The California Golden Bears (2-1) fell to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-2), 17-24, continuing its losing streak against the blue-blood college football program.
Entertaining game except for when Cal was on offense. Lack of adjustment on that side of the ball doomed Cal. Needing to run quick hitters they kept having Plummer drop back and take sacks. He scrambled well a couple of times but that was not enough to keep the offense productive. Cal was never going to win unless they scored 20-something points. Leading up to the game I predicted 2 touchdowns on offense and a field goal. That's exactly what happened for Cal. With no defensive scores the Bears had to take a loss. Now if the hail mary had worked (and it almost did) Wilcox would have had to face a decision about kicking the tying PAT or going for two. My assumption is that he would have kicked the ball and brought overtime.
Our OL is just brutal. Even in plays where their DL was blocked, the pocket just collapses on Plummer in under 3 sec most of the time.
I counted at least 5 times where simple T E stunts or just plain missed assignments let a free rusher in. OL isn't just overmatched but not properly coached and prepped.
For all the talk about how talented our WRs are, we do a piss poor job of actually getting them the ball. Having 21 incompletions is inexcusable. Even ND switched to simple screen passes and PA passes to the flat to adjust to their qb being totally ineffective. What does Musgrave do? Just drop Plummer back, run double moves with our WRs while our OL collapses.
Lastly Musgrave needs to go. Forget whether if you think his play calling is good or not, his system is a relic of outdated 90s west coast offense. Offense are all about spacing, putting defenders in conflict, and letting qbs just make 1 or 2 simple reads. We do none of that. Musgrave is almost as bad as the guy calling for the T formation here.
Plummer looked way more confident running (probably out of necessity). However his overthrows on short routes are frustrating. Unfortunately, our o-line is a weakness we haven't yet figured out how to either fix or scheme around (or if that's even possible at this stage) and I'm sure that's not helping.
Was glad I went to this game even though we lost. ND fans were great hosts and I was certainly entertained throughout. We were 2nd to last row and actually had decent sightlines. The American flag at half mast did block some of the action but it wouldn't have interfered if at its regular height so it's not like they tried to obstruct the visitors.
As I watch the way that Washington is dismantling No. 11 Michigan State, and earlier the way that Oregon blew past a ranked BYU team, and the way that WSU boatraced Colorado State, I am wondering how this Cal team is going to assemble four wins, let alone six that would get them to a bowl game.
My eye test says that Cal is stuck in quicksand while the rest of the conference - save Colorado - has made great strides.
Entertaining game versus a bad Notre Dame team, really? I have been watching Cal teams for 35 years, and I never felt this one was in doubt. Cal's defense could not make a stop in the second half when it mattered, and Plummer's heroics with his feet could not overcome a woeful sub 50% completion rate.
Cal desperately needs a win next week against a vastly improved Arizona team, but the casual fans that the program needs to fill the stadium will stay away in droves because they view the product as boring. I always know when I have watched a truly exciting Cal game because my voice is totally gone after the game. I feel like I could sing for the Met Opera right now.
I got to sleep on this. I don't even see five wins for Cal this year. The rest of the conference has improved that much. Just where outside of Colorado does anyone see a Cal win? I mean, Cal kind of struggled against FCS UC Davis two weeks ago. Oregon State just put up 66 points on Montana State, the team that made it to the FCS finals last year. Arizona just took care of FCS champion North Dakota State, a team that previously had a six game win streak against FBS teams. This is not to mention what those two teams up in Washington did to their opponents yesterday. Arizona State was the only other Pac 12 team that lost yesterday, and Cal is not playing them.
Until they shore up the OL to at least a passable unit, this team can lose to anyone on the schedule. Plummer’s inaccurate, that’s a problem…but the lack of time is troubling.
Even with an even year schedule, Wilcox is about to turn Memorial into a ghost town. It seems like fan support has bottomed out under Wilcox because Wilcox football is average and boring.
Dude just stop. If you seriously can't come up with something interesting to say other than firing a coach who we have signed for four more years (meaning its near impossible) and you have Mark Fox staring at you as an example of how much worse it can be, just consider taking a break.
These posts are so dumb, useless and entirely mindless. Go for a damn walk
I think so long as Wilcox has Cal poised between 5-7 md 7-5 each season he will be here for a very long time. On the O-line problem we should make judicious use of the transfer portal next season. Now I wish there was an 8-4 and 9-3 campaign once in awhile, but it seems like with the resurrection of USC as a talented monster, Washington's apparent rebound, improvements by Oregon State and Washington State and even a scrappy Arizona team which is 2-1, the level of play throughout the conference has surged. We can only hope that Cal has improved commensurately which at this point is still unknown.
Sadly, I think the Cal leadership likes it that way. They secretly hate football and, while they can't make it go away, they can hobble it with mediocrity. As long as that's the ultimate mindset, Cal football, no matter who is coaching will always be middling.
Their heads likely exploded when Tedford had us in the Top Ten.
"Hey, we gotta' pore some salt down this program's back."
Not sure what to say aside from the fact that we just don't have the horses and coaching on the O Line. It was absolutely brutal to watch the poor technique and 1-on-1 losses. Lots of off-balance pass pro, overcommitting to the DL's first move, lack of quickness. That's what separates the big boy teams from the rest--line play.
I do not think harshly of Plummer. We were outmatched on both offensive and defensive lines with us being more fearsome than David, but somehow not as daunting as Goliath. He had virtually no pocket to pass from, which is something of a Cal trademark, remembering, what I like to call, "Jared Goff and the three alligator pass offense." Goff learned to do his reads and pass sooner rather than later or be crushed. One alligator, two alligator, three aligator, and the rush was manhandling him. Plummer just has not figured that out, yet. His legs were good and, oh my God, having Ott block for him, man, you gotta' love his brass and presence of mind in that moment.
If you may forgive the mixed metaphor, we brought a knife to a gunfight and almost won.
The team made me proud, even though it is frustrating just how close we came.
And maybe that is the only really bothersome thing- we dared to hope, even though it was not well-considered.
We're Goliath's smaller cousin, for now, and we should be happy we went the distance.
Year 6 under Wilcox, and another “moral victory.” Everyone knows the offside penalty was horseshit and a total backbreaker, but we had plenty of chances against what is a bad ND team. How the hell is our o-line the worst position group year after year after year? You’d think at cal the one group we could recruit are the big dudes who go to class. But of course under the Wilcox regime of mediocrity, everyone will keep their jobs, and we’ll just keep on with the same shit. Meanwhile, Washington is in year one with a new coach, up 14 on Michigan state, in front of a full stadium. Insert ‘must be fuckin nice’ gif here.
Yeah but Wilcox is the opposite of Dykes and wants to be at Cal!
We are seriously about to keep a mediocre coach at Cal because he turned down Oregon. Wilcox is a smart guy. He knows he can be 6-6 and say all the right things and he will never be fired.
I honestly do not think any coach we could reasonably expect to hire could do better at Cal than Wilcox is doing right now. There isn’t the support and commitment from administration and Athletic Department. Add in the conference uncertainty and we see how the recruiting just isn’t good enough to be in the top-25.
To show my biases, I actually think Wilcox is a really good coach in terms of football, but he has missed on some assistant hires. That’s crucial for CFB success. I don’t know if he’ll recover from it.
I’m not even sure Musgrave is that bad. Our guys have limited ability to execute, particularly the QB, so that limits what he can call. I think the biggest thing that would help JW succeed would just be getting lucky with a QB prospect.
Even if Cal somehow establishes an excellent developmental program (akin to Wisconsin, Iowa, etc...) you still need the players to get over the top. I see it with Wisconsin. The players are outstanding in regard to maximizing their potential, but when going up against teams like tOSU the talent gap is glaring. You need the horses to win.
They just lost at home to a Marshall team that lost to Bowling Green today. Yes, by notre dame standards, this is a bad ND team. At what point do we expect more from Wilcox and co?
ND has really good recruits across the board. They will probably e d up winning 8ish games. I don’t think they are that bad at all, just were kind of hungover from Ohio St when they played Marshall in the way 18-22 year olds often are.
Our biggest failure this weekend was not jumping out further ahead in the first half when their new QB still had no feel for the game yet. And that is no small credit to the ND D line which stuffed Ott and kept constant pressure on Plummer
It’s not the job of fans to assess whether or not we could hire a better o-line coach. That’s the job of the guy making $4.75 mil a year. We are in year 6 of mediocre to bad play from the group that really should be one of the easier ones to recruit to cal. I’m so sick of the mentality of our fan base being this bullshit, defeatist “well could we really do any better?” You have to at least try. Wilcox negotiated raises for himself and his staff after he turned down oregon. Time to start expecting more from that group.
How Angus has a job come Monday will be beyond me. Coleman needs to be moved back inside. The coaches claim his is our best and most athletic lineman. If true, the rest of the lads aren't D1 players. Move Coleman to LG, Driscoll to C, Vatikani to RG. Keep mixing / matching LT and RT until you find the right combination. But neither Rohme nor Session are playing well so no need to keep that experiment going.
Frustrating end, but Cal fans overall seemed to have a fantastic time at the game. We had a great presence, tons of loud cheering, lots of good vibes and what an amazing atmosphere for college football. The only pre-game, negative shit-talking interaction with drunk ND fans was quickly de-escalated with a quick “hey hey hey, fuck $C, right?” All four guys in the group looked at each other and immediately agreed “that’s right, fuck $C” and high fives were had by all.
Agree on the atmosphere. Went with my son and couldn’t be happier with the Cal presence and the interaction with ND fans. Not sure what would have happened if they lost.
Entertaining game except for when Cal was on offense. Lack of adjustment on that side of the ball doomed Cal. Needing to run quick hitters they kept having Plummer drop back and take sacks. He scrambled well a couple of times but that was not enough to keep the offense productive. Cal was never going to win unless they scored 20-something points. Leading up to the game I predicted 2 touchdowns on offense and a field goal. That's exactly what happened for Cal. With no defensive scores the Bears had to take a loss. Now if the hail mary had worked (and it almost did) Wilcox would have had to face a decision about kicking the tying PAT or going for two. My assumption is that he would have kicked the ball and brought overtime.
Our OL is just brutal. Even in plays where their DL was blocked, the pocket just collapses on Plummer in under 3 sec most of the time.
I counted at least 5 times where simple T E stunts or just plain missed assignments let a free rusher in. OL isn't just overmatched but not properly coached and prepped.
For all the talk about how talented our WRs are, we do a piss poor job of actually getting them the ball. Having 21 incompletions is inexcusable. Even ND switched to simple screen passes and PA passes to the flat to adjust to their qb being totally ineffective. What does Musgrave do? Just drop Plummer back, run double moves with our WRs while our OL collapses.
Lastly Musgrave needs to go. Forget whether if you think his play calling is good or not, his system is a relic of outdated 90s west coast offense. Offense are all about spacing, putting defenders in conflict, and letting qbs just make 1 or 2 simple reads. We do none of that. Musgrave is almost as bad as the guy calling for the T formation here.
Plummer looked way more confident running (probably out of necessity). However his overthrows on short routes are frustrating. Unfortunately, our o-line is a weakness we haven't yet figured out how to either fix or scheme around (or if that's even possible at this stage) and I'm sure that's not helping.
Was glad I went to this game even though we lost. ND fans were great hosts and I was certainly entertained throughout. We were 2nd to last row and actually had decent sightlines. The American flag at half mast did block some of the action but it wouldn't have interfered if at its regular height so it's not like they tried to obstruct the visitors.
is it really hard to recruit good OL? The OL has sucked for the last 10 years
Wilcox and his offensive staff haven’t recruited and developed one HS QB recruit in 6 years.
As I watch the way that Washington is dismantling No. 11 Michigan State, and earlier the way that Oregon blew past a ranked BYU team, and the way that WSU boatraced Colorado State, I am wondering how this Cal team is going to assemble four wins, let alone six that would get them to a bowl game.
My eye test says that Cal is stuck in quicksand while the rest of the conference - save Colorado - has made great strides.
Entertaining game versus a bad Notre Dame team, really? I have been watching Cal teams for 35 years, and I never felt this one was in doubt. Cal's defense could not make a stop in the second half when it mattered, and Plummer's heroics with his feet could not overcome a woeful sub 50% completion rate.
Cal desperately needs a win next week against a vastly improved Arizona team, but the casual fans that the program needs to fill the stadium will stay away in droves because they view the product as boring. I always know when I have watched a truly exciting Cal game because my voice is totally gone after the game. I feel like I could sing for the Met Opera right now.
Don;t forget how good Oregon State looks this year. Yeah, ouch.
Next weeks game will be the difference between 6-6 and 5-7.
Wilcox football is both average and boring. Memorial, despite an even year schedule will be a ghost town.
I got to sleep on this. I don't even see five wins for Cal this year. The rest of the conference has improved that much. Just where outside of Colorado does anyone see a Cal win? I mean, Cal kind of struggled against FCS UC Davis two weeks ago. Oregon State just put up 66 points on Montana State, the team that made it to the FCS finals last year. Arizona just took care of FCS champion North Dakota State, a team that previously had a six game win streak against FBS teams. This is not to mention what those two teams up in Washington did to their opponents yesterday. Arizona State was the only other Pac 12 team that lost yesterday, and Cal is not playing them.
Until they shore up the OL to at least a passable unit, this team can lose to anyone on the schedule. Plummer’s inaccurate, that’s a problem…but the lack of time is troubling.
Next week is HUGE. You gotta
I don't see any clearly inferior teams to Cal other than Colorado. Otoh UNLV won big yesterday scoring 58 points.
Well our defense isn't the problem. We can stop potent offenses.
Especially if they can dial back the targeting calls that lead to ejections and 1st downs.
UNLV O looked like it had some potential.
If they beat ND, that will sear my ass and I will have to use my standup desk to post next week.
Even with an even year schedule, Wilcox is about to turn Memorial into a ghost town. It seems like fan support has bottomed out under Wilcox because Wilcox football is average and boring.
Dude just stop. If you seriously can't come up with something interesting to say other than firing a coach who we have signed for four more years (meaning its near impossible) and you have Mark Fox staring at you as an example of how much worse it can be, just consider taking a break.
These posts are so dumb, useless and entirely mindless. Go for a damn walk
I think so long as Wilcox has Cal poised between 5-7 md 7-5 each season he will be here for a very long time. On the O-line problem we should make judicious use of the transfer portal next season. Now I wish there was an 8-4 and 9-3 campaign once in awhile, but it seems like with the resurrection of USC as a talented monster, Washington's apparent rebound, improvements by Oregon State and Washington State and even a scrappy Arizona team which is 2-1, the level of play throughout the conference has surged. We can only hope that Cal has improved commensurately which at this point is still unknown.
Sadly, I think the Cal leadership likes it that way. They secretly hate football and, while they can't make it go away, they can hobble it with mediocrity. As long as that's the ultimate mindset, Cal football, no matter who is coaching will always be middling.
Their heads likely exploded when Tedford had us in the Top Ten.
"Hey, we gotta' pore some salt down this program's back."
Not sure what to say aside from the fact that we just don't have the horses and coaching on the O Line. It was absolutely brutal to watch the poor technique and 1-on-1 losses. Lots of off-balance pass pro, overcommitting to the DL's first move, lack of quickness. That's what separates the big boy teams from the rest--line play.
I can’t imagine our offense is capable of scoring 31 points against Colorado this season.
In a surprise twist, "green out" meant money for the refs, not clothing
I do not think harshly of Plummer. We were outmatched on both offensive and defensive lines with us being more fearsome than David, but somehow not as daunting as Goliath. He had virtually no pocket to pass from, which is something of a Cal trademark, remembering, what I like to call, "Jared Goff and the three alligator pass offense." Goff learned to do his reads and pass sooner rather than later or be crushed. One alligator, two alligator, three aligator, and the rush was manhandling him. Plummer just has not figured that out, yet. His legs were good and, oh my God, having Ott block for him, man, you gotta' love his brass and presence of mind in that moment.
If you may forgive the mixed metaphor, we brought a knife to a gunfight and almost won.
The team made me proud, even though it is frustrating just how close we came.
And maybe that is the only really bothersome thing- we dared to hope, even though it was not well-considered.
We're Goliath's smaller cousin, for now, and we should be happy we went the distance.
Year 6 under Wilcox, and another “moral victory.” Everyone knows the offside penalty was horseshit and a total backbreaker, but we had plenty of chances against what is a bad ND team. How the hell is our o-line the worst position group year after year after year? You’d think at cal the one group we could recruit are the big dudes who go to class. But of course under the Wilcox regime of mediocrity, everyone will keep their jobs, and we’ll just keep on with the same shit. Meanwhile, Washington is in year one with a new coach, up 14 on Michigan state, in front of a full stadium. Insert ‘must be fuckin nice’ gif here.
Yeah but Wilcox is the opposite of Dykes and wants to be at Cal!
We are seriously about to keep a mediocre coach at Cal because he turned down Oregon. Wilcox is a smart guy. He knows he can be 6-6 and say all the right things and he will never be fired.
I honestly do not think any coach we could reasonably expect to hire could do better at Cal than Wilcox is doing right now. There isn’t the support and commitment from administration and Athletic Department. Add in the conference uncertainty and we see how the recruiting just isn’t good enough to be in the top-25.
I agree with this, especially now when UCLA/USC bolting will probably permanently screw us
To show my biases, I actually think Wilcox is a really good coach in terms of football, but he has missed on some assistant hires. That’s crucial for CFB success. I don’t know if he’ll recover from it.
I’m not even sure Musgrave is that bad. Our guys have limited ability to execute, particularly the QB, so that limits what he can call. I think the biggest thing that would help JW succeed would just be getting lucky with a QB prospect.
Even if Cal somehow establishes an excellent developmental program (akin to Wisconsin, Iowa, etc...) you still need the players to get over the top. I see it with Wisconsin. The players are outstanding in regard to maximizing their potential, but when going up against teams like tOSU the talent gap is glaring. You need the horses to win.
Yep, 100%.
No one is and never was against hiring Troy Taylor. Everyone was against you harassing us with the same comments a million times.
I would welcome him with open arms and link a Wikipedia page to your first post on CGB about hiring him as our HC.
His wikipedia page will include a paragraph about Bob R.
We were on the road, and that 'bad' team held Ohio State to 21 points in Columbus.
They just lost at home to a Marshall team that lost to Bowling Green today. Yes, by notre dame standards, this is a bad ND team. At what point do we expect more from Wilcox and co?
The “Bowling Green > Marshall > Notre Dame” > Cal lists are going to be fun this season. Sigh.
ND has really good recruits across the board. They will probably e d up winning 8ish games. I don’t think they are that bad at all, just were kind of hungover from Ohio St when they played Marshall in the way 18-22 year olds often are.
Our biggest failure this weekend was not jumping out further ahead in the first half when their new QB still had no feel for the game yet. And that is no small credit to the ND D line which stuffed Ott and kept constant pressure on Plummer
Make that up 21
It’s not the job of fans to assess whether or not we could hire a better o-line coach. That’s the job of the guy making $4.75 mil a year. We are in year 6 of mediocre to bad play from the group that really should be one of the easier ones to recruit to cal. I’m so sick of the mentality of our fan base being this bullshit, defeatist “well could we really do any better?” You have to at least try. Wilcox negotiated raises for himself and his staff after he turned down oregon. Time to start expecting more from that group.
The offside penalty on the ND missed field goal was garbage.
That call changed the complexion of the game.
6 sacks!!
6 sacks!!
How Angus has a job come Monday will be beyond me. Coleman needs to be moved back inside. The coaches claim his is our best and most athletic lineman. If true, the rest of the lads aren't D1 players. Move Coleman to LG, Driscoll to C, Vatikani to RG. Keep mixing / matching LT and RT until you find the right combination. But neither Rohme nor Session are playing well so no need to keep that experiment going.
Lastly, Angus was left on the tarmac, right?
6 Sacks.
He isn’t going to fire angus. He might reassign him but I doubt he fires him.
To ST Coordinator?
Because lol accountability, who wants that?
Well because then people might hold Wilcox accountable.
Good thing the game didnt go OT, or we might be talking about 7 sacks. Hell, maybe even 10!
Meanwhile, UW looks great on offense.
Frustrating end, but Cal fans overall seemed to have a fantastic time at the game. We had a great presence, tons of loud cheering, lots of good vibes and what an amazing atmosphere for college football. The only pre-game, negative shit-talking interaction with drunk ND fans was quickly de-escalated with a quick “hey hey hey, fuck $C, right?” All four guys in the group looked at each other and immediately agreed “that’s right, fuck $C” and high fives were had by all.
Agree on the atmosphere. Went with my son and couldn’t be happier with the Cal presence and the interaction with ND fans. Not sure what would have happened if they lost.
0-3 is a hard bagel to swallow