First off, my Caliber recap. There IS analysis in there, so it's not just a flat "okay here's what happened". If you've been reading these, thanks. If not, I'll proceed to giving my other observations.
-So, I'm usually pretty crazy at games, but I think I turned it up to 11 for this one...
I was the first student through the gates at 5:00 [actually got there at 4:45, they weren't even open yet]...
I was on jumbotron BY MYSELF because a camera was planted under me twice for my screaming and yelling
Oski came up, waited for me to turn around for like a minute, and then patted me on the chest for my cheering and what not
Mic men, head usher, etc. now recognize my face at games.
Yeah. I have bruises on my hands from clapping and on my shins from leaning up against the railing. Good times.
-Students brought it. Hopefully they bring it again for Stanford [which they will].
-I also got people to start shutting up when Cal is on offense. Heard shushing behind me through pretty much the whole game. If only someone would tell the 2nd and 3rd quarter mic men not to cheer on offense...
-Moving on to game related things, we unveiled the diamond formation [inverted wishbone, whatever you want to call it] this week with Rodgers and Stevens, which I think is a good move. Having those two guys back on the edges gives us some backup to help with ends, since our tackle play is not very good. It also lets both of them make blocks with full speed behind them. Loved this new wrinkle.
-I don't have a problem with Bigelow's usage. He didn't have a great game rushing the ball, but at least an honest attempt was made at getting him in there. It looks like the RB splits are going to be really game dependent, which is fine. As long as he's in there in some form, I'm happy. CJ showed great balance on that last sealing TD run.
-At some point, Cal is going to have to be able to pass downfield more. I can't imagine that we'll be able to break YAC so consistently against better defenses like OSU or Oregon.
-We played a B- game. They 8-16 on third down. Again. B- might be good enough against WSU, though.
-By the way, if you want Kam Jackson to start over Marc or Steve, you are insane. Marc is our best corner, and Steve has done pretty well. Both are better tacklers than KJ at this point anyway.
If you want Kam to play the nickel over Hill, you are insane. He played so badly there they had to take him out. I'm fine with him continuing on the outside in the future if one of our two starters is out, but keep things where they are.
Tonight was a good performance, but don't get let it get out of perspective.
-Another positive I really liked was our first consistent pressure of an FBS team this year - what we couldn't do to Taylor Kelly, we did to Brett Hundley. Chris McCain is still too small and needs to put on another 15 pounds, though. Still love him. My favorite defensive player, alongside Avery [by the way, how freaking FAST is that guy?]
-Suck it, LA.
More if I think of anything. A lot of stuff I was going to put ended up in my recap.
-So, I'm usually pretty crazy at games, but I think I turned it up to 11 for this one...
I was the first student through the gates at 5:00 [actually got there at 4:45, they weren't even open yet]...
I was on jumbotron BY MYSELF because a camera was planted under me twice for my screaming and yelling
Oski came up, waited for me to turn around for like a minute, and then patted me on the chest for my cheering and what not
Mic men, head usher, etc. now recognize my face at games.
Yeah. I have bruises on my hands from clapping and on my shins from leaning up against the railing. Good times.
-Students brought it. Hopefully they bring it again for Stanford [which they will].
-I also got people to start shutting up when Cal is on offense. Heard shushing behind me through pretty much the whole game. If only someone would tell the 2nd and 3rd quarter mic men not to cheer on offense...
-Moving on to game related things, we unveiled the diamond formation [inverted wishbone, whatever you want to call it] this week with Rodgers and Stevens, which I think is a good move. Having those two guys back on the edges gives us some backup to help with ends, since our tackle play is not very good. It also lets both of them make blocks with full speed behind them. Loved this new wrinkle.
-I don't have a problem with Bigelow's usage. He didn't have a great game rushing the ball, but at least an honest attempt was made at getting him in there. It looks like the RB splits are going to be really game dependent, which is fine. As long as he's in there in some form, I'm happy. CJ showed great balance on that last sealing TD run.
-At some point, Cal is going to have to be able to pass downfield more. I can't imagine that we'll be able to break YAC so consistently against better defenses like OSU or Oregon.
-We played a B- game. They 8-16 on third down. Again. B- might be good enough against WSU, though.
-By the way, if you want Kam Jackson to start over Marc or Steve, you are insane. Marc is our best corner, and Steve has done pretty well. Both are better tacklers than KJ at this point anyway.
If you want Kam to play the nickel over Hill, you are insane. He played so badly there they had to take him out. I'm fine with him continuing on the outside in the future if one of our two starters is out, but keep things where they are.
Tonight was a good performance, but don't get let it get out of perspective.
-Another positive I really liked was our first consistent pressure of an FBS team this year - what we couldn't do to Taylor Kelly, we did to Brett Hundley. Chris McCain is still too small and needs to put on another 15 pounds, though. Still love him. My favorite defensive player, alongside Avery [by the way, how freaking FAST is that guy?]
-Suck it, LA.
More if I think of anything. A lot of stuff I was going to put ended up in my recap.
