The Pac 12 is very competitive this season so I don't think having one loss is going to keep us out of the conference championship game. However our national title aspirations took a hit today.
Competitive, yes, but we're definitely not in that competitive tier of teams. We should (hopefully) beat Colorado and Stanfurd, but that puts us at 5 wins - where do we get the 6th win? Unless there are catastrophic injuries, I just don't see us upsetting UW, Oregon, U$C, or UCLA. Oregon State looks competent and that game is on the road - can't depend on their QB to throw 4 picks a game.
Imagine this: We become cupcakes on Wazzu and Oregon State's schedule in the Mountain West, as they basically continue to recruit the same players and coach them up while our recruiting freefalls and team goes into chaos before working back up into a perennial .500 MWC team.
To offset crippling stadium costs and low football attendance, Cal leadership has, in the past ten years, elected to make Memorial Stadium a dedicated event venue, while Cal football, since then, makes its home in Evans field, but playing only on days that do not conflict with the soccer teams.
Well, that may be too American. By then, Berkeley may be an Americana-free zone. I was thinking of things like Marxist rallies, book burnings, re-education camps, et cetera.
Easily the worst coached game I've ever seen. Be it in the Wilcox era or any era prior.
From the mid-first quarter to mid-second quarter we had empty set 1st and 10 on offense. For at least 5 possessions (no i'm not going back to count them). WTF??? Only to top that with 2nd and long with a RB (obvious pass situation)?? WTF?? Musgrave has to go. Hell, how many times did Plummer raise his hands in confusion while looking at the sideline. He KNEW the play calling sucked. We, while watching, called the next stupid play Musgrave was going to call. Musgrave has to go.
Defense, not much better. No pass rush on obvious rush downs. Defensive coaching / play calling was fucking horrid during this game.
The undersigned called it a Cal loss in the first quarter (see above on offensive play calling).
The coaching lost this game, plain and simple. Not complicated Cal fans. Wilcox has to fire a coach, in-season, to prove he is in charge of this program.
An example, how long has it taken Angus to stop playing vets or mixing up an OL? Answer: forever. Angus should be gone. Wilcox needs to manage his program more from a selfish prospective: "I like to be paid millions of dollars per year" versus loving his staff ad nauseum.
I don't believe in these assistants which will lead to a conclusion that the leadership (leader) isn't the right guy for the position.
A lot of coaches aren't scared of making a midseason change to send a message to the staff that they are in control and care about winning. Wilcox rewards mediocrity.
Year 6 under Wilcox and we get a shit performance like that? Guy is worthless, and refuses to fire his underperforming position coaches. Head coach accepts mediocrity, and our worthless AD rewards mediocrity. Absolute fucking embarrassment.
We clearly turned the corner last week, and saw what happens when players execute in Musgrave's multidimensional offense, and the O-line gets nasty. A lot of you Musgrave haters were finally eating crow last week. This week (like most others) is what happens when the players dont execute in Musgrave's multidimensional offense. It's not the head coach's or offensive coordinator's fault that the offensive players don't execute on offense!
Alternate theory: This game was thrown just to make the Arizona defense look that much worse.
We’ve had one half of good offensive football this season. Year six and we can’t recruit or develop an offensive line that can keep our quarterback upright. A lot of you Wilcox/Musgrave apologists need to get your head out of the sand and expect more for +/-$5 million a year.
What I mean is, if we had a depth issue on the defensive line and had to worry about injuries and try to find ways to keep our starters fresh, why would we leave our best interior d-lineman out on the field, hands on hips, gasping for air, to play an extra down on special teams?
As we all know by now, whenever Cal turns a corner, it desperately searches for more corners to turn—the proverbial 360 degrees that Jason Kidd promised to bring to Cal…
I was being sarcastic.. A gentle ribbing at the expense of Rug who posted an "I told you so" type of comment to the Musgrave critics after the Arizona win last week and used some of the same words.
Was thinking the same thing. For every good game he calls, there are 3-4 other games that are terrible. Add this one to the list. Have never been a Musgrave fan. Bad hire.
6 wins was always the ceiling...Gonna have to win one you're not supposed to...this was a chance, Corvallis is a chance. 3-2 is pretty much going according to script.
But anything better than 6-6 was gonna need more consistent QB play, which they're not getting.
I think we maybe focus too much on ourselves sometimes. Wazzu’s defense is good, and Arizona’s is bad. Hence the variation in offensive performance over the past two games.
I agree re QB though. He is fine, but he is not going to win us any games. He’s so Wilcoxian. How about a Tedfordian QB?
How much longer does Cal give Wilcox? 6 years in and the offense is as inept as ever and we have been surpassed by WSU and probably OSU at this point.
6 years and this program is stagnant under Wilcox. Recruiting is terrible right now. We need to fire the offensive staff and start over again for the 3rd time.
Right because I’m the only one that comes to the post game threads and says such things.
While I will continue to come to the post game thread, I will take some of your advice. I will stop being critical of Wilcox, Musgrave and the coaching staff. I won’t leave a Wikipedia post because that’s not my thing and it’s another posters MO. I’ll just leave this link from now on.
I'm not an advocate for either side. I like Wilcox but I don't mind a change. Leaning more on hoping Wilcox can turn the program around side still. That said
"And that gets us to a bowl, which gets us more practices. Wilcox needs to change his OC and find one that doesn't just ball control"
Please read my earlier post on empty set backfields on 1st and 10. That's bad coaching / play calling. No one does that if they want to win a game. On defense, they can't find any pressure on the QB, that's bad coaching. Coaches are paid NOT to make great calls but to protect their inefficiencies. Neither the OC or DC could do that in this game. Full stop.
I for one, and I think I speak for most of the more vociferous critics of this regime, at least the ones I know, have never once confused Cal for being a blue blood...not even when we had Tedford. The administrative/institutional hurdles alone make that a non-starter, just like the Rose Bowl...I remain enamored with the Sun Bowl, which basically requires a 6 or 7 win season...f-ing El Paso should not be some unrealistic goal.
However, you do not need to be an elite program to go 7-5 and bowl, which should be a lock in year 6 with an HC of Wilcox's character. You do not need to be a blue blood to have a competent, league average offense at the collegiate level, which is something Wilcox has categorically been unable to do for 6 seasons now. Unfortunately, it will likely result in a parade of transfers at the end of this season, as well - I am not sure how anyone can have confidence in Cal's ability to retain the services of Jaydn Ott, J. Michael Sturdivant and Jeremiah Hunter in this era of the transfer portal, let alone the NIL, where Cal is at an almost comically decided disadvantage. It's naive to think these kids will not be at least entertaining the portal. My fear is that lower-tier teams like Cal will/have basically become the minor leagues for the elite programs - there is too much evidence in the short time the portal has been in place.
Plus, the days of an HC being able to develop players over their collegiate careers are pretty much gone, thanks to the portal/NIL. Kids with NFL aspirations want to put up numbers and be showcased - Cal doesn't do that. Getting rid of Musgrave and Angus just further muddies the continuity, as well, but unfortunately it may be necessary for Wilcox - after the puzzling extension, he's not going anywhere.
What's the answer? Who knows - Chris Petersen or Sean Payton aren't walking through that door...but I've watched pretty much every play of the past 4 years of Cal football under Justin Wilcox, and refuse to believe that it's delusional to expect more from this staff - f-ing Tulane won a game at Houston last night with it's 3rd string QB, who slung the rock all over the field! But this is just bad football, both schematically and execution wise, plain and simple, and Wilcox's pressers after each uninspired road performance grow stale.
WHEN HELPLESS IS ALIGNED WITH HOPELESS.. WE NOW HAVE A SENCE OF HOW THE CAL BEAR CAN NOW BE JUDGED MINCMEAT FOR ALL THE OTHER TEAMS THEY HAVE TO PLAY THIS YEAR! MAYBE OSKI HAS SOMETING HE HAS YET TO SHARE WITH US OLD SADDENED BLUES. SHUCKS!!
So a question for the Wilcox die hards: are you content with the fact that in year 6, and after two OC's, Cal is SO much closer to being the worst team in the P12 than they are being the best?
Seriously, watching Colorado in Tucson - the Buffs could give the Bears O fits at Folsom...
Has to be. I really like him and want him to be successful but Jesus this extension is looking bad especially with cut media rights on the horizon. Cal in a bad spot right now.
Cal fans are in a bad spot. Cal will probably end up in the B1G, stay afloat financially, and be happy as a perennial bottom feeder with a 4-5 win ceiling.
No earthly reason why the B1G wants Cal, unless there is a ground swell by Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana, and maybe Northwestern to bring in a team they can expect to beat.
If they’re interested in keeping up the farce of “academics” as it pertains to college athletics, at least in terms of the revenue sports, then Cal absolutely makes sense for the B1G. If they’re interested in a 6 team Western division, then it also absolutely makes sense. If they’re interested in the Olympic sports, then it absolutely makes sense.
I think there are good reasons provided the revenue distribution isn't equal. If indeed further expanding, they'd want to have more west coast teams to play each other with USC+UCLA. Cal+Stanford would be no-brainers, again provided a new revenue model.
Guy turned down a program with actual standards and expectations to get a raise and extension from a program with neither standards or expectations. What a sweet gig.
The Pac 12 is very competitive this season so I don't think having one loss is going to keep us out of the conference championship game. However our national title aspirations took a hit today.
Competitive, yes, but we're definitely not in that competitive tier of teams. We should (hopefully) beat Colorado and Stanfurd, but that puts us at 5 wins - where do we get the 6th win? Unless there are catastrophic injuries, I just don't see us upsetting UW, Oregon, U$C, or UCLA. Oregon State looks competent and that game is on the road - can't depend on their QB to throw 4 picks a game.
My, my people do take everything seriously these days.
duh
Yeah, the Bears taking one up (in) the Wazzu had no impact what so ever on their National Title (or even CFP berth) prospects.
Maybe we don’t want Bama just yet.
Quite the contrary, now is the perfect time. They overlook us, then: sneak attack.
Yep. It could look like the Eastern Washington at Florida game, where the Eagles had an early lead.
Wrong attitude. 13-2. Go Bears.
Today was evidence that we could not make the PAC 6 Championship.
Imagine this: We become cupcakes on Wazzu and Oregon State's schedule in the Mountain West, as they basically continue to recruit the same players and coach them up while our recruiting freefalls and team goes into chaos before working back up into a perennial .500 MWC team.
Only if this is demonstrated with actual cupcakes during the game broadcast on their sidelines.
Yes, restore our mediocrity, now.
Flash, ahead, twenty years:
To offset crippling stadium costs and low football attendance, Cal leadership has, in the past ten years, elected to make Memorial Stadium a dedicated event venue, while Cal football, since then, makes its home in Evans field, but playing only on days that do not conflict with the soccer teams.
A truly possible scenario! Events might include the National baton twirling championships
Well, that may be too American. By then, Berkeley may be an Americana-free zone. I was thinking of things like Marxist rallies, book burnings, re-education camps, et cetera.
Easily the worst coached game I've ever seen. Be it in the Wilcox era or any era prior.
From the mid-first quarter to mid-second quarter we had empty set 1st and 10 on offense. For at least 5 possessions (no i'm not going back to count them). WTF??? Only to top that with 2nd and long with a RB (obvious pass situation)?? WTF?? Musgrave has to go. Hell, how many times did Plummer raise his hands in confusion while looking at the sideline. He KNEW the play calling sucked. We, while watching, called the next stupid play Musgrave was going to call. Musgrave has to go.
Defense, not much better. No pass rush on obvious rush downs. Defensive coaching / play calling was fucking horrid during this game.
The undersigned called it a Cal loss in the first quarter (see above on offensive play calling).
The coaching lost this game, plain and simple. Not complicated Cal fans. Wilcox has to fire a coach, in-season, to prove he is in charge of this program.
An example, how long has it taken Angus to stop playing vets or mixing up an OL? Answer: forever. Angus should be gone. Wilcox needs to manage his program more from a selfish prospective: "I like to be paid millions of dollars per year" versus loving his staff ad nauseum.
I don't believe in these assistants which will lead to a conclusion that the leadership (leader) isn't the right guy for the position.
Run the god damn ball until/if they take it away from you.
Good to hear from you, GEAT!!
A lot of coaches aren't scared of making a midseason change to send a message to the staff that they are in control and care about winning. Wilcox rewards mediocrity.
Depressed
FIRE WILCOX
FIRE MUSGRAVE
FIRE KNOWLTON
This was such a demoralizing L because at NO time did I think we were going to win this football game.
At Wazzu...as 4 point dogs. With this O, I just had NO faith.
Too...many...punts. Always.
Year 6 under Wilcox and we get a shit performance like that? Guy is worthless, and refuses to fire his underperforming position coaches. Head coach accepts mediocrity, and our worthless AD rewards mediocrity. Absolute fucking embarrassment.
We clearly turned the corner last week, and saw what happens when players execute in Musgrave's multidimensional offense, and the O-line gets nasty. A lot of you Musgrave haters were finally eating crow last week. This week (like most others) is what happens when the players dont execute in Musgrave's multidimensional offense. It's not the head coach's or offensive coordinator's fault that the offensive players don't execute on offense!
Alternate theory: This game was thrown just to make the Arizona defense look that much worse.
EDIT: This whole post was a sarcastic joke
We’ve had one half of good offensive football this season. Year six and we can’t recruit or develop an offensive line that can keep our quarterback upright. A lot of you Wilcox/Musgrave apologists need to get your head out of the sand and expect more for +/-$5 million a year.
(i was being ironical)
Thank god, ok I reread and can kind of see it now. Currently blinded by anger right now, my bad.
I almost had an aneurysm
We’re in year 6, a lack of depth is a recruiting and talent development issues. Period.
Injuries....
RE: D-Line being short handed. If that was the case, why would we have Ethan Saunders playing on the Punt Return Team?
What I mean is, if we had a depth issue on the defensive line and had to worry about injuries and try to find ways to keep our starters fresh, why would we leave our best interior d-lineman out on the field, hands on hips, gasping for air, to play an extra down on special teams?
Does he get a bonus for punting?
Double bonus w/ stock options.
Jeez
“We clearly turned the corner…”
As we all know by now, whenever Cal turns a corner, it desperately searches for more corners to turn—the proverbial 360 degrees that Jason Kidd promised to bring to Cal…
I respectfully disagree, Musgrave (and Sirmon) called a very bad game. This was a coaching loss.
I was being sarcastic.. A gentle ribbing at the expense of Rug who posted an "I told you so" type of comment to the Musgrave critics after the Arizona win last week and used some of the same words.
Was thinking the same thing. For every good game he calls, there are 3-4 other games that are terrible. Add this one to the list. Have never been a Musgrave fan. Bad hire.
The bowl game eligibility is very dicey. CU, hopefully Stanford… but another 5-7 or 4–8 year looking likely.
6 wins was always the ceiling...Gonna have to win one you're not supposed to...this was a chance, Corvallis is a chance. 3-2 is pretty much going according to script.
But anything better than 6-6 was gonna need more consistent QB play, which they're not getting.
I think we maybe focus too much on ourselves sometimes. Wazzu’s defense is good, and Arizona’s is bad. Hence the variation in offensive performance over the past two games.
I agree re QB though. He is fine, but he is not going to win us any games. He’s so Wilcoxian. How about a Tedfordian QB?
How much longer does Cal give Wilcox? 6 years in and the offense is as inept as ever and we have been surpassed by WSU and probably OSU at this point.
6 years and this program is stagnant under Wilcox. Recruiting is terrible right now. We need to fire the offensive staff and start over again for the 3rd time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Taylor_(American_football)
I feel like every Cal fan should email that Wikipedia link to Knowlton.
We will all be GB49
I don't want all of us to become a troll
It's the inevitable end game
Beer me the email address.
You act like I’m the only one in this thread or the game thread saying this or asking this question.
I am not even advocating firing anyone mid season. 6 seasons is a reasonable amount of time to give a HC.
Absolutely fair.
I'd encourage you not to come to the post game thread with the same exact take each week.
Or you can but just be sure to include the wiki when you do
Right because I’m the only one that comes to the post game threads and says such things.
While I will continue to come to the post game thread, I will take some of your advice. I will stop being critical of Wilcox, Musgrave and the coaching staff. I won’t leave a Wikipedia post because that’s not my thing and it’s another posters MO. I’ll just leave this link from now on.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/justin-wilcox-1.html
But this link does not list out the detailed history of Wilcox's coaching career!!
Nor does it give you the full context of his “Early Life”, “Playing Career”, “Family” and sadly it even omits his middle name Draper.
What's your take on the state of the program, alpha?
It's not illogical to have questions about Wilcox.
I'm not an advocate for either side. I like Wilcox but I don't mind a change. Leaning more on hoping Wilcox can turn the program around side still. That said
"And that gets us to a bowl, which gets us more practices. Wilcox needs to change his OC and find one that doesn't just ball control"
Didn't we already do 2~3 years ago?
Please read my earlier post on empty set backfields on 1st and 10. That's bad coaching / play calling. No one does that if they want to win a game. On defense, they can't find any pressure on the QB, that's bad coaching. Coaches are paid NOT to make great calls but to protect their inefficiencies. Neither the OC or DC could do that in this game. Full stop.
That's very fair.
I for one, and I think I speak for most of the more vociferous critics of this regime, at least the ones I know, have never once confused Cal for being a blue blood...not even when we had Tedford. The administrative/institutional hurdles alone make that a non-starter, just like the Rose Bowl...I remain enamored with the Sun Bowl, which basically requires a 6 or 7 win season...f-ing El Paso should not be some unrealistic goal.
However, you do not need to be an elite program to go 7-5 and bowl, which should be a lock in year 6 with an HC of Wilcox's character. You do not need to be a blue blood to have a competent, league average offense at the collegiate level, which is something Wilcox has categorically been unable to do for 6 seasons now. Unfortunately, it will likely result in a parade of transfers at the end of this season, as well - I am not sure how anyone can have confidence in Cal's ability to retain the services of Jaydn Ott, J. Michael Sturdivant and Jeremiah Hunter in this era of the transfer portal, let alone the NIL, where Cal is at an almost comically decided disadvantage. It's naive to think these kids will not be at least entertaining the portal. My fear is that lower-tier teams like Cal will/have basically become the minor leagues for the elite programs - there is too much evidence in the short time the portal has been in place.
Plus, the days of an HC being able to develop players over their collegiate careers are pretty much gone, thanks to the portal/NIL. Kids with NFL aspirations want to put up numbers and be showcased - Cal doesn't do that. Getting rid of Musgrave and Angus just further muddies the continuity, as well, but unfortunately it may be necessary for Wilcox - after the puzzling extension, he's not going anywhere.
What's the answer? Who knows - Chris Petersen or Sean Payton aren't walking through that door...but I've watched pretty much every play of the past 4 years of Cal football under Justin Wilcox, and refuse to believe that it's delusional to expect more from this staff - f-ing Tulane won a game at Houston last night with it's 3rd string QB, who slung the rock all over the field! But this is just bad football, both schematically and execution wise, plain and simple, and Wilcox's pressers after each uninspired road performance grow stale.
Respectfully...
Like clockwork
As constant as a 3 and out for Cals offense under Musgrave.
What does that have to do with The Boomtown Rats?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like_Clockwork
Why isn’t that a Troy Taylor Wikipedia link?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia
Fire Wilcox.
WHEN HELPLESS IS ALIGNED WITH HOPELESS.. WE NOW HAVE A SENCE OF HOW THE CAL BEAR CAN NOW BE JUDGED MINCMEAT FOR ALL THE OTHER TEAMS THEY HAVE TO PLAY THIS YEAR! MAYBE OSKI HAS SOMETING HE HAS YET TO SHARE WITH US OLD SADDENED BLUES. SHUCKS!!
HERE, HERE, GERALD!
Fuck sake even San Diego State knows enough to fire its OC in-season. C'mon Wilcox?!?
Their offense is terrible. They only had 33 yards passing last night and only have 290 passing yards for the season.
So a question for the Wilcox die hards: are you content with the fact that in year 6, and after two OC's, Cal is SO much closer to being the worst team in the P12 than they are being the best?
Seriously, watching Colorado in Tucson - the Buffs could give the Bears O fits at Folsom...
Can we just elevate an AI as our play caller? Can we hire IBMs Watson to be our play-caller for a game or two?
Deep Blue would be a good name for a Cal AI that just calls go routes.
That was an unpleasant regression from last week.
Why offense so bad over two coordinators. I wish I could be a fly on the wall in coaches meetings to see what the hell is said.
It’s Wilcox.
Has to be. I really like him and want him to be successful but Jesus this extension is looking bad especially with cut media rights on the horizon. Cal in a bad spot right now.
Cal fans are in a bad spot. Cal will probably end up in the B1G, stay afloat financially, and be happy as a perennial bottom feeder with a 4-5 win ceiling.
But hey, it's a clean program, so they got that going for them, which is nice.
We've still got MBB. . . Oh, wait.
They played a couple of exhibitions in Europe and nary a word was even mentioned about it.
Worse yet, our boy Sam Alajiki was an afterthought…does not bode well for this year.
No earthly reason why the B1G wants Cal, unless there is a ground swell by Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana, and maybe Northwestern to bring in a team they can expect to beat.
If they’re interested in keeping up the farce of “academics” as it pertains to college athletics, at least in terms of the revenue sports, then Cal absolutely makes sense for the B1G. If they’re interested in a 6 team Western division, then it also absolutely makes sense. If they’re interested in the Olympic sports, then it absolutely makes sense.
Absent those, then no, it appears a long shot.
I think there are good reasons provided the revenue distribution isn't equal. If indeed further expanding, they'd want to have more west coast teams to play each other with USC+UCLA. Cal+Stanford would be no-brainers, again provided a new revenue model.
Guy turned down a program with actual standards and expectations to get a raise and extension from a program with neither standards or expectations. What a sweet gig.
Phil Knight vs Travers Family. A no brainer!
Musgrave is inflexible and unintelligent. Time to make a change.
You probably wouldnt see much
what a terrible game.
Arizona D is garbage.