Wednesday, December 23, 2009

3 and Outs are Killing Cal

Title says it all.

Warriors Close at Half

The Warriors are only down two to the Hornets at the Half. If they can muster up a 2nd half push, they may pull this out.

You always have to be wary of a CP3 explosion.

Utah is Looking Good

Cal's offensive impotence has caught up with them. The Utes are up 17-14. In the second quarter the Bears have been out gained by over 100 yards.

Luckily the game is still within reach, if Cal can close out the half with a TD or FG.

Cal gets the ball to start the 2nd half, if the Golden Bears can keep within striking distance and make the proper halftime adjustments, they should have a shot at this one.

Utah looks like the better team at this point.

9 Plays 19 Yards

Cal has had three consecutive three and outs.

Starting to look like the Cal Bears who lost to Oregon, USC, Oregon State and Washington. Cal needs to get back on track.

Long Utah Drive Ends in Field Goal

Well, it's official. The Utes have scored 10 straight points. Cal punted to Utah, who drove from their own 24 yard line, down in to the red zone, where Cal forced a field goal. I guess you could call it a win for the Cal D, but the Bears are really going to have to step it up if they're going to hold of the 23rd ranked Utes. Cal had about one solid minuet of dominance, but the Utes have played them even since.

Utah knows how to win. This one looks like it could be headed for a similar finish to the Cal-ASU game.

Riley is going to have to pick up his play if the Bears are going to have success. The Utes are keying into the ground game and Cal can't become one-dimensional.

Utah Retaliates

After scoring 14 points in 11 seconds, the Bears gave up a 60 yard kickoff return to the Utes, setting them up within striking distance.

Utes coach Kyle Wittingham showed why he is is 4-0 in bowl games when Cal forced a fourth down situation and Utah went no-huddle with Eddie Wide III and picked up the first.

Utah punched it in one play later with a pass to the back of the endzone.

Cal challenged the ruling and failed.

14-7 Cal. Important that the Bears stay focused.

An interesting storyline to follow will be Shane Vereen's rushing yards. Cal has a long streak of 1,000 yard rushers, which seemed to be in jeopardy when Jahvid Best went down against Oregon State. However, coming in to the game Vereen was 170 yards away from the 1,000 yard mark. He has 72 on six carries so far. If Shane can muster up 100 more yards, running backs coach Ron Gould would certainly be happy.

Warriors Square off Against Hornets in New Orleans

It's a homecoming game for forward Anthony Randolph as the Warriors take on CP3 and the Hornets.

If they Dubs are going to pull off the upset, they are going to have to match the size of the Hornets.

Currently the Warriors lead by a couple. We'll see how the fare throughout the night.

Cal Off to Good Start in San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

If Cal was going to win this game, they needed a good start. So far, so good. Cal gave up a big play on a shovel pass, but put the clamps on and forced a punt.
Cal's next possession ended in a punt after Shane Vereen 27 yard run. Bryan Anger's punt was fair caught at the 12 yard line and Cal forced a three-and-out. On the ensuing possession, Vereen broke loose and scampered for a 40+ yard TD.
Berkeley High alum Eddie Young picked off the Utes QB and had himself a nice pick-six.

Cal has to be careful though because Utah knows how to win bowl games and it's still the first quarter.