Mid-week notes for Cal and USC snow-down

 Here are a few Thursday tidbits one week away from turkey day:

§  Review of the tape: I rewatched the game and came away really impressed with a few things: First, the secondary did not give up any big passing plays; Chido is getting really good and was involved in plays all over the field; Crawley played probably his best game and had some great open field tackles; Greg Henderson had the worst day of the three and he was still fine. The only guy they will lose next year from this secondary group is Parker Orms, but Tedric Thompson has gotten plenty of experience, so that bodes very well for the defense in general.

§  Sefo is a very good quarterback and continues to exceed expectations (only one pick where he got hit from behind).

§  P-Rich is probably gone after the season.  He is just too good, with a lethal combination of speed, route running, gaining yards after the catch, and has gotten more physical in going after balls and coming down with them.

§  However, there were still too many missed tackles on defense, although not nearly as many as the week before (nor nearly as many as Cal).

§  The special teams were very interesting with the wind and decisions, but Nelson Spruce’s “Oh my God?!” return of Cal’s botched onsides kick was hilarious (must have been sickening for Cal fans).

§  The other onsides kick, where Oliver kicked it hard and low because of the wind-MacIntyre said, “the guy usually gets out of the way”- was a huge play and then allowed them to deflate any energy and momentum Cal had left before the half, instead of being on the opposite side of that type of play in the closing minutes of the second quarter as they have done too many times before.

§  Lastly, we have to take this win with a grain of salt; although it was a great win for Coach Mike MacIntyre and his team, it was against a poor, injury-depleted team that would challenge the 2012 Buffs for worst team of the Pac12 era.

§  I wished I had read MacInytre’s comments earlier about how he watches reactions and body language of players on the sidelines when he watches game film.  I do sometimes live, but will do more of that in general.

§  Sledgehammer: I didn’t notice who carried the hammer out for Cal, but Derrick Webb had a sweet hit early in the RB at the line of scrimmage that was worthy.

§  Line: USC is now ranked #23 and favored by 22 points (even I think that’s a little high) for a chilly, 7:30 PM kickoff with the snow covering CU AD Rick George called for a few weeks back.

§  Team notes: TE Sean Irwin got his first start against Cal and was the only tight end on the field for that first play. However, Kyle Slavin still got the most work and his first TD.  Safety Tedric Thompson subbed for Parker Orms and played well, and was one of three true frosh who started on defense.

§  Injuries: Greg Henderson was shaken up during the second half Saturday, but returned to the field, and no other major injuries were reported.

§  We won’tl know for sure until Saturday about the availability of Parker Orms and Woodson Greer and their stingers.  Orms is listed as probable and has said that he plans to play in his senior finale.  According to MacIntyre, Orms has also been “dragging his bum knee” around all season.

§  USC’s injury list is long on an already depleted roster.  They only used 13 guys on defense last week and most starters played every defensive snap.  They have lost a dozen players for the season.

§  Honors, mentions and recognitions: Sefo was named Las Vegas Bowl player of the week for his performance

§  P-Rich grabbed a few more spots in the record book as the all-time single season yardage leader, only 5 catches for the season reception mark and two TDs for the scoring lead.  Were he to stay (is a little small and could be more physical at times) he would shatter all career marks as well.

§  He also got a “helmet sticker” from the Pac12 ESPN blog: “Richardson caught 11 passes for 140 yards and broke the school’s single-season receiving record in the process. He surpassed the record previously held by Charles E. Johnson and sits at 1,201 receiving yards on the year.”  They also named him an “offensive standout” in the Rewind column.

§  In a complete joke of a process on the national level, though, Paul Richardson, who is fifth in the nation in receiving yards per game, was left off the Finalist list for the Biletnikoff award.  Even though I am not intimately familiar with all ten guys, I find it hard to believe all of them, some from much smaller schools with lesser stats, could be considered better than him, and it is a shame he was not recognized.

§  The Pac12 ESPN blog also were one of many who now have CU firmly entrenched in the 11^th spot in their conference rankings, with a chance to still move up (Utah is 10). “After whipping California, the Buffaloes guaranteed they won't go winless in Pac-12 play. In fact, if they could find some magic and beat USC and Utah, they'd be bowl-eligible in Mike MacIntyre's first season. That seems doubtful, but you can pretty much call MacIntyre's first go-round a success and grounds for hope.”

§  2014 Recruiting: Twitter went crazy with #CUin2014 tweets Monday morning after two-star DB and track star Jaisen Sanchez from Honolulu committed to the coaching staff, becoming the 15^th member of the virtual class. He didn’t have any other scholarship offers from FBS schools yet, but had some interest from UCLA and Hawaii.

§  Other Buffs Notes: The (please, maybe “only” regular) season finale at Utah will kickoff at 12:00 noon Mtn.

§  Pacific Takes Fantasy League: Crushed it with my Buffies and in the playoffs with everyone but Jordon James healthy!  I have stuck with Kyle Slavin  at TE since Lyerla bailed and it finally paid off.  My biggest decision this week is Powell or Adkins at RB (with De’Anthony Thomas) and then the “loser” of that decision or Stanford WR Ty Montgomery or Utah WR Sean Fitzgerald in the flex spot. I am leaning Adkins and Montgomery for now.