Idiots Write About Sports

I don’t have any idea where to begin. Oregon gave Cal this game. At Autzen freakin’ Stadium, Oregon gave this game to Cal. Cal turned the ball over four times, and yet with time ticking down, Cal was in a position to win. Then, trailing by a TD in overtime, they had a man wide open, ready to score! All in a game that, quite frankly, I felt Cal didn’t have much hope of winning when I got up this morning.
I have to be careful, because I have no idea what I might write that’ll be misquoted by an unscrupulous print journalist looking to make a story out of nothing. But make no mistake: this loss is almost entirely on the shoulders of Joe Ayoob. Oregon handed Cal a gift, and Ayoob kicked it out of the Bears’ mitts and onto the floor.
Ayoob couldn’t throw the deep ball accurately all day. He threw an idiotic interception when he should’ve been running out of bounds. He missed a wide-open receiver to tie the game in overtime. He threw balls above and behind his receivers all day. And then there’s the fumble that led directly to a cheap Oregon touchdown.
I hate to beat up the local kid, and I’m sure that Ayoob is trying his best. But you know what? His best isn’t good enough. He hasn’t become more accurate over the course of the year, he hasn’t gained much poise, and he continues to make numerous mistakes that contribute to the failure of the team.
Not to state the obvious, but I honestly believe that if Aaron Rodgers stays at Cal for his senior year, this team is undefeated. Each of Cal’s three losses can be chalked up — with ease — to the repeated failure of Ayoob to throw accurate passes or make smart decisions.
Next week: Let’s just say that USC isn’t going to be as generous as Oregon was. And even if the Trojans wrapped up a nice fruit basket for the Bears, somehow I think that Joe Ayoob would find a way to kick it over and stomp all over it.
One addendum: How sweet would it have been if Schneider hit that field goal at the end of regulation? But it’s a miracle they even got the snap off.