39 Comments

On my I-5 drive north yesterday, stopped listening at the missed FG and switched to Husky-Duck game, which was entertaining plus no irritation factor. Then the Beaver Bruin tilt which was satisfying.

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It just wasn't the inability of the offense to move the ball against the talented Utes defense. But, the inability of the Cal coaching staff especially the Defensive coaches to corral the elusive Utes QB. The CAL secondary was covering their receivers with a blanket. But, they couldn't contain the QB from running for a ton of First downs. The Cal coaching should have placed a spy on the QB to limit his ability to run as much as he did to get the Utes out of trouble.

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Not to mention a bit of procedure for corralling a runaway QB, who might cut back inside, while the defenders overshoot.

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If I remember correctly the Defense only rushed 3 most of the time keeping the coverage in the secondary. The Utes O line were able to keep D line at bay . This gave Barnes all the time to scramble and when a gap opened up He was on his way because most defensive players were way down field in coverage

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Something short on our coaching.

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Fun Fact: Jack Velling is a go-to for 2 or more TD passes as UCLA defense gets torched. Sound familiar?

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if we kept getting sacked.. doesn't it make sense to create some quick slants and cuts to provide Mendoza some quick release targets? I know I am simplifying things but the man was being sacked left and right. Put him in a position he can succeed or at least not go backwards.. literally.

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Tell me, how many times was he sacked.

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Without looking, I want to say 2-3.

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It’s frustrating because it’s like we are playing in the SEC of a few years ago (RIP PAC12) but we are unable to capitalize on any opportunities to experience that glory for ourselves. The fact that it is the last year of it and we aren’t riding the high is really a gut punch.

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I couldn’t watch game, why did Finley come in?

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Mendoza got crushed on a sack and came off the field

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Yeah, I kind of wondered if that was a payback for our lineman running into and some other rough tackles on their QB.

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Yes. He had some difficulties.

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Looks like we aren't the only team in the conference with s**t kickoff coverage. SC just let ND take one to the house.

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Oct 15, 2023·edited Oct 15, 2023

I like Justin Wilcox a lot and I think he caught a tough break at Cal but I don't see any way out of this misery without a reboot.

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Wilcox didn’t catch a tough break. He has been given more resources and time than he probably deserves.

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Sure, he's a good guy personally. High character. Treats people right.

But, what is so "tough" about him making bank at Cal? Any place else and he'd have been fired years ago. It's a good thing that we don't play Fresno State as a certain HC in the Valley would coach rings around Justin.

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And he was fired at Cal by that terrible AD, Sandy Barbour because of a bad season and he didn't have the contract which would have protected him.

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Already has.

Fresno State Football > Cal football

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I think JW is overrated. Honestly, we have better talent than our coaching shows.

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I'm even more bored by Wilcox than usual.

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‘Maybe we should recruit better and coach ‘em up.’ Thanks again JW

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We have the talent, we're consistently out coached.

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Where did you get the info on our talent being good. IT'S NOT! And, we lost our best O lineman last week, number 71 (I still can't remember how to spell his name)He was the guy who consistently opened holes in the right A gap. Our WR's are really 2nd class to the rest of the conference. And, our DB"s are also. It's hard to recruit transfers when they have to have above a 3 point to get in. Stanford has the same problem. Other un named schools just have to have them be enrolled without any grade requirements.

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Well, no argument that we’re holding the academic country club snob line to our own detriment. Yes, we could be better off with a roster loaded with 5 stars. But, I also, try to show faith in the people we have. Especially since more than one player probably reads this.

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Our talent level isn't close to Oregon or Washington or SC, but we should be able to hang with Utah and Oregon State.

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Oregon State has great talent. Their QB transfer was named player of the week in the PAC12 last week. Look what they did this week.

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Welp. Good coaching equalizes, when our talent is as close as it is. Today, we made Utah's backup QB look great.

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The >70-yard TD by a safety-turned-RB on a clear running play should have ended the Wilcox era.

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A cumulative weight of such blunders, yes, but not by itself.

The trouble is, there's always something.

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Utah didn't limit Mendoza, they limited our o-line who could not protect the poor kid.

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and the Line domination (both sides) also 'limited' our run game: 66 yards rushing is not gonna cut it.

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Not when you give up 300+

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Agreed, that's why I mentioned thier Line domination on both sides of the ball.

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Uggh. Feeling a bit burned after daring to hope for an upset against Utah.

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Your last sentence. BINGO.

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