Somerville is completely lost. He’s drawing up plays that literally have no chance of working. The 4th and 2 rollout in 1H to the short side of the field is just one example….that play never had a chance. The QB keep with Ingrassia a 2nd time… against Dabo? That’s laughable. What are we even doing here?
And they paid a lot of money for Ian Strong and he’s been borderline useless. The final flag was weak, and clearly ACC protecting their bigger brands, as they do, but he’s been by far the biggest disappointment on the roster.
Not sure where they go from here, TBH. It’s one thing to lament the Wilcox teams given all the tired excuses they threw out explaining away his mediocrity. Investing millions in players who perform this poorly and make this many mistakes is another thing entirely.
Stating the obvious but Somerville is seriously in way over his head as a first-time playcaller. His calls and his 'pro-style spread' offense in general seem way to convoluted and complex for college players to execute with any measure of consistency or effectiveness.
Our guys on O are clearly playing super tight - overthinking where they're supposed to line up, run to, block, etc. rather than playing relaxed and instinctively. Which inevitably leads to missed blocks, drops, penalties, and various other """execution""" issues.
It's like he's trying to fit our players into his system rather than scheming to our players' strengths. He also appears to have poor feel for the 'flow' of the game. Exhibit A: that critical 3rd down when he took out JKS and put in Ingrassia [4th string QB] to run a failed QB pistol-delay dive.
Rolo might not be perfect (see e.g. often too pass-heavy when at WSU) but at least he's a proven playcaller and OC. Tosh needs to demote his buddy and give Rolo the reins starting next week at UNLV. Cal is wasting JKS & our skill position talent by forcing them to run this unwatchable offense. At this rate if nothing changes soon, it wouldn't be surprising to see Jaron transfer (out of frustration) at the end of the season.
We have way more talent than we did under Wilcox but Wilcox would've played Clemson much better than this. So many missed tackles -- didn't wrap or whiff. Offense not utilizing JKS strengths. Even the interesting plays become predictable because we try them again with no wrinkle to make them different. Undisciplined and giving Clemson more chances in the red zone. Special teams looking like hot garbage too.
As much as I want to hate on Somerville, Tosh owns this dumpster fire of a loss. Tonight was completely winnable and yet we had to grab defeat from the jaws of victory.
Tosh’s mid-game interview was complete and utter gibberish and incredibly concerning, IMO.
Being a rah rah, one of-the-boys, recruit-first HC is one thing, but there needs to be some semblance of coaching acumen on the sidelines. I thought far too often Wilcox’s teams were woefully unprepared from the opening kick, but at least you knew Wilcox could coach….this is much more concerning, as the entire staff is so clearly learning on the job. I personally didn’t expect they would collectively be this unprepared…he’s got like 20-something coaches and yet the club looks lost.
Yeah, I watched the interview. I mean it's kind of par for the course from him. Inspirational meathead.
Still, though. I had hoped that he could coach.
But I feared that the guy has always been put in positions where he's been blessed with talent. Washington, Bama, Oregon. Having a lot of talent and having great head coaches can do a lot. How much of that was Tosh?
I had hoped he would hire someone with some kind of track record on the offensive side of the ball. But no he went with Somerville. And everybody was scratching their head.
Guys, it's not a mystery. Turns out hiring someone who's a first time OC -- no matter how much of a savant he might be -- is a bad idea. We can't flush 3 seasons down the drain while the guy learns on the job. Like Rivera says, we need to win now.
It’s just a bunch of hot air at this point-there’s nothing to back it up. I can’t watch the post games after this-abysmal coaching & he’s congratulating everyone
Sadly, it’s a similar feeling I had with Wilcox and his pressers, especially towards the end….nothing but positive, cliche-filled word-salad, with countless promises to work hard, but as with JW, nothing we’ve seen on the field in the past month gives any confidence that the staff is at all capable of fixing anything, at least on O.
This game was so sad to watch. Our players deserve better coaches. Wilcox's last loss vs furd was a better showing than the incompetence we saw tonight.
As someone who always had an issue with Wilcox’s seemingly complete lack of attention to special teams, the fact that Lupoi actually hired a dedicated ST coach only to have literally EVERY facet of the unit take a massive step back is….concerning.
The current STs coach (Tinker) actually was Cal's de facto STs coach in the mid-late Wilcox era, before going to Oregon to work as an analyst, then returning to Cal via the Tosh hire
4-8? If we maybe beat Stanford and UNLV, though that may be a stretch. Apparently in the game of football you cannot win games if your offense cannot score.
We looked pathetic on offense. OL is hopeless and WR’s are beyond that. If nobody can get separation then JKS has nobody to throw to. If Adam Mohammed is hurt, what little offense we have is gone. And penalties apparently don’t help either. I am at a complete loss about how this situation gets turned around this season and fear that the best players will leave for the NFL or the portal.
Really sad to see this quality. defensive players are trying to tackle with their heads down. pre-snap and post-whistle penalties abound. It feels clear that defensively we're not ready to compete up front. Watch 4th quarter snaps for 51 and 10. They're beaten repeatedly (aka the UCLA write up where our DLine "was trucked"). And our OL can't beat ACC DLs consistently. This falls squarely on Rivera's shoulders.
Lastly, after 4 games. I think Strong/Hendricks/Perry are worse than Grizzell/DeJesus. Do you agree? That's disappointing for such a "great recruiter".
It’s so troubling that RR let his inexperienced new coach surround himself with even less experienced coordinators. That’s a red flag in any business setting. Screams insecurity or ignorance. If you’re in charge, you see that and you don’t let it happen.
I am holding out hope for Tosh. But he needs to surround himself with competent OC & ST coaches. He ain't the play-calling guru on both side of the ball
Even his comments about Clemson players - it is always about their physical attribute (NFL grade physical talent) and not about play-calling/scheme to outplay your opponent.
Even if we had somehow Lopa'd ourselves into another win this game, I would still feel as badly about this game as I do now with a loss. There was not enough consistent output on offense to have deserved to have won that game. Nobody is driving the bus right now. Everyone is a passenger. They all want to reach the destination but willing it from their seats is simply not good enough. You have to have gas in the tank, tires and brakes, a good navigator, and the mindset to run over anyone and everyone standing in your way. The coaches are all peering into the windows and high fiving themselves over the recruiting wins sitting in those seats. But that's all we have right now. Talent with no drive.
I've been on a 12 day road trip from Idaho and tonight, my last night before heading home, I went to the game. I rented a VRBO in the Uplands off Tunnel Road and had time to think on my walk back from the stadium. Where do I even start?
Let's do big picture and then come back in some detail. First of all the game was ugly. We could have won this game. We were completely out coached from beginning to end.
Offense: didn't score a Tug all game. We have one of the best QB's in college football, a stud RB and we could not get in the end zone once the entire game against a middling Clemson defense. I would like to see the stats, but I don't believe we had one pass play where JKS was not pressured or hurried.
Defense: Our defense spent way to much time on the field because our offense didn't. They got tired. Tackling was terrible.
Special Teams: We have a terrible KO kicker. We have a terrible FG kicker. And we have a terrible punter who got lucky a few times. Our first contact tackling is non-existent. Basically they suck.
Coaching: we were out coached in all aspects of the game.
Offensive issues: 1. the offensive line. I don't think our o-line is as bad as people think. I think their problem is how they are coached and Somerville's schemes. Tonight I was able to see how the Clemson DL lined up. They were typically all lined up a yard off the ball with maybe the one tech tighter on the line. By doing this it negates any speed advantage we might have getting off the ball. It means our OLinemen need to take really big first steps or a couple of steps to initiate a block. A big initial step will result in a failed block as the OL will lose his base being out of position and the DL can manipulate him. Two steps are slow and the DL can make the read, then make the adjustment and the tackle with a short gain by us. Now I noticed our guys were bunched up with tighter splits, which is the exact opposite of what you should do in this situation. If the DL lines up off the ball then the OL should widen their splits, step to a space and protect the space. If the RB hits the holes fast he'll have a natural lane created by the split and the OL will be protecting a space from the DL and ILB. This is OC Scheme 101 and OL Coaching 101.
When Clemson was able to stop our run then then played 'press' This meant they brought 5 or 6 guys and had DB's up tight. They outnumbered our pass protectors and bumped our receivers on the line. The constant pressure on JKS with no ability to hit the mid and deeper routes killed our explosive game. Again, this is all coaching, both Somerville and OL and receiver coaches.
Our OC showed his inexperience. Some the peeps here mentioned it. You don't send Ingrassia in on a 4th down to try and do something you already did. If we can't run the rock one yard, then we have big problems. Thus far, Somerville has been Vanilla, with a few trick plays but his halftime adjustments have not been enough to improve our play. I for one don't want an OC to learn on the job in the P4. Chad Morris from Clemson showed us how to do it with a freshman QB who really isn't that good.
Defensive issues: Our defense was stout early on and for the time they were on the field, I felt good about them up to the 17 points they gave up. I do not blame the last Clemson TD on them. That was a coaching brainfart. When you are desperate and play aggressive, you get burned. Our DC was clearly thinking Clemson was going to pass and brought the entire team up to the LOS. Clemson was going to run the ball and burn the clock because they could punt on 4th down and pin us deep, and they knew our offense had not scored all game. So Chad Morris dials up a run. We had no second level and one DB on the opposite side of the field. It was a brilliant play call and we got suckered the way an idiot does when a pretty girl leads him on.
Special team issues. Why do we have guys on the special teams who race down the field with the ability to stop the return man when he catches the ball but who are to pussy to tackle him? During the TD punt return against us we had two guys right there on the return man. Both stood there instead of making a tackle. Why are they on the field if they can't tackle? Why do our kickers and punters suck? I bet if you went to the mens soccer team and did tryouts on frat row, we could find better kickers and punters. Special teams coach is a disaster.
Tosh: I want Tosh to succeed. I like the culture he is trying to build. I worry that he made mistakes with his coordinator hires. First timers in the P4 with no track record probably fail more than they succeed. Tosh needs to tone down his emotions. His kids get amped up and make stupid penalties. When he goes at it with refs in front of the whole team, he is giving them an excuse for their poor play. Lastly, he should focus on building a great team and forget about telling people to fill the stadium. Great teams attract fans. Telling people to fill the stadium and then shitting the bed turns off fans in a big way. He'd be better off finding a group of players that don't care about the fans and care more as a group about winning. That would be a special group - I liken that type of team to the teams Whittingham coached at Utah. They drew crowds but they didn't care. They came out to play and to punch their opponents in the mouth. Lastly, Tosh seems to get excited about players who pass the eye test, meaning they look the part, big fast, etc. But we are finding that there may be a reason why some of our portal transfers weren't contributors on previous teams. They have the Tarzan complex: look like Tarzan, play like Jane. This is where I really liked Wilcox's attitude: the best guys play, irrespective of how they look or how big they are.
I wonder if CAL had given Wilcox the budget they gave Tosh, if the results might be different? It is early in Tosh's tenure and I want to give him time to settle in. I have high hopes that his energy and culture will lead to a good future for CAL football, but if he is learning on the job, he needs to learn faster and he needs to be ruthless as a CEO when he evaluates , his hires, meaning assistant coaches AND players. Btw, if Somerville and the OL coach cannot figure out how to protect JKS and help him with a successful pass game, he'll be gone next year.
Fire Summerville tonight. No need to wait, do it now.
It’s not like there isn’t someone right there, already on payroll, who we know can do the job at least passably better.
Rolovich!
Somerville is completely lost. He’s drawing up plays that literally have no chance of working. The 4th and 2 rollout in 1H to the short side of the field is just one example….that play never had a chance. The QB keep with Ingrassia a 2nd time… against Dabo? That’s laughable. What are we even doing here?
And they paid a lot of money for Ian Strong and he’s been borderline useless. The final flag was weak, and clearly ACC protecting their bigger brands, as they do, but he’s been by far the biggest disappointment on the roster.
Not sure where they go from here, TBH. It’s one thing to lament the Wilcox teams given all the tired excuses they threw out explaining away his mediocrity. Investing millions in players who perform this poorly and make this many mistakes is another thing entirely.
Stating the obvious but Somerville is seriously in way over his head as a first-time playcaller. His calls and his 'pro-style spread' offense in general seem way to convoluted and complex for college players to execute with any measure of consistency or effectiveness.
Our guys on O are clearly playing super tight - overthinking where they're supposed to line up, run to, block, etc. rather than playing relaxed and instinctively. Which inevitably leads to missed blocks, drops, penalties, and various other """execution""" issues.
It's like he's trying to fit our players into his system rather than scheming to our players' strengths. He also appears to have poor feel for the 'flow' of the game. Exhibit A: that critical 3rd down when he took out JKS and put in Ingrassia [4th string QB] to run a failed QB pistol-delay dive.
Rolo might not be perfect (see e.g. often too pass-heavy when at WSU) but at least he's a proven playcaller and OC. Tosh needs to demote his buddy and give Rolo the reins starting next week at UNLV. Cal is wasting JKS & our skill position talent by forcing them to run this unwatchable offense. At this rate if nothing changes soon, it wouldn't be surprising to see Jaron transfer (out of frustration) at the end of the season.
We have way more talent than we did under Wilcox but Wilcox would've played Clemson much better than this. So many missed tackles -- didn't wrap or whiff. Offense not utilizing JKS strengths. Even the interesting plays become predictable because we try them again with no wrinkle to make them different. Undisciplined and giving Clemson more chances in the red zone. Special teams looking like hot garbage too.
As much as I want to hate on Somerville, Tosh owns this dumpster fire of a loss. Tonight was completely winnable and yet we had to grab defeat from the jaws of victory.
Tosh’s mid-game interview was complete and utter gibberish and incredibly concerning, IMO.
Being a rah rah, one of-the-boys, recruit-first HC is one thing, but there needs to be some semblance of coaching acumen on the sidelines. I thought far too often Wilcox’s teams were woefully unprepared from the opening kick, but at least you knew Wilcox could coach….this is much more concerning, as the entire staff is so clearly learning on the job. I personally didn’t expect they would collectively be this unprepared…he’s got like 20-something coaches and yet the club looks lost.
Yeah, I watched the interview. I mean it's kind of par for the course from him. Inspirational meathead.
Still, though. I had hoped that he could coach.
But I feared that the guy has always been put in positions where he's been blessed with talent. Washington, Bama, Oregon. Having a lot of talent and having great head coaches can do a lot. How much of that was Tosh?
I had hoped he would hire someone with some kind of track record on the offensive side of the ball. But no he went with Somerville. And everybody was scratching their head.
Guys, it's not a mystery. Turns out hiring someone who's a first time OC -- no matter how much of a savant he might be -- is a bad idea. We can't flush 3 seasons down the drain while the guy learns on the job. Like Rivera says, we need to win now.
I was definitely concerned when a majority of the OL returned…that was not a good sign.
Idk how he’s going to lead the team if he blows nothing but hot air.
It’s just a bunch of hot air at this point-there’s nothing to back it up. I can’t watch the post games after this-abysmal coaching & he’s congratulating everyone
Sadly, it’s a similar feeling I had with Wilcox and his pressers, especially towards the end….nothing but positive, cliche-filled word-salad, with countless promises to work hard, but as with JW, nothing we’ve seen on the field in the past month gives any confidence that the staff is at all capable of fixing anything, at least on O.
This game was so sad to watch. Our players deserve better coaches. Wilcox's last loss vs furd was a better showing than the incompetence we saw tonight.
Yeah Wilcox would have still lost this game
(We lose all the biggest game of the year at home) but would have been a close game. We may even be up by 3 TDs in 3rd quarter.
I mean, really. The special teams and offensive coordinators need to go now
As someone who always had an issue with Wilcox’s seemingly complete lack of attention to special teams, the fact that Lupoi actually hired a dedicated ST coach only to have literally EVERY facet of the unit take a massive step back is….concerning.
The current STs coach (Tinker) actually was Cal's de facto STs coach in the mid-late Wilcox era, before going to Oregon to work as an analyst, then returning to Cal via the Tosh hire
4-8? If we maybe beat Stanford and UNLV, though that may be a stretch. Apparently in the game of football you cannot win games if your offense cannot score.
We looked pathetic on offense. OL is hopeless and WR’s are beyond that. If nobody can get separation then JKS has nobody to throw to. If Adam Mohammed is hurt, what little offense we have is gone. And penalties apparently don’t help either. I am at a complete loss about how this situation gets turned around this season and fear that the best players will leave for the NFL or the portal.
All Tosh, no action.
Nice. That’s on point.
This can't continue. Give the offense to Rolovich.
Tosh needs to demote his buddy and give Rolo the reins starting next week at UNLV
If we dont get better by next week, I don't know who we will beat in the remainder of our schedule...
The floor of this team is so much lower than I anticipated... still not getting over how badly this team played, especially our offensive play-calling
Really sad to see this quality. defensive players are trying to tackle with their heads down. pre-snap and post-whistle penalties abound. It feels clear that defensively we're not ready to compete up front. Watch 4th quarter snaps for 51 and 10. They're beaten repeatedly (aka the UCLA write up where our DLine "was trucked"). And our OL can't beat ACC DLs consistently. This falls squarely on Rivera's shoulders.
Lastly, after 4 games. I think Strong/Hendricks/Perry are worse than Grizzell/DeJesus. Do you agree? That's disappointing for such a "great recruiter".
It’s so troubling that RR let his inexperienced new coach surround himself with even less experienced coordinators. That’s a red flag in any business setting. Screams insecurity or ignorance. If you’re in charge, you see that and you don’t let it happen.
The Cal Collective- Fire the GM!
We need an experienced OC. It’s hasty to give up on Tosh, but the OC ain’t it. Even his interviews seem unimaginative.
If we can’t do that at least start running tempo from now one on.
Rolo can be our savior
I am holding out hope for Tosh. But he needs to surround himself with competent OC & ST coaches. He ain't the play-calling guru on both side of the ball
Even his comments about Clemson players - it is always about their physical attribute (NFL grade physical talent) and not about play-calling/scheme to outplay your opponent.
Anyone else starting to get Andy Buh vibes? "Trust the process" = "10,000 reps?"
Haha deleted my comment Tosh is traitor.
Be better.
Even if we had somehow Lopa'd ourselves into another win this game, I would still feel as badly about this game as I do now with a loss. There was not enough consistent output on offense to have deserved to have won that game. Nobody is driving the bus right now. Everyone is a passenger. They all want to reach the destination but willing it from their seats is simply not good enough. You have to have gas in the tank, tires and brakes, a good navigator, and the mindset to run over anyone and everyone standing in your way. The coaches are all peering into the windows and high fiving themselves over the recruiting wins sitting in those seats. But that's all we have right now. Talent with no drive.
Adam Mohammed is injured
“Lower Body Injury.”
Basically, he’s now a face on a milk carton…
Oh no
He had tape all over his leg and was limping as he walked back to the locker room
31% of our offensive plays-if I have that right-sigh.
I've been on a 12 day road trip from Idaho and tonight, my last night before heading home, I went to the game. I rented a VRBO in the Uplands off Tunnel Road and had time to think on my walk back from the stadium. Where do I even start?
Let's do big picture and then come back in some detail. First of all the game was ugly. We could have won this game. We were completely out coached from beginning to end.
Offense: didn't score a Tug all game. We have one of the best QB's in college football, a stud RB and we could not get in the end zone once the entire game against a middling Clemson defense. I would like to see the stats, but I don't believe we had one pass play where JKS was not pressured or hurried.
Defense: Our defense spent way to much time on the field because our offense didn't. They got tired. Tackling was terrible.
Special Teams: We have a terrible KO kicker. We have a terrible FG kicker. And we have a terrible punter who got lucky a few times. Our first contact tackling is non-existent. Basically they suck.
Coaching: we were out coached in all aspects of the game.
Offensive issues: 1. the offensive line. I don't think our o-line is as bad as people think. I think their problem is how they are coached and Somerville's schemes. Tonight I was able to see how the Clemson DL lined up. They were typically all lined up a yard off the ball with maybe the one tech tighter on the line. By doing this it negates any speed advantage we might have getting off the ball. It means our OLinemen need to take really big first steps or a couple of steps to initiate a block. A big initial step will result in a failed block as the OL will lose his base being out of position and the DL can manipulate him. Two steps are slow and the DL can make the read, then make the adjustment and the tackle with a short gain by us. Now I noticed our guys were bunched up with tighter splits, which is the exact opposite of what you should do in this situation. If the DL lines up off the ball then the OL should widen their splits, step to a space and protect the space. If the RB hits the holes fast he'll have a natural lane created by the split and the OL will be protecting a space from the DL and ILB. This is OC Scheme 101 and OL Coaching 101.
When Clemson was able to stop our run then then played 'press' This meant they brought 5 or 6 guys and had DB's up tight. They outnumbered our pass protectors and bumped our receivers on the line. The constant pressure on JKS with no ability to hit the mid and deeper routes killed our explosive game. Again, this is all coaching, both Somerville and OL and receiver coaches.
Our OC showed his inexperience. Some the peeps here mentioned it. You don't send Ingrassia in on a 4th down to try and do something you already did. If we can't run the rock one yard, then we have big problems. Thus far, Somerville has been Vanilla, with a few trick plays but his halftime adjustments have not been enough to improve our play. I for one don't want an OC to learn on the job in the P4. Chad Morris from Clemson showed us how to do it with a freshman QB who really isn't that good.
Defensive issues: Our defense was stout early on and for the time they were on the field, I felt good about them up to the 17 points they gave up. I do not blame the last Clemson TD on them. That was a coaching brainfart. When you are desperate and play aggressive, you get burned. Our DC was clearly thinking Clemson was going to pass and brought the entire team up to the LOS. Clemson was going to run the ball and burn the clock because they could punt on 4th down and pin us deep, and they knew our offense had not scored all game. So Chad Morris dials up a run. We had no second level and one DB on the opposite side of the field. It was a brilliant play call and we got suckered the way an idiot does when a pretty girl leads him on.
Special team issues. Why do we have guys on the special teams who race down the field with the ability to stop the return man when he catches the ball but who are to pussy to tackle him? During the TD punt return against us we had two guys right there on the return man. Both stood there instead of making a tackle. Why are they on the field if they can't tackle? Why do our kickers and punters suck? I bet if you went to the mens soccer team and did tryouts on frat row, we could find better kickers and punters. Special teams coach is a disaster.
Tosh: I want Tosh to succeed. I like the culture he is trying to build. I worry that he made mistakes with his coordinator hires. First timers in the P4 with no track record probably fail more than they succeed. Tosh needs to tone down his emotions. His kids get amped up and make stupid penalties. When he goes at it with refs in front of the whole team, he is giving them an excuse for their poor play. Lastly, he should focus on building a great team and forget about telling people to fill the stadium. Great teams attract fans. Telling people to fill the stadium and then shitting the bed turns off fans in a big way. He'd be better off finding a group of players that don't care about the fans and care more as a group about winning. That would be a special group - I liken that type of team to the teams Whittingham coached at Utah. They drew crowds but they didn't care. They came out to play and to punch their opponents in the mouth. Lastly, Tosh seems to get excited about players who pass the eye test, meaning they look the part, big fast, etc. But we are finding that there may be a reason why some of our portal transfers weren't contributors on previous teams. They have the Tarzan complex: look like Tarzan, play like Jane. This is where I really liked Wilcox's attitude: the best guys play, irrespective of how they look or how big they are.
I wonder if CAL had given Wilcox the budget they gave Tosh, if the results might be different? It is early in Tosh's tenure and I want to give him time to settle in. I have high hopes that his energy and culture will lead to a good future for CAL football, but if he is learning on the job, he needs to learn faster and he needs to be ruthless as a CEO when he evaluates , his hires, meaning assistant coaches AND players. Btw, if Somerville and the OL coach cannot figure out how to protect JKS and help him with a successful pass game, he'll be gone next year.
Good night.