Well, as forecast (by, ahem, me) it was a gorgeous day in Strawberry Canyon. Not as cold as I had feared, and a glorious clear day with plenty of sun. BYU came into the match with a 6-1 record, losing only to Lindenwood.
Cal received the opening kickoff and scored a try within the first 4 minutes of the game, so it was a great start. But soon thereafter, we lost a player for 10 minutes due to a yellow card. BYU followed up with a try (missed conversion) and after another 10-15 minutes or so each team notched a another try to make it 14-12 favor us. BYU's 2nd try was actually a bit of luck for them. They had a penalty kick awarded deep in their own territory - they tried kicking it into touch DEEP in our territory, but it didn't go out, and our men fielded it. So we had the ball and began to move it upfield, when a BYU player running a full tilt managed to get between two of our players - one of which was passing to the other. So the BYU player was able to intercept the ball and continue into the goal - it really was a thing of beauty, even though it went BYU's way. Then after that, Cal fell apart. Lots of penalties, plus a number of ball handling mistakes, which, at best, blunted our attacks, and at worst resulted in turnovers. Make no mistake, BYU is a good team, but it was our own errors which sealed the deal. BYU scored two more tries in the half - one of them was preceded by a consistent series of diving with the ball. They'd have the ball in a ruck and a player would dive forward for a meter gain. Then another one would get it and dive again for a short gain. They did this 4 or 5 times to make a respectable advance - it got them close to the goal when they reverted to "normal" play to score. Just before the half ended, a second Cal player was given a yellow card and BYU scored on a penalty kick, so it was 29-14 at halftime.
One of Cal's trademarks is staying strong in the second half, so I remained optimistic. But on receiving the opening kickoff for the 2nd half, BYU marched downfield and scored another try. We had a great opportunity with a turnover deep in their territory, but when we attempted a quick restart with a tap we lost control of the ball and BYU recovered it. BYU then stole one of our lineouts deep in our territory and got a try from that as well. Somewhere around here we scored a try. We were on the plus side of a BYU turnover, but ball handling mistakes forced us to kick it away rather than try to run ... so BYU had possession and turned that into a try as well. Then we had another good drive going ... until a bad pass went into touch and BYU was awarded possession. Finally, with less than 15 minutes in the game Cal scored a try, making it 48-26, but it seemed the Cal players were really getting tired and simply not executing standard play. We had possession again basically right at the BYU goal line, but couldn't get it over. Next time we had the ball, we had a player make a great long run down field, but when he was tackled there weren't enough Cal players nearby to support him, and so BYU got the ball. In the last 2-3 minutes of the game BYU had the ball at our goal line. Our boys fought hard for several minutes (long past time expiring), but in the end BYU made the try (missed conversion). Final score 53-26.
In the end, the better team won the game. The scrums were fairly equal, but we sucked at the lineouts. In the 1st portion of the first half I think we had great offense and defense, but then it went away due largely to penalties and ball mishandling. I have never seen us lose so badly before. Navy mishandled us with brute strength a year or two ago at Annapolis, but at least the score was close - I don't remember (bearing in mind my memory ain't too good) anyone EVER scoring over 50 points against the Bears.
Well, at least the weather (as forecast by, ahem, me) was beautiful.
Cal received the opening kickoff and scored a try within the first 4 minutes of the game, so it was a great start. But soon thereafter, we lost a player for 10 minutes due to a yellow card. BYU followed up with a try (missed conversion) and after another 10-15 minutes or so each team notched a another try to make it 14-12 favor us. BYU's 2nd try was actually a bit of luck for them. They had a penalty kick awarded deep in their own territory - they tried kicking it into touch DEEP in our territory, but it didn't go out, and our men fielded it. So we had the ball and began to move it upfield, when a BYU player running a full tilt managed to get between two of our players - one of which was passing to the other. So the BYU player was able to intercept the ball and continue into the goal - it really was a thing of beauty, even though it went BYU's way. Then after that, Cal fell apart. Lots of penalties, plus a number of ball handling mistakes, which, at best, blunted our attacks, and at worst resulted in turnovers. Make no mistake, BYU is a good team, but it was our own errors which sealed the deal. BYU scored two more tries in the half - one of them was preceded by a consistent series of diving with the ball. They'd have the ball in a ruck and a player would dive forward for a meter gain. Then another one would get it and dive again for a short gain. They did this 4 or 5 times to make a respectable advance - it got them close to the goal when they reverted to "normal" play to score. Just before the half ended, a second Cal player was given a yellow card and BYU scored on a penalty kick, so it was 29-14 at halftime.
One of Cal's trademarks is staying strong in the second half, so I remained optimistic. But on receiving the opening kickoff for the 2nd half, BYU marched downfield and scored another try. We had a great opportunity with a turnover deep in their territory, but when we attempted a quick restart with a tap we lost control of the ball and BYU recovered it. BYU then stole one of our lineouts deep in our territory and got a try from that as well. Somewhere around here we scored a try. We were on the plus side of a BYU turnover, but ball handling mistakes forced us to kick it away rather than try to run ... so BYU had possession and turned that into a try as well. Then we had another good drive going ... until a bad pass went into touch and BYU was awarded possession. Finally, with less than 15 minutes in the game Cal scored a try, making it 48-26, but it seemed the Cal players were really getting tired and simply not executing standard play. We had possession again basically right at the BYU goal line, but couldn't get it over. Next time we had the ball, we had a player make a great long run down field, but when he was tackled there weren't enough Cal players nearby to support him, and so BYU got the ball. In the last 2-3 minutes of the game BYU had the ball at our goal line. Our boys fought hard for several minutes (long past time expiring), but in the end BYU made the try (missed conversion). Final score 53-26.
In the end, the better team won the game. The scrums were fairly equal, but we sucked at the lineouts. In the 1st portion of the first half I think we had great offense and defense, but then it went away due largely to penalties and ball mishandling. I have never seen us lose so badly before. Navy mishandled us with brute strength a year or two ago at Annapolis, but at least the score was close - I don't remember (bearing in mind my memory ain't too good) anyone EVER scoring over 50 points against the Bears.
Well, at least the weather (as forecast by, ahem, me) was beautiful.
