Bears Bureau: Bears Fight Until They Can Fight No More

The Trojans used their sword to strike the heart of Cal's defense

Jack Plummer on the run vs USC via calbears.com

In what was probably one of the games that Cal fans had the least amount of expectations for, the California Golden Bears showed up to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and threw everything they had for 60 minutes at the USC Trojans. In the end, the result may have been the same with a loss on the record but like I mentioned after the Washington game, all losses are not the same. The effort was great, the resilience was great, it was simply a solid game for Cal in most facets. It really makes you wonder had this effort been replicated in Boulder what could’ve been, because that’s something that no one will get over for a while. Alas, let’s see who set the world on fire in the city of angels.

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Jack Plummer

Usually I’d be quantifying Plummer’s performance as a buy for this week, but for now I’m just going to give him his due for the grit, toughness, and effort he put forth in Los Angeles. Many people including myself have been critical of his decision making throughout the last month or so but against USC saying anything besides that he came to play is wrong. Yes, he had a bad interception that resulted in a Trojan touchdown just before halftime but other than that Plummer played good enough to win. That’s all you can really ask of him especially with the offensive line being the way it is.

Jack Plummer’s final stats are as follows: 35/49, 406 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT

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The Receivers: Buy

As if you didn’t need any more notice that the receivers are a special group look no further than their performance against USC. Granted the USC defense and secondary in particular are terrible but the Golden Bear wideouts have performed all season. This reflects well on Burl Toler III who without a doubt has his best group he’s ever had right now and looks to develop them more as they get older. Jeremiah Hunter had over 100 yards and a touchdown, J Michael Sturdivant had several tough catches between the 20’s, Mavin Anderson broke loose for a 47 yard touchdown, and Monroe Young had a great night as a safety valve, nabbing a career high of 5 receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. I for one am looking forward to the matchup between the Cal receivers and the Oregon State secondary in general, because its our best on their best. Can’t really ask for much more in that regard. As for the Big Game, I’m very much ready to see what this core can do against a mediocre Stanford secondary.

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Tyson McWilliams: Hold

In his first significant playing time with several secondary players injured, Tyson McWilliams had a chance to prove himself on the big stage. And there was a mix of good and bad, as it usually goes when people finally start to see the field. McWilliams got caught with his hand in the cookie jar a few times, especially in terms of his attacking angles on tackles but for the most part I was left satisfied with his performance. After all he was thrown into the fire against a USC wide receiver core that while injured is still one of the best in the country. I’m intrigued to see more of him should members of the Cal secondary continue to miss time.

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Pac 12 Quick Hits

Damien Martinez: Buy

To an extent I’m going to compliment Oregon State’s offensive line as well because they are a well oiled machine that simply gets the job done. The beneficiary of this is Damien Martinez, who is probably Jaydn Ott’s biggest challenger for the best freshman running back in the conference. Martinez’s vision and patience are great, as he reads cut back lanes very well in the Beavers zone blocking run scheme. He’s gained snaps and carries each of the last three weeks, resulting in an average of 132 rushing yards per game over that timespan. He’s legit and will only get better as he and Deshaun Fenwick continue to run over Pac 12 defenses.

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Michael Jackson III: Buy

In a receiver room that features All American talent in Jordan Addison and Mario Williams (both of which didn’t suit up against Cal), it was Michael Jackson III who stole the show for the Trojans. His ability to stretch the field and to get yards after the catch are both tremendous and a testament to the wide receiver depth USC has. He was one of the few offensive holdovers from Donte Williams to Lincoln Riley, and has found his groove in the offense. Against Cal he had 5 receptions for 115 yards and 2 TD’s, building off his 6 receptions for 73 yards last year against the Bears in the Sicko Bowl. Jackson III has a bright future ahead of himself, especially with the likes of Addison departing for the NFL after this year.

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Nakia Watson: Hold

Well how about that return for Nakia Watson. He went for 16 carries for 166 yards and a touchdown for the Cougars in their romping of Stanford in Palo Alto. Coming off an injury that held him out for a month, Watson looked fresh as ever as he went for 65 yards on the ground on the second play from scrimmage. The Cougars as a whole could do no wrong in Palo Alto, led by Watson and the rushing attack and they eclipsed 300 yards on the ground. I just need to see more consistency from the Cougars offense as a whole and Watson before I start to buy in bulk, because just as easy as they made it look against Stanford, they can look just as bad like against Utah and Oregon State.

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Stanford: Sell

I was in person to watch this massacre unfold and simply put, I was grinning from ear to ear. Outside of Tanner McKee and the trio of John Humphreys, Brycen Tremayne, and Benjamin Yurosek, there are no redeeming qualities about this team nor really anywhere I can turn to in order to envision the future outside of David Bailey and maybe Jaxson Moi. Stanford had four first half fumbles, which is almost unheard of unless disaster strikes. Well disaster struck and it struck hard, in the form of a 42-7 halftime deficit to Washington State. The team looks disinterested, the fanbase is definitely disinterested, and the product is simply not good enough. Which is good for us Cal fans.

There is never an excuse to lose the Big Game, and whether that’s rational thinking I’ll leave up to you. But this year more than ever, Cal needs to put its foot on the gas and not let go. However, we will cross that bridge when we get to it, since we have an interesting matchup in Corvallis this weekend.

That will do it for this week’s action! It’s win or go home for Cal so let’s see what they can cook up in their house of horrors known as Reser Stadium.