Would have, could have, should have.
In a way, Cal knows exactly how UCLA feels.
Leading 21-3 at one point against USC, Cal faltered down the
stretch, unable to stop the run and severely hindered by a phantom
Trojan touchdown reception that replays showed bounced off the
grass. Cal fell, 30-28.
“We shot ourselves,” Cal head coach Jeff Tedford
said following the loss. “In the second half, we gave the
ball away twice, had some key penalties and just didn’t
execute very well. The call was wrong, too. We had big leads and
let them slip away.”
After a 30-24 UCLA lead became a 31-30 deficit, Bruin
placekicker Chris Griffith sent a 46-yard field goal attempt wide
left to seal UCLA’s fate with 1:54 left. In addition to that
missed potential game-winner, the Bruins attempted a fake field
goal that failed to get first down yardage, and an extra point
blocked that was the difference in the game. They also gave up a
59-yard field goal that put the Ducks ahead 24-21 at halftime.
“We missed our chance,” UCLA defensive back Ricky
Manning said. “There’s no way we should have lost that
game. They were not the better team. We beat ourselves.”
Would have, could have, should have.
Last week’s disappointing losses ““ both games that
Cal and UCLA should have won ““ have created an intriguing
matchup at Berkeley Memorial Stadium. Both teams will struggle to
shake off their stunning losses and vie to gain some much-needed
momentum in the Pac-10 race. While Cal is not eligible for a bowl
game this season due to NCAA sanctions, the Golden Bears would love
nothing more than to knock UCLA out of postseason play.
“They’ll be angry,” said UCLA head coach Jeff
Tedford of Cal. “Sometimes, you want to take that out on the
next opponent. But you know what? We’re angry, too.
It’s going to be two angry bears fighting.”
Indeed, this isn’t the same Cal team that UCLA ran over,
56-17, last year. Spearheaded by the hiring of head coach Jeff
Tedford, the former offensive coordinator at Oregon, the Cal Golden
Bears have rejuvenated an offense that is finally living up to its
potential. What looked like an easy win in the preseason for the
Bruins, has become a must-win game.
“We’re hungry and we need to win,” defensive
end Dave Ball said. “Their offense is way different from last
year. (Cal quarterback) Kyle Boller is a lot more confident. Last
year, he was on the run a lot, but this year, he stays planted back
there.”
The whole pinnacle of the Cal offensive attack surrounds Boller,
who has flourished under Tedford’s offensive schemes. Boller,
who was once rated as the top prep quarterback in the country, has
thrown for 1,699 yards and 18 touchdowns ““ far better numbers
at this point in the season than his past three years. He suffered
a bruise on his non-throwing hand, but said he would be 100% by
game time. Running back Joe Igber, a 5-foot-8 physical runner whose
lack of size is deceiving, complements Boller’s passing
prowess. The duo have helped Cal to become the top scoring team in
the Pac-10. During last year’s game with the Bruins, both
players were unable to play. Igber had a collarbone injury and
Boller was out due to backspasms.
Cal’s Achilles heel in its three losses (each of which
came when Cal led at halftime) is the defense. The Bears rank dead
last in total defense in the Pac-10, and their loss to USC was
largely the result of missed tackles. Similarly, Tedford expects
UCLA to run the ball.
“UCLA will take it to you,” Tedford said.
“They pound you pretty good and they’re big and
physical up front. I would expect UCLA to run the ball at us and
use the clock like USC did.”
All of this obscures that,at 4-3, Cal has quadrupled last
year’s win total. Cal has done it in the first half
(outscoring opponents, 163-55), with a great turnover ratio (their
+13 turnover ratio is the fifth-highest total in Division I), all
the while playing the eighth toughest schedule in the nation. The
Golden Bears’ have lost three games by a total of 14
points.
“Tedford is featuring some key players,” Toledo
said. “They’ve got some guys who can play football.
They’re really good in the red zone. They can cause some
turnovers, and they get up on you early so it’s hard to come
back.”
No one could have imagined in the preseason how much UCLA would
need this victory. Besides putting UCLA in position for a bowl
game, a victory would be a huge boost to the team’s spirits
following last week’s demoralizing loss.
“Everyone was disappointed and upset (after the Oregon
game),” Toledo said. “We’re not discouraged,
though. We’re doing too many good things to be torn up by a
loss. We’re going to fight through this.”
It’s a fight that has become must-win.