checking in...I was in Seattle and my family up there doesn't watch sports at all...so, late in the 3rd quarter I pulled up the game on my phone and Cal was just blowing UCLA off the line. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! That was an epic game for a now 6-6 team.
I think really only Bears fans can digest what that meant to us and the program. I mean, I had left this team and pretty much the program for dead only a few short weeks ago, and now it feels very different. I hope that the players, etc, feel the same and return for more.
I understand your view. Cal will never be Michigan, Texas but perhaps UNC. UNC has been up and down in football, and Cal can have that type of program. But to be consistently a dominating program will be difficult in the reality of admissions at Cal.
Wow, tough room. Let's rejoice! I can't remember the last time Cal played a complete game like this drubbing of ucla. Mendoza? shades of Mike Palowski. Uluave? must be channeling Evan Weaver. Jayden Ott? every stellar Cal running back that came before. All these young men, and their coaches, deserve our applause and kudos. And, we can all enjoy saying "on to the bowl game!"
"It's safe to say that Cal would not be going bowling without Ott." It might also be safe to say that Cal would not be going bowling without the early shoulder injury to Garbers. UCLA's elite defense just needed a quarterback to be efficient, and they did not get that when Dante Moore entered the game. His bad footwork and lack of pocket presence tubed the Bruins.
It's about time that Cal got that kind of break to influence an outcome. I still bitterly remember Dave Barr breaking his collarbone in a home game against Washington 30 years ago and ruining Cal's chances to go to the Rose Bowl. Or Nate Longshore rolling his ankle late in the epic 2007 Oregon win and ending Cal's bid to claim the number one ranking in the country the following week. I find myself softening a bit on Wilcox now. He indeed kept the team focused on the bowl prize. And his play call (or allowing the play call) to send Hunter into the end zone on Cal's final touchdown showed some elan that was not present in his thinking in previous seasons. I pray that he has turned some kind of hopeful corner.
Agree on the Garbers injury—-that kid looks good. And I still wince on the Longshore-injury season! We were going to be ranked #1 if we win against OSU, but Riley ended that dream
It's often forgotten that Pac-10 refs actually played a key role for how the final sequence played out against the Beavers...
Late in the 1st half, Cal had taken a 14-10 lead on OSU, and kicked off to the Beavers. As Tedford would maddingly do, he had Andrew Larson squib a kick which gave OSU some favorable field position (their own 42) even though there were only 37 seconds left in the half. Oregon State's QB, Sean Canfield, on 1st down, immediately hit a 17-yard completion to set the Beavers up on Cal's 35. But then the Cal defense held, helped by an OSU penalty, which pushed them back to the Cal 41. Facing a 3rd and 15, Canfield scrambled and hit Yvenson Bernard with an 11-yard completion, which put the Beavers into range for a FG try. Except replays at the time showed that Canfield, while scrambling, actually crossed the LOS, and the pass should have been ruled an illegal forward pass. But it wasn't, and to this day, I can't recall the reasons why Tedford couldn't challenge the original call. Regardless, now on the Cal 35, the Beavers hit a 52-yard FG to end the half and draw the Beavers to within a single point, 14-13.
Now imagine if Canfield's pass was disallowed, and the teams head into the half with the 14-10 score. All things play out the same from that point on, and suddenly those final seconds aren't happening in a 31-28 deficit, it's a 28-28 tie. Riley no longer has to scramble, Cal would instead have a enough time to try to win the game from inside the Beaver red zone.
But that didn't happen, and we're left with Riley's "scramble", but while it seems convenient to simply focus upon that, there were amazing things that occurred *prior* that got Cal in that position in the first place. In fact, I'd argue that Riley's game play (and Lavelle Hawkins) in those final 3:15 seconds, were among the most heroic in Cal football history--he very nearly pulled out a win, after being down 31-21. Consider that while Riley went 20/24 for 294 yards on the day, over those final, painful minutes, the kid was a veritable gunslinger, going 6/10 for 149 yards, which included a 64-yard catch and run for a touchdown to Lavelle Hawkins that cut OSU's lead to 31-28 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. But then, on that final drive, with a 1:19 left, Cal having been pinned on its own 6-yard line, Riley cut loose. First, there was an 18-yard strike to Hawk on 2nd down that took Cal out of the shadow of its own end zone. Cal was now out of time outs. Riley was sacked on 1st down, which pushed the ball back to the Cal 17. He had to spike the ball on 2nd down to stop the clock, and threw an incompletion on 3rd down. Facing a 4th and 17, Riley found Hawkins again--a dart for 19 yards to the Cal 36 and a 1st down. Then, after another spike, on 2nd down, with 25 seconds left, Riley found Robert Jordan steps ahead of his defender down the Cal sideline. He hit RoJo for 37 yards, but sadly, Riley didn't hit him in stride, and Jordan tumbled down to the OSU 27. At that point, after a pass interference call against the Beavers, we pretty much know how the rest went down.
Yes, Riley made a bad mistake by trying to make something happen over those final excrutiating seconds, but I've never blamed him for losing that game the way others have chosen to do so. In fact, if not for Riley's heroics, alongside those of Lavelle Hawkins, Cal never would have even been in any position to win that game at all. I'm not excusing his tragic error, but he very nearly pulled that game out, and deserves credit--given Tedford's fear of starting back-up QBs--for stepping in and balling out in the way in which he did.
I don't remember anything about the end of the first half. But I do remember it was one of the best performances I have seen from a QB. I still occasionally watch Kevin Riley highlights on YouTube and I love his performance from this game.
I feel like that day was when the curse came upon us….ever since then, we’ve struggled and struggled…few glimpses here and There through out the years but nothing compared to how we used to play pre-OSU ‘07 game.
I had set 6-6 as our ceiling for the season. We hit it and could have been as good as 9-3 in an alternate, though closely-related, timeline in a very tough conference.
The Wilcox question is irrelevant since we're still tied to him next year. But this team looks FAR better at times than I'd expected in its conference swan song. Really proud of what the team has accomplished.
I understand what you're saying, but while the outcome was about what was expected, the journey was not ok between pulling defeat from the jaws of victory for the close losses and the completely uncompetitive games (sigh, why did I choose this year to go to Washington?).
I see this a bit more glass half empty - I think the staff squandered what should have been a pretty decent to good team with poor coaching and poor decisions, particularly around the QB position.
Indeed, it turned out that we had more talent than we thought. We saw improvement on offense (including OL). I don't know why Mendoza was buried at number 3 when he's clearly the best QB so that's on the coaching staff. We definitely had some defensive stinker games.
It's overall a partial credit scenario. We were overall an uneven but decent team that could have been a very good team (great teams blew us out). Our actual ceiling was probably bottom half of the Top 25.
There are some guys though that are good because they thrive in the competition of a game, and Fernando seems like one of those to me. With those, no way to know if they are that good until you play them. Obviously would have been nice if it happened earlier, but I am glad it did eventually happen!
But how many years are you willing to accept a 6-6 record? Is mediocrity the new standard? And do you think with Wilcox at the helm we will get stellar recruits? No we won’t; we rank #64 for 2024 college football recruits (10 ACC schools even rank higher than Cal, and we play 7 of them next year). We are destined to be out- recruited every year that we keep Wilcox; I mean, be honest, would YOU come here to play under Wilcox if YOU were a 5 star or 4star recruit?
And Jaydn Ott—- love you bro, but you are going to be a SERIOUS HEISMAN CONTENDER next year. You will get a much smaller spotlight here than you would playing behind a monster O Line like Texas or Ole Miss, and next year alone Texas will play prime time tv games against the likes of Michigan, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and Texas A&M. I am NOT a fan of Texas but I do wish nothing but the best for Ott, and feel we will just hold him down if he stays. Look out for yourself, kid!
Until the grade criteria relax, no coach here will recruit lots of 4 or 5 stars.. At least Wilcox is accustomed to the grade straitjacket and looks for players who fit well (Uluave, Endries, Reese) instead of unproven teenagers with just pedigree.
You are SO right about the grade criteria. What's Oregon's? Probably just too be alive. So many of you Wilcox haters know nothing about it or how the NIL works. Mendoza, Ott, Uluave, etc. are here also for the education they will get at a great academic University.
I am not defending Wilcox in the least. We have him next year because we can't afford a buyout due to our financial situation. I thought we would be 4-8 with 6-6 as our ceiling and I'm just circling back to my preseason prediction.
Ott is an absolute stud. The NFL already knows about him and will evaluate him wherever he is. I certainly hope he's satisfied with the NIL (which I've been told is good but have no evidence) and playing situation and am glad he didn't jump last year.
Ott strikes me as a guy who has his eye on the future prize, the NFL. He loves being at Cal, he loves (and is loved by) his team, he's developing here and getting better every year. A lot of unknowns when you switch schools. If we can offer a competitive NIL deal I believe we have a good shot. He's going to be highly rated by pro scouts wherever he plays.
While we have had some truly stellar rb’s come out of Cal, I think (sadly) the kid might bolt for greener pastures. The times are changing, as Dylan said. Heck, college kids are even getting endorsements and commercials now while playing, and I don’t blame them. I REALLY REALLY love the kid, but I think he’d be foolish to stay with Wilcox. The spotlight tv games are Saturday mornings and afternoons; we won’t merit many of those, I fear.
Well, we're part of an ESPN conference now so they won't be deriding us for shits and giggles, and he's about to get a lot more visibility with us playing East Coast games.
The NFL scouts aren't just watching the spotlight TV games and Ott knows they'll see his film. Worth noting that almost the entire o comes back next year and AT & Spav are almost certainly staying, so he knows what he can look forward to here.
There was an extremely narrow path Wilcox and this team could walk for me to have confidence in him as the head coach next year. I am happy to say they managed to walk that path.
Rewatching the Ott kickoff return: there was certainly the initial burst through the hole. But when he got to open field, doesn't it look like he's coasting on like 2/3 speed while still pulling away from defenders?
He is lethal to defenses in open space. Later in the game, we saw very fast UCLA defenders grabbing air once he stopped getting blown up at the handoff.
I'm a track guy and know that when you are in top shape and fast, it is so easy to glide at high speeds. In fact, the best sprinters are the ones who relax their upper body, jaws bouncing around. Ott has next gear speed that may not be 10.2 100 meter speed but combined with his talent and toughness, makes him a true stud.
I think Justin Williams-Thomas deserves some love in the fUCLA win. I was not optimistic after losing Ifanse, but JWT put in some inspired short yardage gains. The guy always falls forward.
Also think we had more to play for (than UCLA) and that we finally fell on the good side of luck. Hoping they can harness that kind of energy (and good fortune) mid-season next year because that seems to be when the wheels usually fall off the bus.
I'm glad JWT stepped up after Ifanse's injury. What happened to Stredick? We stopped using him at all, which I don't mind, but Ott has been getting way more carries than he did earlier in the season. I'm also surprised Wilcox started using Ott on KO returns when the RB depth got thin. It paid off, but I am also scared of injuries.
Last game of the season with a bowl game on the line. You don't really need to worry about injuries. You have a few weeks to recover if you make a bowl, and if not, well you have all off-season to get healthy.
It was a joy to witness the most complete game of the Wilcox era.
These young men showed us the true meaning of OKG. A Wilcox guy possesses mental toughness, relishes hard work, and stays on task. It’s about grit, dedication, belief and trust. When everyone left them for dead, this team refused to quit and would not die.
Joe Kapp is smiling down from football heaven.
Finally, “Burn the boats. Burn the trees. Burn the city.” - is indeed the coldest line from Cal Football in a long time. Now it’s time to ‘Burn the Bowl’!
I like the line, but I don't really understand it. Why was WSU the boats? What is UCLA the city? (I don't really think of LA as a city, it's just a giant horrible sprawl with a rather insignificant downtown)
'When your army has crossed the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home.”
I had assumed the burn the boats with WSU as the same as the traditional sense of burning the bridges and leaves no recourse (because that was the first of the three "do or die" game), and then the trees and city are just continuing the theme (because each one was do or die also) and the kids just updated it with a different spin each week.
I'm of course not saying that LA is not a city, but that it doesn't feel like one to me. To me, 'real' cities have a certain density and energy like London or New York, and even SF (past and future, if not present). Obviously, LA has its own strengths and is well loved by many. My opinion about LA is just my opinion, nothing more. Sorry if I offended; perhaps I shouldn't have made the comment you replied to (if you can't say something nice...).
Maybe carry over from when their coach was a pirate.
Or the Cal game was their lifeboat to get to a bowl game since they were 4-5 coming in and the Apple Cup was one of their remaining games. So we burned the lifeboats
The incoming transfers have really helped carry the team, especially McMorris and offensive linemen. What happened to Hightower and Sergio Allen? I hoped they would be big time players but they didn't see the field trip except for a few minutes all season.
checking in...I was in Seattle and my family up there doesn't watch sports at all...so, late in the 3rd quarter I pulled up the game on my phone and Cal was just blowing UCLA off the line. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! That was an epic game for a now 6-6 team.
I think really only Bears fans can digest what that meant to us and the program. I mean, I had left this team and pretty much the program for dead only a few short weeks ago, and now it feels very different. I hope that the players, etc, feel the same and return for more.
I understand your view. Cal will never be Michigan, Texas but perhaps UNC. UNC has been up and down in football, and Cal can have that type of program. But to be consistently a dominating program will be difficult in the reality of admissions at Cal.
Wow, tough room. Let's rejoice! I can't remember the last time Cal played a complete game like this drubbing of ucla. Mendoza? shades of Mike Palowski. Uluave? must be channeling Evan Weaver. Jayden Ott? every stellar Cal running back that came before. All these young men, and their coaches, deserve our applause and kudos. And, we can all enjoy saying "on to the bowl game!"
All I can say is “THE BEAR WILL NOT QUIT, THE BEAR WILL NOT DIE!”
Ott, Reese, and Uluave close out the last Pac season with a bang, flying around real physical.
https://calbears.com/news/2023/11/27/football-cal-wins-another-trio-of-pac-12-player-of-the-week-honors.aspx
JOE KAPP SAID IT BEST,,,,,,,'The bear never dies!!!! GERBER
Actually he said, "The bear never quits, the bear never dies".
Re: Ott and NIL, transfer portal et al.
Just remember one of our more recent "studs" and what happened to him when he transferred to Georgia (yes, that Georgia) and then Auburn
Demetrious Robertson
Who is that again?
"It's safe to say that Cal would not be going bowling without Ott." It might also be safe to say that Cal would not be going bowling without the early shoulder injury to Garbers. UCLA's elite defense just needed a quarterback to be efficient, and they did not get that when Dante Moore entered the game. His bad footwork and lack of pocket presence tubed the Bruins.
It's about time that Cal got that kind of break to influence an outcome. I still bitterly remember Dave Barr breaking his collarbone in a home game against Washington 30 years ago and ruining Cal's chances to go to the Rose Bowl. Or Nate Longshore rolling his ankle late in the epic 2007 Oregon win and ending Cal's bid to claim the number one ranking in the country the following week. I find myself softening a bit on Wilcox now. He indeed kept the team focused on the bowl prize. And his play call (or allowing the play call) to send Hunter into the end zone on Cal's final touchdown showed some elan that was not present in his thinking in previous seasons. I pray that he has turned some kind of hopeful corner.
Agree on the Garbers injury—-that kid looks good. And I still wince on the Longshore-injury season! We were going to be ranked #1 if we win against OSU, but Riley ended that dream
It's often forgotten that Pac-10 refs actually played a key role for how the final sequence played out against the Beavers...
Late in the 1st half, Cal had taken a 14-10 lead on OSU, and kicked off to the Beavers. As Tedford would maddingly do, he had Andrew Larson squib a kick which gave OSU some favorable field position (their own 42) even though there were only 37 seconds left in the half. Oregon State's QB, Sean Canfield, on 1st down, immediately hit a 17-yard completion to set the Beavers up on Cal's 35. But then the Cal defense held, helped by an OSU penalty, which pushed them back to the Cal 41. Facing a 3rd and 15, Canfield scrambled and hit Yvenson Bernard with an 11-yard completion, which put the Beavers into range for a FG try. Except replays at the time showed that Canfield, while scrambling, actually crossed the LOS, and the pass should have been ruled an illegal forward pass. But it wasn't, and to this day, I can't recall the reasons why Tedford couldn't challenge the original call. Regardless, now on the Cal 35, the Beavers hit a 52-yard FG to end the half and draw the Beavers to within a single point, 14-13.
Now imagine if Canfield's pass was disallowed, and the teams head into the half with the 14-10 score. All things play out the same from that point on, and suddenly those final seconds aren't happening in a 31-28 deficit, it's a 28-28 tie. Riley no longer has to scramble, Cal would instead have a enough time to try to win the game from inside the Beaver red zone.
But that didn't happen, and we're left with Riley's "scramble", but while it seems convenient to simply focus upon that, there were amazing things that occurred *prior* that got Cal in that position in the first place. In fact, I'd argue that Riley's game play (and Lavelle Hawkins) in those final 3:15 seconds, were among the most heroic in Cal football history--he very nearly pulled out a win, after being down 31-21. Consider that while Riley went 20/24 for 294 yards on the day, over those final, painful minutes, the kid was a veritable gunslinger, going 6/10 for 149 yards, which included a 64-yard catch and run for a touchdown to Lavelle Hawkins that cut OSU's lead to 31-28 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. But then, on that final drive, with a 1:19 left, Cal having been pinned on its own 6-yard line, Riley cut loose. First, there was an 18-yard strike to Hawk on 2nd down that took Cal out of the shadow of its own end zone. Cal was now out of time outs. Riley was sacked on 1st down, which pushed the ball back to the Cal 17. He had to spike the ball on 2nd down to stop the clock, and threw an incompletion on 3rd down. Facing a 4th and 17, Riley found Hawkins again--a dart for 19 yards to the Cal 36 and a 1st down. Then, after another spike, on 2nd down, with 25 seconds left, Riley found Robert Jordan steps ahead of his defender down the Cal sideline. He hit RoJo for 37 yards, but sadly, Riley didn't hit him in stride, and Jordan tumbled down to the OSU 27. At that point, after a pass interference call against the Beavers, we pretty much know how the rest went down.
Yes, Riley made a bad mistake by trying to make something happen over those final excrutiating seconds, but I've never blamed him for losing that game the way others have chosen to do so. In fact, if not for Riley's heroics, alongside those of Lavelle Hawkins, Cal never would have even been in any position to win that game at all. I'm not excusing his tragic error, but he very nearly pulled that game out, and deserves credit--given Tedford's fear of starting back-up QBs--for stepping in and balling out in the way in which he did.
Challenge? I don't think coaches can challenge in college football.
I don't remember anything about the end of the first half. But I do remember it was one of the best performances I have seen from a QB. I still occasionally watch Kevin Riley highlights on YouTube and I love his performance from this game.
I don't remember much about that game for a few reasons: mental trauma and liquids used to cope with mental trauma.
Welcome back, Bob!
DONT REMIND ME OF THIS DAY 😭😭😭😭
I feel like that day was when the curse came upon us….ever since then, we’ve struggled and struggled…few glimpses here and There through out the years but nothing compared to how we used to play pre-OSU ‘07 game.
there was (and maybe still is) a youtube video titled "the long slow decline of the university of california" with the riley scramble....
I had set 6-6 as our ceiling for the season. We hit it and could have been as good as 9-3 in an alternate, though closely-related, timeline in a very tough conference.
The Wilcox question is irrelevant since we're still tied to him next year. But this team looks FAR better at times than I'd expected in its conference swan song. Really proud of what the team has accomplished.
I understand what you're saying, but while the outcome was about what was expected, the journey was not ok between pulling defeat from the jaws of victory for the close losses and the completely uncompetitive games (sigh, why did I choose this year to go to Washington?).
I see this a bit more glass half empty - I think the staff squandered what should have been a pretty decent to good team with poor coaching and poor decisions, particularly around the QB position.
Indeed, it turned out that we had more talent than we thought. We saw improvement on offense (including OL). I don't know why Mendoza was buried at number 3 when he's clearly the best QB so that's on the coaching staff. We definitely had some defensive stinker games.
It's overall a partial credit scenario. We were overall an uneven but decent team that could have been a very good team (great teams blew us out). Our actual ceiling was probably bottom half of the Top 25.
There are some guys though that are good because they thrive in the competition of a game, and Fernando seems like one of those to me. With those, no way to know if they are that good until you play them. Obviously would have been nice if it happened earlier, but I am glad it did eventually happen!
For sure. We got that Brock Purdy luck.
But how many years are you willing to accept a 6-6 record? Is mediocrity the new standard? And do you think with Wilcox at the helm we will get stellar recruits? No we won’t; we rank #64 for 2024 college football recruits (10 ACC schools even rank higher than Cal, and we play 7 of them next year). We are destined to be out- recruited every year that we keep Wilcox; I mean, be honest, would YOU come here to play under Wilcox if YOU were a 5 star or 4star recruit?
And Jaydn Ott—- love you bro, but you are going to be a SERIOUS HEISMAN CONTENDER next year. You will get a much smaller spotlight here than you would playing behind a monster O Line like Texas or Ole Miss, and next year alone Texas will play prime time tv games against the likes of Michigan, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and Texas A&M. I am NOT a fan of Texas but I do wish nothing but the best for Ott, and feel we will just hold him down if he stays. Look out for yourself, kid!
Until the grade criteria relax, no coach here will recruit lots of 4 or 5 stars.. At least Wilcox is accustomed to the grade straitjacket and looks for players who fit well (Uluave, Endries, Reese) instead of unproven teenagers with just pedigree.
You are SO right about the grade criteria. What's Oregon's? Probably just too be alive. So many of you Wilcox haters know nothing about it or how the NIL works. Mendoza, Ott, Uluave, etc. are here also for the education they will get at a great academic University.
This year was a gauntlet so 6-6 is a passing grade to me.
6 wins next year would be completely unacceptable.
Takes a village. Maybe the record reflects more about a lack of institutional support than it does about the HC.
I am not defending Wilcox in the least. We have him next year because we can't afford a buyout due to our financial situation. I thought we would be 4-8 with 6-6 as our ceiling and I'm just circling back to my preseason prediction.
Ott is an absolute stud. The NFL already knows about him and will evaluate him wherever he is. I certainly hope he's satisfied with the NIL (which I've been told is good but have no evidence) and playing situation and am glad he didn't jump last year.
Ott strikes me as a guy who has his eye on the future prize, the NFL. He loves being at Cal, he loves (and is loved by) his team, he's developing here and getting better every year. A lot of unknowns when you switch schools. If we can offer a competitive NIL deal I believe we have a good shot. He's going to be highly rated by pro scouts wherever he plays.
While we have had some truly stellar rb’s come out of Cal, I think (sadly) the kid might bolt for greener pastures. The times are changing, as Dylan said. Heck, college kids are even getting endorsements and commercials now while playing, and I don’t blame them. I REALLY REALLY love the kid, but I think he’d be foolish to stay with Wilcox. The spotlight tv games are Saturday mornings and afternoons; we won’t merit many of those, I fear.
Well, we're part of an ESPN conference now so they won't be deriding us for shits and giggles, and he's about to get a lot more visibility with us playing East Coast games.
The NFL scouts aren't just watching the spotlight TV games and Ott knows they'll see his film. Worth noting that almost the entire o comes back next year and AT & Spav are almost certainly staying, so he knows what he can look forward to here.
Every dollar of NIL money should go to keeping Ott another year.
I think he stays because it’s the bird in hand and he will play just one more year before NFL anyway
He probably also saw what happened to Sturdivant.
That would be his smart play. Plus, here, he especially stands out, like a big fish in a small pond.
Lastly, look at all the NFL greats that came from non-powerhouse programs. Jerry Rice comes to mind.
AFTERBTE 1982 GAME JOE KAPP SAID, "THE BEAR NEVER DIES!!" gerbear
33-7.
There was an extremely narrow path Wilcox and this team could walk for me to have confidence in him as the head coach next year. I am happy to say they managed to walk that path.
Rewatching the Ott kickoff return: there was certainly the initial burst through the hole. But when he got to open field, doesn't it look like he's coasting on like 2/3 speed while still pulling away from defenders?
He also had some good blocking on that return.
Definitely in the Heisman conversation next year!
He is lethal to defenses in open space. Later in the game, we saw very fast UCLA defenders grabbing air once he stopped getting blown up at the handoff.
Had that same impression
I watched Ott's KO return a few times on Sunday. He made it look so effortless, as if he were gliding. It reminded me of watching Russell White run.
Blocking on the return was phenomenal; two great seal blocks on the right side of the wedge.
Some of DeSean Jackson's returns were like that too; he's just relaxed and going into warp speed.
I'm a track guy and know that when you are in top shape and fast, it is so easy to glide at high speeds. In fact, the best sprinters are the ones who relax their upper body, jaws bouncing around. Ott has next gear speed that may not be 10.2 100 meter speed but combined with his talent and toughness, makes him a true stud.
Usain Bolt was always the guy who personified that glide speed.
I think Justin Williams-Thomas deserves some love in the fUCLA win. I was not optimistic after losing Ifanse, but JWT put in some inspired short yardage gains. The guy always falls forward.
Also think we had more to play for (than UCLA) and that we finally fell on the good side of luck. Hoping they can harness that kind of energy (and good fortune) mid-season next year because that seems to be when the wheels usually fall off the bus.
Yeah JWT is a good back. I love his forward lean and leg drive to go with his low pad level. Good speed, good size....Go Bears!
That scrum like run picked up almost 15 yards...
He was giving half the defense a piggyback ride lmao.
I'm glad JWT stepped up after Ifanse's injury. What happened to Stredick? We stopped using him at all, which I don't mind, but Ott has been getting way more carries than he did earlier in the season. I'm also surprised Wilcox started using Ott on KO returns when the RB depth got thin. It paid off, but I am also scared of injuries.
Stredick fumbled at a key time. Sometimes that means you get to ride the pine and are in the doghouse
Stredick fumbled more than once at key times this season.
Last game of the season with a bowl game on the line. You don't really need to worry about injuries. You have a few weeks to recover if you make a bowl, and if not, well you have all off-season to get healthy.
He started returning KOs in Washington State game
But he fair caught all of them.
Avi, you nailed it.
It was a joy to witness the most complete game of the Wilcox era.
These young men showed us the true meaning of OKG. A Wilcox guy possesses mental toughness, relishes hard work, and stays on task. It’s about grit, dedication, belief and trust. When everyone left them for dead, this team refused to quit and would not die.
Joe Kapp is smiling down from football heaven.
Finally, “Burn the boats. Burn the trees. Burn the city.” - is indeed the coldest line from Cal Football in a long time. Now it’s time to ‘Burn the Bowl’!
Thanks for a great read Avi.
#BowlOnYouBears
I like the line, but I don't really understand it. Why was WSU the boats? What is UCLA the city? (I don't really think of LA as a city, it's just a giant horrible sprawl with a rather insignificant downtown)
It's an old Sun Tzu quote.
'When your army has crossed the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home.”
And it shows how academic Mendoza is by knowing that.
Also, Cortez did exactly that, burned his boats.
I had assumed the burn the boats with WSU as the same as the traditional sense of burning the bridges and leaves no recourse (because that was the first of the three "do or die" game), and then the trees and city are just continuing the theme (because each one was do or die also) and the kids just updated it with a different spin each week.
What is your definition of a city and how does LA not qualify?
I'm of course not saying that LA is not a city, but that it doesn't feel like one to me. To me, 'real' cities have a certain density and energy like London or New York, and even SF (past and future, if not present). Obviously, LA has its own strengths and is well loved by many. My opinion about LA is just my opinion, nothing more. Sorry if I offended; perhaps I shouldn't have made the comment you replied to (if you can't say something nice...).
Maybe carry over from when their coach was a pirate.
Or the Cal game was their lifeboat to get to a bowl game since they were 4-5 coming in and the Apple Cup was one of their remaining games. So we burned the lifeboats
Wait, I need to burn another bowl? If you insist.
LOL I absolutely insist
Very nice piece. Thank you
The incoming transfers have really helped carry the team, especially McMorris and offensive linemen. What happened to Hightower and Sergio Allen? I hoped they would be big time players but they didn't see the field trip except for a few minutes all season.