The 10-9 game at Oregon state was the famous clock game wherevthey gave osu more time at the end by mistake. Roth was ailing and we could not generate any offense. White waited until it was too late to put in Bessana.i understand he wanted to let Roth play. Completely understandable. We probably win that game with Fred.

bearister said:

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First start vs Oregon State

21/32 207yds 6.5 yds avg. 2 TD 1 INT

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so I've seen many nicknames so far, Ferd, Ferdie, Doza the Doze Meister. Can we reach a consensus? Just once?

cal83dls79 said:

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bearister said:

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First start vs Oregon State

21/32 207yds 6.5 yds avg. 2 TD 1 INT

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so I've seen many nicknames so far, Ferd, Ferdie, Doza the Doze Meister. Can we reach a consensus? Just once?

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I'd just go with "Fernando" - it's distinctive and rolls off the tongue. Did Fernando Valenzuela ever need a nickname?

Lots of syllables I like Doza.

I like Nando verbally and FM for typing.

F as in F it…

HearstMining said:

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Did Fernando Valenzuela ever need a nickname?

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He had one, "El Torro," but I'm not sure he needed one. Fernando Llamas needed one.

BearOnABike said:

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I like Nando verbally and FM for typing.

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Americans shorten everything. The town I grew up in was originally named "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles" (the Village of our Lady, the Queen of the Angels) but that was too long so we shortened it to "L.A."

F'r'e'd'

The next Jim Plunkett an undiscovered country.

Need a Edwin Diaz moment for his next touchdown but our marketing sucks

bearister said:

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HearstMining said:

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Did Fernando Valenzuela ever need a nickname?

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He had one, "El Torro," but I'm not sure he needed one. Fernando Llamas needed one.

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Just one "L" in Lamas. Am I the only one who always mixed him up with Ricardo Montalban?
I think Montalban did the ads for the Chrysler Cordoba - " . . . fine Corinthian leather . . ."

HearstMining said:

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bearister said:

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HearstMining said:

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Did Fernando Valenzuela ever need a nickname?

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He had one, "El Torro," but I'm not sure he needed one. Fernando Llamas needed one.

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Just one "L" in Lamas. Am I the only one who always mixed him up with Ricardo Montalban?
I think Montalban did the ads for the Chrysler Cordoba - " . . . fine Corinthian leather . . ."

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Since we have a Star Trek digression on the Chris Pine thread:

Khan!

HearstMining said:

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If the Cal band could even learn just the chorus for the next home game, that would be pretty cool. It's one of those songs that any Cal fan in the stadium under the age of 75 would recognize and understand the connection.
Maybe play it the first time he throws a TD pass.

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I say if he wins at UU, we sing it in the stadium for the $C game. The mic men and the band could coordinate a singalong for the students to get it started.

The first thing I thought of was Rainier Wolfcastle shouting "Mendoza!".

sycasey said:

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heartofthebear said:

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sycasey said:

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TedfordTheGreat said:

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TBH on everything to harp on, lets not harp on why they didn't give Mendoza a chance earlier. This is game 6. They saw what they see on the field and they made the needed adjustment (maybe a bit slow).

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The 49ers had Brock Purdy behind two other guys for most of last year, and they certainly are not a dumb coaching staff. Sometimes you don't know what a guy has until he gets on the field.

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Uh, they knew what they had and said as much. They said that the 3 QBs are about equal. They immediately tried out Finley and Jackson over the first couple of games. But for some reason they decided not to do that with Mendoza until now. That's a political decision not an innocent issue.

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Maybe they said it was equal but their decisions about who to play suggested who they thought was better.

But I'm not really criticizing either. We've seen multiple examples throughout history of a backup player becoming unexpectedly good when forced to play. It's not the norm, but it happens and it doesn't mean the coaches suck.

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Thank you sycasey. Sometimes (many times) people
on this board (including me) are too quick to attribute malice or incompetence to the coaches or staff at Cal. There are often just differences of opinions.

Bump

Anyone have any spare ribs to offer this young man after Utah?

72CalBear said:

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Anyone have any spare ribs to offer this young man after Utah?

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For curbside pickup

HearstMining said:

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bearister said:

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HearstMining said:

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Did Fernando Valenzuela ever need a nickname?

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He had one, "El Torro," but I'm not sure he needed one. Fernando Llamas needed one.

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Just one "L" in Lamas. Am I the only one who always mixed him up with Ricardo Montalban?
I think Montalban did the ads for the Chrysler Cordoba - " . . . fine Corinthian leather . . ."

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Right! And Fernando Lamas was the one that said "You look marvelous!" and a very non-Prime "It doesn't matter how you feel, it's how you look!" (Yes, I know that was Billy Crystal from SNL, but the satire has become the reality.)

On the day @CalFootball gets its bowl assignment, QB Fernando Mendoza says again he plans to remain in Berkeley . . . and wants to win the 2024 ACC title with the Bears. My notebook:https://t.co/XLGfLmGJgO

— Jeff Faraudo (@JeffFaraudo) December 4, 2023

The Nandolorian

That's a keeper.

I'm sure you guys have been discussing Mendoza in other threads, so apologies if this is duplicate coverage.

I haven't been able to watch much Cal football this year because of the poor Pac12Network availability. So I'm working with limited reps.

I just finished watching the bowl game and I think Mendoza is fantastic!!!!

Yes, he had some interceptions, but he fires a strong ball, works the pocket well, and can run like a gazelle.

It seems he needs to work on his reads downfield (faster release?), but how can he do that if he's facing a crushing rush on most plays?

I'm sure he could develop better if he had a stronger unit to work with, and this leads me to understand why so many players transfer around.

If he can mentally process (I can be no judge of this!) and his accuracy is on, he looks to have the tools to be a pro!

Good luck, Fernando!!
I hope to get to watch you develop in the years ahead!

Still a fan, even after the bowl game. Will be interesting to see the QB competition between Chandler Rogers and Nando.

Bearspot said:

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Still a fan, even after the bowl game. Will be interesting to see the QB competition between Chandler Rogers and Nando.

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NEWS: USC 5-star true freshman QB Malachi Nelson has talked with South Carolina, Houston, Tulane, Cal, and TCU since entering the transfer portal, @PeteNakos_ reports👀https://t.co/8ChZ8z9I6O pic.twitter.com/rFLiTviWgz

— On3 (@On3sports) December 19, 2023

^^^ People who get their hopes up when they read the above, that is where they get the expression "starry-eyed". ^^^

Agree. Cal's marketing is truly awful. Ott should hire a publicist instead of letting the school's SiD handle it.

bearister said:

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Bearspot said:

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Still a fan, even after the bowl game. Will be interesting to see the QB competition between Chandler Rogers and Nando.

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He is no quitter. He will be back and killin' next year.

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Agreed. Expecting the competition to bring improvement. Nando is a special player and special players grow.

Bearspot said:

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Still a fan, even after the bowl game. Will be interesting to see the QB competition between Chandler Rogers and Nando.

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Agreed, I am a fan of all our players. However, Fernando was/is an underdog and is just a very eager and earnest young man, very easy to root for. Want him to be successful in whatever he does. His issue is turnovers. Our offense and defense are not good enough that we can survive our QB turning the ball over 2-4 times a game. I am confident he will clean that up. However, bottom line on all our teams is the bottom line: winning. They are all Bears, they are teammates, competition is good. May the best player play!

Bump! Sorry to drop the 'Nando on you Southerners! …..SUCK IT!

BEARS ON THE BOARD.@qb_fernando to @nyziahHunter3 for six. #GoBears | #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/VuAQFpQgFm

— Cal Football (@CalFootball) September 7, 2024

What a throw and catch!