Idiots Write About Sports

I’ve got to write about this game before the next game starts in eight hours…

What a depressing first half. Cal looked great on the opening drive, and then was horribly ineffective on both offense and defense after that. Illinois has a Texas Tech-like offense, in that they spread the field and move around a lot — but they don’t have a Sunny Cumbie back there who can throw the ball deep.

The funniest thing about the Illini offense is that they have a system, so far as I can tell, that allows coaches to do “audibles” — adjusting the offense at the line based on the defensive formation. Rather than having the inexperienced college quarterback make such judgments and then check off, er, audibly, the coaches do it. The result is that just moments before the play, all the ball-handlers on the offense stick their heads straight up and then glance to the sideline to get the “audible” sign from a coach. They look like a bunch of prairie dogs, or meerkats. It was pretty funny, but not quite as hilarious as it would’ve been if Cal was ahead.

One of the amazing things about Illinois’ first-half offensive prowess was that it was almost entirely bereft of big plays. They must’ve made a dozen third-down conversions on those drives: three yards, four yards, four yards, first down. Five yards, three yards, three yards, first down. Seven yards, incomplete pass, four yards, first down. It was crazy.

True to form, Cal came out in the second half and demolished their opponents. The spread offense was much more ineffective, although some of that might have to do with Ron Zook’s insistence on handing the ball off up the middle, right into the strength of Cal’s defense. And Cal’s offense shrugged off its sluggishness. Ayoob is no Aaron Rodgers when it comes to accuracy, but he’s got a much better set of weapons than Rodgers did — they’re fast and healthy. As for the running game, what can you say? Even without Marshawn Lynch, the running backs shredded the Illinois defense in the second half. Some of that is due to the prowess of the offensive line, of course. But boy, does Cal own the ground game.

Finally, that Mixon punt return was sweet. Great, great block (that was almost an illegal block in the back) to spring him at the end. What a stake in the heart to a pretty game Illinois team.

I've been reading all season and was wondering when you were going to get around to posting...

As for the game, I think you overlooked in your analysis how much Illinois used the option, and how much that had Cal out of balance. I suspect that Tedford wasn't expecting as much option as was run and didn't do enough practice drills to defend against it. What I saw as the big turning point was when the Cal defense starting putting the corners on the line of scrimage because it exposed what the 4 wide receivers really were: decoys for the option.

Cal won't have that problem tonight.

Thanks, Ken. Yes, Illinois ran the option, but it was really part and parcel of the spread offense... I've seen other games in past seasons where Cal was really hammered by the option, and I didn't feel that it was as damaging vs. Illinois as the stacks of receivers at the line flooding the zone and generating lots of 4-to-7 yard gains. But you make a good point -- in the second half Cal completely defused the option, and that was the end of it.

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