California Beats Presbyterian 63-12, Jeff Tedford Winningest Coach In Cal Football History

Cal football head coach Jeff Tedford probably will be happy with the 63-12 score his California Golden Bears put up against the Presbyterian Blue Hose. He probably won't be too happy about anything else.

With the win, Tedford secured his 75th victory as head coach, passing the most successful coach in Cal history in Andy Smith. Smith is most famed for the Wonder Teams of the 1920s that went undefeated five seasons straight and captured four national championships. Tedford has been around a bit longer, but his success with the California football program is only paralleled by the Smith and Pappy Waldorf-coached teams from over a half-century ago.

Tedford has a long way to go if he wants his Golden Bears playing like those Wonder Bears.

The Bears racked up nine penalties for 89 yards, all before halftime. Despite the big chunks of yardage Cal picked up on meaningful plays (nearly 7.5 yards per play in the first half), Cal's offense made a lot of errors, particularly along the offensive line (the primary transgressors of said penalties). Dominic Galas continues to be off with his shotgun release (although Maynard is doing a better job of adjusting to throws with poor trajectories) and there were a few errors in run blocking and pass protection. With the fiercer Pac-12 defenses ahead, the Golden Bears need to start winning the battle up front on a down-by-down basis, or things could unravel in a hurry.

In the passing game, Zach Maynard missed a few makeable pass attempts on routine patterns, and then threw a pick-six when he didn't look off his primary read and target on his throw. Cornerback Justin Bethel saw Maynard staring Michael Calvin down and he broke on the ball, taking it right to the end zone for six more points. Tedford said in the postgame quotes that Maynard "needs to be more consistent."

Still, it was a 51 point victory, and there were plenty of positives Cal can hang their heads on.  Maynard completed 15 of 25 passes for 215 yards for a fairly strong 8.6 yards per pass attempt and had three passing TDs before halftime. Almost every Cal running back on the depth chart got snaps and piled up the numbers. Isi Sofele put up 105 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns, including a sweet open-field run where he juked out several Presbyterian defenders, C.J. Anderson racked up 7.1 yards per run attempt and managed a touchdown of his own with some nice-looking runs, and Covaughn Deboskie-Johnson put in 7.8 yards per carry and his own TD in garbage time. It was an efficient run attack for the first three quarters before the Bears ran out the clock.

In the receiving game, Marvin Jones and Keenan Allen still look fantastic. Jones had some big-time catches (highlighted by a 51 yard touchdown on a post pattern he caught in stride), hauling in seven balls for 123 receiving yards. Allen didn't have quite as fancy a game after his heroics last week, but he had an incredible-looking hurdle and a touchdown catch before halftime, putting up 85 receiving yards on six catches. Tight end Spencer Hagan made perhaps the most impressive catch of the day, adjusting to a high ball in the back of the end zone to pick up another Cal touchdown.

The Cal offense wasn't quite as bad as the mess on special teams, with Giorgio Tavecchio struggling to connect on any kicks. Most of Tavecchio's kicks were placed on the dirt of the Giants infield (the part of the field where Cal was kicking off in the second and third quarters), so it looked like he struggled to get good footing and good impact on the ball. With the Giants not likely to make the playoffs, Tavecchio probably won't have to deal with the infield dirt again. He did managed to put in all nine of his extra points, which hopefully will be the beginning of the end of Cal's PAT troubles. 

Bryan Anger also had a punt blocked, as errors by the Bears on the fundamentals of special teams continue to accumulate. On the plus side, Anger did knock his other two punts a good 50 yards, and true freshman Brendan Bigelow made what might be the first of many big plays for the Bears when he returned a kickoff for a touchdown to cancel that score out, but special teams (like almost everything else for the Bears) remains a work in progress.

Hardly any complaints can be registered against the Cal defense, which rebounded from a horrid performance against Colorado and overwhelmed their opponents early. Presbyterian managed only one first down in the first half off a Cal penalty.  The Cal defense was dominant against an overwhelmed Presbyterian side, holding the Blue Hose offense to 48 total yards on 46 plays and no third down conversions until the final play of the game.

Ryan Singer was 4 for 14 for 23 yards. In relief, Brandon Miley completed only two of his six throws for five yards. Singer was sacked four times, as Ernest Owusu and Cecil Whiteside registered solo sacks and C.J. Moncrease, Deandre Coleman, Mustafa Jalil, David Wilkerson and Steve Williams contributed on sack assists. Singer also threw two interceptions to Sean Cattouse. One was right to the Cal safety playing the inside zone which Cattouse returned 20 yards, and another to the far right side of the field on a fade route that Cattouse leaped up and grabbed as the help safety. Cal registered four pass breakups--one each by D.J. Holt, J.P. Hurrell, Steve Williams and Josh Hill. Still, the pass defense wasn't really tested like it was last week; Keith Price, Darron Thomas and Matt Barkley await, so we'll know if they've learned from their Colorado adventures soon enough.

Cal moves into Pac-12 play next week when they take on the Washington Huskies in Seattle. Based on the quality of opponent, I doubt anyone has an idea what type of game will unfold next week. Neither does Jeff Tedford.

To further discuss the Cal-Presbyterian game, go to the California Golden Blogs.

Cal Vs. Presbyterian Score: Bears Up Lead To 63-12 Behind Brendan Bigelow Kickoff Return

The second-string unit is in for the California Bears, and they're just bowling over the Presbyterian Blue Hose. Freshman Brendan Bigelow took the opening kickoff of the second half, and scorched the Blue Hose for an 88 yard touchdown return.

Allan Bridgford replaced Zach Maynard in the second half, and seemed unsteady on his first scoring drive. But Bridgford showed his potential with a nice 33 yard strike to Marvin Jones that put Cal in the red zone, and Covaughn Deboskie-Johnson punched it in on 4th and goal from the six. Bridgford found Keenan Allen on the subsequent drive for a 27 yard strike, and the Bears ran the ball with a combination of Deboskie-Johnson and Dasarte Yarnway the next 50 yards, with Yarnway punching it in from six yards out.

The Cal defense hasn't been significantly challenged. The Blue Hose have only two first downs to Cal's 28, and 17 total yards to 550 for the Bears. It has gone as expected.

To discuss the game with Cal football fans, head to the California Golden Blogs.

Cal vs. Presbyterian Halftime Score Update: Golden Bears Up 42-12 Behind Three Zach Maynard Passing Scores

The California Golden Bears have put up some distance over the Presbyterian Blue Hose, mostly accomplishing it on offense through the air. After another three-and-out by Presbyterian early in the first quarter, the Bears drove downfield starting from their 45. Zach Maynard found Keenan Allen for seven yards and Anthony Miller for nine on a 4th down conversion before hooking up with Michael Calvin for 22 yards on a 3rd and 16. Isi Sofele punched it in from three yards out to make it 21-0.

Sean Cattouse logged his second interception on an overthrow by Presbyterian quarterback Ryan Singer. Maynard then found Marvin Jones on a post route (although it looked like Keenan Allen was the intended receiver), but it worked out as Jones went streaking 51 yards for the score to put the Bears up 28-0. Maynard would hook up with Spencer Hagan on a tight end seam route, then would find Keenan Allen up the middle to give Cal their final touchdown of the first half.

Presbyterian has gotten points on the board thanks to Blue Hose cornerback Justin Bethel. Bryan Anger saw his punt blocked byBethel off the right side, who then tracked the ball down and returned it for a touchdown. Bethel then undercut a short out route on a half-rollout by Maynard, and pick-sixed it for his second score of the game.  Presbyterian missed their first extra point and then failed to convert a two point conversion on the second touchdown.

To further discuss this Cal demolition of Presbyterian, head to the California Golden Blogs.

Cal Football Vs. Presbyterian Score Update: Isi Sofele, C.J. Anderson, Sean Cattouse Lead Bears To 14-0 Lead

After some early hiccups, the California Golden Bears are marching it up on the Presbyterian Blue Hose. Penalties prolonged the first Presbyterian drive and killed the first Cal drive, but then Presbyterian was stiffed by penalties of their own and an Ernest Owusu sack on their second possession.

Cal tailback Isi Sofele broke into open field and made some nice outside shifts to elude tacklers, taking it down to the Presbyterian 9. C.J. Anderson punched it in on the next play, taking two Blue Hose defenders with him to the end zone.

Presbyterian quarterback Ryan Singer then threw an interception straight to Sean Cattouse on the next possession, who took it right to the red zone at the four yard line. Sofele punched it in two plays later to give the Bears a 14-0 lead.

Presbyterian went three-and-out on their next drive, and the Bears are driving again at the end of the first quarter. Cal has racked up 123 total yards to zero for Presbyterian, and are firmly in control through fifteen minutes.

Go to the California Golden Blogs for further discussion of Cal football.

Cal Vs Presbyterian: Start Time, Live Online Stream And More

For those of you wondering why Cal is playing FCS team Presbyterian (The Blue Hose…?), John Wilner fills us in:

If you’re mystified by the fact that Presbyterian is coming to Berkeley – err, San Francisco – then let this be a lesson in the difficulty involved in football scheduling.

The Bears, who are playing their home games at AT&T Park, were effectively squeezed from two sides, having to wait for both the Pac-12 and the Giants to release their 2011 schedules before Cal knew its options.

By the time the Bears had all the necessary info, it was … November.

The overlay of the Pac-12 and Giants schedules left the Bears with one available date, Sept. 17 – and a mere 10 months to find a team.

That is much, much, much harder than you might think.

They settled with Presbyterian (they did play Clemon and Wake Forest last year), and it’s surprising they were even able to book this game. Regardless, here is the information you need:

Teams: Cal Bears, Presbyterian Blue Hose

Kickoff: 2:30pm PST

Venue: AT&T Park, San Francisco California

Television: None

Live Streaming: Cal Athletics Website (All-Access package, $7.95 a month)

Radio: KGO 810 AM broadcast (San Francisco)  - Joe Starkey (Play-By-Play), Troy Taylor (Analyst, Pregame Show) , Todd McKim (Sidel ine Reporter, Pregame Show), Lee Grosscup (Postgame Show*), Kate Scott (Postgame Show) 

Cal IMG Radio Network Affiliates: *KFPT 790 AM (Fresno), KESP 970 AM (Modesto), KPRZ 1210 AM (San Diego), KMZT 1260 AM (Los Angeles), KTKZ 1380 AM (Sacramento), KFIG 1430 AM (Fresno)

Cal Football Vs. Presbyterian: Brendan Bigelow Will Play

Cal football freshman tailback Brendan Bigelow will suit up and play for the Golden Bears against the Presbyterian Blue Hose at AT&T Park. Bigelow will try to help the running attack open up more along with Isi Sofele and C.J. Anderson, as well as open up the passing attack for Zach Maynard.