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Cal Football

Bears Lay an Egg in Seattle

September 23, 2023
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HUSKY STADIUM - With the upcoming dissolution of the Pac-12, the Bears made what may be their final trip to Seattle to face undefeated #8-ranked Washington and they couldn’t get out of town fast enough to avoid an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Huskies as they fell 59-32 in a defeat that seemed worse than the final score indicated.

Failures in all phases of the game doomed the Bears after they suffered three Ben Finley interceptions, including a pick-six, a punt return for a TD and two missed extra points for starters.

The decision to start Finley in hindsight appears to be a poor one. Jackson struggled at times in the last two games, particularly with decision-making and reading the field but Finley was a disaster, committing all three of Cal’s interceptions while completing just 17-of 32 passes (53%) for 207 yards and a 108 passer rating on the night in 3 quarters of work.

"Last week, we felt like we needed to do a better job at the quarterback position," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said of the decision to start Finley at QB over Jackson. "We wanted to open it up for competition again. Getting the ball to the right spots in the run game, RPO game, in the pass game. That position along with most every other position didn't play well enough tonight."

As for the decision to stick with Finley as long as they did when he clearly didn’t have what it took to keep the Bears in the game, Wilcox noted: “We felt like coming into the game, we were going to have to hit some downfield throws. Ben, we felt like had done a good job of that in practice.

“Obviously, the turnovers in the game were costly. Now, basically, both guys have two games under their belt, and it's unsettled. I mean we've got to find more consistent play at that position. And that's the one that gets the most attention for obvious reasons.

“I think Sam's got a big upside. He's still a very young player and learning to play the quarterback position, Ben has played more. Obviously, the decision-making, knowing where to go with the ball wasn't as good as it should have been, or we expected it to be tonight. He made some good throws, but obviously, the turnovers were so costly.”

In contrast, Jackson created a spark after coming in, completing 10-of-14 passes for 156 yards and a TD and an eye-popping 188 passer rating while leading the Bears to two TDs in his quarter plus of play. 

Washington QB Troy Penix diced up the Bears’ defense all night, much as he has for the last season and a half for the Huskies, completing 19-of-25 passes for 304 yards and 4 TDs along with one interception, coming away with an otherworldly 222 passer rating. 

In all, the Huskies piled up 389 yards through the air and 140 on the ground in their blowout win.

“Yeah, they're pretty at good.scoring points,” MLB Jackson Sirmon said after the game. “And it doesn't help when you're first playing defense when you're (already) down 14-0. That’s as bad a start in a game that I've ever been part of so that's a tough place to start when you're playing a really good offense.”

It didn’t take long for disaster to strike in the contest. After UW won the toss and elected to defer to the 2nd half, QB Ben Finley was intercepted by UW linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio and returned 43 yards for a TD just 2:23 into the game. The Jack McAllister PAT gave the Huskies a quick lead. Finley got the surprise start in place of regular starter Sam Jackson even though Jackson appeared healthy and ready to play.

After the Bears were stopped on third down at the Bears 35, Cal’s putrid special teams struck again as receiver/punt returner Rome Odunze fielded a 48-yard Lachlan Wilson punt and took it 83 yards to the house to give the Huskies a quick 14-0 lead after the PAT with 9:43 still remaining in the quarter before Cal’s defense had even played a down.

The Bears finally showed signs of life on the next possession, putting together a solid 8-play, 75-yard drive keyed by a 27-yard catch and run by former Husky receiver Taj Davis to the Washington 7 followed by a one-handed circus catch TD reception by receiver Jeremiah Hunter. Again, special teams struggles reared it’s ugly head with a poor snap and hold that resulted in another missed PAT. The TD narrowed the score to 14-6 with 5:52 left to go in the 1st quarter.

Hunter led the Bears with 5 receptions for 85 yards and a TD on the night. Several other Cal receivers also performed well, with Washington transfer Taj Davis hauling in 5 passes for 60 yards and a TD, redshirt frosh receiver Trond Grizzell with the best game of his young career with 4 catches for 86 yards and a TD and redshirt frosh tight end Jack Endries also with his best game, with 4 catches for 54 yards.

“It doesn't matter what I do if we’re not winning,” Hunter said after the game. “ We need to all get better. That’s the main goal.”

The Huskies wasted no time extending their lead, going on a quick 5-play, 75-yard scoring drive on the next possession on the strength of a 19-yard Dillon Johnson run, a 23-yard reception by Odunze and an 8-yard Troy Penix back-shoulder TD pass to receiver Ja’Lynn Polk to extend Washington’s lead to 21-6 with 2:42 left in the quarter.

The next possession, FInley was intercepted again, this time by safety Dominque Hamption at the Cal 27. The Bears’ defense finally held the next possession, with Washington settling for a 41-yard Grady Gross field goal to push their lead to 24-6 with 38 seconds left to close out the frantic first quarter scoring fest.

The Bears’ offense temporarily came out of hibernation the next possession, putting together a 7-play, 80-yard drive, with 20-yard Trond Grizzell and 25-yard Hunter receptions followed by a 24-yard toss from Finley to Davis doing the damage on the drive. A failed 2-point conversion attempt left the score at 31-12 with 9 minutes left in the half. 

The next possession, Penix was picked off by cornerback Lu-Magia Hears at the Husky 37 but the Bears wasted no time giving it right back as Finley chucked his third interception of the half, this time picked by Washington cornerback Jabbar Muhammad and returned 42 yards to the Cal 48. Seven plays later, the Huskies found paydirt again, as Penix hit Polk for a 24-yard TD to extend their lead to 38-12 with 4:08 left in the half.

The Bears were unable to close out the half with the 26-point deficit, surrendering a 6-play, 80-yard TD drive to close at the end of the half as Penix hit Odunze with another TD pass, this time from 35 yards over a badly-beaten Hearns to push their lead to an embarrassing 45-12 at the half. It was the most single half points given up by the Bears in the program’s history, tying Alabama’s 45-point half against Cal in 1973. It was also the most points the Huskies have scored in a half as well.

The Bears finally looked like they were going to catch a break to start the second half after Cam Sidney recovered a Germie Bernard fumble at the Husky 32 but the officials overturned the call, ruling the ground caused the fumble. The Huskies capitalized, driving 68 yards in 7 plays to go up 52-12 3 minutes into the half on a 13-yard Odunze TD grab and run.

Faced with a 4th-and-2 at the Cal 23 on their next possession, Washington elected to go for it on fourth down but the Bears were able to hold, stopping the Huskies from scoring for just the second time in the game. Following the turnover on downs, the Bears strung together a 9-play, 77-yard drive, with much of the damage coming on a 50-yard Finley completion to Hunter.

The Bears almost didn’t score on the drive when Finley threw an ill-advised pass picked off by cornerback Thadeus Dixon and returned 95 yards for a touchdown, but just as a Cal TD was wiped off the board earlier in the drive, Dixon was whistled for a facemask penalty on the play and the ball came back to the Washington 8. For the second time in the drive, running back Jadyn Ott scored and this time it counted as the soph running back punched it in for a 2-yard TD run to bring the score to 52-19 after the Luckhurst PAT - his first and only PAT of the game.

On the ensuing drive, the Bears’ defense held, forcing the first Huskies punt of the day 1:27 into the fourth quarter. The Bears capitalized, marching 87 yards in 8 plays behind a rejuvenated Cal offense with former starter Sam Jackson making an appearance and sparking the Bears with several key completions and a pretty 20-yard TD completion to Grizzell, who wrestled the ball away from the defender. After yet another Luckhurst missed PAT, the Bears trailed 52-25 with 10:48 left in the game.

The Huskies weren’t content to rest on their 52-point laurels and put together a 9-play, 75-yard drive behind backup QB Dylan Morris, with Washington extending their lead on a 9-yard TD run by backup running back Sam Adams to push their lead to 59-25 with 7:08 left in the game.

Jackson and the Cal offense continued their rejuvenated play -granted against a 2nd and 3rd string Husky defense- driving 75 yards in 11 plays, with key plays coming from an 11-yard Marquis Montgomery reception along with a 33-yard Grizzell grab before running back Ashton Stredick scored on a 3-yard run. Frosh kicker Mateen Baghani came on in relief of the struggling Luckhurst to hit the PAT to bring the final margin to 59-32 to close out the scoring.

The Cal defense was led by safety Patrick McMorris and inside linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr with 7 tackles a piece. The Huskies surrendered no sacks in their victory and just 3 tackles for loss.

"I think when something like this happens, there's a couple of ways that a team can take it,” Sirmon said after the game. "And Coach Wilcox's message, my message, the entire team's goal and message is going to be to learn from this to remember how much it sucks and use that to get our minds right to win a football game next week."

Discussion from...

Bears Lay an Egg in Seattle

8,976 Views | 33 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by BearSD
calumnus
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3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Rushinbear
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Hey, we scored 32. You thought we would win? (Yeah, so did I.).
UrsineMaximus
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calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.
Rushinbear
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UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.
We scored 10 against Auburn. Is UW better than them? Sure. And, we scored 32.

The better question is how did UW score 59 on us? Ans.: Penix is hella good, maybe the best in the conf. And, generally their O players are better than our D players.

It will be interesting to see, in April, whether having been the anointed, will result in Caleb being chosen over Penix.

Look for our O to show improvement against ASU.
Bearly Clad
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UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.
Doesn't matter, fact is that in two of our 4 games Jackson had to come in and spell Finley when he wasn't getting it done. It happened against both power 5 teams we've played so far
calfanz
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If i was on the zoom, I would have asked when does basketball season start?
72CalBear
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calfanz said:



If i was on the zoom, I would have asked when does basketball season start?
Irony or good luck??? My internet connection went out after the Huskies 2nd score.
HKBear97!
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Complete beatdown by a far superior team in every aspect of the game. This contest was over before the first quarter finished. Welcome to the new college football world order - the haves simply outdistance themselves from the have-nots and it showed last night.

Anyone watch the USC/ASU game? USC was rusty and unprepared from a week off, but credit to ASU who looked much better than expected, particularly with how they handled their QB situation. Facing ASU at home helps, but they will be a very strong opponent and I won't be surprised with a Cal loss.

golden sloth
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UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.


Poppycock!

Jackson is clearly superior to Finley. That is clear as day to me. Finley is a turnover over machine, and you cant have that.
golden sloth
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HKBear97! said:

Complete beatdown by a far superior team in every aspect of the game. This contest was over before the first quarter finished. Welcome to the new college football world order - the haves simply outdistance themselves from the have-nots and it showed last night.

Anyone watch the USC/ASU game? USC was rusty and unprepared from a week off, but credit to ASU who looked much better than expected, particularly with how they handled their QB situation. Facing ASU at home helps, but they will be a very strong opponent and I won't be surprised with a Cal loss.




You could argue that the game was over before Washington's offense even took the field.
PtownBear1
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golden sloth said:

HKBear97! said:

Complete beatdown by a far superior team in every aspect of the game. This contest was over before the first quarter finished. Welcome to the new college football world order - the haves simply outdistance themselves from the have-nots and it showed last night.

Anyone watch the USC/ASU game? USC was rusty and unprepared from a week off, but credit to ASU who looked much better than expected, particularly with how they handled their QB situation. Facing ASU at home helps, but they will be a very strong opponent and I won't be surprised with a Cal loss.




You could argue that the game was over before Washington's offense even took the field.


Or 3 years ago when Wilcox was extended
DMan_Cal
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golden sloth said:

UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.


Poppycock!

Jackson is clearly superior to Finley. That is clear as day to me. Finley is a turnover over machine, and you cant have that.
And here's the problem. Neither one of them is very good. You can't survive in college football without a decent QB. We don't have one.
southseasbear
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DMan_Cal said:

golden sloth said:

UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.


Poppycock!

Jackson is clearly superior to Finley. That is clear as day to me. Finley is a turnover over machine, and you cant have that.
And here's the problem. Neither one of them is very good. You can't survive in college football without a decent QB. We don't have one.
We had a decent (or better) QB in Jack Plummer. Why did we let him go?
concernedparent
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Bearly Clad said:

UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.
Doesn't matter, fact is that in two of our 4 games Jackson had to come in and spell Finley when he wasn't getting it done. It happened against both power 5 teams we've played so far


Jackson also didn't get it done vs Auburn. And it does matter. Beating up on Washington's 3s and walkons is not the same as doing it against decent players. There is no question Jackson should be the guy going forward but I expect QB to continue to be a rough spot this year. Wilcox and Spav really ****ed the dog with their management of the position.
BearoutEast67
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OL is playing much better than last year, even with the injuries. Maybe SJV didn't get injured this game? QB- WR timing and option reading remains off. D played solid but was asked to play too conservatively - likely a Wilcox call. DBs should have played man to bump receivers early to disrupt timing.
Grizzell has earned a scholie!
Donate to Cal's NIL at https://calegends.com/donation/
StarsDoMatter
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Jackson is no better than Finley. Both are nowhere close to power 5 starters

Jackson moving the ball against third stringers in garbage time proves absolutely nothing.

We need to actually recruit and develop QBs. Something Wilcox will never do.
ducky23
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No one is really recruiting and developing QBs anymore. Caleb Williams, Penix, nix, etc all transfers.

What we really need to do is identify proven, experienced QBs in the portal and recruit them hard

I still don't understand why we didn't recruit the Idaho QB. He was the FCS freshman of the year. He was a proven commodity. WTH?
DoubtfulBear
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ducky23 said:

No one is really recruiting and developing QBs anymore. Caleb Williams, Penix, nix, etc all transfers.

What we really need to do is identify proven, experienced QBs in the portal and recruit them hard

I still don't understand why we didn't recruit the Idaho QB. He was the FCS freshman of the year. He was a proven commodity. WTH?
You think our stoic HC has any ounce of charisma required to recruit top QBs?
StarsDoMatter
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ducky23 said:

No one is really recruiting and developing QBs anymore

What we really need to do is identify proven, experienced QBs in the portal and recruit them hard

I still don't understand why we didn't recruit the Idaho QB. He was the FCS freshman of the year. He was a proven commodity. WTH?



Good luck. Who the heck that's any good would actually consider transferring here?
ducky23
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If we can't convince some kid that cal + NIL money is better than Idaho, than I don't know what we're doing here
golden sloth
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I really don't know how anyone could have watched the game last night and thought Finley is the answer. Three interceptions, ALL of which were of the horrendous variety disqualifies him from being the QB. The people writing off Jackson's performance as being against third string, fail to recognize that Finley's performance is absolutely untenable.
golden sloth
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concernedparent said:

Bearly Clad said:

UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.
Doesn't matter, fact is that in two of our 4 games Jackson had to come in and spell Finley when he wasn't getting it done. It happened against both power 5 teams we've played so far


Jackson also didn't get it done vs Auburn. And it does matter. Beating up on Washington's 3s and walkons is not the same as doing it against decent players. There is no question Jackson should be the guy going forward but I expect QB to continue to be a rough spot this year. Wilcox and Spav really ****ed the dog with their management of the position.
Washington's backups are decent players.
eastbayyoungbear
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golden sloth said:

concernedparent said:

Bearly Clad said:

UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.
Doesn't matter, fact is that in two of our 4 games Jackson had to come in and spell Finley when he wasn't getting it done. It happened against both power 5 teams we've played so far


Jackson also didn't get it done vs Auburn. And it does matter. Beating up on Washington's 3s and walkons is not the same as doing it against decent players. There is no question Jackson should be the guy going forward but I expect QB to continue to be a rough spot this year. Wilcox and Spav really ****ed the dog with their management of the position.
Washington's backups are decent players.


Washington's backup QB was their starter for 2 years. That tells you how deep that team is.
DoubtfulBear
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eastbayyoungbear said:

golden sloth said:

concernedparent said:

Bearly Clad said:

UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.
Doesn't matter, fact is that in two of our 4 games Jackson had to come in and spell Finley when he wasn't getting it done. It happened against both power 5 teams we've played so far


Jackson also didn't get it done vs Auburn. And it does matter. Beating up on Washington's 3s and walkons is not the same as doing it against decent players. There is no question Jackson should be the guy going forward but I expect QB to continue to be a rough spot this year. Wilcox and Spav really ****ed the dog with their management of the position.
Washington's backups are decent players.


Washington's backup QB was their starter for 2 years. That tells you how deep that team is.
Meanwhile our starter QBs are backups for other programs
BearlyCareAnymore
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ducky23 said:

If we can't convince some kid that cal + NIL money is better than Idaho, than I don't know what we're doing here


It's not whether Cal is better than Idaho. It is whether the offer he can get next year is better than Cal and whether Cal or Idaho give him the best opportunity to step up down the line. He may well be looking like our current QB's if he were at Cal and where would he be then?

That said, I don't think we have him the opportunity.
BearSD
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concernedparent said:

Bearly Clad said:

UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.
Doesn't matter, fact is that in two of our 4 games Jackson had to come in and spell Finley when he wasn't getting it done. It happened against both power 5 teams we've played so far

Jackson also didn't get it done vs Auburn. And it does matter. Beating up on Washington's 3s and walkons is not the same as doing it against decent players. There is no question Jackson should be the guy going forward but I expect QB to continue to be a rough spot this year. Wilcox and Spav really ****ed the dog with their management of the position.
Other coaching staffs have done a better job recruiting the transfer portal. Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Colorado, USC, even Arizona State (!) all started transfer QBs on Saturday who are better than anyone on Cal's depth chart.

Of course the recruiting issues extend far beyond QB. Washington's talent level is far better up and down the roster.

UW is much better than any ACC team Cal will play next year, unless Florida State is on the schedule. There won't be a talent gap like the one we saw on Saturday. Still, if you ever want to go toe-to-toe with teams at that elite talent level, the #1 priority has to be recruiting as well as those teams do. Don't lose sleep worrying about this or that in-game coaching decision when the talent level is far below the opponent's talent level.
Rushinbear
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concernedparent said:

Bearly Clad said:

UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.
Doesn't matter, fact is that in two of our 4 games Jackson had to come in and spell Finley when he wasn't getting it done. It happened against both power 5 teams we've played so far


Jackson also didn't get it done vs Auburn. And it does matter. Beating up on Washington's 3s and walkons is not the same as doing it against decent players. There is no question Jackson should be the guy going forward but I expect QB to continue to be a rough spot this year. Wilcox and Spav really ****ed the dog with their management of the position.
Spav? He's trying to make the best of a bad lot...in the first 4 games. We think that Sam is the guy of the future, but no one knows that. He might have reached his ceiling (in terms of his playing qb, not just athletics and legs).

The portal is our hope for next year - there are 3 or 4 out there who seriously considered us out of hs.
calumnus
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StarsDoMatter said:

Jackson is no better than Finley. Both are nowhere close to power 5 starters

Jackson moving the ball against third stringers in garbage time proves absolutely nothing.

We need to actually recruit and develop QBs. Something Wilcox will never do.


Last night people were complaining UW left in the starters and was trying to run up the score to improve their rankings. Your theory is they left Penix in but had the scrubs in on defense? That is just BS. Washington had the same players in that Finley threw what would have been his 4th pick. Finley on his career has thrown 7 TDs and 9 INT. This is not a new problem. He has a gunslinger mentality with no gun. In his earlier games at Cal he had many throws that we were lucky were not picked off, interceptions that were dropped. He has a slower release, a weaker arm, poorer decision making and is a slower runner. He has no upside.

Jackson made great throws. The incomplete were almost all throw sways to avoid sacks. He was in for 4 possessions: we scored 21 on the first three and drove to first and 20 on the UW 33 with 40 seconds and all our timeouts left before we just ran out the clock running the Jet into the pile twice.

anieves
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DoubtfulBear said:

eastbayyoungbear said:

golden sloth said:

concernedparent said:

Bearly Clad said:

UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.
Doesn't matter, fact is that in two of our 4 games Jackson had to come in and spell Finley when he wasn't getting it done. It happened against both power 5 teams we've played so far


Jackson also didn't get it done vs Auburn. And it does matter. Beating up on Washington's 3s and walkons is not the same as doing it against decent players. There is no question Jackson should be the guy going forward but I expect QB to continue to be a rough spot this year. Wilcox and Spav really ****ed the dog with their management of the position.
Washington's backups are decent players.


Washington's backup QB was their starter for 2 years. That tells you how deep that team is.
Meanwhile our starter QBs are backups for other programs


This is an important fact to remember. Both Jackson and FInley were third string on the TCU/NC St. rosters before transferring.
calumnus
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anieves said:

DoubtfulBear said:

eastbayyoungbear said:

golden sloth said:

concernedparent said:

Bearly Clad said:

UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.
Doesn't matter, fact is that in two of our 4 games Jackson had to come in and spell Finley when he wasn't getting it done. It happened against both power 5 teams we've played so far


Jackson also didn't get it done vs Auburn. And it does matter. Beating up on Washington's 3s and walkons is not the same as doing it against decent players. There is no question Jackson should be the guy going forward but I expect QB to continue to be a rough spot this year. Wilcox and Spav really ****ed the dog with their management of the position.
Washington's backups are decent players.


Washington's backup QB was their starter for 2 years. That tells you how deep that team is.
Meanwhile our starter QBs are backups for other programs


This is an important fact to remember. Both Jackson and FInley were third string on the TCU/NC St. rosters before transferring.


Jackson was a freshman behind the Heisman runner-up and listed as the co-number 2 with the QB Dykes brought from SMU. TCU fans were pissed that Jackson transferred. He was an Elite 11 QB, one of the highest rated recruits in the country. He never even threw an incomplete at TCU. Landing him in the transfer portal was a major coup for Spavital and Cal.
anieves
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calumnus said:

anieves said:

DoubtfulBear said:

eastbayyoungbear said:

golden sloth said:

concernedparent said:

Bearly Clad said:

UrsineMaximus said:

calumnus said:

3 possessions with Jackson we scored TDs and the 4th could have been another but for some reason we decided to run out the clock once we hit the red zone. The incompletes were largely when Jackson wisely threw the ball away. Why is Wilcox being so stingy with his praise?
Most if not all of Jackson's reps were against 2nd and 3rd team players. Udub had called off the dawgs by the time Jackson played. One shouldn't read too much into Jackson's stat line.
Doesn't matter, fact is that in two of our 4 games Jackson had to come in and spell Finley when he wasn't getting it done. It happened against both power 5 teams we've played so far


Jackson also didn't get it done vs Auburn. And it does matter. Beating up on Washington's 3s and walkons is not the same as doing it against decent players. There is no question Jackson should be the guy going forward but I expect QB to continue to be a rough spot this year. Wilcox and Spav really ****ed the dog with their management of the position.
Washington's backups are decent players.


Washington's backup QB was their starter for 2 years. That tells you how deep that team is.
Meanwhile our starter QBs are backups for other programs


This is an important fact to remember. Both Jackson and FInley were third string on the TCU/NC St. rosters before transferring.


Jackson was a freshman behind the Heisman runner-up and listed as the co-number 2 with the QB Dykes brought from SMU. TCU fans were pissed that Jackson transferred. He was an Elite 11 QB, one of the highest rated recruits in the country. He never even threw an incomplete at TCU. Landing him in the transfer portal was a major coup for Spavital and Cal.


None of that means he was ready to start, or that he's guaranteed to ever be a QB1 talent. Rankings are based on projections, and don't always pan out.
calumnus
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golden sloth said:

I really don't know how anyone could have watched the game last night and thought Finley is the answer. Three interceptions, ALL of which were of the horrendous variety disqualifies him from being the QB. The people writing off Jackson's performance as being against third string, fail to recognize that Finley's performance is absolutely untenable.


People really want to say UW left Penix in to run up the score, but put the scrubs in on defense? Can they not see how ridiculous that assertion is? Why? Just to run down a young Cal player that had a great game? Who might give us hope for the future? Why are people so against him? He is the highest rated QB recruit we have had in forever, He is playing well and getting better. Why not root for him? We scored on every drive he was in but the last and on thst had 1st and 10 on the UW 33 with 40 seconds and all our timeouts before we just ran out the clock with two Jet runs into the pile.
BearSD
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calumnus said:

golden sloth said:

I really don't know how anyone could have watched the game last night and thought Finley is the answer. Three interceptions, ALL of which were of the horrendous variety disqualifies him from being the QB. The people writing off Jackson's performance as being against third string, fail to recognize that Finley's performance is absolutely untenable.


People really want to say UW left Penix in to run up the score, but put the scrubs in on defense? Can they not see how ridiculous that assertion is? Why? Just to run down a young Cal player that had a great game? Who might give us hope for the future? Why are people so against him? He is the highest rated QB recruit we have had in forever, He is playing well and getting better. Why not root for him? We scored on every drive he was in but the last and on thst had 1st and 10 on the UW 33 with 40 seconds and all our timeouts before we just ran out the clock with two Jet runs into the pile.
Penix left the game before Jackson entered the game.

UW wasn't trying to run up the score. Both teams used a lot of subs in the 4th quarter, as almost every team does when the margin is 30 or more after the 3rd quarter.
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