap and moved the ball down the field, even if they didn’t get a 4^th and 1 deep.  Next, they got a Jon Major pick (the only turnover of the game) and drove down the field again, though it only resulted in a field goal.  Throughout the first half the team played relatively well,  albeit with a few key penalties mixed in, generally holding Cal in check (who did drop a few open balls though) and picking up some yardage, if not points. 

Doug Rippy had another monster game, and seemed to be in on every play,.  The D-Line got some pressure (another 5 sacks!) and they didn’t allow a lot of rushing yardage, hardly any to Maynard.   The DBs played pretty well, but you can only cover that many speedsters for so long.  It looks like Parker Orms is truly the other #1 CB opposite Sanderfeld, but he moves into the nickel slot when Henderson comes in (much Champ is going to do for the Broncos this year).  Wil Oliver is the kicker for the next four years as he nailed everything he kicked, including a 52-yard FG; he also took over kickoffs late in the game and boomed a couple of nice ones. We even blocked a PAT!

In the second half the offense really got into a  rhythm, especially (dare I say future All-American) Paul Richardson, who had a CU single game record 282 receiving yards on 11 catches, including awesome 66 and 78-yard TDs, for a 25.8 average!  Hansen threw for a total of 474 passing yards (also a school record), with some more great screens to Speedy and another TD to TE Ryan Deehan right after halftime, and made a few nice runs to pick up first downs including a great 4^th down bootleg.  NO turnovers!  The offensive line gave Tyler much more time (nary a sack!) and created some holes for Rodney.  Ryan Dannewitz seemed much more comfortable, the middle of the line didn’t break down, and Sione Tau seemed to play decently when he came on for the injured Jack Harris (broken fibula-gone for season) at RT.  This team calls screens at timely spots and runs them really well (only one was stuffed)-Gary Barnett said Steve Marshall is the best line coach at coaching the screen blocking…[which completes the  section on positives, with a perfect segue into the next part)

…however, the O-line made more than its share of crucial mistakes again.   The majority of the penalties (12 total for 98 yards with a few declined) were from this group, with SIX (?!) false starts (at home!) and some very untimely holding calls again.  Munyer looked like he made most of the snaps at center but Embree was upset about the false starts and blamed the snaps.   I think everyone on the line had at least one penalty.   The Cal fans are laughing it up right now at Steve Marshall’s influence on our line in this regard!  Our perilously thin tackle depth was highlighted when Dannewitz went down briefly at LT and TFr. Alex Kelley had to burn his redshirt and very smartly they ran a bootleg to the right because the left end just blew by poor Kelly, who is down 15 pound from the flu last week.  And now that Harris is out as well, Sione Tau finally gets his chance to use his size and live up to his potential.  He has lost more than 60 pounds and supposedly is one of the really great stories inside the program this year so far.

 Now, the offense put up a ton of yards (582), 30 points in regulation, but they also left a lot on the field, with the missed 4^th down early, and 4 FGs; four drives penetrated inside the 20  including the overtime drive, without scoring a TD.  It is scary when a team just doesn’t seem to be able to punch it in when they get to the red zone.  All 3 TDs were long catch and runs.  Even with 474, Tyler overthrew a lot of open receivers, including P-Rich a few other times.  Rodney has done “ok” but not the dominant run game expected and no other running back has even made it on the field for an offensive snap, let alone get a carry.  Teams are going to stack the box, double P-Rich, be wary of the screen and dare us to do anything else.  No other receivers stepped up again, although TE Matt Bahr did get a short catch!  Tyler McCulloch got the start as predicted but only grabbed 2 short catches.  TFr. Austin Vincent, not even listed on the depth chart and dogged as lazy throughout fall practice, got in for a few snaps, along with Canty, Cefalo, Gray, but no one had more than a catch.  Tony Clemons seemed to get benched again after a drop and the stupid kickoff return from 6 yards deep in the endzone. 

While the defense again had their moments, they weren’t able to maintain it all afternoon.  Those Cal receivers are excellent and they picked up some nice yards after the catch, especially in the 2^nd half.  We had a couple of bad pass interference and Ray Polk had another late hit out of bounds.  Even when they were solid on 1^st and 2^nd downs, they gave up big plays on third: 7 of 13 with some long conversions.  They need to tighten it up.  TFr. DE/JLB Juda Parker got in the game but looked a little overmatched and couldn’t make the tackle on the rushing TD; another TFr. Brady Daigh also got a few snaps at LB.  They played a lot of nickel and will have to continue to do so against some great passing teams, and because Webb and Mahnke just don’t seem to cut it at the 4^th LB spot.

Outside of Oliver, Special Teams were not a strength.  Darragh O’Neill did not have nearly as good of a day punting, including one that was partially blocked and created controversy because they crushed him-with the tip there is no penalty but the crowd went crazy.  We gave them a first down with a roughing the kicker of our own.  Our kickoff returns were terrible as Lockridge also bobbled one at the goal line.  Punt return was generally ineffective, with P-Rich getting whacked hard and Speedy getting the next shot.  We could really use someone else to step up here. Cal, however, with Justin Castor’s short kicks got themselves great field position every time we scored (except once) with solid returns.  They did mix up the coverage unit and TFr. speedster S Wil Harlos also burned his redshirt.   Oliver had to take over for Castor on kickoffs and although first one was short, next two were great, including a touchback.  Castor, along with Clemons, is not even allowed in Embree’s doghouse anymore.

Overall, while they played better overall, made more plays, they still just made way too many mistakes.  Too many opportunities were just plain missed and given away.  And even though they played a bunch more freshmen (4 more redshirts burnt), they weren’t the ones making the mistakes!  If they don’t get their shit together soon, it is going to get ugly.  CSU is riding high at 2-0 after wins against pansies, and as usual, this will be their game of the year.  However, it should be our game of the year so far because I don’t think Embree can take another loss.