October 13, 2001 Sheet

Oregon at California (+14) - 12:30pm Pacific
Ducks head coach Mike Belotti calls Cal the best 0-4 team he has ever seen and he is not lying. In contrast, Oregon may be one of the weakest #5 rated teams I have ever seen. Cal has had more than its share of bad breaks this year. They are by far worst in the nation with a -13 turnover margin, meanwhile Oregon is tied for best in the country with a +11 margin. 

Two weeks ago vs now #8 ranked Washington, Cal's offense really came to life in the first half. They marched for touchdown drives of 90, 72, and 65 yards on three of their first four possessions and took a 21-7 lead. They could not have looked any better as they held a 256-to-42 total yards edge and were 6-for-6 on 3rd down conversions. Leading 14-0, Cal's defense had pinned Washington at their own 1 yard line. The Husky punter boomed a 76 yard punt and Cal was called for holding which gave them the ball on their own 15! Three plays later they fumbled and Washington scored a touchdown on the very next play making it 14-7. Cal demoted starting cornerbacks Ward and Powell (2nd team Pac-10 last year) to 3rd string before the game and starting free safety Nnamdi Asomugha (led team in tackles last year) was benched for missing a team meeting which meant Cal had 3 new starters in the secondary for the game which may have contributed to two long Washington pass plays of 62 and 42 yards for touchdowns. The Bears fumbled a punt that set up a Washington field goal making the score 21-10, then later in the 4th quarter Cal was called for roughing the punter which extended a Washington drive, and finally after failing to convert on 3rd & 1, Cal watched in disbelief as a perfectly thrown ball went right through the hands of a receiver on 4th down bringing the Bears final drive and shot at a win to an end. It just has been that kind of season for Cal.

There still were many encouraging signs from this game. Cal QB Kyle Boller played what coaches called his best game ever (21-for-36, 265 yards, 4 td's, 0 int's) which would have been even better if not for several dropped balls. First year coordinator Al Borges' offense finally showed what they are capable of, even if it was not for an entire ball game. The Bears offensive attack has been limited by a depleted receiving corps that has been without both starters since the BYU game September 8th. Junior WR Derek Swafford (lad team in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving td's last year) finally will return from injury and into the starting lineup this week which should give them a big boost. Borges this week also promised to get the tight ends more involved and their has been talk about bringing cornerback and punt returner Jemeel Powell into the offensive mix. With the extra week to prepare, at least some new wrinkles from Borges are a certainty. 

A lot of defenses will look bad facing the likes of Illinois, BYU, Washington State, and Washington. Defensive coordinator Lyle Sentencich has remained high on his defense all year depsite their poor performances. Cal expects the above mentioned secondary starters to regain their starting jobs this week. The run defense showed improvement last week holding UW to 2.6ypc. If the secondary can get shored up, this can be a solid unit. With eight starters from last year in the mix this defense has every right to be a strong one. The extra week to prepare should have them ready for a big performance.

Oregon is coming off a huge 63-28 win over Arizona. The Ducks took advantage of 5 U of A turnovers and victimized their injury riddled and poorly coached defense just as Washington State had done a week prior. Prior to that game Oregon only led by 3 points in the 4th quarter at Utah State despite being +4 turnovers for the game. The Aggies had more first downs in the game and racked up 378 passing yards vs the Ducks. Oregon was also tested severely by Wisconsin (3 point come from behind win), USC (needed last second field goal to win), and Utah (Utes had an 11 minute time of possession edge). All three of those games were played at home . This will be Oregon's third straight week on the road, the first time that has happened since 1982. It also will be their third straight game on their less preferred real grass playing surface.

In their last game two weeks ago the Bears played with a level of intensity that has not been seen around Berkeley in some time. If anyone thinks Cal has no chance of winning this game, they only need to watch tape of last years meeting in Eugene when Cal gave the Ducks all they could handle before finally succumbing to an 8 point loss. Cal players and coaches know it was a very winnable game for them so they will not come into this game intimidated or thinking they cannot win. It was said before the season the Cal head coach Tom Holmoe may have the best pair of coordinators in the Pac-10 which makes them extremely dangerous after a BYE week. Not counting the week off due to terrorism earlier in the year, the Bears are 8-2 ATS last 10 the week after a BYE. Holmoe himself has been great as a home dog going 10-4-1 ATS in that role in his 5+ seasons here. All signs point to Cal. California  2 UNITS

Weekly Recap

Cal did not come to play this week.  Tom Holmoe can pack his bags, he will be gone as head coach at the end of the year.  Oregon dominated this one from the get go.