Tosh Lupoi will have his first chance since becoming head coach to recruit blue chip offensive and defensive linemen this season and off-season. That's where you win and lose games, in the trenches. This is a work in progress, definitely headed in the right direction.
The Reign of Justin was marked by perennial coaching shortages. To pay market rates for Coordinators meant skipping a Special Teams coach here or consolidating 5 assistant positions there. Now in Y1 of the Reign of Tosh, the cash flow tide has turned and we are swimming in coaches. Our young coaches even have wizened coaches to coach them. So why do we look and feel so incredibly under-coached?
Happy for the lads that they won a game much uglier than a rock fight. To call this game a "rock fight" would be an insult to...rock fight.
Last week I called out Lopa as one who flashed, glad he didn't let me down this week! On defense I will now add Harris and number zero. That said, our defense has a problem. The leading tacklers are our DBs, not good. Overall the defense played well and did the old bend but don't break.
WTF is going on with our offense? As others have already pointed out it's the OL. I will reiterate that I was surprised Tosh kept the OL coach but it is time for a change NOW. The OL technique is terrible. AND they are gutless. Scrum football is allowed now. How many times was our RB churning for extra yards and our OL just watched him and didn't push the pile. Just gutless. JKS has a lot to improve, I will state the most obvious. He is not stepping UP into his pocket. Lots of young QBs don't do this but in the case of JKS it is so glaringly obvious. Certainly the coaches are working on this and hopefully we will see improvement in weeks to come. The OC doesn't seem to have an identity for his offense.
Next week, against Wagner, all the starters should play the entire game. Only exception to that is using multiple OL combinations to find out who really wants to play and kick some ass. I don't see this as a game where the starters sit in the 4th quarter regardless of the score.
Sports writers had Syracuse 14th in the ACC going into the season (Cal 12th). Will always take a win on the road. We are going to need to improve quickly as the schedule will get tougher.
I was unimpressed, but it seemed that we have made some improvements since the UCLA game, so I’m holding out hope that the team can find the right mix of players (esp on the Oline) and reliable receivers (like Mini) to see the field more often.
Lupoi is the first Cal coach to win his opening conference game since Steve Mariucci in 1996. And did it on the road. There some definite value in that.
One thing I noticed is our defense is *kind of* coming together. The line is starting to get pressure, and the DBs are really starting to feel it. Shemwell is about to break out because QBs have nowhere else to go between Harris and Lopa.
But man, our LBs look lost and I feel like (this is just based on casual TV viewing) are generally making bad / late reads that are giving up a lot of these huge plays.
Offense I think just comes down to the line. If we don't see some miraculous improvement week over week, it's going to be a problem.
The timing of Wagner is perfect developmentally, we've now seen the level we need to play at to compete at a P4 level and have two weeks to iron out the kinks before Clemson.
We had a good defensive effort in the second half. Otherwise, Cal played like crap and are fortunate that Syracuse handed the game to us with turnovers, penalties, and missed field goals.
I really hope these are just growing pains and that the roster will gel as the season rolls along.
This Cuse fan’s post summarizes nicely my feeling for the game. I’m glad, especially for our athletes, that we came out on top. But we need much better coaching
Our offense and special team needs to improve - fast!
Nice write up Avi, but you are very patronizing to a team that was fortunate to win and has a long way to go to be the team we all want to see on the field. First off, I want to see Tosh succeed. He has pleasantly surprised me with his plan to develop the culture and team ad I recognize he came in too late this year to get the great high school recruits he wanted. For this reason alone he gets a couple of seasons to turn CAL around, at least from me. I just hope we can clean up some of the very basic problems I see:
On Special Teams:
-We get players downfield but no one seems to make tackles.
-We need to cover our spacing better.
-We need to block MUCH better on punts. To many were almost blocked.
On Defense:
-To many times our players were waiting for the defensive call to come in and were late
getting in position.
-There was one play where we recovered a fumble where we weren't even lined up.
-High schools do a better job of getting plays called in time for the defense to be ready.
We have to clean this up.
-We need more and better gap responsibility. If you bring players up and have no second
level then every player needs to hold their gap so a short run cannot turn into a long one.
On Offense:
-We need more creative play calls that keep the opposing defense off balance.
-We need to win the contested catches and bring the ball down. If we win those battles
then this game isn't close.
-Our O-Line has a world of problems.
-They don't get off fast enough to stuff the opposing blocker
-I watched the replacement strong (right side) tackle come in and line up 3 inches
from his guard. Either he is showing pass and has cut down his split so he doesn't get
beat inside, or he killed his running game. Splits create the space for the lane. All the
blocker has to do is get on his man and win the SUMO wrestling contest. Guys who
cheat on splits usually aren't quick enough or athletic enough to win the blocking battle
with the defensive lineman across from them.
-Our o-line were always high and were off balance. It's almost impossible to stay on a
block if you don't have your ass down and your base under you. Again, getting into the
-d-lineman and sumo-ing him and keeping the lane opened that is created by the split
allows a RB room to run.
-Our OL did not stay on blocks. I think we have tough and nasty guys, but they aren't
being coached on how to stay on the blocks. If your OL is standing around two yards
two yards downfield as your RB if fighting for his life with four guys tackling him, then
you fucked up, pardon my french.
-Pass pro was better but there were way to many times where the schemes left a d man
uncovered. This cannot happen. he two back sets with the RB's right next to JKS were
a disaster. Instead of helping in pass pro, they limited his mobility by giving him little
room to maneuver. (Thus far I am not a fan of Somerville's schemes or play calling).
-Our OL need to figure out real quick hoe to handle a DL who is playing on or off the line
in both run and pass pro schemes. Plain and simple we are ugly and I don't believe our
guys are really that bad. I'm hanging this on the coach and teaching technique. There
are drills they should be running EVERY day in practice to entrench the fundamentals
and create muscle memory (things like duckwalking through chutes before practice
over and over every day to help them learn to get asses down. Big guys are lazy and
unless you grind it into them with repetition, you can coach off of film and tell them
what they are doing wrong, but they won't change. I had a drill I invented to teach my
OL players to stay on blocks. I called it the two whistle drill. I put them on the big sled
and gave them a snap count. On go they drove the sled. I usually waited three to four
seconds and then blew the whistle at which point they all had to dig deep and get
that sled going for 3 or 4 more seconds. If I didn't get max effort I let them drive it
across the field. My way of coaching my guys was that I didn't want a high number
of shitty reps, I wanted a few perfect ones. And, if I ever saw one player not putting in
the effort, then the entire group paid with up-downs. It did not take long for them to
get with the program, especially when the group leaders stepped up and threatened
to kick the asses of the loafers. My players did not like me much for the first third of
the season. The second third they started seeing the results on film and by the last
third they understood the program and became fans. It was even better when I would
get my starters and backups with significant playing time scholarships to continue
their four year degree.
-In short, I think we need a new OL coach, our guys aren't that bad.
Good job Rugbear, where did you coach and were you a O line coach or just a line coach who did both D and O. Or, were you a head high school coach or college assistant . You obviously know much more than the regular commenter on these pages. One thing the O linemen aren't doing is sticking to their blocks and DRIVING with a straight body at a 45 degree angle after an initial intense blow on their target. I was a head high school coach for 33 years and a college ILB coach for 2 just prior to my retirement. So I appreciate reading someone who's actually been in the trenches.
Thanks! I coached at Cabrillo College in Aptos (Santa Cruz area) for the years of 2004 through 2008. I was introduced to the head coach by a friend and he manipulated me into the role. I was semi retired and it was a volunteer position. My greatest joy was impacting the lives of young men in a positive way. My goal was to get all my kids into a four year program where they could get a degree. One of my toughest kids, he wasn't the best athlete but had the heart of a warrior, was part Irish and Hispanic and was from Stockton. He had seen his best friend killed in gang violence. He was the first in his family to graduate high school and we got him to Kansas Weslyan where he completed a 4 year degree. He is married with a family and is a wonderful role model. His success is in life is way more important than any success on the field. And he was just one of my kids that that ended up with a four year degree and succeeded in life.
I cant even celebrate this win because there is so much meat left on the bone. Why cant we just play solid FUNDAMENTAL football! Couldn't decide to walk away and look at the score later or just keep being tortured.
Ugly as it was, the team went cross-country after a deflating loss and found a way to grind out a conference win (insert Wilcoxian cliche about winning being hard and the opponent having some darn good players here).
The good: thought Hutchings called a great game. The blitz packages were effective and we generated pressure in key moments which led to Angeli’s mistakes. Pass protection seemed improved, especially with Klisiewicz coming in after halftime. Adam Mohammed is a beast. The run blocking is non-existent and he turns plays that look dead in the water into modest gains through brut force and sheer will; we are lucky to have him. Lopa and Tuitele consistently made plays on defense and this is a different outcome without them. Tackling looked improved.
The bad: Run blocking is… bad. Mental errors on defense - too many coverage busts, defenders taking bad angles and allowing chunk plays that should be stopped. Receiver play has been unacceptably bad; these guys have to be better. Not enough separation and too many drops. That ball JKS threw on the 3rd and 20 in the 4th quarter was a dime and has to be caught… period. Mason Mini is probably the most reliable target and needs to be more involved in the passing game. What is going on with Quaron Adams? Dudes a burner and hasn’t even sniffed the field. Somerville and co. have work to do to get this offense clicking.
How many times was our defense waiting for the play call and not ready to play when Syracuse snapped the ball? Way to many times. We got lucky on one where we were not close to being lined up and we ended up with a fumble.
The announcers has some very harsh words for the 12 men on the field. It's really embarrassing and was potentially costly! Ranks up there with having 2 with the same number on the field!
Dammit Rugbear I was trying to talk myself into some level of positivity! I noticed this a couple times but didn’t recognize it to be a recurring problem. Clearly I need to re-watch the game. Appreciate your above breakdown of the OL issues, that’s good insight and… yikes.
Tosh Lupoi will have his first chance since becoming head coach to recruit blue chip offensive and defensive linemen this season and off-season. That's where you win and lose games, in the trenches. This is a work in progress, definitely headed in the right direction.
Please coach up the special teams. Right now they are grading D+
The Reign of Justin was marked by perennial coaching shortages. To pay market rates for Coordinators meant skipping a Special Teams coach here or consolidating 5 assistant positions there. Now in Y1 of the Reign of Tosh, the cash flow tide has turned and we are swimming in coaches. Our young coaches even have wizened coaches to coach them. So why do we look and feel so incredibly under-coached?
Because it's not just an addition. It's more like multiplication. Having too many newbie coaches don't equate to higher coaching achievements
Happy for the lads that they won a game much uglier than a rock fight. To call this game a "rock fight" would be an insult to...rock fight.
Last week I called out Lopa as one who flashed, glad he didn't let me down this week! On defense I will now add Harris and number zero. That said, our defense has a problem. The leading tacklers are our DBs, not good. Overall the defense played well and did the old bend but don't break.
WTF is going on with our offense? As others have already pointed out it's the OL. I will reiterate that I was surprised Tosh kept the OL coach but it is time for a change NOW. The OL technique is terrible. AND they are gutless. Scrum football is allowed now. How many times was our RB churning for extra yards and our OL just watched him and didn't push the pile. Just gutless. JKS has a lot to improve, I will state the most obvious. He is not stepping UP into his pocket. Lots of young QBs don't do this but in the case of JKS it is so glaringly obvious. Certainly the coaches are working on this and hopefully we will see improvement in weeks to come. The OC doesn't seem to have an identity for his offense.
Next week, against Wagner, all the starters should play the entire game. Only exception to that is using multiple OL combinations to find out who really wants to play and kick some ass. I don't see this as a game where the starters sit in the 4th quarter regardless of the score.
The kids won and I'm happy for them.
Go Bears!
Sports writers had Syracuse 14th in the ACC going into the season (Cal 12th). Will always take a win on the road. We are going to need to improve quickly as the schedule will get tougher.
https://theacc.com/news/2026/7/28/miami-picked-as-preseason-favorite-to-win-2026-acc-football-championship.aspx
I was unimpressed, but it seemed that we have made some improvements since the UCLA game, so I’m holding out hope that the team can find the right mix of players (esp on the Oline) and reliable receivers (like Mini) to see the field more often.
I totally didn’t realize we play in Las Vegas. Heck yeah bears let’s do this
Lupoi is the first Cal coach to win his opening conference game since Steve Mariucci in 1996. And did it on the road. There some definite value in that.
One thing I noticed is our defense is *kind of* coming together. The line is starting to get pressure, and the DBs are really starting to feel it. Shemwell is about to break out because QBs have nowhere else to go between Harris and Lopa.
But man, our LBs look lost and I feel like (this is just based on casual TV viewing) are generally making bad / late reads that are giving up a lot of these huge plays.
Offense I think just comes down to the line. If we don't see some miraculous improvement week over week, it's going to be a problem.
The timing of Wagner is perfect developmentally, we've now seen the level we need to play at to compete at a P4 level and have two weeks to iron out the kinks before Clemson.
We had a good defensive effort in the second half. Otherwise, Cal played like crap and are fortunate that Syracuse handed the game to us with turnovers, penalties, and missed field goals.
I really hope these are just growing pains and that the roster will gel as the season rolls along.
Repeatedly, Syracuse provided opportunities for Cal to score. Most opponents will not do that.
This Cuse fan’s post summarizes nicely my feeling for the game. I’m glad, especially for our athletes, that we came out on top. But we need much better coaching
Our offense and special team needs to improve - fast!
https://syracusefan.com/threads/cal-postgame.194364/post-5838863
Nice write up Avi, but you are very patronizing to a team that was fortunate to win and has a long way to go to be the team we all want to see on the field. First off, I want to see Tosh succeed. He has pleasantly surprised me with his plan to develop the culture and team ad I recognize he came in too late this year to get the great high school recruits he wanted. For this reason alone he gets a couple of seasons to turn CAL around, at least from me. I just hope we can clean up some of the very basic problems I see:
On Special Teams:
-We get players downfield but no one seems to make tackles.
-We need to cover our spacing better.
-We need to block MUCH better on punts. To many were almost blocked.
On Defense:
-To many times our players were waiting for the defensive call to come in and were late
getting in position.
-There was one play where we recovered a fumble where we weren't even lined up.
-High schools do a better job of getting plays called in time for the defense to be ready.
We have to clean this up.
-We need more and better gap responsibility. If you bring players up and have no second
level then every player needs to hold their gap so a short run cannot turn into a long one.
On Offense:
-We need more creative play calls that keep the opposing defense off balance.
-We need to win the contested catches and bring the ball down. If we win those battles
then this game isn't close.
-Our O-Line has a world of problems.
-They don't get off fast enough to stuff the opposing blocker
-I watched the replacement strong (right side) tackle come in and line up 3 inches
from his guard. Either he is showing pass and has cut down his split so he doesn't get
beat inside, or he killed his running game. Splits create the space for the lane. All the
blocker has to do is get on his man and win the SUMO wrestling contest. Guys who
cheat on splits usually aren't quick enough or athletic enough to win the blocking battle
with the defensive lineman across from them.
-Our o-line were always high and were off balance. It's almost impossible to stay on a
block if you don't have your ass down and your base under you. Again, getting into the
-d-lineman and sumo-ing him and keeping the lane opened that is created by the split
allows a RB room to run.
-Our OL did not stay on blocks. I think we have tough and nasty guys, but they aren't
being coached on how to stay on the blocks. If your OL is standing around two yards
two yards downfield as your RB if fighting for his life with four guys tackling him, then
you fucked up, pardon my french.
-Pass pro was better but there were way to many times where the schemes left a d man
uncovered. This cannot happen. he two back sets with the RB's right next to JKS were
a disaster. Instead of helping in pass pro, they limited his mobility by giving him little
room to maneuver. (Thus far I am not a fan of Somerville's schemes or play calling).
-Our OL need to figure out real quick hoe to handle a DL who is playing on or off the line
in both run and pass pro schemes. Plain and simple we are ugly and I don't believe our
guys are really that bad. I'm hanging this on the coach and teaching technique. There
are drills they should be running EVERY day in practice to entrench the fundamentals
and create muscle memory (things like duckwalking through chutes before practice
over and over every day to help them learn to get asses down. Big guys are lazy and
unless you grind it into them with repetition, you can coach off of film and tell them
what they are doing wrong, but they won't change. I had a drill I invented to teach my
OL players to stay on blocks. I called it the two whistle drill. I put them on the big sled
and gave them a snap count. On go they drove the sled. I usually waited three to four
seconds and then blew the whistle at which point they all had to dig deep and get
that sled going for 3 or 4 more seconds. If I didn't get max effort I let them drive it
across the field. My way of coaching my guys was that I didn't want a high number
of shitty reps, I wanted a few perfect ones. And, if I ever saw one player not putting in
the effort, then the entire group paid with up-downs. It did not take long for them to
get with the program, especially when the group leaders stepped up and threatened
to kick the asses of the loafers. My players did not like me much for the first third of
the season. The second third they started seeing the results on film and by the last
third they understood the program and became fans. It was even better when I would
get my starters and backups with significant playing time scholarships to continue
their four year degree.
-In short, I think we need a new OL coach, our guys aren't that bad.
Good to see U Rug!!!!
Good job Rugbear, where did you coach and were you a O line coach or just a line coach who did both D and O. Or, were you a head high school coach or college assistant . You obviously know much more than the regular commenter on these pages. One thing the O linemen aren't doing is sticking to their blocks and DRIVING with a straight body at a 45 degree angle after an initial intense blow on their target. I was a head high school coach for 33 years and a college ILB coach for 2 just prior to my retirement. So I appreciate reading someone who's actually been in the trenches.
Thanks! I coached at Cabrillo College in Aptos (Santa Cruz area) for the years of 2004 through 2008. I was introduced to the head coach by a friend and he manipulated me into the role. I was semi retired and it was a volunteer position. My greatest joy was impacting the lives of young men in a positive way. My goal was to get all my kids into a four year program where they could get a degree. One of my toughest kids, he wasn't the best athlete but had the heart of a warrior, was part Irish and Hispanic and was from Stockton. He had seen his best friend killed in gang violence. He was the first in his family to graduate high school and we got him to Kansas Weslyan where he completed a 4 year degree. He is married with a family and is a wonderful role model. His success is in life is way more important than any success on the field. And he was just one of my kids that that ended up with a four year degree and succeeded in life.
I thought that the OL looked better after Jimothy Lewis was replaced. Maybe we don’t have our best players on the field for whatever reason?
A little. We have a long way to go. I'm not sure they know who their best 5 are.
I've come to rely upon Avi's "Rule of 21" with respect to Cal football.
Uclol beat us to that mark last week, and despite tying the score late, we wound up losing.
Yesterday, we got to 21 first. And won.
I cant even celebrate this win because there is so much meat left on the bone. Why cant we just play solid FUNDAMENTAL football! Couldn't decide to walk away and look at the score later or just keep being tortured.
Ugly as it was, the team went cross-country after a deflating loss and found a way to grind out a conference win (insert Wilcoxian cliche about winning being hard and the opponent having some darn good players here).
The good: thought Hutchings called a great game. The blitz packages were effective and we generated pressure in key moments which led to Angeli’s mistakes. Pass protection seemed improved, especially with Klisiewicz coming in after halftime. Adam Mohammed is a beast. The run blocking is non-existent and he turns plays that look dead in the water into modest gains through brut force and sheer will; we are lucky to have him. Lopa and Tuitele consistently made plays on defense and this is a different outcome without them. Tackling looked improved.
The bad: Run blocking is… bad. Mental errors on defense - too many coverage busts, defenders taking bad angles and allowing chunk plays that should be stopped. Receiver play has been unacceptably bad; these guys have to be better. Not enough separation and too many drops. That ball JKS threw on the 3rd and 20 in the 4th quarter was a dime and has to be caught… period. Mason Mini is probably the most reliable target and needs to be more involved in the passing game. What is going on with Quaron Adams? Dudes a burner and hasn’t even sniffed the field. Somerville and co. have work to do to get this offense clicking.
All if he would play Rogers some, because he has excellent hands, speed, and jumping ability, maybe we'd have fewer drops and better run patterns.
How many times was our defense waiting for the play call and not ready to play when Syracuse snapped the ball? Way to many times. We got lucky on one where we were not close to being lined up and we ended up with a fumble.
We got that fumble, yes—but because of a brain fart, the team had too many men on the field and it was nullified. 😬
The announcers has some very harsh words for the 12 men on the field. It's really embarrassing and was potentially costly! Ranks up there with having 2 with the same number on the field!
If the end of the 2009 Big Game is any indication, the Bears do better with 10 men on the field, tbh…
Dammit Rugbear I was trying to talk myself into some level of positivity! I noticed this a couple times but didn’t recognize it to be a recurring problem. Clearly I need to re-watch the game. Appreciate your above breakdown of the OL issues, that’s good insight and… yikes.