Cal Bears Football

Because of Pac-12 scheduling conflicts, the Big Game, between Cal and Stanford, was moved to mid-season, which may seem like a small deal, but I believe it ruins the Big Game tradition.

The 115th Big Game will be played for the first time in history before November.

A look at the past is needed to put things in perspective.

After a long, depressing drought, the 2002 California Golden Bears regained the coveted Axe by defeating Stanford 30-7. That began the Jeff Tedford era.

That was my first-ever Big Game.

Even at 13, I understood the grandeur of this tradition. Growing up in a Cal household I was constantly reminded of how evil those Cardinal were. My father—normally a genial character—once told me as a kid with the most sincere, serious look I’ve ever seen in his eyes, that if I chose to go to Stanford, he would disown me as a son. The Big Game, to me, is the annual catharsis of all Bears fans pent up “FURD hate.”

This became no more blatant to me than after seeing the 2002 victory live.

The student section poured onto the field. They carried then-quarterback Kyle Boller off the field in some sort of crazy mix between rock concert and Bar Mitzvah, crowd-surfing to the exit. They ripped down the goalpost like it was standing in Berlin in 1989. It was an extraordinary display, which only further reinforced my love for Cal and the tradition of the Big Game.

Fast-forward to today and many things have changed.

Tedford has peaked and may be on his way out of Berkeley. There’s a new Memorial Stadium. Stanford is a nationally ranked program. Kyle Boller is retired from the NFL, and the Big Game is being played in the middle of the season.

Rivalry week in college football is one of the most intense, competitive, special things in all of football, and to disregard that is blasphemy. The tradition of the Big Game has always been dear to fans on both sides, and this scheduling mishap is disrespectful to its importance.

Going back to the 2002 Big Game, we all knew the Bears weren’t going to a bowl game, but a victory over Stanford was Cal's championship. They won the Axe. For a Cal fan that validates a season. Think of what it would have been like after Joe Starkey called The Play and he signed off with “Well, next week we play Utah.” The fact that Cal ruined John Elway’s last college game and possibly took the Heisman away from him only adds to the victory.

I believe traditions like the Big Game are the essence of college athletics and what separates college and pro football. Although this may be a small issue, it has a greater meaning to the game itself. I know if the 2002 Big Game were earlier in the season it wouldn’t have had the same feel to it. Plus, they tore down the goalposts, how would Stanford play next week?

Dueling 2-4 Pac-12 teams doesn't exactly scream must-see TV, but there are a few interesting storylines here. Both California and Washington State need to finish this season winning four of their last six games to become bowl eligible.

That is a fairly significant run for the second half of the season, and if either of them are going to get hot it needs to start here.

Cal is coming off a 43-17 upset win over rival UCLA. The Bruins were ranked No. 25 at the time, and it was clearly the biggest win of the season for Cal. 

The Cougars aren't coming off a pleasant weekend. They dropped their third straight game when they lost 19-6 to Oregon State. In the Cougars defense, two of the three losses came to ranked opponents.

From a distance, Cal looks like the better team, but at the end of the day, they are both just 2-4. If either teams is serious about playing in December, they need to win this game.

Here is a closer look:

When: Saturday, October 13, 10:30 p.m. ET

Where: Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington 

TV: Pac-12 Network

Live Stream: Pac-12 Now

Radio: KGO 810 AM in Berkeley, IMG College Sports Network in Pullman 

Odds: Per Oddsshark.com Golden Bears are favorites (-7)

Injury Report: Per Oddshark.com

California Golden Bears

 
Jason Gibson - LB - Out Indefinitely (foot)
David Wilkerson - LB - Out For Season (ankle)

Washington State Cougars

No Injuries to report. 

What's at Stake?

It is pretty simple for both of these teams, if they lose they can all but kiss a chance at playing in a bowl game goodbye. Washington State is used to futility. They are a combined 8-22 over the past two-and-a-half seasons. 

Many had hoped this season would be different, but thus far it has been more of the same. Mike Leach's Air Raid offense has been grounded more times that it has taken flight. They have only cracked the 30-point mark twice this season, which isn't very Raid-ish.

They need to show the ability to score points at the clip the coaching staff expects.

What They're Saying

Leach is attempting to challenge his team with this comment from a Fox News article. When speaking on his team's ability to respond to adversity, Leach said:

We've improved as a team, but we've had a lot of missed opportunities. If we were a more mature, mentally tougher team, we could have capitalized on them.

Right now we are a team that if we face any adversity, we get discouraged

Players have to take these words to heart and it has to start with the leaders of the team. Senior quarterback Jeff Tuel must take more of a leadership role to help this team deal with adversity.

On the Golden Bears side, Cal coach Jeff Tedford said this of quarterback Zach Maynard on Cal's website, after the senior was 25-of-30 for 295 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in the win over UCLA:

I don't know what his stats were; he didn't incomplete very many. He managed the game really well. When he had pressure he didn't force it. That guy made a great play on the interception.

One of the touchdowns to C.J. (Anderson), he saw the blitz coming and made an adjustment on the slant. He really managed the game well and was on target with a few big throws.

You can't play much better than Maynard did on Saturday. If he can produce that way against the Cougars, it'll be a long day for Washington State.

California's Player to Watch - Zach Maynard 

He is on pace to eclipse the numbers he put up in 2011. Through six games, Maynard has tossed nine touchdown passes and only five interceptions. He has also raised his completion percentage from 57 percent last season to 61.9 percent this year.

That efficiency is what Cal needs to win this game. The Cougars need to force turnovers to pull the slight upset. Maynard has to take care of the ball. If he does that, his playmakers at receiver will do the rest.

Washington State's Player to Watch - Daniel Simmons

The senior cornerback figures to draw the very tough assignment of checking Cal's star receiver, Keenan Allen. Simmons will be giving up about five inches and 30 pounds to Allen.

His ability to contain Allen could be key in the Cougars' efforts to slow the Cal attack. The Cougars need a strong game from Simmons against a top-notch receiver to better their chances at coming away victorious.

Key Matchup - Cal Pass Rush vs. Washington State Offensive Line

The Cougars' Air Raid hasn't been very effective, and the lack of pass protection has been part of the problem. Tuel and sophomore Connor Halliday have been sacked 21 times in six games.

If the Cal pass rush can get to the quarterback consistently, it will be a major factor in this game. Senior linebacker J.P. Hurrell leads Cal with 2.5 sacks, but they have four players with at least two this season.

This will be a decent test for the Cougars' offensive front. If they pass, we may see some glimpses of the high-powered offense Leach led at Texas Tech.

Prediction

The Cougars are at home, and expect them to come out confident and motivated by Leach's comments. However, Cal is a better team than their record would indicate. I can't say the same for the Cougars.

Cal will win this game 32-20.

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Just a week ago, the Week 4 game between the USC Trojans and the California Golden Bears was a foregone conclusion. USC was the No. 2 team in the nation, and the Trojans would only have to worry about Oregon as they worked towards being the best in college football.

At the same time, Cal was a football program stuck in the Pac-12. The team has made little progress in recent years, and the Golden Bears had become a doormat for the class of the conference.

Now, despite the 64-30-5 record USC has against Cal, this could be the best game of the week.

How does an afterthought turn into potentially the best game?

First, the Golden Bears played their best game of the season in a loss against No. 12 Ohio State. Though they lost, Cal only lost by a touchdown, and if kicker Vincenzo D’Amato could make a field goal, the Golden Bears could have won.

The second piece to this puzzle is the surprising loss USC suffered to No. 21 Stanford. The Cardinals defense shutout the Trojans in the second half, and the defense held USC to one conversion on third down for the entire game.

With the momentum in Cal’s favor, the Golden Bears need three players to have the game of their lives. Exceptional play by these players could lead to USC being stunned for the second week in a row.

For an upset to occur, quarterback Zach Maynard will have to play to the level of his counterpart, Matt Barkley. This is a lot to ask seeing that Barkley may be the No. 1 quarterback prospect in all of college football.

Unfortunately, Cal does not have anywhere near the defense that Stanford does, so Maynard will need to be ready for a shootout. Maynard was coming off his best game of the season before playing Ohio State.

Against the Buckeyes, Maynard went 26-for-37 with 280 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He did a great job of managing the game against the Buckeyes, and his play kept Cal in the game. The Sports Xchange of Yahoo! Sports called Maynard’s game against OSU the best of his career.

There is no doubt Maynard will have to have a spectacular game if Cal wants to win, but the reason the Golden Bears succeed in this game will be RB Brendan Bigelow.

The Achilles heel of the Trojans is their run defense. Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown. Stanford as a team rushed for over 200 yards.

This is great news for Cal because their strength is their running game. As of now, Isi Sofele is the starting back and will split carries with C.J. Anderson. But the real man to watch is Bigelow and his home run ability.

Each one of these running backs has had his share of being the leading rusher. Anderson led the team with 66 yards in the loss to Nevada, and Sofele led the team with 104 yards and a touchdown in a win against Southern Utah. But neither of these two ran for 160 yards with two touchdowns on four carries against the No. 12 Ohio State.

Bigelow is quick, elusive and he can score anytime he gets into the open field. It will be very difficult for running backs coach Ron Gould to find a way to split the carries. If Bigelow gets his carries, though, he could alter the entire game with just one play. Can Anderson or Sofele do that?

Lastly, the hero of this game and all the glory the Golden Bears have to offer could go to none other but the kicker. Vincenzo D’Amato will be needed in order for Cal to get the win at the end of the day.

It has been tough-sledding for the kicker. D’Amato went 1-for-2 against Nevada, and he missed an extra point against Southern Utah. But neither of these compare to the nightmare D’Amato lived when playing OSU.

He missed each one of his field goals, and two of those kicks were less than 40 yards and should have been “chip shots.” Seeing that the Golden Bears lost by only seven points, it could be argued that D’Amato contributed more to the loss than any other person.

The defense was no help as it allowed QB Braxton Miller to run for 75 yards and have his way.

In the end, it came down to the kicker and D’Amato could not handle the pressure of playing in such a historic stadium in front of close to 100,000 Buckeye fans.

Maynard will keep Cal in the game, and Bigelow will do his best to get the Golden Bears the lead. For Cal to win, they will need Vincenzo D’Amato.

The upset of one of the best teams in college football will come down to the kicker. Would you have it any other way? 

The USC Trojans had national championship aspirations for this season, but those hopes took a severe hit in the same spot as in years past - Stanford.

Now the Trojans look to pick up the pieces when they host the 1-2 Cal Bears for a Pac-12 scrum Saturday at the Coliseum (6 pm ET, Pac-12 Network).

Predictably, oddsmakers set a huge point spread and just as predictably, the betting public threw their money behind Southern Cal, hoping for a huge rebound effort.

Will USC bounce back and reinsert itself into college football's big picture? Or can Cal put an end to the Trojans' BCS hopes for 2012?

Historically, USC beats up on the Bears and covers the spread, too. In seven recent matchups, the Trojans are 6-1 ATS, according to the USC-Cal matchup report. But Cal played a tough game a week ago at Ohio State, so they should be ready for USC.

Southern Cal returned 16 starters this season, including nine on offense, from a team that went 10-2 last year. The Trojans began this season with a 49-10 victory over Hawaii, then beat Syracuse in New Jersey 42-29.

But last Saturday, USC fell victim to a team that has had its number over recent seasons, the Stanford Cardinal, losing 21-14 up on the Farm. The Trojans led 14-7 at the half, but got shut out in the second half.

On the night, the supposedly potent USC offense, playing without injured center Khaled Holmes, was held to 280 total yards of offense, and just 26 yards rushing.

With the loss, the Trojans dropped from No. 2 in the AP poll all the way to No. 13.

Holmes' status for Saturday's game is still uncertain.

Cal, meanwhile, with just 11 starters back from a team that went 7-6 last year, opened its season with a 31-24 loss to Nevada. The Bears then defeated Southern Utah (FCS) 50-31, and last Saturday put on a very good showing, albeit in a 35-28 loss at Ohio State.

The Bears went off as 17-point underdogs vs. the Buckeyes, but led 21-20 early in the fourth quarter before giving way. On the day, Cal outgained OSU 512-412, but missed three field goals.

USC has beaten Cal eight straight times. Last year the Trojans beat the Bears 30-9, covering the spread as three-point favorites up in Berkeley.

With Matt Barkley at QB, Southern Cal is 3-0 vs. Cal, winning those three games by an average score of 36-9. His Heisman Trophy odds also fell with the loss and a sub-par effort against the Cardinal.

Earlier this week USC opened as a 16-point favorite over Cal for Saturday's game, with a total of 57. As of Thursday afternoon, the Trojans had been bumped to -16.5, and the total boosted to 58.5 or 59 at some CFB betting outlets.

Free Pick: Cal put on a great effort last week at Ohio State, while USC got stymied at Stanford. We expect a reversal of those performances this week, so we'll give the points and take the Trojans. (courtesy of PickShark.com)

Coming off the most shocking and disappointing upset of the season thus far, USC only has one choice this weekend against Cal: Win.  

Already, the Trojans' postseason future is in question. Another loss would officially kill their championship dreams. Bouncing back from a devastating loss like the one USC sustained against Stanford on Saturday night isn't going to be easy, but Lane Kiffin's team is going to have to find a way to forget about the loss and get back on the right track.

And it shouldn't be too hard to do so at home against Cal, which has started off its season at a disappointing 1-2 after losses to Nevada and, most recently, Ohio State. 

Last season, the Trojans had no problem getting a 30-9 road win over the Bears. In that sense, Cal is the perfect opponent for them as they try to redeem themselves. Here are all the details about where and when you can see it happen.

Where: Los Angeles Coliseum, Los Angeles, Calif.

When: Saturday, September 22 at 6 p.m. ET

Watch: Pac-12 Network

Listen: 710 ESPN in Los Angeles, KGO 810 AM in Northern California

Live Stream: USCTrojans.com, CalBears.com 

Betting Line (via OddsShark): USC -17 

California Injury Report (via USAToday.com)

• TE Richard Rodgers (ankle) is questionable for Saturday's game
• OL Matt Summers-Gavin (knee) is questionable for Saturday's game
• LB Khairi Fortt (knee) hasn't yet played this season and is questionable for Saturday
• LB David Wilkerson (ankle) is out for the season
• LB Cecil Whiteside has been declared academically ineligible
• LB Jason Gibson (foot) is out until at least mid-November with a broken right foot
• OL Mark Brazinski (knee) is rehabbing a torn ACL
• OL Dominic Galas (pectoral) is out indefinitely
• DB Stefan McClure (knee) is recovering from a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus

USC Injury Report (via USAToday.com)

• C Abe Markowitz (arm) is day-to-day and didn't play against Stanford
• C Khaled Holmes (leg) is day-to-day and didn't play against Stanford
• TE Christian Thomas (hip) is day-to-day and hasn't yet played this season
• PK Andre Heidari (knee) is out until at least early October
• RB D.J. Morgan (knee) is out 3-4 weeks
• CB Isiah Wiley has been declared ineligible for the season
• DE Devon Kennard (pectoral) is out indefinitely
• DE DeVante Wilson (knee) is out for the season with a torn ACL 

BCS Implications 

This is it for the Trojans. It may have already been it for them, but the truth is this: Their fate is no longer in their hands.

Not only do they pretty much have to win out in order to restore their hopes of making it to the BCS championship, but they also need teams like Alabama, LSU, Florida State and Oregon to lose at least once. 

USC came out of the weekend as the only previously top-five team with a loss on its record, and that is going to hurt—especially if the rest of the top teams continue to play the way they're playing now. A loss to Cal would all but destroy any lingering hope the Trojans have. 

USC can't afford another loss. It needs to take this game against Cal and use it as an opportunity for a much-needed tune-up.

What They're Saying

The Bears had an opportunity to do something big against then-No. 12 Ohio State on Saturday: They made it close enough to nearly get the upset but ultimately fell 35-28.

It was still a pretty impressive road effort for the Bears, who were coming off a 50-31 beatdown of Southern Utah. After going into halftime down 20-7, they scored three second-half touchdowns to, at the very least, show some life and make things interesting.

But it was the final five minutes that killed Cal, according to Yahoo! Sports' The Sports Xchange:

First, they failed to score points after getting to the Ohio State 25-yard line in a tie game. Then they gave up the game-winning touchdown on a horribly blown coverage that allowed Buckeyes receiver Devin Smith to get 10 yards behind the closest Cal defender on his way to an easy 72-yard touchdown reception on a third-and-seven play with 3:26 left. 

USC obviously experienced its own fair share of disappointment this weekend as well, and though much was made of the inexperience on Stanford's offensive line, it was USC's that ended up breaking down. 

Quarterback Matt Barkley didn't look good against the Cardinal, but much of that can be attributed to the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of his O-line, according to ESPNLosAngeles.com's Garry Paskwietz:

The numbers don’t lie—quarterback Matt Barkley was sacked four times and the Trojans only ran the ball for 26 yards. One of those sacks—early in the second quarter—was a high/low hit on Barkley and it clearly seemed to have an impact. It’s been a while since Barkley was knocked around in a game like that. He was only sacked eight times all of last season, but by the end of the game on Saturday he was just absolutely under siege.

Though it's still unclear when senior center Khaled Holmes will return, but it became excruciatingly clear on Saturday just how much the Trojans need him.

Cal Player to Watch

In their battle against Ohio State, the Bears had one big offensive key that the Trojans were sorely missing this weekend: a rushing game. And Brendan Bigelow was to thank. 

In just four carries, the sophomore running back produced two touchdown runs, finishing with 160 yards. The first score came with about nine minutes left in the third quarter, when he took the ball 81 yards to the end zone, and the second came with eight minutes left in the game, when he rushed 59 yards for the TD. 

The effort kind of came out of nowhere for Bigelow, who had gotten two carries this season—in total—before the game against Ohio State. Was this evidence of a fluke or an indication that he's going to be a special player for the Bears?

His performance against USC will tell us a lot.

USC Player to Watch

We've already established that Matt Barkley's struggles on Saturday can be partly attributed to the offensive line. But that doesn't excuse what his coach called two "really poor decisions" in the first half of the loss, according to ESPNLosAngeles.com's Pedro Moura.

After throwing 10 touchdown passes in the first two games of the season, Barkley regressed against Stanford, throwing one interception with two minutes left in the half and another just minutes later, after his defense regained possession with a pick of their own.

Two consecutive throws, two consecutive picks. That doesn't look like a Heisman candidate.

On Sunday, Kiffin told Moura:

[That was] really unusual by Matt. Probably two of his worst decisions in our three years together on back-to-back plays. He's pretty beat up, mentally and physically.

He doesn't have much time to recover, but he'll have to do so in order to salvage this season as well as his own Heisman aspirations.

Key Storyline

As much as Trojans fans don't want to hear it and refuse to acknowledge it, the loss to Stanford was a colossal blow to USC's title hopes. There are no two ways about it: USC now has a loss, and the other top teams do not. No debate. Just the truth.

Even prior to the game, the Sporting News' Steve Greenberg wrote that Week 3 presented a must-win for USC:

How important [is the Stanford game] for Matt Barkley, whose only postseason experience came in the 2009 Emerald Bowl? A loss here—especially if the senior quarterback performs poorly—and everything he stayed at USC for will be in serious jeopardy. The national title, the Rose Bowl, the Heisman—all of it.

So here is Barkley's opportunity to make sure that he didn't put off the NFL for nothing. There is still time to salvage this season—granted, it's going to be much harder, but it's possible—and it must begin with a dominant performance over Cal on Saturday.

Following the loss to Stanford, USC dropped from No. 2 in the AP poll to No. 13. From here on out, it needs to take every opportunity to show the voters that it is capable of competing with the best teams in the nation.

A spot in the championship game must be earned, and USC must (re-)start that process this weekend.

Prediction: USC Wins 

No one's arguing about how bad the Trojans looked last weekend—there's no disputing that—but are they really going to blow a home game to a team that hasn't been able to take down major-conference opponents this year? Are they really going to suffer two consecutive upset losses?

Probably not. Barkley, and the USC offense as a whole, looked awful last time out, and though injuries are partly to blame, the Trojans will continue to adjust, and they'll rebound against the Bears.

The Ohio State Buckeyes, 2-0 under new head coach Urban Meyer, welcome the Cal Bears to the Big Horseshoe for a Big Ten/Pac-12 battle in Columbus Saturday afternoon (noon ET, ABC).

Earlier this week Ohio State opened at around negative 18 for this game at most online sportsbooks, with a total of 52.5  But as of Friday afternoon, the spread had been cut to 16.5, while the total had been bumped to 54.

"There is some sharp action on Cal, but the majority of the betting volume is on the Buckeyes at most shops that we track," said Jack Randall of OddsShark.com. "Cal has struggled with the point spread as roadies lately, going just 2-8 ATS, according to the matchup report."

Ohio State is off to a 2-0 start to this season, with a 56-10 win over Miami (Ohio) and a 31-16 decision over Central Florida. The Buckeyes got 294 yards on the ground vs. the Red Hawks, and 256 rushing yards vs. the Knights.

But while OSU cruised to a cover as 25-point favorites over Miami, the Buckeyes gave up the cover as 16-point faves vs. UCF on a meaningless third quarter Knights touchdown. The teams then played a scoreless fourth quarter.

Ohio State sophomore QB Braxton Miller has hit on 32 of 48 passes so far this year, and last week he ran for 141 yards. Unfortunately, OSU might have to rely on Miller even more this Saturday because the top two guys on the Buckeyes' RB depth chart are ailing and probably out.  

With its two victories, Ohio State has advanced from No. 18 in AP preseason poll to No. 12 this week. Which doesn't mean too much, considering the Buckeyes are serving a bowl ban this season.

Cal is 1-1 after losing its opener at home to Nevada 31-24, then beating Southern Utah (FCS) last week 50-31. The Bears, as 12-point favorites, trailed the Wolf Pack 21-7 in the third quarter, tied it at 24 midway through the fourth, but allowed Nevada to score with 30 seconds left to lose.

Cal got out-rushed 220-110 that day. 

Then last week, as 32-point favorites, the Bears only led the Thunderbirds 20-17 after three quarters, before using an interception return and a punt return for scores to finally pull away in the fourth. 

Cal is nicked up, and could be down as many as five opening-day starters on Saturday, including two offensive linemen and two linebackers.

For what it's worth, Saturday's game will kickoff at 9 AM Cal Bears' time. The Buckeyes and Bears last met back in 1972, OSU coming out on top 35-18.

Free Pick: Talent wasn't going to be an issue for Ohio State this year; without probation the Buckeyes would rank among the favorites to win the Big Ten. And despite the injuries in the backfield we'll give the points and go with Ohio State Saturday (courtesy of OddsShark Twitter).