CNHTH said:

---

sycasey said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

HKBear97! said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

I'm sticking with wins against
$C, furd, wazzu, and oregon st
I think we match up extremely well against those schools.
The surprise is I don't think we win the asu game

---

LOL. USC, WSU and OSU will curb stomp this team. Stanfurd and ASU do not look that good, so we might have a chance there. Four wins is the ceiling.

---

All 4 are top 10 in sacks allowed against scrub competition. Our d will eat against them and as such the games will be low scoring and being that the games are at home and we will have Ott back…we will prevail.

---

Wilcox's defenses tend to keep themselves in low-scoring games and be in position to get some lucky breaks and steal one against a superior team. It's happened basically every year except last year (when I think we had our weakest D under him). So I expect it to happen again.

Still probably 5 wins max. We needed that Auburn game.

---

Agreed and I'll make the following disclaimer that I don't want us to win those games because it just buys more time under this abysmal nonsense under Wilcox. Whereas if we lose those games and win the 2 we're supposed to he's on shakier footing.
But this d is good. It is top 10 in the country and we played all 4 of those teams well in the last 2 meetings.
I don't expect that to change.
For reference.
UNT put up 225 against us and 562 and 548 in their other 2
Auburn put up 562 yards today; and 492 in the opener…they put up 230 against us
Idaho put up 467 and 497 in the previous 2 while putting up 387 against us

I'm not writing us off quite yet because our defense is top 10 in all categories in the country and has pitched a shutout in 6/12 quarters this season.
They are good and imho will prove it again next week

---

Appreciate the optimism and hope you're right, but I'm not putting a lot of weight on those defensive stats. First of all, we've played some really crappy teams so far - Auburn is trash. Second, Wilcox has placed his defense in the top half of the conference for years and yet still finds ways to lose. Same story year after year.

heartofthebear said:

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calumnus said:

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Boot said:

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He takes off early and his throws are hold your breath throws.
Finley s throws had zip and were on target. (somewhat).

---

Finley was 1 of 2 for 6 yards.

---

How did Finley only throw 2 passes when he played most of the N. Texas game?

---

I thought we were discussing today's game.

CNHTH said:

---

I'm sticking with wins against
$C, furd, wazzu, and oregon st
I think we match up extremely well against those schools.
The surprise is I don't think we win the asu game

---

You lost me at wins against $C. SC forced a team to forfeit for the first time in memory. Oregon St. has the best team and coach they've had since the turn of the century. Anyway, we're supposed to beat those teams but lose to ASU because of match-ups. What matchups. We have a better chance of beating ASU because we play them early enough that they may not have figured out that we are one dimensional on offense. By the time we play the other 3, it will have gotten pretty ugly for us.

calumnus said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

calumnus said:

---

Boot said:

---

He takes off early and his throws are hold your breath throws.
Finley s throws had zip and were on target. (somewhat).

---

Finley was 1 of 2 for 6 yards.

---

How did Finley only throw 2 passes when he played most of the N. Texas game?

---

I thought we were discussing today's game.

---

Why would comparing Finley and Jackson only be relevant today?

sycasey said:

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Sorry, but I don't see how Finley's passes have zip, by FBS standards. Jackson's ball has more zip, if less accuracy.

---

Agreed, I think finley's passes have better timing, but they do not have more zip.

sycasey said:

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calumnus said:

---

BearSD said:

---

Boot said:

---

He takes off early and his throws are hold your breath throws.

---

This is why the coaches are not calling pass plays over the middle.

---

On the contrary, it seems like a slant would be a great call. Or a TE deep over the middle off of play-action.

---

We did try this a couple of times and the receivers dropped the ball.

---

But how is that on Jackson? How is that "his throws are hold your breath"?

CNHTH said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

MrGPAC said:

---

Sam Jackson throws a good tight spiral on time and before the receivers break.

The problem is communication still isn't there with receivers, he can only throw it on a rope, and he never gets air under the ball to let his receivers run under it. This is why we dont have many long passes....oline can't hold up more than 2-3 seconds and receivers can't get down field fast enough to catch the ropes.

There are great ways to make this work....but we aren't doing them. Add into that that spavitals bread and butter is bubble screens and our wrs don't seem capable of blocking and our passing game is in real trouble.

Lastly... Give me some damned deception. The only deception play I recall us running was a fake to the left (that the defense bit on), a fake to the right (defense was still going left), followed by a run to the left....where the defense was waiting because they had bitten so hard on the first fake.

Gimme some play action to a tight end up the middle. Pump fakes to the bubble screen with a pass deep down the line. Make the defense commit one way and go the other. That's how you get big separation for wrs...and it's how you get a short QB a better view of a more spread out field.

Our running game is way better this year....but we need to find a passing game from somewhere....

---

It's funny to hear this. Folks were blaming all of those issues on Musgrave, claiming his offense was out of date. it seems that, no matter how many surface changes Cal makes, nothing really changes.

---

Which begs the question…
Is it Wilcox?

---

North Texas sucks but we clearly have switched up the scheme a bit from what we did, and Jackson's athletic talent is something we have not had in the backfield perhaps ever, so I will give Spav time however if we continue to stay conservative in tight games (like Auburn) it will be clear where the offensive strategy lies.

CNHTH said:

---

HKBear97! said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

I'm sticking with wins against
$C, furd, wazzu, and oregon st
I think we match up extremely well against those schools.
The surprise is I don't think we win the asu game

---

LOL. USC, WSU and OSU will curb stomp this team. Stanfurd and ASU do not look that good, so we might have a chance there. Four wins is the ceiling.

---

All 4 are top 10 in sacks allowed against scrub competition. Our d will eat against them and as such the games will be low scoring and being that the games are at home and we will have Ott back…we will prevail.

---

Somehow you've concocted the myth that we are that much better at home. The few wins we've had against each of the teams you've mentioned have been equally distributed between home and away, with the possible exception of OSU. But, honestly, the metric for Cal's wins has less to do with venue and more to do with the quality of the opponents team and coaching. We beat USC under Helton, who was subsequently fired. We beat OSU once early in Smith's career before his recruiting really took shape. And we beat Furd as Shaw's career was coming to an end. WSU has been a hodge podge of counter intuitive results meaning that any sort of handicapping the Cal/WSU game in any year is just asking for it.

heartofthebear said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

I'm sticking with wins against
$C, furd, wazzu, and oregon st
I think we match up extremely well against those schools.
The surprise is I don't think we win the asu game

---

You lost me at wins against $C. SC forced a team to forfeit for the first time in memory. Oregon St. has the best team and coach they've had since the turn of the century. Anyway, we're supposed to beat those teams but lose to ASU because of match-ups. What matchups. We have a better chance of beating ASU because we play them early enough that they may not have figured out that we are one dimensional on offense. By the time we play the other 3, it will have gotten pretty ugly for us.

---

And your belief is predicated on your perception of them.
Oregon state is not that good I'm sorry but not sorry.
I've watched each of their games and d is their strength. That o is suspect. I know a lot don't see it that way but again I've watched and I do. Ugeleili is going to struggle against us. Ironically this is the one I named that I think we could lose due to their defense.
As for sc. a Musgrave offense put up almost 500 yards against them whilst completely abandoning the run game.
It's very early in the season and the only tried and true measure of a team is its defense at this stage. And we have a good one.
As far as I'm concerned wazzu and sc are just another set of teams clinging to the claim they average over 500 yards a game in ooc only to come to Berkeley and throw up south of 300.
As I stated previously we are not losing the final joe Roth game.
It's a certain impossibility.

Who forfeited to sc? Furd and Nevada are historically bad but played their games.

calumnus said:

---

sycasey said:

---

calumnus said:

---

BearSD said:

---

Boot said:

---

He takes off early and his throws are hold your breath throws.

---

This is why the coaches are not calling pass plays over the middle.

---

On the contrary, it seems like a slant would be a great call. Or a TE deep over the middle off of play-action.

---

We did try this a couple of times and the receivers dropped the ball.

---

But how is that on Jackson? How is that "his throws are hold your breath"?

---

I was listening to the radio broadcast and, according to them, several of Jackson's passes should have been INTs. Also, Paws pointed out that Jackson is a ways away, developmentally from passing accuracy because he does not put "shape" on the ball, meaning arc and he does not anticipate where the receiver will be. Instead he waits for the receiver to get open and then tries to fire it hard through the wind. This indicates both mental and physical problems with his passes. It's kind of a "hold your breath' situation when you're QB does that because every single pass is subject to an INT when you throw late.

cccbear04 said:

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Who forfeited to sc? Furd and Nevada are historically bad but played their games.

---

Okay, maybe that was a myth. I heard that Furd had forfeited at halftime. It did not seem like a joke but maybe it was.

I think Jackson is starting because of his scrambling and elusiveness, not his passing. He's had a few good runs but really has not impressed me. With the tougher schedule ahead I don't see Jackson having a lot of success.

Hoping the playing time he's getting will help, but also hoping the coaches don't hesitate to play Finley/Mendoza who would be improvements in the passing game IMO.

CNHTH said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

HKBear97! said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

I'm sticking with wins against
$C, furd, wazzu, and oregon st
I think we match up extremely well against those schools.
The surprise is I don't think we win the asu game

---

LOL. USC, WSU and OSU will curb stomp this team. Stanfurd and ASU do not look that good, so we might have a chance there. Four wins is the ceiling.

---

All 4 are top 10 in sacks allowed against scrub competition. Our d will eat against them and as such the games will be low scoring and being that the games are at home and we will have Ott back…we will prevail.

---

Edit: sc furd and osu are top 10
Wazzu just won't win because they don't win in Berkeley

---

Since the turn of the century WSU is 4-6 in Berkeley including a win their last time here 2 years ago. They win in Berkeley.

heartofthebear said:

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cccbear04 said:

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Who forfeited to sc? Furd and Nevada are historically bad but played their games.

---

Okay, maybe that was a myth. I heard that Furd had forfeited at halftime. It did not seem like a joke but maybe it was.

---

Fake news

heartofthebear said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

HKBear97! said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

I'm sticking with wins against
$C, furd, wazzu, and oregon st
I think we match up extremely well against those schools.
The surprise is I don't think we win the asu game

---

LOL. USC, WSU and OSU will curb stomp this team. Stanfurd and ASU do not look that good, so we might have a chance there. Four wins is the ceiling.

---

All 4 are top 10 in sacks allowed against scrub competition. Our d will eat against them and as such the games will be low scoring and being that the games are at home and we will have Ott back…we will prevail.

---

Edit: sc furd and osu are top 10
Wazzu just won't win because they don't win in Berkeley

---

Since the turn of the century WSU is 4-6 in Berkeley including a win their last time here 2 years ago. They win in Berkeley.

---

And when they're ranked and we're supposedly not good?

🎨 #GoBears pic.twitter.com/Cfk6bqrctr

— Cal Football (@CalFootball) September 16, 2023

heartofthebear said:

---

cccbear04 said:

---

Who forfeited to sc? Furd and Nevada are historically bad but played their games.

---

Okay, maybe that was a myth. I heard that Furd had forfeited at halftime. It did not seem like a joke but maybe it was.

---

It was a joke. Furd scored a TD with 3:35 remaining in the 4th.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/game/_/gameId/401524003

CNHTH said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

HKBear97! said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

I'm sticking with wins against
$C, furd, wazzu, and oregon st
I think we match up extremely well against those schools.
The surprise is I don't think we win the asu game

---

LOL. USC, WSU and OSU will curb stomp this team. Stanfurd and ASU do not look that good, so we might have a chance there. Four wins is the ceiling.

---

All 4 are top 10 in sacks allowed against scrub competition. Our d will eat against them and as such the games will be low scoring and being that the games are at home and we will have Ott back…we will prevail.

---

Edit: sc furd and osu are top 10
Wazzu just won't win because they don't win in Berkeley

---

Since the turn of the century WSU is 4-6 in Berkeley including a win their last time here 2 years ago. They win in Berkeley.

---

And when they're ranked and we're supposedly not good?

---

How quickly we forget!

.

sycasey said:

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Sorry, but I don't see how Finley's passes have zip, by FBS standards. Jackson's ball has more zip, if less accuracy.

---

In true Cal fashion, Finley's passes have touch when zip is needed and Jackson's passes have zip when touch is needed. It's as if 0 coaching is going on to develop the parts of each QB's weaknesses. I'd really like to see Mendoza. Actually I have seen Mendoza and I liked what I saw. And that's when Plummer was here. I thought there was very little drop off from Plummer to Mendoza. And I really liked Plummer. But, in today's Alice in Wonderland world of college football, we probably will never see Mendoza precisely because he's the least likely to take off if he doesn't play.

sycasey said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

cccbear04 said:

---

Who forfeited to sc? Furd and Nevada are historically bad but played their games.

---

Okay, maybe that was a myth. I heard that Furd had forfeited at halftime. It did not seem like a joke but maybe it was.

---

It was a joke. Furd scored a TD with 3:35 remaining in the 4th.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/game/_/gameId/401524003

---

I guess April fools happen twice a year now.

CNHTH said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

MrGPAC said:

---

Sam Jackson throws a good tight spiral on time and before the receivers break.

The problem is communication still isn't there with receivers, he can only throw it on a rope, and he never gets air under the ball to let his receivers run under it. This is why we dont have many long passes....oline can't hold up more than 2-3 seconds and receivers can't get down field fast enough to catch the ropes.

There are great ways to make this work....but we aren't doing them. Add into that that spavitals bread and butter is bubble screens and our wrs don't seem capable of blocking and our passing game is in real trouble.

Lastly... Give me some damned deception. The only deception play I recall us running was a fake to the left (that the defense bit on), a fake to the right (defense was still going left), followed by a run to the left....where the defense was waiting because they had bitten so hard on the first fake.

Gimme some play action to a tight end up the middle. Pump fakes to the bubble screen with a pass deep down the line. Make the defense commit one way and go the other. That's how you get big separation for wrs...and it's how you get a short QB a better view of a more spread out field.

Our running game is way better this year....but we need to find a passing game from somewhere....

---

It's funny to hear this. Folks were blaming all of those issues on Musgrave, claiming his offense was out of date. it seems that, no matter how many surface changes Cal makes, nothing really changes.

---

Which begs the question…
Is it Wilcox?

---

I remember complaints that our WRs weren't blocking on screens when Cal's HC was Dykes and maybe before that too. Maybe it's Wilcox, or maybe it's BI analysts obsessing about things because they happen 1 time in a game. And that doesn't mean I like Wilcox particularly. I have defended and criticized him depending on the issue. I think he might do well navigating the team through all the changes coming up for Cal athletics and I would love to have Wilcox replace Knowlton as AD. But Wilcox is too loyal to his assistant coaches and has some kind of curse he puts on his offensive coordinators.

Strykur said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

MrGPAC said:

---

Sam Jackson throws a good tight spiral on time and before the receivers break.

The problem is communication still isn't there with receivers, he can only throw it on a rope, and he never gets air under the ball to let his receivers run under it. This is why we dont have many long passes....oline can't hold up more than 2-3 seconds and receivers can't get down field fast enough to catch the ropes.

There are great ways to make this work....but we aren't doing them. Add into that that spavitals bread and butter is bubble screens and our wrs don't seem capable of blocking and our passing game is in real trouble.

Lastly... Give me some damned deception. The only deception play I recall us running was a fake to the left (that the defense bit on), a fake to the right (defense was still going left), followed by a run to the left....where the defense was waiting because they had bitten so hard on the first fake.

Gimme some play action to a tight end up the middle. Pump fakes to the bubble screen with a pass deep down the line. Make the defense commit one way and go the other. That's how you get big separation for wrs...and it's how you get a short QB a better view of a more spread out field.

Our running game is way better this year....but we need to find a passing game from somewhere....

---

It's funny to hear this. Folks were blaming all of those issues on Musgrave, claiming his offense was out of date. it seems that, no matter how many surface changes Cal makes, nothing really changes.

---

Which begs the question…
Is it Wilcox?

---

North Texas sucks but we clearly have switched up the scheme a bit from what we did, and Jackson's athletic talent is something we have not had in the backfield perhaps ever, so I will give Spav time however if we continue to stay conservative in tight games (like Auburn) it will be clear where the offensive strategy lies.

---

The most salient measure of QB success is decision making ability not athletic ability. Just ask the 49ers, who traded away multiple #1 picks to draft uber talented and athletic Trey Lance only to have to trade him since he was going to sit the bench behind hum drum, not so athletic Brock Purdy, who they drafted the following year with the very last pick of the draft as an afterthought (AKA Mr. Irrelevant). Well it turns out Purdy is a really good decision maker, which includes when he runs with the ball. He might even be a more productive runner than Trey Lance, who is now a back-up with the Dallas Cowboys. In the meantime Purdy is one of the biggest success stories in the NFL.

Headhunters said:

---

I think Jackson is starting because of his scrambling and elusiveness, not his passing. He's had a few good runs but really has not impressed me. With the tougher schedule ahead I don't see Jackson having a lot of success.

Hoping the playing time he's getting will help, but also hoping the coaches don't hesitate to play Finley/Mendoza who would be improvements in the passing game IMO.

---

His TD run was a thing a beauty. His two TD throws were pretty sweet too:



I think the highlight throws and runs show his great potential.

He is our first Elite 11 since…? He has started two games in his college career (both wins). He is already better than Kyler Murray was his first year at A&M. He is only going to get better. The great runs and throws will increase in frequency and the mistakes will decrease. Timing with receivers will improve.

But yes, we need Finley and Mendoza to be ready too.

calumnus said:

---

Headhunters said:

---

I think Jackson is starting because of his scrambling and elusiveness, not his passing. He's had a few good runs but really has not impressed me. With the tougher schedule ahead I don't see Jackson having a lot of success.

Hoping the playing time he's getting will help, but also hoping the coaches don't hesitate to play Finley/Mendoza who would be improvements in the passing game IMO.

---

His TD run was a thing a beauty. His two TD throws were pretty sweet too:



I think the highlight throws and runs show his great potential.

He is our first Elite 11 since…? He has started two games in his college career (both wins). He is already better than Kyler Murray was his first year at A&M. He is only going to get better. The great runs and throws will increase in frequency and the mistakes will decrease. Timing with receivers will improve.

But yes, we need Finley and Mendoza to be ready too.

---

100 percent.
And I was sitting way to low to remember stats from the auburn game correctly but if memory serves correctly we have 2 drives with 2 tds on drives that were finished by both Ott and Jackson (the only non td drive being the one with the hurdle by Ott)

calumnus said:

---

BearSD said:

---

Boot said:

---

He takes off early and his throws are hold your breath throws.

---

This is why the coaches are not calling pass plays over the middle.

---

On the contrary, it seems like a slant would be a great call. Or a TE deep over the middle off of play-action.

---

Maybe it would work. My guess is that it's a trust issue. Coaches are turnover-averse.

CNHTH said:

---

calumnus said:

---

Headhunters said:

---

I think Jackson is starting because of his scrambling and elusiveness, not his passing. He's had a few good runs but really has not impressed me. With the tougher schedule ahead I don't see Jackson having a lot of success.

Hoping the playing time he's getting will help, but also hoping the coaches don't hesitate to play Finley/Mendoza who would be improvements in the passing game IMO.

---

His TD run was a thing a beauty. His two TD throws were pretty sweet too:



I think the highlight throws and runs show his great potential.

He is our first Elite 11 since…? He has started two games in his college career (both wins). He is already better than Kyler Murray was his first year at A&M. He is only going to get better. The great runs and throws will increase in frequency and the mistakes will decrease. Timing with receivers will improve.

But yes, we need Finley and Mendoza to be ready too.

---

100 percent.
And I was sitting way to low to remember stats from the auburn game correctly but if memory serves correctly we have 2 drives with 2 tds on drives that were finished by both Ott and Jackson (the only non td drive being the one with the hurdle by Ott)

---

We only scored one TD vs Auburn.

sycasey said:

---

CNHTH said:

---

calumnus said:

---

Headhunters said:

---

I think Jackson is starting because of his scrambling and elusiveness, not his passing. He's had a few good runs but really has not impressed me. With the tougher schedule ahead I don't see Jackson having a lot of success.

Hoping the playing time he's getting will help, but also hoping the coaches don't hesitate to play Finley/Mendoza who would be improvements in the passing game IMO.

---

His TD run was a thing a beauty. His two TD throws were pretty sweet too:



I think the highlight throws and runs show his great potential.

He is our first Elite 11 since…? He has started two games in his college career (both wins). He is already better than Kyler Murray was his first year at A&M. He is only going to get better. The great runs and throws will increase in frequency and the mistakes will decrease. Timing with receivers will improve.

But yes, we need Finley and Mendoza to be ready too.

---

100 percent.
And I was sitting way to low to remember stats from the auburn game correctly but if memory serves correctly we have 2 drives with 2 tds on drives that were finished by both Ott and Jackson (the only non td drive being the one with the hurdle by Ott)

---

We only scored one TD vs Auburn.

---

I think he means Texas State and Auburn

calumnus said:

---

Headhunters said:

---

I think Jackson is starting because of his scrambling and elusiveness, not his passing. He's had a few good runs but really has not impressed me. With the tougher schedule ahead I don't see Jackson having a lot of success.

Hoping the playing time he's getting will help, but also hoping the coaches don't hesitate to play Finley/Mendoza who would be improvements in the passing game IMO.

---

His TD run was a thing a beauty. His two TD throws were pretty sweet too:



I think the highlight throws and runs show his great potential.

He is our first Elite 11 since…? He has started two games in his college career (both wins). He is already better than Kyler Murray was his first year at A&M. He is only going to get better. The great runs and throws will increase in frequency and the mistakes will decrease. Timing with receivers will improve.

But yes, we need Finley and Mendoza to be ready too.

---

I'm not buying what you're selling.

calumnus said:

---

Headhunters said:

---

I think Jackson is starting because of his scrambling and elusiveness, not his passing. He's had a few good runs but really has not impressed me. With the tougher schedule ahead I don't see Jackson having a lot of success.

Hoping the playing time he's getting will help, but also hoping the coaches don't hesitate to play Finley/Mendoza who would be improvements in the passing game IMO.

---

His TD run was a thing a beauty. His two TD throws were pretty sweet too:



I think the highlight throws and runs show his great potential.

He is our first Elite 11 since…? He has started two games in his college career (both wins). He is already better than Kyler Murray was his first year at A&M. He is only going to get better. The great runs and throws will increase in frequency and the mistakes will decrease. Timing with receivers will improve.

But yes, we need Finley and Mendoza to be ready too.

---

Watching these highlights is much more fun than reading the game thread.

heartofthebear said:

---

eastcoastcal said:

---

Glad we got a win, definitely really disappointed with how we started off but appreciate the team showing up for the latter 3/4 of the game.

Thoughts:

- Ifanse is great! I think he's a beyond capable backup and honestly would be a solid if not good starter on many teams
- I think the OL is markedly improved from last year, and feel confident saying that 3 games in with enough sample size
- I have had issues with our pressure generation in the past but genuinely the defense did get a lot of pressure today. It just didn't manifest itself in a huge sack line but generally disruptive in the pocket
- Sam had some great moments including strikes to hunter, trond, but his statline leaves a lot to be desired
- Hope Ott was kept out mostly as a precaution so he can be ready for the rest of the season
- Feel back for Luckhurst because his last kick might've been actually good but still- not ideal
- I really don't get why we start off so slow under Wilcox in many games. It's a common theme across coordinators. Its like we wake up in the second half (or in the second quarter today). Whats up??
- I am somewhat disappointed to say this but I am a little let down by our WRs. I really thought we'd more than make up for JMS being gone because there's a lot of talent in the room but I feel like our separation isn't really that great... maybe just me?

My overall thoughts are that this team honestly isn't going to win that many more games given our tough schedule. I've seen this story before and we probably beat Furd, ASU, and maybe WSU (though they look a lot better than people thought). Maybe one upset against UCLA or something. But this team just probably isn't good enough to win 6 games, just being honest. Sucks to say but it's the truth. Overall happy we came out with a win, saw some good things, but also a classic Wilcox game where we look really bad for a few moments vs a clearly worse team.

Thoughts?

---

I didn't see the game, but listened on the radio driving home from SoCal. And I feel those are good observations across the board. What is concerning is that our passing offense in general is subpar. I have not seen the team live yet, so I'm sure the reasons for this. But I think it will be an uphill battle all season as long as SJV is under center. I think he is at least 1 season away from the minimum passing QB competence level for starters in P5 conferences. Frankly I am surprised and disappointed that we have not seen Mendoza for at least a few series. However it makes sense that Jackson is playing as much as he is. Given his history with transferring and/or decommitting from schools, he's likely to transfer out should he feel that he's not THE guy.

Anyway, the point is that, eventually, if not already, teams will realize we can't pass and will key against the run. Auburn already figured that out and we saw what happened. If we had even an average passing attack, we would have beaten Auburn easily. And as much as we love Ifanse, his numbers and effectiveness will dissipate under those circumstances, just as Ott's did a week ago.

---

That is an understatement. The pass offense is absolutely awful.

I'm curious about the FG that was missed at the end of the game. It sure looked good on the the broadcast.

GivemTheAxe said:

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Boot said:

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He takes off early and his throws are hold your breath throws.
Finley s throws had zip and were on target. (somewhat) i don't understand how we can't recruit a QB with our QB
lineage.

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Not to take anything from Findlay. IMO Jackson is clearly better. His passes are more accurate and his escapability is greater. He needs to put more arc on some of his long throws to give the receiver time to run under them. But some of his long passes are beautiful

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Pawlawski on the post game was talking about how Jackson needed to put some 'shape' on the ball so the receiver could run under them. I wish Pawlawski would coach.

wc22 said:

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When our defense executes, it is as good as we have seen a defense ever at Cal. Is it Alabama 2020? No. The issue is that we have played down to competition twice, for multiple quarters. Washington, USC, and Oregon can put up 28 in a quarter.

If Wilcox gets the defense to play solidly, we can be in every game. I actually expect this to happen. Which is why I expect 5 more 1 score losses. At least we will get a bowl.

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Been watching Cal footbal for almost 60 years. To conclude after 3 games that this year's team ranks this high in defense is really premature.
Also, the statement of qualifying a defense as to specifically when it executes is kind of crazy. A defense executes on a percentage of plays in a football game. The question is not what it does when it executes but how often it executes.