crazyguy
Offense U
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2004
- Messages
- 13,324
- Likes
- 3,733
this guy is a loon.
SportingNews.com - College Football - Cal could be nation's No. 2 team
Dienhart's SportingBlog
Cal could be nation's No. 2 team
October 8, 2006
BERKELEY, Calif.-- There goes that damn cannon again.
BOOM!
It's up there, perched on a hill outside Cal's Memorial Stadium. But fans don't mind. Heck, no. The loud echo through Strawberry Canyon makes this zany and brainy crowd giddy because it signals a Golden Bear score.
BOOM!
See, there it goes again. And so it went on this night during a -- What else? -- thunderous 45-24 Cal victory over Oregon. It was a showdown that would determine who is the second-best team in the Pac-10. But, who am I kidding? Given another unimpressive USC win (this time over Washington), this was a showdown to determine who was the best team in the Pac-10.
And it wasn't even close. It's Cal.
Go ahead, pull the string on that cannon again.
BOOM!
How good is 5-1 Cal? More on that later. This much I know for sure: The team I saw whip Oregon has to be as good as any squad in the nation not named "Ohio State." It has to be.
"How good do you think we are?" quarterback Nate Longshore shot back to me. He seemed kinda mad.
I told him "pretty darn good." (Hey, he's a big fella.) That leads me to wonder: What if the Bears had a do-over against Tennessee? Oh, you remember that game, right? Big Orange 36, Meek Bears 18. Longshore remembers because he's asked about it, oh, about every 5 seconds.
"Maybe it was a good thing," he says. "That game got us to focus."
I believe that. And I also believe that if the Golden Bears got another shot at Tennessee, they would make a better game of it -- and maybe win.
But let's enjoy the moment. Cal finds itself lost among the weeds of the one-loss teams, waiting for its chance to play at USC on November 18. By then, who knows: Maybe the Bears will have a whole heck of a lot more on the line than a Pac-10 championship.
The offense? Oh, it's smoking, piling up 424 yards, including 235 on the ground vs. the Ducks. Cal eclipsed the 40-point mark for the fifth game in a row, a school record.
Longshore zinged three touchdown passes. Running back Justin Forsett rambled for 163 yards after star Marshawn Lynch went out in the first half with an injury. The special teams also shined, as DeSean Jackson had a spectacular 65-yard punt return.
But it was the defense that may have been the most impressive. This is an attacking, 4-3 scheme that's led by the best defensive back in the nation: cornerback Daymeion Hughes. I have a Thorpe vote, and he has it. Hughes and Co., limited Oregon stud running back Jonathan Stewart to 25 yards rushing. Quarterback Dennis Dixon was picked off three times.
Too bad the TV foofs spend so much time fawning over the glamour leagues and programs. It's a shame -- a damn shame.
Wait, Cal's about to score again.
BOOM!
OK, where was I? Oh, yeah, Cal's dominance.
This all leads me to an interesting question to ponder in the cool California night: Who's the No. 2 team nation?
West Virginia? Florida? Michigan? USC?
All have their merits. Right now, I'd probably say it's Florida or Michigan. OK, I'll say the Wolverines.
But how about Cal?
Hey, it's not a crazy question. I was asked one of those on my way to Memorial Stadium while walking down Telegraph Avenue, which is Berkeley's answer to Haight-Ashbury.
Young Lady: "Do you have a few minutes for gay rights?"
Me: "Uh, no."
Well, actually, I said: "Hell no, but I'd love to talk about the Golden Bears."
She wasn't interested.
After the game, I thought about walking back down Telegraph Avenue and getting "Cal" tattooed on my biceps. But not for the Golden Bears -- for my 6 year old son, Cal. But, if the Bears roll to their first Rose Bowl since the 1958 season, I'm sure the tattoo parlors will have plenty of other customers. Perhaps that Young Lady.
Maybe not.
Oh-oh, Forsett just ran 23 yards for another Cal touchdown.
BOOM!
SportingNews.com - College Football - Cal could be nation's No. 2 team
Dienhart's SportingBlog
Cal could be nation's No. 2 team
October 8, 2006
BERKELEY, Calif.-- There goes that damn cannon again.
BOOM!
It's up there, perched on a hill outside Cal's Memorial Stadium. But fans don't mind. Heck, no. The loud echo through Strawberry Canyon makes this zany and brainy crowd giddy because it signals a Golden Bear score.
BOOM!
See, there it goes again. And so it went on this night during a -- What else? -- thunderous 45-24 Cal victory over Oregon. It was a showdown that would determine who is the second-best team in the Pac-10. But, who am I kidding? Given another unimpressive USC win (this time over Washington), this was a showdown to determine who was the best team in the Pac-10.
And it wasn't even close. It's Cal.
Go ahead, pull the string on that cannon again.
BOOM!
How good is 5-1 Cal? More on that later. This much I know for sure: The team I saw whip Oregon has to be as good as any squad in the nation not named "Ohio State." It has to be.
"How good do you think we are?" quarterback Nate Longshore shot back to me. He seemed kinda mad.
I told him "pretty darn good." (Hey, he's a big fella.) That leads me to wonder: What if the Bears had a do-over against Tennessee? Oh, you remember that game, right? Big Orange 36, Meek Bears 18. Longshore remembers because he's asked about it, oh, about every 5 seconds.
"Maybe it was a good thing," he says. "That game got us to focus."
I believe that. And I also believe that if the Golden Bears got another shot at Tennessee, they would make a better game of it -- and maybe win.
But let's enjoy the moment. Cal finds itself lost among the weeds of the one-loss teams, waiting for its chance to play at USC on November 18. By then, who knows: Maybe the Bears will have a whole heck of a lot more on the line than a Pac-10 championship.
The offense? Oh, it's smoking, piling up 424 yards, including 235 on the ground vs. the Ducks. Cal eclipsed the 40-point mark for the fifth game in a row, a school record.
Longshore zinged three touchdown passes. Running back Justin Forsett rambled for 163 yards after star Marshawn Lynch went out in the first half with an injury. The special teams also shined, as DeSean Jackson had a spectacular 65-yard punt return.
But it was the defense that may have been the most impressive. This is an attacking, 4-3 scheme that's led by the best defensive back in the nation: cornerback Daymeion Hughes. I have a Thorpe vote, and he has it. Hughes and Co., limited Oregon stud running back Jonathan Stewart to 25 yards rushing. Quarterback Dennis Dixon was picked off three times.
Too bad the TV foofs spend so much time fawning over the glamour leagues and programs. It's a shame -- a damn shame.
Wait, Cal's about to score again.
BOOM!
OK, where was I? Oh, yeah, Cal's dominance.
This all leads me to an interesting question to ponder in the cool California night: Who's the No. 2 team nation?
West Virginia? Florida? Michigan? USC?
All have their merits. Right now, I'd probably say it's Florida or Michigan. OK, I'll say the Wolverines.
But how about Cal?
Hey, it's not a crazy question. I was asked one of those on my way to Memorial Stadium while walking down Telegraph Avenue, which is Berkeley's answer to Haight-Ashbury.
Young Lady: "Do you have a few minutes for gay rights?"
Me: "Uh, no."
Well, actually, I said: "Hell no, but I'd love to talk about the Golden Bears."
She wasn't interested.
After the game, I thought about walking back down Telegraph Avenue and getting "Cal" tattooed on my biceps. But not for the Golden Bears -- for my 6 year old son, Cal. But, if the Bears roll to their first Rose Bowl since the 1958 season, I'm sure the tattoo parlors will have plenty of other customers. Perhaps that Young Lady.
Maybe not.
Oh-oh, Forsett just ran 23 yards for another Cal touchdown.
BOOM!
