Media bandwagon jumps ship

In spite of all the preseason hype, the media has immediately jumped off the Cal bandwagon after this one poor showing in Tennessee. Here’s ESPN’s Bruce Feldman:

I feel so foolish. I bought into this whole Cal-is-a-powerhouse business. Fell for the Jeff Tedford could make any QB into a star, too. Got sold that the Bears could lose all those supposedly great O-linemen and not miss anything. That David Cutcliffe couldn’t even hold a clipboard next to Tedford. And now after seeing the Bears fall behind 35-0 in their 35-18 loss to Tennessee and sifting through the Deleted Items bin of my e-mail to find the missive from that Cal diehard that came in late Friday night talking about how all of us media folks still aren’t giving the Bears defense their due, I have seen the light.

Cal is like that girl you convinced yourself was so perfect, but then something happened, and suddenly it all became clear. You broke up. It stung, but you realized all her faults, all the ones that you can’t believe you didn’t notice before. Fact is, Cal hasn’t beaten anyone in the last three years. The Bears’ big statement game was its close loss to USC in 2004. They griped about being left out of the BCS mix that season and then were lit up by Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl. Last season, they weren’t much better than a middle-of-the-road Mountain West squad.

After seeing a Tennessee offense, which ranked 101st in the nation in scoring last season, post 35 points in a little more than two quarters, I doubt anyone will take Cal very seriously again for a very long time. Overreaction? Maybe. But I think if the Bears could knock off USC, they probably still would not get back into the top 15. And of course, this blowout has big-picture meaning. Whenever folks talk about the Pac-10 being soft, this Cal-Tennessee game will always come up first. It will live in infamy out here on the West Coast.

Sure, USC crushed Arkansas again, but truth is, no one, not even Pac-10 haters, have the gall to question the Trojans’ legitimacy. But it’s that next batch of the Pac-10’s supposed heavyweights that never seems to hold up their end.

I just hope the team steps up to the disrespect and plays with a huge chip on its shoulder the next eleven games. Cal fans need to have a short memory about this game as well, and be there to support the team at home against Minnesota.

Tennessee intercepted defensive signals

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach reports that Tennessee was able to steal Cal’s defensive signals, enabling their offense to dismantle defensive plays with greater ease.

Tennessee receivers coach Trooper Taylor said the Bears also made the Volunteers’ jobs easier. Taylor said the Volunteers were able to pick up California’s defensive signals from the coaches’ box and relay the signals to the sideline. So sometimes, Ainge knew what defense he was going to face before he even stepped to the line of scrimmage.

This doesn’t explain the missed tackles, but Tennessee’s use of this tactic helps to shine some light on their ability to exploit our defensive schemes. I hope the coaches address this espionage and learn to conceal the signals in future games.

Bears unprepared for Tennessee in rout

Today, the Bears were humbled 35-18 by a very underrated Tennessee team. Cal looked uncharacteristically inexperienced and unprepared in a deafening and hostile environment, and the team fell hard.

Coach Jeff Tedford quote: “We just weren’t very sharp. We didn’t execute. We didn’t catch it very well. We didn’t tackle well.”

Some things stilll looked improved from last season:

• Special teams: Punter Andrew Larson and coverage appeared quite good, especially compared to last season.
• Joe Ayoob: Despite only facing Tennessee’s second-string defense, Ayoob looked better than last year after taking over for Longshore in the third quarter. He did make some mistakes and wild throws, but he looked improved overall. I’m not sure whether I’d take him starting at quarterback over Longshore, though.

Several areas seemed to need improvement:

• Defensive secondary: The Vols picked on redshirt freshman cornerback Syd’Quan Thompson time after time, showing how much Tim Mixon‘s knee injury affected the team. Thompson needs more experience to be at the potential of his talent, but I hope this experience has not shattered his confidence.
• Wide receivers: The number of catchable balls dropped was alarming.
• Offensive line: The line didn’t seem to be jelling too well, letting Tennessee’s powerful defenders through and failing to open up holes for the running backs.
• Playcalling: I’m no coach, but I think the selection of plays could better utilize Cal’s personnel.

I hope that the loss gives the Bears a renewed focus. They must play better on both sides of the ball. With some adjustments and this experience under the belt, Cal should still be a contender for the Pac-10 title and a BCS bowl.

Final walkthrough at Knoxville, and a prediction

The Golden Bears have arrived. (Photo: udaman1)

Today (Friday), the Bears completed their final walkthrough at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. There’s a video of the team at that link.

The game is now about 15 hours away. GO BEARS!

Cal Football Fan prediction: 31 – 23, Cal.

SI writers unanimous: Cal BCS-bound

Today, SI.com‘s four college football writers released their BCS predictions. Cal was listed in each of their respective lists, either in the Rose or Fiesta bowls. Take a look.

Excited team “can’t wait” for Tennessee

Saturday can’t come soon enough

The Oakland Tribune published an article today about the team’s preparation for the season opener at Tennessee on Saturday. Coach Jeff Tedford has been playing Tennessee’s fight song “Rocky Top” on loop in the locker room to get them fired up, and also piping deafening croud noise to simulate the 106,000+ fans the team will face in Knoxville, TN. The players are energetic, excited, and a little nervous, but definitely looking forward to the game.

Many are considering this game to be very close, as the teams appear to be quite evenly matched. In Vegas, the game’s spread has been fluctuating between just 1 or 2 points. Recently, Tennessee has been favored (probably due to home field advantage) but the there’s been some movement over the past day or two to make Cal the 2-point favorite, perhaps with the quarterback situation sorted out. Regardless, it’s very close. And, ESPN‘s Mike & Mike show just called this the “most even game on the board” when describing the big games this weekend. Is it Saturday yet?

Cal at Tennessee is a Saturday storyline

Marshawn Lynch is on the home page of ESPN.com in a nice banner that also includes stars like QB Brady Quinn (Notre Dame), QB Drew Weatherford (Florida State), and WR Ted Ginn Jr. (Ohio State).

ESPN.com‘s Chris Fowler also has a lot to say about Saturday’s matchup:

But let’s see what happens Saturday. Cal is a trendy pick to win the Pac-10 (and that cutting edge Lee Corso has the Bears winning the national title!). But can the Bears get out of Rocky Top intact? They are slight underdogs against a Tennessee team coming off a dismal 5-6 year. Why? Home field, of course. But is the power of Rocky Top being hugely overrated?

About home field advantage:

… The fact is, home field often is vastly overrated. When a huge, hostile crowd is cheering on a great team, it’s hard for visitors to win. When the same crowd is cheering for a merely decent home team, upsets happen all the time.

… The point is, home field is overrated when it comes to a collision of quality teams.

Some questions and analysis about the game for each team:

Now, can Tennessee reclaim Neyland Stadium this year, starting Saturday night? A win would be a huge springboard for a team that certainly will rebound from the unthinkable 2005. A seventh straight home loss to a top-10 team would really sting. The key matchup is Tennessee’s rebuilt but veteran defensive line versus Cal’s rebuilt defensive line. Combined, the Vols’ group has 10 career sacks. These are solid guys, but can they be disruptive playmakers and “War-Daddy” run stuffers against hypertalented Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett? Cal’s blockers consist of three sophomore starters who will get a baptism to the big-time. How well will they handle the noise and confusion of opening night, protect Nate Longshore and open holes? Quick drops can help mask an overmatched line, but for how long?

About Tennessee’s quarterback and new offensive coordinator:

More attention on Rocky Top has been focused on the effect David Cutcliffe’s return as offensive coordinator will have on QB Erik Ainge. In the six years Cutcliffe called the plays at UT, the Vols averaged more than 30 points each year, with Peyton Manning and Tee Martin under center. Last year’s team scored fewer than 19 per game. Expect the average to be closer to 30 than 19 this year. The Vols will be fine. Corso might need a Plan B for Glendale by 9 p.m. Saturday.

And finally, some general praise for the coaches:

Fun with Corso aside, I want to salute what Jeff Tedford and defensive coordinator Bob Gregory have done at Cal. Before they got there, don’t forget, the Bears were awful. Eight straight losing seasons, bottoming out with a 1-10 debacle in 2001 that featured six losses by 27 or more points. The Bears took beatings from UCLA (by 39) and Oregon (by 41). Under Tedford, Cal has reeled off four straight winning seasons, averaging more than eight wins per. If this kind of astounding reversal had been engineered at a more visible program, Tedford would be much more fully appreciated as the absolute top-tier coach he is. That kind of national wake-up call is what can be achieved Saturday night.

Longshore will start at Tennessee

It’s official. Nate Longshore will start at quarterback in front of Joe Ayoob on Saturday’s season-opening game at Tennessee. Coach Jeff Tedford said, “They’ve both had great camps, (but) somebody has got to take the first snap. It’s very possible they’ll both play. Nate has run the offense very well. There wasn’t a lot of difference between them, but Nate has been real consistent.”

Both quarterbacks are taking the news with class and humility.

Longshore: “Either way, I’m sure we’ll both play, and we just want to go out there and execute the offense. I’m excited. We’re jelling and we’re getting each other’s timing down. We’re figuring everything out, and it’s coming together at the right time.”

Ayoob: “If Nate comes out and goes 10-for-10, I don’t think I’ll go in. But my understanding is I’ll get some playing time, so we’ll see what happens. It’s not about who’s starting or not. It’s about winning games.”

You can also watch a video featuring Tedford’s announcement and statements from the quarterbacks. Thanks Sam W.

No QB named starter, but Longshore favored

Longshore or Ayoob?

Coach Jeff Tedford has still not named a starter at quarterback for the season opener at Tennessee. At today’s Pac-10 coaches teleconference, Tedford stated that the decision is likely to be “a game-time decision” between Nate Longshore and Joe Ayoob.

Apparently, there was also some confusion caused by ESPN asking Marshawn Lynch about the starting situation, implying that Ayoob was to start.

However, according to an unofficial report from a respected insider at the conference, it “distinctly sounded like [Longshore] would start as he remained healthy today, although [Tedford] refused to be pinned down to announcing the starter today.”

Longshore back, starters may be named

Quarterback Nate Longshore was limited Saturday, but returned 100% practice yesterday (Monday) after missing 3 days of practice due to a “disk problem that inflamed a nerve”. Jay Heater of the Contra Costa Times says:

Longshore not only practiced, but he looked very sharp. I wouldn’t be all that surprised if he is named the starter. He threw some rockets on Monday. You can bet he is making the trip [to Tennessee].

Additionally, Coach Jeff Tedford is saying that he will “probably” make an announcement today naming the starting quarterback who will get “65 to 70%” of the practice repetitions. However, he still maintains that he is likely to play both Longshore and Joe Ayoob at Tennessee.

In addition to quarterback, Tedford is expected to name starters in other positions (right guard, cornerback, rover) today as well.