Both teams had a 9am start. One of those teams showed up to play.
Coronavirus doesn't explain the poor offense, LBs, etc.
Granted, UCLA had a bit more experience, but Cal is more talented and experienced - they could run, throw, catch, block and tackle last year (or in HS, or the previous college). I still expect better than this.
If this game had come down to missed assignments or being out-schemed, I'd forgive the Bears for losing a close one. Instead they got straight-up blown out on both sides of the ball. There was nothing fancy going on - UCLA just lined up and ran over Cal, while Cal couldn't do anything on offense to speak of.
It's one thing if a less-talented team like Navy that relies heavily on scheme has a rough start. Everything about their offense and defense relies on timing and execution to make up for lack of size and talent. It's another when a very talented and experienced team simply cannot function and gets obliterated. Cal looked like Sac State. In fact, most of Cal's "C" game opponents have shown up with more than what we saw from Cal.
Yes, Coronavirus has made things very challenging for Cal and I'm prepared to toss out this season. But I also won't be surprised if Cal continues to look bad the rest of the year, and it could lead to some recruiting defections. It's not the end of the world, but it could be a significant setback.
The coaches failed the players, and the players failed themselves. Nobody who watched that game can say anyone on the Cal sideline gave 100% in that game. UCLA didn't give 100%, either, but they sure looked a lot more focused and motivated than a Cal team that was playing for the first time in almost a full year.
Bottom line, the coaches did a very poor job getting this team ready. Every other team in the country is facing challenges - some coaches have stepped up and some (like Harbaugh) have stepped in it instead. Harbaugh doesn't deserve a pass for failing to adapt to the situation and neither does Wilcox. This isn't fatal, but he and his staff should absolutely be looking in the mirror and figuring out what they're doing wrong. The players who have sacrificed so much deserve much better from this staff. And they deserve better than shrugs and excuses from fans.
I really hate those stupid slogans like "we're all in this together," because we're so not. Some people are using the virus as an excuse to celebrate being worthless, lazy, stoned couch potato losers, and if anything giving strong evidence of why God would put a virus like that on Earth in the first place; some (unfortunately, too few) are using this as a challenge to face the adversity, work harder and better themselves in spite of the situation - forcing themselves to go outside and out of their comfort zone and not accepting "good enough." You can see that on the field this year - some teams have kind of packed it in from the get go while others are finding opportunity. It's pretty clear from the words of the coaches and the actions on the field that Wilcox and Co didn't leverage adversity but instead decided to complain and make excuses. That's their failure.