Positives That Can Be Taken from Cal's Loss to USC
After watching the Cal's 17-3 loss to USC Saturday, there are plenty of things the Cal Bears and their fans should be happy about. Most of the things that are going receive the most focus from coach Jeff Tedford, of course, were the negatives. Those include the bone-headed penalty for an illegal man downfield because one of Cal's wide receivers was not lined up properly, not taking advantage of USC's mistake, etc.
The great news for the Bears, though, is the way the defense played. USC's vaunted offense that scored 40.3 points per game was held to 17 points, but the Trojans really only earned either 10 or 13. The corners played very strong against USC's wide receivers and the Bears as a whole did well against the three vaunted running backs of USC of Stafon Johnson, C.J. Gable, and Joe McKnight. They even caused a fumble by McKnight on a great play by Zack Follett to strip McKnight of the ball.
Yes, there were times when Cal gave up some yardage on pass plays and running plays, but the Bears didn't break. Even when it looked like USC was going to drive in for an easy touchdown, the defense stood tall and allowed only a field goal.
The Bears also got screwed on a play that should have been reviewed, but, of course, it's the Pac-10 and it didn't happen. Patrick Turner didn't come up with that catch. Yes, it was a great throw by Mark Sanchez, but it should have been challenged, as the ball did hit the ground.
The Bears defense should be absolutely thrilled with the way it played. This is a far cry from what defense looked like earlier in the season. The 3-4 put in by Bob Gregory has played on the Bears strength at linebackers. This means that the Bears defense just needs to continue to do what they are doing and they should be fine the rest of the season.
Oregon State is the next task for the Bears defense. It should be a tough task against the Beavers, who have a talented freshman running back in Jacquizz Rodgers and two solid wide receivers in James Rodgers and Sammie Stroughter. Even with that, the Bears defense should be able to shut the Beavers down and get a win.
The Bears still control their own destiny. They could well end up being a two-loss team in the Pac-10, losing to only Arizona and USC. In an odd turn of events, it's the Bears' defense that is their strong point when, over the past few years, it's always been the offense.
This is also great news for next year! On the other side of that, it should also be mentioned if Cal gets any kind of offense, the Bears are going to be tough to beat.
