I’m at DFW airport with my son and a few other Bears. It’s unpleasant to type on my phone but I must say this whole experience at the game was horrible. The stadium was a high school like joke, the concessions for gear were few and far between with very little gear they couldn’t sell because the local cell towers weren’t working, it was freezing cold (why the hell have bowl games in a cold place?!?!?!), and of course the game itself.
We lost that game on the lines, simple as that. We couldn’t guard #8 to save our lives (One damn guy! One!). It was absolutely incredible to see us run Ott up the middle every time and he was met in the backfield on most of them. Atrocious play and game calling. Just atrocious.
I’m the type of Cal fan Cal needs. If nothing major changes with players or coaches in off season, I will not be renewing my season tickets. What a disaster of a performance against a team that did not have reason on paper to beat us so easily. Both our lines need transformation in coaching or talent or both.
And I should add that our stay in Shreveport was otherwise just fine. For a midsize southern city it has it's attractions. The highlight by far was the RW Norton art museum. Can't recommend that highly enough. A truly fantastic collection of contemporary American artists as well as the old stuff. Maybe the most surprising and impressive art museum for it's size I've seen in the states, including the big city ones. Food was fun. Many places east of the Rockies have a casual disregard for land that is shocking to all of us in the West, where land is crazy expensive. Abandoned homes and lots all over town in places like Wichita and Shreveport. It's really shocking to see the prevalence of it. The aquarium is a fun little place on a low budget. We don't gamble but that's one of the big attractions there.
I actually turned it off when it was 24-14. The writing was on the wall. For me the turning point of the game was the Reese unnecessary roughness call on a plain old tackle. That extended the TTU drive. I could tell that the refs were going to be anti-Cal the whole game. That, plus the fact that we came out flat sealed the deal.
The disparity in what they would call for holding was egregious. You could straight up see TT blockers trailing behind our defenders, arms stretched out and holding on for life. Like why even have the rule?
That play was a f-ing joke…I thought the game turned on the 2nd offsides penalty that wiped away the pick.
There’s a lot of excuse making going on for Wilcox (kids with finals, transfer portal, etc.) but this felt a helluva lot like last year’s squad, especially on offense…
Small sample size for Bloesch? Certainly…do he and Mendoza have a lot to work on? Absolutely.
But if we don’t shore up the secondary, it may not really matter. TTU was a dreadful passing team this year, yet they worked our secondary all night. That’s my biggest concern.
Me too! I even said on the game thread after TT scored following the penalty it seemed particularly costly. The rest of the game I kept thinking of how that seemed like a turning point. Of course, that penalty alone did not determine the outcome, but Cal seemed to have momentum up until that point.
God that was difficult to watch. In hindsight, would have been better to not have gone to a bowl game and still be somewhat excited for next year. No chance of it happening this year but Wilcox needs to go - six years of unwatchable football. Don’t see much changing next year.
Every phase of the game Cal was completely dominated. We were outcoached (understatement). Our OL 7 years into Wilcox's tenure is still the weakest unit and we have an inexperienced coach for that unit next year.
Going into the game I expected a good competitive game (hell, TT lost most of their front 7 prior to the game!). This wasn't a competitive game. I feel for the players returning next year who have to live with this the entire off season. Mendoza was running for his life the whole game and unfortunately looks lost now at his position.
Wilcox has to make coaching changes. If not, he may lose the team and definitely the fan base.
The defense actually played very well after the first four drives (which were ugly). Tech's average starting field position on their last nine serious possessions was our 49, and three of those started inside our 30. They scored a total of 13 points on those, with the one touchdown 'drive' going all of 15 yards, and averaged 3.2 yards per play. If our offense had done anything (besides commit bonehead turnovers) during that time span, the game would have gone down to the wire. Overall, I'd say the defense fought Tech to a draw.
Now the offense got annihilated. The last three quarters were worse than the Cheez-it Bowl. The line play in particular was horrendous, and Mendoza often looked like he was hallucinating.
I agree that our offense hurt our defense, but not willing to call it a draw. They flustered Mendoza. We didn’t do the same to their qb, who had time to throw all night. They forced turnovers. We really didn’t other than the INT. The fumble came on the opening kickoff of course. I guess we mostly tackled in the open field though?
Losing Spavital at Offensive Coordinator really hurt. The play caling had no semblance of continuity last night. Having the OL coach call the offense was suspect. Example: he called a counter early and Ott made and easy 9 yards. It was not called the rest of the game.
Agree with Taco on performance. There was no aspect of the game in which we did decent. Even Luckhurst's fumble recovery was on a blown play -- he slipped and fell kicking the ball, so it only got to the 15 yard line.
That said, other than Wilcox changing himself, not sure the others matter as much.
I’ll be extremely happy with another 6-6 next year…he’s not going anywhere, so the least he can do is start stringing together bowl appearances, even if they are trash ones like Shreveport.
Mendoza did some good things this year, and provided a steady presence where we had none. But Rogers didn’t sign here strictly to back up Mendoza…he’s going to compete. Mendoza is a hard worker, and deserves the chance to mature, but the decision making has to improve - he easily could have had 3 more turnovers last night.
My money’s on Rogers starting v UC Davis on 8/31/24…
Well at least they won't be over-confident headed into next season.
Seemed like we never got our mojo back after Mendoza tweaked his knee. The worth of things will be determined by how much Mendoza learns from his mistakes.
I hope this loss burns into the minds of Mendoza and others in the off season.
Let them replay all the bad plays over and over in their minds during the break. Use this as added fire and motivation to get better and then take out all the anger and frustration on the ACC
I give OC Bloesch a C+/D- with his first game calling plays. Thoroughly out coached by TDR who made the correct in-game adjustments on D. Some of the play calling, especially the 4th down calls, were atrocious.
And if analytics say go for it on 4th and 2, three minutes into the game, with your QB out for the play, instead of kicking an easy field goal to go up 10-0, then this whole analytics thing needs to be trashed.
Going for a 4th and 2 out of shotgun in an obvious run where we don't even pretend like we're going to pass is a fireable offense in my opinion. If you're going to power it, you go from under center.
Hats off to TT. A comprehensive mauling. Hard to pinpoint a single root cause of our troubles. There were several. But a near total lack of a pass rush stood out to me: Challenging an already challenged secondary. Their QB had days to throw. Mendoza didn’t look the same after that knee hyper extension. Clearly flustered in a way he otherwise hasn’t been this season. Never got Hunter involved, or anything really on the outside. I thought Hearns had one of his better games of the past couple of years. Ualave was largely silent.
Cal fans: Bring back the Root (Texas Tech DC Tim DeRyuter, who used to be our DC)!!!! Sirmon is a good DC and Cal will always play decent to good defense under Wilcox. However, as I was watching the game last night, it occurred to me that Texas Tech. was doing to us what we used to do to other teams when DeRyuter was our DC. We couldn't get ANYTHING going after the first quarter and the Texas Tech. defense was the reason why.
If they would have just ruled Mendoza out for the second half and they still got steamrolled everyone would be feeling ALOT better about the state of the program today.
Oof. re Mendoza, really wonder at the impact of the voice in his helmet ear. Seems like it totally interrupted his more usual calm/progression check. Was it the added voice, the new non-Spav voice, or combo? Those last pics he also looked potentially concussed.
I wonder about the whole process when a Coach takes a new job. Did Spav choose to not coach the team in the bowl or was he told he won’t be able to coach the team? Would have been nice for him to finish the job to give the team the best chance to win.
This game was lost at the line of scrimmage. TTU defensive line dominated our OL. Our defensive line seemed little more than a mild annoyance to TTU. We need to find and coach up some Todd Steussies Alex Macks (a 2* recruit), and Cameron Jordans.
I do think having to take finals messed up Cal's practice/pregame routine -- they just seemed a little off all night. I noticed that the announcers didn't say anything about TTU having finals.
Unlike some of the curmudgeonly Old Blues on this blog, I'm still bullish on next season. They made great strides on offense this year under a new system, finding a young QB who grew into the role nicely (notwithstanding the bowl game), and despite Spav leaving, there will be good continuity going into next season. Plus our ACC schedule will be much easier than the gauntlet we had to run through this season.
I’m at DFW airport with my son and a few other Bears. It’s unpleasant to type on my phone but I must say this whole experience at the game was horrible. The stadium was a high school like joke, the concessions for gear were few and far between with very little gear they couldn’t sell because the local cell towers weren’t working, it was freezing cold (why the hell have bowl games in a cold place?!?!?!), and of course the game itself.
We lost that game on the lines, simple as that. We couldn’t guard #8 to save our lives (One damn guy! One!). It was absolutely incredible to see us run Ott up the middle every time and he was met in the backfield on most of them. Atrocious play and game calling. Just atrocious.
I’m the type of Cal fan Cal needs. If nothing major changes with players or coaches in off season, I will not be renewing my season tickets. What a disaster of a performance against a team that did not have reason on paper to beat us so easily. Both our lines need transformation in coaching or talent or both.
Go Bears. Long live the Bears. Gimme a break.
And I should add that our stay in Shreveport was otherwise just fine. For a midsize southern city it has it's attractions. The highlight by far was the RW Norton art museum. Can't recommend that highly enough. A truly fantastic collection of contemporary American artists as well as the old stuff. Maybe the most surprising and impressive art museum for it's size I've seen in the states, including the big city ones. Food was fun. Many places east of the Rockies have a casual disregard for land that is shocking to all of us in the West, where land is crazy expensive. Abandoned homes and lots all over town in places like Wichita and Shreveport. It's really shocking to see the prevalence of it. The aquarium is a fun little place on a low budget. We don't gamble but that's one of the big attractions there.
I chose not to think about this game and bought jewelry today to cope.
I actually turned it off when it was 24-14. The writing was on the wall. For me the turning point of the game was the Reese unnecessary roughness call on a plain old tackle. That extended the TTU drive. I could tell that the refs were going to be anti-Cal the whole game. That, plus the fact that we came out flat sealed the deal.
See y'all in 2024!
The disparity in what they would call for holding was egregious. You could straight up see TT blockers trailing behind our defenders, arms stretched out and holding on for life. Like why even have the rule?
That play was a f-ing joke…I thought the game turned on the 2nd offsides penalty that wiped away the pick.
There’s a lot of excuse making going on for Wilcox (kids with finals, transfer portal, etc.) but this felt a helluva lot like last year’s squad, especially on offense…
Small sample size for Bloesch? Certainly…do he and Mendoza have a lot to work on? Absolutely.
But if we don’t shore up the secondary, it may not really matter. TTU was a dreadful passing team this year, yet they worked our secondary all night. That’s my biggest concern.
Me too! I even said on the game thread after TT scored following the penalty it seemed particularly costly. The rest of the game I kept thinking of how that seemed like a turning point. Of course, that penalty alone did not determine the outcome, but Cal seemed to have momentum up until that point.
God that was difficult to watch. In hindsight, would have been better to not have gone to a bowl game and still be somewhat excited for next year. No chance of it happening this year but Wilcox needs to go - six years of unwatchable football. Don’t see much changing next year.
Totally agree—- we should not have taken the bowl bid
Every phase of the game Cal was completely dominated. We were outcoached (understatement). Our OL 7 years into Wilcox's tenure is still the weakest unit and we have an inexperienced coach for that unit next year.
Going into the game I expected a good competitive game (hell, TT lost most of their front 7 prior to the game!). This wasn't a competitive game. I feel for the players returning next year who have to live with this the entire off season. Mendoza was running for his life the whole game and unfortunately looks lost now at his position.
Wilcox has to make coaching changes. If not, he may lose the team and definitely the fan base.
"...Cal was completely dominated."
Sometimes that costs extra.
The defense actually played very well after the first four drives (which were ugly). Tech's average starting field position on their last nine serious possessions was our 49, and three of those started inside our 30. They scored a total of 13 points on those, with the one touchdown 'drive' going all of 15 yards, and averaged 3.2 yards per play. If our offense had done anything (besides commit bonehead turnovers) during that time span, the game would have gone down to the wire. Overall, I'd say the defense fought Tech to a draw.
Now the offense got annihilated. The last three quarters were worse than the Cheez-it Bowl. The line play in particular was horrendous, and Mendoza often looked like he was hallucinating.
What game were you watching where you think our defense fought Tech to a “draw”?
I agree that our offense hurt our defense, but not willing to call it a draw. They flustered Mendoza. We didn’t do the same to their qb, who had time to throw all night. They forced turnovers. We really didn’t other than the INT. The fumble came on the opening kickoff of course. I guess we mostly tackled in the open field though?
Losing Spavital at Offensive Coordinator really hurt. The play caling had no semblance of continuity last night. Having the OL coach call the offense was suspect. Example: he called a counter early and Ott made and easy 9 yards. It was not called the rest of the game.
Agree with Taco on performance. There was no aspect of the game in which we did decent. Even Luckhurst's fumble recovery was on a blown play -- he slipped and fell kicking the ball, so it only got to the 15 yard line.
That said, other than Wilcox changing himself, not sure the others matter as much.
That’s fair.
I’ll be extremely happy with another 6-6 next year…he’s not going anywhere, so the least he can do is start stringing together bowl appearances, even if they are trash ones like Shreveport.
Looking at the stat line, it's clear the turnovers were the killer. Hate those kinds of games 😑
A few of those happened at towards the end, after our fate was already largely sealed.
Mendoza looked so lost that you have to wonder whether the QB competition isn’t just totally wide open
It’s completely wide open.
Mendoza did some good things this year, and provided a steady presence where we had none. But Rogers didn’t sign here strictly to back up Mendoza…he’s going to compete. Mendoza is a hard worker, and deserves the chance to mature, but the decision making has to improve - he easily could have had 3 more turnovers last night.
My money’s on Rogers starting v UC Davis on 8/31/24…
He's young enough that pending QB competition might have had him overreaching and a bit confused.
Well at least they won't be over-confident headed into next season.
Seemed like we never got our mojo back after Mendoza tweaked his knee. The worth of things will be determined by how much Mendoza learns from his mistakes.
I hope this loss burns into the minds of Mendoza and others in the off season.
Let them replay all the bad plays over and over in their minds during the break. Use this as added fire and motivation to get better and then take out all the anger and frustration on the ACC
I give OC Bloesch a C+/D- with his first game calling plays. Thoroughly out coached by TDR who made the correct in-game adjustments on D. Some of the play calling, especially the 4th down calls, were atrocious.
And if analytics say go for it on 4th and 2, three minutes into the game, with your QB out for the play, instead of kicking an easy field goal to go up 10-0, then this whole analytics thing needs to be trashed.
The lack of adjustments was the most troubling aspect…and that TTU DL was predominantly backups, as they were missing a number of key contributors.
I don't mind going for it, but the play call was atrocious.
Going for a 4th and 2 out of shotgun in an obvious run where we don't even pretend like we're going to pass is a fireable offense in my opinion. If you're going to power it, you go from under center.
I think we ran one play all season from under center, a QB sneak. And I was shocked.
Hats off to TT. A comprehensive mauling. Hard to pinpoint a single root cause of our troubles. There were several. But a near total lack of a pass rush stood out to me: Challenging an already challenged secondary. Their QB had days to throw. Mendoza didn’t look the same after that knee hyper extension. Clearly flustered in a way he otherwise hasn’t been this season. Never got Hunter involved, or anything really on the outside. I thought Hearns had one of his better games of the past couple of years. Ualave was largely silent.
Ulaeve didn’t even seem to see the field until Q2.
We noticed that. I wonder if he was suspended for Q1.
Cal fans: Bring back the Root (Texas Tech DC Tim DeRyuter, who used to be our DC)!!!! Sirmon is a good DC and Cal will always play decent to good defense under Wilcox. However, as I was watching the game last night, it occurred to me that Texas Tech. was doing to us what we used to do to other teams when DeRyuter was our DC. We couldn't get ANYTHING going after the first quarter and the Texas Tech. defense was the reason why.
If they would have just ruled Mendoza out for the second half and they still got steamrolled everyone would be feeling ALOT better about the state of the program today.
Oof. re Mendoza, really wonder at the impact of the voice in his helmet ear. Seems like it totally interrupted his more usual calm/progression check. Was it the added voice, the new non-Spav voice, or combo? Those last pics he also looked potentially concussed.
If this is the spavital-less offense… I’m worried for next year.
I wonder about the whole process when a Coach takes a new job. Did Spav choose to not coach the team in the bowl or was he told he won’t be able to coach the team? Would have been nice for him to finish the job to give the team the best chance to win.
their defense was way better
This game was lost at the line of scrimmage. TTU defensive line dominated our OL. Our defensive line seemed little more than a mild annoyance to TTU. We need to find and coach up some Todd Steussies Alex Macks (a 2* recruit), and Cameron Jordans.
I do think having to take finals messed up Cal's practice/pregame routine -- they just seemed a little off all night. I noticed that the announcers didn't say anything about TTU having finals.
Unlike some of the curmudgeonly Old Blues on this blog, I'm still bullish on next season. They made great strides on offense this year under a new system, finding a young QB who grew into the role nicely (notwithstanding the bowl game), and despite Spav leaving, there will be good continuity going into next season. Plus our ACC schedule will be much easier than the gauntlet we had to run through this season.