ColumbusTheCity;841946344 said:

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Posted this on another thread, but more appropriate here...

to beat tOSU, I'd say Cal should do the following.

*Short pass us to death.
*Hog the clock, start running it from minute one.
*Spy Braxton every single play.
*No turnovers, or win the turnover battle.
*No dumb penalties and keep penalties in general to a minimum.

What NOT to do:

*Run the ball up the middle more than once in a while.
*Hurry up offense.
*Deep QB drops w/deep WR routes.
*Clog the box.

Just my two cents of course.

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I'd agree that we shouldn't have Maynard taking deep drops too often, but I don't see that happening for very long before we throw a couple 40 yard strikes to the best WR in college football, on the biggest stage he's ever been on. Allen and Maynard are going to be itching to make a name for themselves. It aint going to happen dinking and dunking all game.

Plus, yOu have to take calculated shots downfield and keep the safety from cheating up, and keep the cornerbacks from jumping our short WR routes. If we don't complete some passes downfield, those opposing DB's are going to be all over our WRs.

The bottom line is this. On any given day a team that is inferior on offense and defense can win with solid all-round special teams play. That is how USC beat an otherwise rose bowl bound Cal team in 2004. We have decent kickers and returners so the coverage units have to know how important their role is and play lights out.

DrDanger;841945941 said:

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Not so fast my friend....

The most telling and important stat of the Tedford era:
Cal is 62-5 when they score 30 or more in a game. Actually, that's a great stat for any team historically in the conference.

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Impressive stat indeed.

If I were JT, I would already have my post game press statement written explaining how they hung 50 on us.

heartofthebear;841946481 said:

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The bottom line is this. On any given day a team that is inferior on offense and defense can win with solid all-round special teams play. That is how USC beat an otherwise rose bowl bound Cal team in 2004. We have decent kickers and returners so the coverage units have to know how important their role is and play lights out.

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We can make mistakes, we just can't make BIG mistakes. And if we do make some big mistakes, and to many small mistakes, we need to keep our composure and get back on track.

I'm confident the coaches will have a good gameplan on offense for this weekend. Overall I've been satisfied with the in-game strategy so far this season. Execution is another matter entirely and, unfortunately, we've already seen how well this team can do that. Our offense can score north of 30 points... IF it executes cleanly.

I have little hope of the defense holding them under 30 in any circumstances. We have yet to find Chris Conte's replacement so I don't trust us to consistently spy on Miller. He will break off some big plays. Saturday's result depends on the personality the offense decides to bring into Columbus... Either we're getting blown out to the tune of 45-10 or it's a 31-27 nail-biter that can go either way.