Starting with 24 underclassmen including 7 freshmen, and with several other underclassmen getting time on the pitch, Cal dispatched Santa Clara 79-3.

As always, Cal's tackling was strong and punishing. Ball distribution was pretty solid, with only a few errors. Outside backs looked really good, and the forwards were punishing as usual. Halftime score was 40-3, but the Bears conditioning really showed itself in the second half. Also, I THINK Cal had fewer penalties in the second half.

Kealan O'Connell is proving to be a super reliable kicker. I think he's something like 7 for 8 between last weekend at UC(la) and today's game. Several Bears found the try zone. I loved the play between the outside half and the wing on the right side. Bears were overwhelming in the set piece especially in the second half when conditioning really became a factor.

Next week the Bears come down my way to Isla Vista to take on UC Santa Barbara.

Some more observations: An absolutely gorgeous day: no wind, plenty of sun, and the northern bleachers were open, so we didn't have to sit in the shade. In my opinion, play tended to be VERY slow today - I don't know if new laws are in effect, or if it was the way the referee ran things, but several times during the game everyone was standing around with no apparent (at least to me) reason for play to stop, while the time to restart a scrum seems to have doubled.

Unlike previous seasons where Cal seems to struggle with passing early in the season, that was not the case today, although I counted at least 4 times when the receiver bobbled the ball. Our backs are tremendously fast, breaking off some brilliant runs that outpaced the defenders. And our defense was magnificent. Santa Clara reached the 22 meter line only once in the first half, and at that point opted for a field goal which provided their only points of the game. In the second half they reached our 22 meter line two or three times, but were turned away each time. And one of their players got a yellowcard midway through the 2nd half, which made it only harder for them. Meanwhile, we seemed to have gotten stronger in the 2nd half (a Cal trademark) - after receiving a kickoff, usually the player who catches it gets only a step or two before being brought down, but starting from the get go of the 2nd half, our boys were getting 10-15 meters before having to unload the ball. And we were really dominating in the scrums as well - pushing the pile back a LOT, resulting in one or two tries. Oh and did I say our backs were really fast? 'Cause they are.

Two other tidbits: the western scoreboard, which was fine all first half, went on and off throughout the second - no idea why, unless it was (the 2nd tidbit) the three turkeys which strolled down the southern sideline late in the second half.

Jesuits never forget!



*My son was a double Bronco (undergrad and grad. We love the place).