This was supposed to be my “Fire Jeff Tedford” column after Cal’s 27-17 loss dropped the squad to 1-4, the worst start in the Tedford era.
But it isn’t.
This was supposed to be my “Replace Zach Maynard with Zach Kline” column after Maynard threw incomplete passes on 19-of-28 attempts, most of which were not close.
But it’s not.
This was supposed to be my “Start Brendan Bigelow at tailback” column after Bigelow, who averages 20.6 yards a carry, did not touch the ball once on Saturday.
But it won’t be.
The effort was there; the passion was there. At this point, there’s not much more you can ask of this team.
“What do you want me to reassess and hope for?” asked a choked-up Tedford after the game. “We’re gonna work our tails off … We’re not gonna quit. We ain’t quitting.”
Isi Sofele came out of the locker room sniffling. Avery Sebastian seemed disinterested in talking about his impressive play in his first career start. Keenan Allen came out to answer questions despite vomiting during the game.
“I don’t think it’s the flu,” he said, as if that made everything better.
But is losing contagious? It’s three straight games now. Cal has not led in a game since early in the fourth quarter three Saturdays ago.
It would be easy to blame this all on someone. Tedford would make the obvious scapegoat.
Tedford made some questionable decisions Saturday, but it’s not necessarily his fault that passes are incomplete. Maynard made some horrendous throws, but it’s not necessarily his fault he has only a few seconds to get rid of the ball before he’s sacked, and it’s not always his fault when receivers drop balls. It’s not the offensive line’s fault the squad’s best starting field position was the 27-yard line. The list could keep going on.
Even with no rushes from Bigelow, Cal’s running game might have been the highlight of Saturday. Seniors Sofele and C.J. Anderson combined for 183 yards on 23 carries.
There were countless lowlights — the penalties, the turnover, the unsuccessful third downs. Whatever the cause, Cal is 1-4, and the Bears will have to win five of their next seven — including a visit from No. 2 Oregon — just to become bowl eligible.
Starting Kline and Bigelow and firing Tedford and the coordinators sets a bad example. It wouldn’t be worth an 8-4 season next year. It would also be quitting. Save the “Fire Tedford” talk for the offseason. There are still seven weeks. There’s still fight in this Cal club, and maybe some wins too.
“Of course we didn’t envision being here, but now is when our true character comes out,” Tedford said Sunday.
It’s just that fans — students, alumni, really any spectator — we’re worn out, too. Not to the extent of the players and coaches, but Saturdays also take a mental, emotional and physical toll on us. It hurts.
At some point, the numbness will subside. Hopefully it already has. We’ll go back to studying for our unnecessarily early midterms, we’ll return to our normal everyday lives. Next Saturday we’ll come together again to commiserate — or celebrate, who knows? — when Cal hosts UCLA.
I have no moral to this story. Maybe Cal goes on a winning streak, makes a bowl game, and all is forgotten. Maybe Cal keeps losing, and we all go back to the rest of our lives.
Or maybe, like Allen, we’ll get over that sick feeling in our stomachs and return to the field still hungry, still fired up and not ready to give up on the Bears just yet.
Jonathan Kuperberg covers football. Contact him at [email protected]
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I really appreciate this article’s angle to the whole situation. It’s all too easy and even a bit overdone, to simply demand Coach Tedford’s job and believe that everything will change. To be painfully honest, Cal Athletics (mainly the major sports programs) hasn’t had a winning tradition for more then 50 years (1959 NCAA championship). To think for a moment that Cal Football in the current day and age, should be competing for a national championship year in and year out or even with the national powers, is rather foolish and very selective in thinking. I’m not saying that Cal can’t turn into a university that does that, but whether its the overall environment or the national football landscape, this just hasn’t been the case. Its an outstanding university that focuses more on the academics and student opportunities, which is something that should be applauded. Coach Tedford has taken a football program from the depths of despair, to an unrecognizable product that puts players in the NFL and fans on the bandwagon. He has brought in more talent then the football program has ever seen and been one of the leaders of the recent facility upgrades. Has he struggled of late? Do I think Cal should be 5-0 and Brandon Bigelow the starting running back? Am I sick of losing to USC and many of the big games? Yes, but I don’t think replacing Coach Tedford will solve anything right now. After all he is the individual that gave the program new life, lets see what he can do. This season has definitely be a tough one so far, but from what I have seen, there are signs of optimism. Now is the time to support the bears and hope that the team’s potential can be realized. Lastly, whether watching the games or finding something better to do on Saturdays, putting all the blame on the Head Coach and ruthlessly criticizing young men for common mistakes, won’t change anything.
I remember when Tosh Lupoi left for Washington. The word was Cal would struggle with recruiting because coach Tedford and crew didn’t know how to use social media. We all hear how Tedford is a workaholic but any big time college coach that isn’t comfortable using Twitter, Facebook, etc to reach out to recruits, isn’t a big time coach.
Any coach that would allow 12 games without a bye week should be fired. B. Bigelow is a second year player. If he doesn’t know the offense well enough to play, then Tedford’s offense is too complicated.
As long as Sandy knows she has to start looking for a new coach for next year, I can hold off on the fire Tedford talk. We all know that it has to happen. So I can stop talking about it. However, I will push for Sandy to get a real coach next season. She has the rest of this season to do her research. She should be out there studying games around the country, and talking to knowledgeable football people about the prospects. Gather support from the alumni and the school to pay someone a lot of money. She needs to come back with a Pete Carroll/Nick Saban type. Someone who is a great recruiter and coach, but who realizes that their place is in college football and not the pros. Someone who will stick around Cal. What Sandy also needs to do is to make Cal a place coaches want to stay at and not just use as a stepping stone to a better football program.
Did you hear the boos on Saturday? That is a response to BAD PLAY.
The O-Line couldn’t handle ASU. The QB is a knucklehead who kneeled on what he thought was a free play. Maynard also tried to juke a d-back when he should have just put his head down and plowed forward for an important first down. Keeping ZM in the pocket when it was obvious that he was getting hammered. Penalties all over the place. Playing from behind almost all season. On and on and on it goes.
That’s a bad team. The fans deserve better due to the investment in new facilities.
As an alum not living in the Bay Area who hasn’t been to a homegame in several years, I cannot agree with your arguments. Tedford tries hard and cares, but last I checked getting paid several million dollars to try hard, care, and still fail makes no sense. We’d all love to get paid millions for 11 years to be mediocre.
As far as the players are concerned, I too respect them for the work and dedication they put in. But big-time college football is a tough gig; if another guy on the team is a better player than you, he should play, regardless of how long you’ve been around. That’s how it goes on any team that wins consistently.
Ultimately, these guys deserve a coach who is going to put them in a position to win, and Tedford is not that guy.
If it’s not Tedford’s fault, then why is he being paid $2.3 million per year? It sure isn’t his looks, nor his charisma. He’s collecting his ginormous paycheck because he is *supposed* to be a great coach.
Great coaches don’t have a losing conference record for the last 65 games. Great coaches don’t say “What do you want me to reassess?” Even GOOD coaches, paid comparatively modest sums half of what Tedford charges don’t say that. Hell, even BAD coaches are smart enough not to say that.
Seeing as how this writer took a dive on the whole :this ship’s goin’ down” spiel, let me take up the slack. Whatever Tedford had, he no longer has and the conference has him figured out. Maynard might be a great guy, but he’s a lousy QB; easily one of the worst in the conference. He might be a great guy and, with a better coach, he might even be a decent QB. But not now. Not in the last 17 games. Not in the next 7. There’s no doubt that this team has talent; far better than 0 – 4 against D-1 competition. There’s also little doubt that this team isn’t going to change. There’s also little doubt that our brand spankin’ new $321 million stadium will be half-used, if that, as long as this continues.
The head coach is *supposed* to make this better. He’s supposed to turn raw talent into finished talent on the field. He’s supposed to NOT have his players crying in frustration at the end of the game because they are consistently terrible. Most importantly, he’s not supposed to ask “what do you want me to do?”.
Fire his worthless rear end. Money is not an excuse; no more than it was for the stadium. Find the goddamned money and fire him. The university owes it to its players, if nobody else, to get a coach who doesn’t have to ask the media for guidance on doing his $2.3 million per year job. Fire him during the season, right now in fact. Fire him in a blistering statement from the AD which says we’re not paying our faculty $2.3 million per year to be incompetent and stand on the street corner asking random strangers for help. Then begin finding a replacement, in place one minute after this season ends. Thanks to Lupoi, Cal has enough talent to last for the next several years but they need the boost from a new face, ASAP. The team needs change. The university needs change. Now, more than ever.
And, Daily Cal, while you’re at it, find a columnist who has some balls.