Keep in mind that our center Bastian Swinney was injured, and in the Virginia Tech game he was the main architect of the O-line play being good. Like in the UCLA game, Swinney not being there means bad O-line play, which leads to 3-and-outs, which means the defense is gassed.
Tosh's shopping list for the offseason has to include a good O-line and depth at center (and also depth in the RB room).
But I don't think Tosh needs to be fired or should be fired anymore: whatever beef he had with the players, McCann, Rolo, and Hutchings during the Wake Forest game was clearly squashed as evidenced by the first half of this game.
Ok, so why did our OL play so well in the first half and not in the second half? If anyone wants to make excuses for our mediocrity, I won't be one of them. We won't get to where we want to go or need to go as a program to be viable with the current coaching staff.
As a fomrer player I can tell you adrenaline is not what wins and loses games. Adrenaline does not last long and when it wears off you crash. The mindset going into a game is simple: its about being brutally tough, tougher than your opponent and owning him to the point he has to respect you. It’s kind of like what Conan the Barbarian said when he was asked what is best in life and he said, ”To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.” Football is basic: the toughest guy wins, especially if he is a bigger and better athlete than his opponent and is coached better. ;-)
The offense, despite the absence of multiple key players, showed signs of progress. But what's up with the defense? To me they've been the biggest disappointement this season.
My dad took me to my first Bears game in 2004 against UCLA when I was a wee lad. I fell in love instantly and we went to a couple more that season. We got season tickets in 2005 and have had them ever since. Personally, I've been to every single home game we've had tickets for. That's 134 consecutive home games at this point including 2011 in San Francisco. I have never wanted to go to California Memorial Stadium less than I do this season. Maybe it's the state of the program, maybe it's the constant mediocrity since 2009, maybe it's that I have a wife, three young children, a house, and a demanding career now. But man, am I having a hard time finding motivation to even go to the Big Game.
I accept that we’re stuck with Tosh given the buyout. Bad mistake.
I hope Ron and Chancellor Lyons force him to replace the entire coaching staff (Rolo can stay) with experienced coaching who can actually coach football
You are probably right. But then hear this: Will we wait another season, two seasons or longer through this kind of play before we admit we made a mistake? The biggest issue is not knowing the hire was a huge mistake, its getting those who made it to admit it. No one at the top wants to look bad about the hire so they will continue to deflect and make excuses. Meanwhile, CAL sucks, fans hate life and we get closer to relegation. Someone needs the sack to pull off the bandaide.
Certainly it would impact any team. But would it change the outcome? Perhaps a little on the scoreboard, but we were playing a great game in the first half and were winning with the players we had. So what happened in the second half. As a former CAL player and a Juco coach, I can tell you the difference between the first half and second half was adjustments to the play calling made by coaches. Once again, we were outcoached. I have watched a lot of football with a critical eye. Our season, with the exception of the first half of this game, has been a coaching disaster. Having Mohammed back and a few other players wouldn't have changed a lot.
I did notice that as well. My question is, does Cal have an inordinately higher amount of injuries compared to other equivalent programs (as if any other team could be as cursed as Cal, but I digress), and if so, it is bad luck, bad technique, bad strength and conditioning, some or all of the above, none of the above, or just E) and F)? Or something else entirely?
The other what if question is if all of our running backs HAD stayed healthy, would they have meaningfully gelled with the office and turned some of our defeats into close games?
I'd say we definitely have the injury bug and it certainly is impacting us. But does it change my opinion of how we are being coached? No. Why were we so much worse in the second half compared to the first half? Not because of injuries. Because the SMU coaches made adjustments and we didn't.
I can see your point. I was not trying to give the coaching staff an out. But I was referring to last season when Oregon was a juggernaut and then all their running backs entered the portal and the entire Oregon machine fell apart in their final playoff game. And our head coach is a direct by product of the Oregon system. So I was suggesting that there is past precident for our performance. Again, not a statement meant to defend our coaches; just pointing out they have multiple Achilles heels.
Is there any coach on staff with defensive coordinator experience? Besides recruiting, the most valuable skill for a head coach is the ability to hire good coordinators and position coaches. These rookie coordinators are not working out.
Agreed! Inexperienced coaches are not working very well. They earn a lot of money despite lousy results so far, and I bet most returning players, including Sagapoulete, will play elsewhere in 2027.
Cal Fans: I have seen the future of Cal Football and it is.........the CW Network and the new Pac-12!!!! Let's just face facts. We aren't getting an invite to the Big 10 and as soon as the Big Ten and SEC get finished poaching the ACC for its most valuable brands (North Carolina and Miami, maybe Clemson and FSU) the entire conference is going to collapse just like the Pac-12 did two years ago. The one silver lining in realignment is that Cal will be able to go back to some semblance of reasonable travel. We can still have football that is fun to watch but it's not going to be on Fox or CBS. We will probably still be featured on some ESPN games, either at 9am or 7:30pm because, seriously, who wants to watch what we are offereing? 42 UNANSWED POINTS!?!?!?!? Tosh can't get fired soon enough.
I initially thought that we figured out our offense with JKS.
But seeing that we were completely shutout in the 2nd half with only 1 first down - I think it is more likely that their DC figured out how to put pressure on JKS while playing tight press coverage.
WFC staff - deleting any post/comment that uses foul language would be a much needed service. "Piss poor" qualifies as foul language imho. And there have been other posts much worse. Please make this an ongoing automatic deletion and block policy. The language adds nothing & is aggravating to constantly see in WRC posts. Thanks.
I agree that there's no need for "foul language" on WFC but disagree that "piss poor" qualifies. I'd also agree with deleting posts with profanity in them but disagreeing about blocking users unless the individual is a repeat offender.
I think some language is to be expected after a bad result. If WFC staff wants to moderate it, fine, but I completely disagree with the notion of blocking someone for the example you used.
Realistically, we can’t fire Tosh. I know it feels way better to say we should, but we bought the ticket and now we have to take the ride. We are plagued by injuries and seem to have lackluster coordinators, which are ultimately Tosh’s responsibility, but those are things in his power to fix. He needs to figure out a way to instill discipline, because that isn’t working. It’s painful as a fan, and I think he is genuinely in over his head right now, but he has a chance to rise to challenge.
Keep in mind that our center Bastian Swinney was injured, and in the Virginia Tech game he was the main architect of the O-line play being good. Like in the UCLA game, Swinney not being there means bad O-line play, which leads to 3-and-outs, which means the defense is gassed.
Tosh's shopping list for the offseason has to include a good O-line and depth at center (and also depth in the RB room).
But I don't think Tosh needs to be fired or should be fired anymore: whatever beef he had with the players, McCann, Rolo, and Hutchings during the Wake Forest game was clearly squashed as evidenced by the first half of this game.
Ok, so why did our OL play so well in the first half and not in the second half? If anyone wants to make excuses for our mediocrity, I won't be one of them. We won't get to where we want to go or need to go as a program to be viable with the current coaching staff.
One word answer: adrenaline
Also SMU's defensive halftime adjustments were able to figure them out. Keep in mind that our O-line is still Wilcox's O-line.
As a fomrer player I can tell you adrenaline is not what wins and loses games. Adrenaline does not last long and when it wears off you crash. The mindset going into a game is simple: its about being brutally tough, tougher than your opponent and owning him to the point he has to respect you. It’s kind of like what Conan the Barbarian said when he was asked what is best in life and he said, ”To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.” Football is basic: the toughest guy wins, especially if he is a bigger and better athlete than his opponent and is coached better. ;-)
Six seven :hand gesture associated with six seven simultaneously:
Well said.
Sonny Dykes defense, Justin Wilcox offense
Tosh Lupoi - marbles
The offense, despite the absence of multiple key players, showed signs of progress. But what's up with the defense? To me they've been the biggest disappointement this season.
When the offense falters and absorbs multiple 3 and outs, the defense loses their motivation.
My dad took me to my first Bears game in 2004 against UCLA when I was a wee lad. I fell in love instantly and we went to a couple more that season. We got season tickets in 2005 and have had them ever since. Personally, I've been to every single home game we've had tickets for. That's 134 consecutive home games at this point including 2011 in San Francisco. I have never wanted to go to California Memorial Stadium less than I do this season. Maybe it's the state of the program, maybe it's the constant mediocrity since 2009, maybe it's that I have a wife, three young children, a house, and a demanding career now. But man, am I having a hard time finding motivation to even go to the Big Game.
Have only missed two big games since 2010 and this may need to be one we sit out
We won the first half!
I accept that we’re stuck with Tosh given the buyout. Bad mistake.
I hope Ron and Chancellor Lyons force him to replace the entire coaching staff (Rolo can stay) with experienced coaching who can actually coach football
Sonny Dykes- offensive. Justin Wilcox -defensive
Tosh Lupoi - marbles
I'm back on the fire Tosh bandwagon. Nice first half. Thoroughly out coached in the second half. So what else is new?
I hear you, I just genuinely don’t think it’s an option.
You are probably right. But then hear this: Will we wait another season, two seasons or longer through this kind of play before we admit we made a mistake? The biggest issue is not knowing the hire was a huge mistake, its getting those who made it to admit it. No one at the top wants to look bad about the hire so they will continue to deflect and make excuses. Meanwhile, CAL sucks, fans hate life and we get closer to relegation. Someone needs the sack to pull off the bandaide.
It’s clear we need coordinators across the board who have that experience both now and for next year. The experiment is over.
We don't have any running backs.
Injuries are not why we are playing poorly.
Respectfully, I disagree. Even the CW game announcers pointed out that the high number of injuries would negatively affect any team.
Certainly it would impact any team. But would it change the outcome? Perhaps a little on the scoreboard, but we were playing a great game in the first half and were winning with the players we had. So what happened in the second half. As a former CAL player and a Juco coach, I can tell you the difference between the first half and second half was adjustments to the play calling made by coaches. Once again, we were outcoached. I have watched a lot of football with a critical eye. Our season, with the exception of the first half of this game, has been a coaching disaster. Having Mohammed back and a few other players wouldn't have changed a lot.
I did notice that as well. My question is, does Cal have an inordinately higher amount of injuries compared to other equivalent programs (as if any other team could be as cursed as Cal, but I digress), and if so, it is bad luck, bad technique, bad strength and conditioning, some or all of the above, none of the above, or just E) and F)? Or something else entirely?
The other what if question is if all of our running backs HAD stayed healthy, would they have meaningfully gelled with the office and turned some of our defeats into close games?
I'd say we definitely have the injury bug and it certainly is impacting us. But does it change my opinion of how we are being coached? No. Why were we so much worse in the second half compared to the first half? Not because of injuries. Because the SMU coaches made adjustments and we didn't.
Both of our statements are true.
Very true. I just want to be clear that there are no excuses for the piss poor performance of our team other than disastrous coaching.
I can see your point. I was not trying to give the coaching staff an out. But I was referring to last season when Oregon was a juggernaut and then all their running backs entered the portal and the entire Oregon machine fell apart in their final playoff game. And our head coach is a direct by product of the Oregon system. So I was suggesting that there is past precident for our performance. Again, not a statement meant to defend our coaches; just pointing out they have multiple Achilles heels.
Is there any coach on staff with defensive coordinator experience? Besides recruiting, the most valuable skill for a head coach is the ability to hire good coordinators and position coaches. These rookie coordinators are not working out.
Agreed! Inexperienced coaches are not working very well. They earn a lot of money despite lousy results so far, and I bet most returning players, including Sagapoulete, will play elsewhere in 2027.
Cal Fans: I have seen the future of Cal Football and it is.........the CW Network and the new Pac-12!!!! Let's just face facts. We aren't getting an invite to the Big 10 and as soon as the Big Ten and SEC get finished poaching the ACC for its most valuable brands (North Carolina and Miami, maybe Clemson and FSU) the entire conference is going to collapse just like the Pac-12 did two years ago. The one silver lining in realignment is that Cal will be able to go back to some semblance of reasonable travel. We can still have football that is fun to watch but it's not going to be on Fox or CBS. We will probably still be featured on some ESPN games, either at 9am or 7:30pm because, seriously, who wants to watch what we are offereing? 42 UNANSWED POINTS!?!?!?!? Tosh can't get fired soon enough.
I initially thought that we figured out our offense with JKS.
But seeing that we were completely shutout in the 2nd half with only 1 first down - I think it is more likely that their DC figured out how to put pressure on JKS while playing tight press coverage.
WFC staff - deleting any post/comment that uses foul language would be a much needed service. "Piss poor" qualifies as foul language imho. And there have been other posts much worse. Please make this an ongoing automatic deletion and block policy. The language adds nothing & is aggravating to constantly see in WRC posts. Thanks.
I agree that there's no need for "foul language" on WFC but disagree that "piss poor" qualifies. I'd also agree with deleting posts with profanity in them but disagreeing about blocking users unless the individual is a repeat offender.
I think we should also acknowledge how difficult is these days to discuss Cal football without using a steady stream of expletives.
I think some language is to be expected after a bad result. If WFC staff wants to moderate it, fine, but I completely disagree with the notion of blocking someone for the example you used.
jks needs to do better throwing the ball away. Too many sacks for massive losses
Realistically, we can’t fire Tosh. I know it feels way better to say we should, but we bought the ticket and now we have to take the ride. We are plagued by injuries and seem to have lackluster coordinators, which are ultimately Tosh’s responsibility, but those are things in his power to fix. He needs to figure out a way to instill discipline, because that isn’t working. It’s painful as a fan, and I think he is genuinely in over his head right now, but he has a chance to rise to challenge.