Evans Hall: Veni, Vidi, Mendoza et Pueros Vicit

How can one not be Romantic about Cal Football

The section where the stats guy tried to be poetic.

Last weekend I flew into the Bay Area anxious, wondering if this is the year I’d finally watch Cal win the Big Game with my own eyes. There was so much at stake for me emotionally I barely contained by grin and anxiety at the tailgate and when marching up campus with Nam.

To set the scene: I have been a fan for the last 14 years of my life. A fanatical one to boot ever since the 2012 Cal v. UCLA win. A fanatic of a team where of a team that accrued a cumulative win loss record of 76-100 (.432), 42-86 (.328) in conference (!!!!!!), and an even worse in person viewing record where the last win I saw in person was on September 2nd, 2017 where I traveled to Chapel Hill for Wilcox’s debut as Cal’s HC against UNC.

It took 14 years and I saw us kneel out, I rushed the field, and I beheld the splendor of marching through the North Tunnel with throngs of Cal fans. It was beautiful, I cried, wept even into my friend’s shirt. I basked in the glory of the moment, on the field amongst 50,000 of my newest friends. This is what stats, spreadsheets, and code can never replicate, this is what keeps me going year, after year, after year.

I don’t know about others, but this was a great win. I don’t care “should’ve, would’ves” of malcontents, such analysis will be left for a post-season post mortem.

Thus, I proclaim with the borrowed words of Jan III Sobieski, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania after his victory over the Ottomans at the gates of Vienna in 1683:

“I came, I saw, and Mendonza and the Boys Conquered.”

Go Bears, Forever. Now back to the math.

4th Quarter Was Fernando’s

What a game to have his first Game Winning Drive by Fernando Mendoza. I critiqued him on this specific aspect of his game where he had and failed at opportunities to win the game for Cal. The woeful 1st and 2nd quarters only to wake up late in the game keep the ball moving through the air and just enough on the ground to keep the chains moving.

Stanford’s No Good, Very Tough 3 Quarters

After a hot start through the air in the 1st quarter and some efficient runs they were stymied in the 3rd and 4th quarter forcing Stanford into tough passing downs and rushing into nowhere. Something worth noting that in the 2nd half the Stanford offense was limited to 2.9 YPP with a 3.6 YPA (too low to get into Cal but maybe Stanford if pappa’s check clears). Watching the game the defense locked into place forcing poor runs and even worse passes by the Stanford offense giving the offense the time to get on the field and do what they need to do.

The Flip in Fortune

Here we can see the palpable change in the momentum of the game. Stanford jumped quickly and early to gain a massive PPA lead only to slowly lose it all through the Q2 and Q3. Cal started the game very poorly only to slowly recover in Q3 and really explove in the 4th quarter.

This is a credit to the defense to lock in and slowly melt away Stanford’s offensive potency, and it is a signature stat for the offense to shake-off a poor to mediocre 3 quarters of football to just explode later in the game.

PS. Maybe after the season ends I will do a breakdown of every Cal offensive and defensive PPA trends… idea!

Fernando and the Boys Conquered

We can see here that Cal offense realized that there was no point to running the ball after the 1st quarter. Add in that the rushing game had a handful of moments of mediocrity at the end it was Fernando’s arm that delivered the resurgence in Q3 to Q4. One has to admire the explosive boom in PPA in Q4. A mathematical expression of “98 yards with the boys”.

Ok, fine, some more slavic level romanticism about Cal football

Cal football and it’s community, I love it like health itself. Like Chopin who wrote Mazurkas and Polonaises dedicated to preserving Polish culture, Mickiewicz who proclaimed his love of Lithuania in his epic poem “Lithuania, fatherland of mine, thee are like health, how one cherishes thee only when one has lost it”, and Maria Skłodowska-Curie who named the first element she discovered Polonium. Like those figures, I want to be able to celebrate this thing we all love. I want to give, be a apart of, and witness the totality of Cal community’s joy and sorrow.

This fandom, this group of madlads that makes experiencing this win so worthwhile. Mendonza’s passion, Wilcox’ earnest reverence to the game the duty of being a steward of the players and the game, Nam’s lyricism, Thomas’ grit in making the trips for Cal sports, Rob’s evocative photography that grab THE moment’s so well, Avinash’s insistence on keeping the flame alive, Nick’s ability to coalesce madness into prose - all of it inspires. And I hope I can contribute to the chorus of undying dedication for this community.

Go Bears Forever.