Here’s another post-game dump in a bit different format:
Positives
(Admittedly this will be a shorter list)
The secondary played really well especially taking away UNLV’s playmaker WR, the transfer from MSU. Hearns was dominant throughout especially considering that for most of the game we had no pash rush. Scott had another stellar game and his two late-game blitzes saved the win. And the nice INT by Young at the end capped it off.
Kickoffs were all good - almost all touchbacks.
Sheehan is a really good punter. He had two kicks go in the end zone that should have been downed. He’s a weapon.
Croteau had a good game and made several good plays. Sirmon looked even better and made several important stops as well. Oladejo was everywhere. Carlton also had a nice sack.
Ott looked just as dangerous to everyone except evidently Cal’s offensive coaches. Only a few touches but two TDs and an electric run that he came close to breaking. Give him the damn ball.
Latu looks like a good receiving TE and had several nice grabs.
No injuries that I saw, always a good thing. Hunter got drilled but came back but didn’t do much - hopefully he’s ok.
Defense looked passive until it really mattered but then flipped the switch. On the last three drives by UNLV, they were money. They have the potential to be really good but I think the play calling needs to be a lot more aggressive.
Negatives
The OL looked just awful especially on pass protection. I saw multiple guys just get bull rushed and knocked way back or just beaten by speed. By UNLV - I mean, cmon. The running lanes were also minimal. This is a real problem and limits this team’s potential big time.
Plummer was not impressive. In fact he looked like a bottom-tier QB in the Pac12 IMO even though his stats weren’t terrible. His passes fluttered, he often did not hit WRs in stride, his INT was terrible, and he did nothing but look like a deer in the headlights in the second half. Yes, the OL was bad, but there were still plays to be made and he didn’t make them. I think he will get better, but he appears to only be an incremental improvement over Garbers at best.
Why oh why didn’t Ott play more? It was the most idiotic thing I’ve seen in a long time. If AT is the one deciding this, he needs his authority taken away. It was preposterous in the extreme that Brooks got more touches. I just don’t get it. Why?
Special teams other than punting and kickoffs were atrocious. A key missed FG, penalty on a punt, giving up an onside kick, and nothing on returns. Just another debacle in a long string of them. When will it ever end?
The DL had no pass rush on their own and only when blitzes were added in was there any pressure. We just don’t have that top-notch pass rusher. Carlton is probably at the top of the list right now but he’s like a big LB instead of a DL guy. What happened to Saunders being such a stud? He looked mediocre today.
Mavin Anderson looks really good but made two bad plays - catching the KO out of bounds and dropping the TD pass, which while a bit high, was catchable. Especially egregious because Plummer threw the INT on the next play. The other receivers were fine but not very exciting and disappeared in the second half.
Our WR blocking is once again awful. Every WR screen goes nowhere because no one can block.
Too many dumb penalties right at the start of a drive. This offense isn’t good enough to overcome that. Stop it.
A lack of turnovers. We need takeaways to beat teams IMO and we only had the one at the end of the game. We need more.
The offensive play calling in the second half was atrocious. The three handoffs at the end were embarrassing. The running game lacks creativity as does the offense in general (they ran one sad reverse. Everything else was boring, plain Jane.) And they did nothing to help a QB under pressure almost every play, just very telegraphed screens. Just terrible. And did I mention it was incredible they didn’t play Ott more? Just crazy. Absolutely insane.
In summary, you could say a win is a win, and it’s great to be 2-0, but today showed that this team has too many serious issues with players and staff to be a good team. Despite the win, this was one of the more disappointing games I’ve seen right up there with last year’s Arizona and Nevada games.
They may surprise someone, but anyone looking at today’s film will be licking their chops with ND right at the top of the list. I don’t expect we will get blown out next Saturday, but I’d be shocked to see this team go into South Bend and win after today. There are just too many problems.
Maybe I’m wrong and this season will turn around and be a great one, but I’m a lot less hopeful after this game. I want to believe in this team as a true Cal fan, and I generally like the players who appear to be great kids, but I’m growing so tired of Wilcox football. It’s boring. It’s maddening. And worst of all, it’s mediocre. It could be another long season, folks.
Positives
(Admittedly this will be a shorter list)
The secondary played really well especially taking away UNLV’s playmaker WR, the transfer from MSU. Hearns was dominant throughout especially considering that for most of the game we had no pash rush. Scott had another stellar game and his two late-game blitzes saved the win. And the nice INT by Young at the end capped it off.
Kickoffs were all good - almost all touchbacks.
Sheehan is a really good punter. He had two kicks go in the end zone that should have been downed. He’s a weapon.
Croteau had a good game and made several good plays. Sirmon looked even better and made several important stops as well. Oladejo was everywhere. Carlton also had a nice sack.
Ott looked just as dangerous to everyone except evidently Cal’s offensive coaches. Only a few touches but two TDs and an electric run that he came close to breaking. Give him the damn ball.
Latu looks like a good receiving TE and had several nice grabs.
No injuries that I saw, always a good thing. Hunter got drilled but came back but didn’t do much - hopefully he’s ok.
Defense looked passive until it really mattered but then flipped the switch. On the last three drives by UNLV, they were money. They have the potential to be really good but I think the play calling needs to be a lot more aggressive.
Negatives
The OL looked just awful especially on pass protection. I saw multiple guys just get bull rushed and knocked way back or just beaten by speed. By UNLV - I mean, cmon. The running lanes were also minimal. This is a real problem and limits this team’s potential big time.
Plummer was not impressive. In fact he looked like a bottom-tier QB in the Pac12 IMO even though his stats weren’t terrible. His passes fluttered, he often did not hit WRs in stride, his INT was terrible, and he did nothing but look like a deer in the headlights in the second half. Yes, the OL was bad, but there were still plays to be made and he didn’t make them. I think he will get better, but he appears to only be an incremental improvement over Garbers at best.
Why oh why didn’t Ott play more? It was the most idiotic thing I’ve seen in a long time. If AT is the one deciding this, he needs his authority taken away. It was preposterous in the extreme that Brooks got more touches. I just don’t get it. Why?
Special teams other than punting and kickoffs were atrocious. A key missed FG, penalty on a punt, giving up an onside kick, and nothing on returns. Just another debacle in a long string of them. When will it ever end?
The DL had no pass rush on their own and only when blitzes were added in was there any pressure. We just don’t have that top-notch pass rusher. Carlton is probably at the top of the list right now but he’s like a big LB instead of a DL guy. What happened to Saunders being such a stud? He looked mediocre today.
Mavin Anderson looks really good but made two bad plays - catching the KO out of bounds and dropping the TD pass, which while a bit high, was catchable. Especially egregious because Plummer threw the INT on the next play. The other receivers were fine but not very exciting and disappeared in the second half.
Our WR blocking is once again awful. Every WR screen goes nowhere because no one can block.
Too many dumb penalties right at the start of a drive. This offense isn’t good enough to overcome that. Stop it.
A lack of turnovers. We need takeaways to beat teams IMO and we only had the one at the end of the game. We need more.
The offensive play calling in the second half was atrocious. The three handoffs at the end were embarrassing. The running game lacks creativity as does the offense in general (they ran one sad reverse. Everything else was boring, plain Jane.) And they did nothing to help a QB under pressure almost every play, just very telegraphed screens. Just terrible. And did I mention it was incredible they didn’t play Ott more? Just crazy. Absolutely insane.
In summary, you could say a win is a win, and it’s great to be 2-0, but today showed that this team has too many serious issues with players and staff to be a good team. Despite the win, this was one of the more disappointing games I’ve seen right up there with last year’s Arizona and Nevada games.
They may surprise someone, but anyone looking at today’s film will be licking their chops with ND right at the top of the list. I don’t expect we will get blown out next Saturday, but I’d be shocked to see this team go into South Bend and win after today. There are just too many problems.
Maybe I’m wrong and this season will turn around and be a great one, but I’m a lot less hopeful after this game. I want to believe in this team as a true Cal fan, and I generally like the players who appear to be great kids, but I’m growing so tired of Wilcox football. It’s boring. It’s maddening. And worst of all, it’s mediocre. It could be another long season, folks.
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