We have no short game. We can’t run and JKS has not developed the touch passes to make the screens or quick slants that we need to stay ahead of the chains. We showed almost no ability to drive the field against a really bad team
5-2, which is largely due to our weak and favorable schedule. A competent coaching staff would easily be 7-0 or 6-1. No way does a competent coaching staff lose to SDSU 34-0 or get dominated by Duke
Fact of the matter is it's year 9 for Wilcox and as it was on day 1, game outcome remains entirely dependent on a lucky break here or there, whether the opponent is average, middling, or just plain awful…that's it. We are overmatched v teams that are above-average to elite. The program has not developed - that is indisputable, and as fans we are fed just excuse after excuse as to why that is. Now, you can argue that the line between luck and “making a play” is pretty thin, and the program is probably due some course correction in breaks, but at the end of the day, Cal loses both this game AND BC (and likely Minnesota) if not for a handful of crippling mistakes by the opponent, and then we’re 2-5, 0-3 in the ACC…and honestly, that’s probably a lot closer to what we deserve to be.
There's been no improvement overall in roster composition (JKS nothwithstanding), execution, or coaching. In an era where relegation to basically G5 status is literally on the table, you cannot proceed with this type of abject mediocrity where wins are dependent on the other team making a mistake (Minnesota fumbled punt, BC INT in EZ, UNC fumble less than a foot before the goal line).
Enough is enough - that was torturous to watch last night. The Wilcox breakout game simply does not appear to be coming…ever.
We'll only get progress if we get an influx a lot of money to pay for 4 and 5 star players through the portal. Right now we have a low quality of talent compared who we play and hiring new coaches is not the answer. Getting 4 and 5 star talent is. Period!
We could always use more $, but Cal’s NIL is at least competitive. On the offensive side, those players will not play for Justin Wilcox.
0 offensive players drafted over nearly a decade. Good skill position players bolt for better programs. 4 and 5 star guys won’t come here to play for him…JKS is the outlier.
Maybe that changes if you hold onto JKS next year - talented skill position guys will want to play with him. But holding on to him is going to be very, very challenging.
Yes. Definitely, need post-mortems done on leaving players- especially offensive. Here are some of the talking points and key phrases I have gleaned from public interviews with our former players or private conversations with their family members:
Nando- coaching "continuity"; proof is in the pudding. He was never in the Heisman conversation, here.
Hunter- I talked with his uncle and the coaching was the issue.
Ott- offensive "stagnation". Although we may have dodged a bullet with him. He's not well-received by OK fans.
My bet is coaching is the key when it comes to offense.
Now, our defense has taken a half step back. Especially run defense.
Is it lack of inspiration? Lack of experience? Lack of an edge?
Coaching seems the recurring theme missing. We have been patient.
Of course, Nick Saban would be top of my wish list. But an up-and-comer is more likely in our budget, unless that has changed for the better. Like the Pappy Waldorf hire, Saban would bring instant recognition and be a boon for recruiting.
Plus,he would pretty much avoid directly competing with his previous proteges.
True, collectives are gone, but no one knows what the landscape is going to look like. But Cal’s not suddenly going to be on equal footing with the big boys, and is almost certainly going to lose a massive number of players to the portal.
Wilcox doesn’t beat good teams, so L’ville and SMU are L’s.
UVA is better than anticipated, but is kind of an enigma. Based on what we’ve seen from Csl this year, that’s probably an L unless they give the game away, like BC and UNC did.
We should beat Furd.
Va Tech is pretty key, but not surprisingly for a Wilcox-coached team, Cal has not yet played an all-around game good enough to escape Blacksburg with a W on a potentially raucous nationally televised Friday night game, regardless of the Hokies 2-5 record.
I'm going to the VaTech game next week.. hoping they show up and can scrape together a respectable performance.
The tides turning during the UNC game and JKS getting knocked out gave me the feeling that we're on the cusp of a freefall. Like, we're going to be playing the Big Game for bowl eligibility.
Agree old friend,Stanford knocked off FSU, albeit a bad team, and not by much. They won kinda like Cal beat UNC, but I don't think our Bears would beat FSU. Interim Coaching on the farm seems vastly superior to what we have seen in Memorial this year.
We're bleeding what talent/playmakers we get offensively and our defense is slipping year by year. As I understand it, our NIL bags are competitive, so coaching is the remaining variable.
And good to hear from you. Anyone know where RugBear is?
Austin’s play is just a phenomenal highlight that should be remembered irrespective of our perspectives on Wilcox. I’ll remember this play for years. Textbook performance from Austin. Not just the punch, but to remain alert and recover from being on the ground after the punch to then pounce on the ball. True heart shown to the football gods.
The punch out fumble was a great play but to have situational awareness to get back up and recover the fumble was phenomenal. One of the best defensive plays I’ve seen in CFB in a long time
It was shocking just how bad each of these teams were. They both looked completely inept on offense. It is hard to believe that Cal is 5-2 but you realize a lot of that is due to our schedule and not the coaches
Favorite play of the night was JKS seeing something from the UNC D near the RZ, where they walked EVERYONE up to the line setting up 1 on 1 matchups with no safety help for ALL 3 WR’s…only to have Wilcox ruin it and call a timeout.
Oh, please! Yes we are 5-2 this week but we are about to lose four more games and the best we can hope for is a 6-6 season and that hinges on beating Stanford in Palo Alto. If we don’t, it’ll be a 5-7 season which feels about right for a Wilcox send off.
That unsportsmanlike penalty was bullshit. Seemed like the receivers couldn't catch consistently today. And defense was just alright against a mediocre team... Did they say something like Paysour only had a handful of catches before this game? Hope they can learn from this and the coaching gets better. Clock management at the end wasn't as crappy as it has been in previous years.
The Refs also missed two blatant late hits against Uluave in the 4th. The second hit was especially egregious and should have been flagged for unsportsmanlike.
I'm not going to be too hard on the defense, because a lot of those penalties were bullshit. And the refs should not have given UNC a first down on that QB sneak. Not sure where they ever saw that he got across the line.
I was seriously questioning whether I would ever go to another Cal game again if we lost this game. It was the most boring and listless win I’ve ever seen in person
I liked seeing the reviews but there were way too many, which also dragged this unnecessarily long game on. Like what were they trying to see in that QB sneak toward the end
Sure, I’ve watched them on TV but this is the first one I’ve attended at Memorial. Props to the student section who showed up tonight and stayed for the entire game. I was really contemplating just leaving Memorial and finishing the game at Raleigh’s
There have been more than a few with Wilcox, but the one that sticks in my memory was 2007 vs. WSU. Longshore couldn't throw the ball further than 20 yards and we had to grind out a boring 20-17 win against a bad Cougar team despite an overwhelming talent advantage. It was the only win in the late-season tailspin.
It’s a W. I’ll take it, but my God, two miracle goal line plays at the end of the game are the difference between 5-2 and 3-4. You can’t live like that! But Cal just need to finish the season strong. Let’s see how it goes
Cal stinks! Just imagine this team playing any of the top ranked teams. Our little RB’s running into the front 4 of Ohio State (or pick any other top 10 team, or hell, top 25!) would be about as effective as running into a brick wall! Our WR’s can’t catch the ball — how many did they drop last night? NC is a lousy football team coached by a guy who doesn’t understand the college game and should be sent on his way along with his personal circus. Let’s face it; it was just two inexcusable NC plays at the beginning and the end that got Cal this win. Sure, we’re 5-2, but we’re about to lose 4 more games with the difference between 6-6 and 5-7 hinging on whether we can beat Stanford in Palo Alto. This is just not a competitive program any way you look at it. JKS would have better than Mendoza-like numbers if he had a better supporting cast, which he does not. The NC pass rush didn’t compare to Duke’s and the next teams we play will execute the pass rush in spades while covering our lousy WR’s like a blanket. I predict that for the rest of the season JKS will be spending a lot more time on his butt and that his interception numbers are also set to increase due to the pressure he will be under to throw into tight coverage to guys who apparently can’t catch. And our defense will be on the field so much that by the 2nd half it will be exhausted while playing against the other team’s bench. Nope. This isn’t going to be anything other than the usual Wilcox season with even 6-6 not being a given. And even that gets us, what, a third rate bid to the Cheetos Bowl in the middle of nowhere? If you call that success, God help you, if she can even stay awake to watch these “Friday night so I don’t have to waste my Saturday”mediocre football games! Take off those rose colored glasses, smell the coffee, and face the reality that Cal football stinks, yet again!
You sound like a very pleasant person to have a beer with. No one is saying that we are world dominant. But to tell everyone that doesn’t pull out their pitch forks after a close in conference victory (which we couldn’t buy last year), I think you are doing yourself disservice.
As a veteran of more than 50 years of Cal football, including the 1959 Rose Bowl in which Cal, led by Joe Kapp at QB, was soundly defeated 38-12 by the #2 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, and the 1979 Garden State Bowl in which Cal was defeated by Temple (TEMPLE!!) 28-17 in Cal’s first bowl appearance in 20 (20!!) years since I’d last seen them in the Rose Bowl, I think I’ve more than earned the right to have a very strong opinion about the Cal football program. Yes, I’m long suffering, but I still watch them and I am still hoping for a change, but I don’t have much optimism that anything will really change in my lifetime. In 1959, when I was sitting in the Rose Bowl stands with my father, also a Cal grad and a veteran of watching Pappy’s boys, he told me that might be the only time in my lifetime that I’d ever get to see Cal in the Rose Bowl, and he was right!
I agree 100%. Complacency, pessimism about what Cal is capable of, and cronyism have been a huge problem at Cal for decades, keeping a program that IMO is fully capable of being dominant year in and year out instead being, let's face it, a perennial conference doormat. Here's what I see...a great school, an incredible upgraded stadium in one of the most beautiful locations anywhere, a fan base recently deprived of three pro teams ready to support the team and fill the stadium every game. Tedford proved it can be done, and with Rivera and Lyons in place the time is now. The only thing holding them back now is the continued employment of the current HC. I can understand why they gave Wilcox this year to see if he could figure it out with the support of the new GM. But he has to be on a very short leash and so far it doesn't look like anything has changed.
I’ve supported Wilcox through thick and thin believing in his approach to the game and his commitment to the team. Sadly, I’ve seen enough. It’s time to move on. I trust Ron Rivera will make the right decision for Cal.
I hope Rivera shows him the door, or Wilcox sees the writing on the wall and takes a new HC job somewhere on his own. Or maybe coaching at NFL level like Sirmon. It will be so much easier for Wilcox to find a new job with 10-2 record and we won't have to pay his buyout.
Think - Exactly what I hear out here on the East Coast, from all my ACC friends. Cal has out performed expectations, given all the talent that was lost through through the portal and to the NFL from last year's team. Most were thinking we would be fighting out with Stanford for the bottom of the ACC. One of my friends who is an Athletic Board Member at one of the bigger FB schools, said the coaching staff did a great job in finding and developing Mendoza, when he basically had few takers coming out of High School. The victory against Minnesota looks even better after they upset Nebraska today. We are building a solid high school recruiting class on the back of this. ACC schools that have disappointed this year are Clemson and Florida States, with much bigger football budgets than Cal. I doubt anyone in charge of the the Cal football program from the Chancellor on down is thinking about a coaching change at this point. Let's see how they finish out the season.
I agree 100%. The question is whether Cal can put together a syndicate of wealthy boosters who are willing to put up the kind of money it’s going to take to attract a great coach and great players to build the kind of program that yields consistent winning results. College football is now a big business corrupted by big money — there’s no more “student” in the old student-athlete paradigm. It’s all about the money when it comes to competing at the D1 Power 4 level and has absolutely nothing to do with getting a good education, which used to be a plus for Cal, that at least the kids who graduated would have a solid education. No more, not when any player can leave via the portal for a better offer at the end of the season — Mendoza paved the way for that decision and has shown how well that can work, though for Ott maybe not so much (though the fact that he left in April after OK had finished spring ball, meaning he had no time to learn the system before fall camp, does make a statement about the Cal program even if it wasn’t the best decision for him). And getting a good coach to choose Cal given the already open coaching positions that we know about is going to be a monumental task for Ron. It’s most likely going to be some young guy with college experience who understands the college game and knows how to recruit high school kids and experienced players via the portal to build a team that actually stays together because they believe in the program. I really feel for the majority of young high school recruits who choose a school because they are promised an eventual starting role only to see that chance evaporate when a more experienced player is recruited through the portal and takes the starting spot. Makes DIII football look pretty good!
Duke may be trending up and we will find out today if they look like a top contender for the conference. Minnesota smacked Nebraska around, kinda reassuring they are a decent team. SDSU is actually better than we thought. Cal has issues, but they continue to get by. I can’t see how this team could beat Louisville, but also surprised James Madison gave them a game. I’m brain dead from a late boring win but there’s still a chance they win out.
It's so weird to be feeling kind of bad after getting to 5-2 for the first time in ages, but . . . it's warranted. Four of our wins are against bad teams, and two of them were uncomfortably close. Minnesota was the only win worth a damn, and that looks increasingly like an outlier result (the team was way more physical and aggressive than we've seen in any other game). Our two losses were non-competitive.
Unless things turn quickly, it's looking like another 6 or 7 win year, despite the easier schedule.
Yeah, the problem is how we've played as opposed to who we've beaten and lost to. In an alternate timeline where we lose 21-18 to SDSU, blow BC out 45-21, lose another squeaker 28-24 to Duke, and then blast UNC 34-0 there would be some grumbling about finishing close games but still a general sense that the team is overachieving and headed in the right direction.
But considering how we played against terrible UNC, I think we should be satisfied with how we handled OSU. It could have been an ugly win had Cal played like we have been playing the last two games.
I don't think anything can save his job. Rivera must be able to see how bad the team is. Even us fans can see it. Rivera should not be satisfied even if Wilcox wins 5 more games.
Thanks Rick.
5-2 is 5-2…which is a new thing. So that’s nice.
The eye test says it’s the same old, same old program…9 years of coin toss games that swing on 1-2 lucky plays.
UNC is a bad football team. Like, not competitive vs. P5 competition bad. We needed a couple of fluke breaks to beat them at home, off a bye.
Dunno, this sure does not seem like progress, regardless of what the standings say…
We have no short game. We can’t run and JKS has not developed the touch passes to make the screens or quick slants that we need to stay ahead of the chains. We showed almost no ability to drive the field against a really bad team
UNC is in turmoil and they had to travel across the country to play on a short week, at night. We should have won this game comfortably
UNC also had a bye last week, so it wasn't a short week for them. Weird game. Glad that Austin was able to make the Marcus Ezeff-like play.
You’re right, for some reason I thought they played last weekend
5-2, which is largely due to our weak and favorable schedule. A competent coaching staff would easily be 7-0 or 6-1. No way does a competent coaching staff lose to SDSU 34-0 or get dominated by Duke
Fact of the matter is it's year 9 for Wilcox and as it was on day 1, game outcome remains entirely dependent on a lucky break here or there, whether the opponent is average, middling, or just plain awful…that's it. We are overmatched v teams that are above-average to elite. The program has not developed - that is indisputable, and as fans we are fed just excuse after excuse as to why that is. Now, you can argue that the line between luck and “making a play” is pretty thin, and the program is probably due some course correction in breaks, but at the end of the day, Cal loses both this game AND BC (and likely Minnesota) if not for a handful of crippling mistakes by the opponent, and then we’re 2-5, 0-3 in the ACC…and honestly, that’s probably a lot closer to what we deserve to be.
There's been no improvement overall in roster composition (JKS nothwithstanding), execution, or coaching. In an era where relegation to basically G5 status is literally on the table, you cannot proceed with this type of abject mediocrity where wins are dependent on the other team making a mistake (Minnesota fumbled punt, BC INT in EZ, UNC fumble less than a foot before the goal line).
Enough is enough - that was torturous to watch last night. The Wilcox breakout game simply does not appear to be coming…ever.
Well said.
Do you think Wilcox should and would continue in some capacity, such as DC?
Have heard whispers that he may be looking for something new, regardless of Cal’s record at the end of the year.
I wouldn’t expect to see JW here another year as anything other than HC.
We'll only get progress if we get an influx a lot of money to pay for 4 and 5 star players through the portal. Right now we have a low quality of talent compared who we play and hiring new coaches is not the answer. Getting 4 and 5 star talent is. Period!
We could always use more $, but Cal’s NIL is at least competitive. On the offensive side, those players will not play for Justin Wilcox.
0 offensive players drafted over nearly a decade. Good skill position players bolt for better programs. 4 and 5 star guys won’t come here to play for him…JKS is the outlier.
Maybe that changes if you hold onto JKS next year - talented skill position guys will want to play with him. But holding on to him is going to be very, very challenging.
Yes. Definitely, need post-mortems done on leaving players- especially offensive. Here are some of the talking points and key phrases I have gleaned from public interviews with our former players or private conversations with their family members:
Nando- coaching "continuity"; proof is in the pudding. He was never in the Heisman conversation, here.
Hunter- I talked with his uncle and the coaching was the issue.
Ott- offensive "stagnation". Although we may have dodged a bullet with him. He's not well-received by OK fans.
My bet is coaching is the key when it comes to offense.
Now, our defense has taken a half step back. Especially run defense.
Is it lack of inspiration? Lack of experience? Lack of an edge?
Coaching seems the recurring theme missing. We have been patient.
Time for a change, but who?
I like Sean Lewis, the SDSU coach.
Of course, Nick Saban would be top of my wish list. But an up-and-comer is more likely in our budget, unless that has changed for the better. Like the Pappy Waldorf hire, Saban would bring instant recognition and be a boon for recruiting.
Plus,he would pretty much avoid directly competing with his previous proteges.
NIL is so 2024. Under "House vs. NCAA" the "pay for play" landscape will change. The Portal will be open for a shorter period this winter.
True, collectives are gone, but no one knows what the landscape is going to look like. But Cal’s not suddenly going to be on equal footing with the big boys, and is almost certainly going to lose a massive number of players to the portal.
It feels like the wheels will be coming off fully soon
Wilcox doesn’t beat good teams, so L’ville and SMU are L’s.
UVA is better than anticipated, but is kind of an enigma. Based on what we’ve seen from Csl this year, that’s probably an L unless they give the game away, like BC and UNC did.
We should beat Furd.
Va Tech is pretty key, but not surprisingly for a Wilcox-coached team, Cal has not yet played an all-around game good enough to escape Blacksburg with a W on a potentially raucous nationally televised Friday night game, regardless of the Hokies 2-5 record.
8-wins remains a pipe dream.
I'm going to the VaTech game next week.. hoping they show up and can scrape together a respectable performance.
The tides turning during the UNC game and JKS getting knocked out gave me the feeling that we're on the cusp of a freefall. Like, we're going to be playing the Big Game for bowl eligibility.
I do not see us beating Furd this year, except by chance as you note above. And, honestly, I hope we do not make a bowl. What's the point?
Agree old friend,Stanford knocked off FSU, albeit a bad team, and not by much. They won kinda like Cal beat UNC, but I don't think our Bears would beat FSU. Interim Coaching on the farm seems vastly superior to what we have seen in Memorial this year.
We're bleeding what talent/playmakers we get offensively and our defense is slipping year by year. As I understand it, our NIL bags are competitive, so coaching is the remaining variable.
And good to hear from you. Anyone know where RugBear is?
Austin’s play is just a phenomenal highlight that should be remembered irrespective of our perspectives on Wilcox. I’ll remember this play for years. Textbook performance from Austin. Not just the punch, but to remain alert and recover from being on the ground after the punch to then pounce on the ball. True heart shown to the football gods.
The punch out fumble was a great play but to have situational awareness to get back up and recover the fumble was phenomenal. One of the best defensive plays I’ve seen in CFB in a long time
Reminded me of Marcus Ezeff's game saving goal line hit (touchback) on Cameron Colvin in the 2007 game against Oregon.
Yup. Except that was #6 vs #11 and the College GameDay was there for the game.
This game was a battle of two of the worst teams in college football.
It was shocking just how bad each of these teams were. They both looked completely inept on offense. It is hard to believe that Cal is 5-2 but you realize a lot of that is due to our schedule and not the coaches
Exactly.
Was in that corner of the end zone at Autzen - phenomenal play and great outcome.
Favorite play of the night was JKS seeing something from the UNC D near the RZ, where they walked EVERYONE up to the line setting up 1 on 1 matchups with no safety help for ALL 3 WR’s…only to have Wilcox ruin it and call a timeout.
Literally his 9-year tenure in a nutshell.
And in all the previous games he never called time out and took them into half times.
I saw that too and yelled out what the-?!!!
We might be the worse 5-2 team in NCAA history BUT we are 5-2…
That’s fair.
Oh, please! Yes we are 5-2 this week but we are about to lose four more games and the best we can hope for is a 6-6 season and that hinges on beating Stanford in Palo Alto. If we don’t, it’ll be a 5-7 season which feels about right for a Wilcox send off.
Crucial penalties by the Defense during the Tar Heels drive in the 4th Quarter also made the score closer than it should have been.
But got to love the Tar Heels “pitch and catch” during the last 5 seconds. That play has only worked once at Memorial!
That unsportsmanlike penalty was bullshit. Seemed like the receivers couldn't catch consistently today. And defense was just alright against a mediocre team... Did they say something like Paysour only had a handful of catches before this game? Hope they can learn from this and the coaching gets better. Clock management at the end wasn't as crappy as it has been in previous years.
The Refs also missed two blatant late hits against Uluave in the 4th. The second hit was especially egregious and should have been flagged for unsportsmanlike.
I'm not going to be too hard on the defense, because a lot of those penalties were bullshit. And the refs should not have given UNC a first down on that QB sneak. Not sure where they ever saw that he got across the line.
Paysour had 2 catches for 18 yards in the previous 5 games. Today he had 101 yards.
We should have blown them out. Not win on a heroic play by the defense in the final minutes, which could have easily been a go ahead TD by NC.
But I will take the win and give credit to Wilcox for not losing this game. Extremely extremely low bar.
Wilcox did avoid his Annual Inexplicable Loss to a terrible team tonight. I hope he isn’t saving it for Big Game.
We should have won that game comfortably but an ugly win is still a win and better than an ugly loss
In fairness, Wilcox secured his inexplicable loss against a bad team at SDSU.
SDSU is actually a good team. The blowout was inexplicable as SDSU isn’t a great team
Are we guaranteed that's the only one?
Kudos for making the trip up and bringing home the W.
I was seriously questioning whether I would ever go to another Cal game again if we lost this game. It was the most boring and listless win I’ve ever seen in person
It didn't help that it was 90% penalties
I liked seeing the reviews but there were way too many, which also dragged this unnecessarily long game on. Like what were they trying to see in that QB sneak toward the end
I can't remember which ones but I've seen some extremely boring games in the last few years.
Sure, I’ve watched them on TV but this is the first one I’ve attended at Memorial. Props to the student section who showed up tonight and stayed for the entire game. I was really contemplating just leaving Memorial and finishing the game at Raleigh’s
Actually at least 1/3 of the students left early. It's great that they showed up, but ridiculous that they left early in a close game
I think you might need something stronger than Raleigh’s….
There have been more than a few with Wilcox, but the one that sticks in my memory was 2007 vs. WSU. Longshore couldn't throw the ball further than 20 yards and we had to grind out a boring 20-17 win against a bad Cougar team despite an overwhelming talent advantage. It was the only win in the late-season tailspin.
I remember I got super bored and fell asleep in the 4th quarter vs Washington in 2008. We beat them 48-7.
It’s a W. I’ll take it, but my God, two miracle goal line plays at the end of the game are the difference between 5-2 and 3-4. You can’t live like that! But Cal just need to finish the season strong. Let’s see how it goes
It’s one thing to win close games like that against good teams but BC and UNC are bad teams
Oh, just hang in there. The season isn’t over yet and Cal has 5 more chances to find ways to have another losing season!
Cal stinks! Just imagine this team playing any of the top ranked teams. Our little RB’s running into the front 4 of Ohio State (or pick any other top 10 team, or hell, top 25!) would be about as effective as running into a brick wall! Our WR’s can’t catch the ball — how many did they drop last night? NC is a lousy football team coached by a guy who doesn’t understand the college game and should be sent on his way along with his personal circus. Let’s face it; it was just two inexcusable NC plays at the beginning and the end that got Cal this win. Sure, we’re 5-2, but we’re about to lose 4 more games with the difference between 6-6 and 5-7 hinging on whether we can beat Stanford in Palo Alto. This is just not a competitive program any way you look at it. JKS would have better than Mendoza-like numbers if he had a better supporting cast, which he does not. The NC pass rush didn’t compare to Duke’s and the next teams we play will execute the pass rush in spades while covering our lousy WR’s like a blanket. I predict that for the rest of the season JKS will be spending a lot more time on his butt and that his interception numbers are also set to increase due to the pressure he will be under to throw into tight coverage to guys who apparently can’t catch. And our defense will be on the field so much that by the 2nd half it will be exhausted while playing against the other team’s bench. Nope. This isn’t going to be anything other than the usual Wilcox season with even 6-6 not being a given. And even that gets us, what, a third rate bid to the Cheetos Bowl in the middle of nowhere? If you call that success, God help you, if she can even stay awake to watch these “Friday night so I don’t have to waste my Saturday”mediocre football games! Take off those rose colored glasses, smell the coffee, and face the reality that Cal football stinks, yet again!
You sound like a very pleasant person to have a beer with. No one is saying that we are world dominant. But to tell everyone that doesn’t pull out their pitch forks after a close in conference victory (which we couldn’t buy last year), I think you are doing yourself disservice.
As a veteran of more than 50 years of Cal football, including the 1959 Rose Bowl in which Cal, led by Joe Kapp at QB, was soundly defeated 38-12 by the #2 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, and the 1979 Garden State Bowl in which Cal was defeated by Temple (TEMPLE!!) 28-17 in Cal’s first bowl appearance in 20 (20!!) years since I’d last seen them in the Rose Bowl, I think I’ve more than earned the right to have a very strong opinion about the Cal football program. Yes, I’m long suffering, but I still watch them and I am still hoping for a change, but I don’t have much optimism that anything will really change in my lifetime. In 1959, when I was sitting in the Rose Bowl stands with my father, also a Cal grad and a veteran of watching Pappy’s boys, he told me that might be the only time in my lifetime that I’d ever get to see Cal in the Rose Bowl, and he was right!
Your dad was absolutely prescient.
I agree 100%. Complacency, pessimism about what Cal is capable of, and cronyism have been a huge problem at Cal for decades, keeping a program that IMO is fully capable of being dominant year in and year out instead being, let's face it, a perennial conference doormat. Here's what I see...a great school, an incredible upgraded stadium in one of the most beautiful locations anywhere, a fan base recently deprived of three pro teams ready to support the team and fill the stadium every game. Tedford proved it can be done, and with Rivera and Lyons in place the time is now. The only thing holding them back now is the continued employment of the current HC. I can understand why they gave Wilcox this year to see if he could figure it out with the support of the new GM. But he has to be on a very short leash and so far it doesn't look like anything has changed.
Outstanding play by Brent Austin.
I’ve supported Wilcox through thick and thin believing in his approach to the game and his commitment to the team. Sadly, I’ve seen enough. It’s time to move on. I trust Ron Rivera will make the right decision for Cal.
We all feel your pain MB, even if we do not all agree on the path forward...
Rest of the Country: "Cal-Berkeley is 5-2?!?! Can we steal their coach?"
Cal fans: "Ugly wins. Boring. ESPN...but at night. Fire the coach!"
Wilcox could go 10-2 and I highly doubt any program would try to poach him from us
I hope Rivera shows him the door, or Wilcox sees the writing on the wall and takes a new HC job somewhere on his own. Or maybe coaching at NFL level like Sirmon. It will be so much easier for Wilcox to find a new job with 10-2 record and we won't have to pay his buyout.
Think - Exactly what I hear out here on the East Coast, from all my ACC friends. Cal has out performed expectations, given all the talent that was lost through through the portal and to the NFL from last year's team. Most were thinking we would be fighting out with Stanford for the bottom of the ACC. One of my friends who is an Athletic Board Member at one of the bigger FB schools, said the coaching staff did a great job in finding and developing Mendoza, when he basically had few takers coming out of High School. The victory against Minnesota looks even better after they upset Nebraska today. We are building a solid high school recruiting class on the back of this. ACC schools that have disappointed this year are Clemson and Florida States, with much bigger football budgets than Cal. I doubt anyone in charge of the the Cal football program from the Chancellor on down is thinking about a coaching change at this point. Let's see how they finish out the season.
We are so lucky North Carolina did not fire Bellichick before our game.
Was his girlfriend on the sidelines?
Ron Rivera should have a list of four things he needs to focus on going forward:
- Looking at every head coach candidate starting now to find a real program builder who can take Cal to the place Rivera sees possible for them
- Do whatever it takes to retain JKS at all costs
- Figure out who else on the roster is worth retaining
- Overturn the wide receiver room, need guys with sure hands with a qb this good can't have so many drops every game
Don't forget to keep improving the OL and DL. Need a RB with another gear and game changing WR, maybe two.
I agree 100%. The question is whether Cal can put together a syndicate of wealthy boosters who are willing to put up the kind of money it’s going to take to attract a great coach and great players to build the kind of program that yields consistent winning results. College football is now a big business corrupted by big money — there’s no more “student” in the old student-athlete paradigm. It’s all about the money when it comes to competing at the D1 Power 4 level and has absolutely nothing to do with getting a good education, which used to be a plus for Cal, that at least the kids who graduated would have a solid education. No more, not when any player can leave via the portal for a better offer at the end of the season — Mendoza paved the way for that decision and has shown how well that can work, though for Ott maybe not so much (though the fact that he left in April after OK had finished spring ball, meaning he had no time to learn the system before fall camp, does make a statement about the Cal program even if it wasn’t the best decision for him). And getting a good coach to choose Cal given the already open coaching positions that we know about is going to be a monumental task for Ron. It’s most likely going to be some young guy with college experience who understands the college game and knows how to recruit high school kids and experienced players via the portal to build a team that actually stays together because they believe in the program. I really feel for the majority of young high school recruits who choose a school because they are promised an eventual starting role only to see that chance evaporate when a more experienced player is recruited through the portal and takes the starting spot. Makes DIII football look pretty good!
All we can really say about this game is WHEEEEWWWW!!!!!! Shades of Marcus Ezef! Thank you, football Gods, for not ripping my heart out.
Duke may be trending up and we will find out today if they look like a top contender for the conference. Minnesota smacked Nebraska around, kinda reassuring they are a decent team. SDSU is actually better than we thought. Cal has issues, but they continue to get by. I can’t see how this team could beat Louisville, but also surprised James Madison gave them a game. I’m brain dead from a late boring win but there’s still a chance they win out.
Duke may be trending up. However it was clear that Cal played an awful game two weeks ago. The quality of competition was not the cause of our loss.
On the other hand, we played really well vs Minnesota. I had so much hope for the season after that game.
On to Blacksburg.
A Friday night in Blacksburg
It's so weird to be feeling kind of bad after getting to 5-2 for the first time in ages, but . . . it's warranted. Four of our wins are against bad teams, and two of them were uncomfortably close. Minnesota was the only win worth a damn, and that looks increasingly like an outlier result (the team was way more physical and aggressive than we've seen in any other game). Our two losses were non-competitive.
Unless things turn quickly, it's looking like another 6 or 7 win year, despite the easier schedule.
Yeah, the problem is how we've played as opposed to who we've beaten and lost to. In an alternate timeline where we lose 21-18 to SDSU, blow BC out 45-21, lose another squeaker 28-24 to Duke, and then blast UNC 34-0 there would be some grumbling about finishing close games but still a general sense that the team is overachieving and headed in the right direction.
Yup! For example, early Tedford years were like this.
I will take the win vs Oregon State as a good win too. We beat them comfortably. They were bad, but we played well in that game.
I'd say we were about on par for what a decent team should do against Oregon State this year.
But considering how we played against terrible UNC, I think we should be satisfied with how we handled OSU. It could have been an ugly win had Cal played like we have been playing the last two games.
Oregon State is still 0-7 and just fired their coach but I agree. We should have beat UNC like we beat Oregon State.
Schedule saving JW’s job !! And many stroke of luck
I don't think anything can save his job. Rivera must be able to see how bad the team is. Even us fans can see it. Rivera should not be satisfied even if Wilcox wins 5 more games.