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In the game Coach B called Part 2 of the Conference Championship, the game provided all the excitement that went with it. The game was extremely close, eventually going down to the a final seconds FG for the Cal win.
The first half was a shootout as the teams scored a combined 44pts in the first half. Cal's defense could do little to stop USC's bulldozer aka Marc Tyler, he would run over, bounce off of, or just side-step and make the would-be tackler miss. Cal's defense did step up after allowing USC to get going, forcing 2 INTs on would be TD drives. After battling the first half, and USC doing most of the hitting; Coach B felt great going into the half with the score 24-20.
Then the coaches must have had a hell of a halftime speech as the only points allowed would be 2 FGs for Cal. After allowing Tyler to have his way with the Cal defense, Coach B switched from aggressive tackling to sure tackling, it seemed to work. There were still a few instances in which Tyler hit a hole and chewed off a good 20+yd run, but the defense held stiff and didn't allow a single point in the 2nd half. The 4th qrt was the most impressive. After allowing one of Tyler's rare 2nd half runs, Coach B was extremely nervous. However, the defense rallied and forced a punt that would setup the game ending drive. With over 3 mins to play and still down by 1 point, Coach B knew that he only need a FG to win. Starting at the 20yd line, Cal took their time on the drive and chewed up the entire 3 mins. With a steady diet of Vereen whether running or swing plays, Cal drove the field. Instead of trying to force a play and try for the TD, Coach B put faith in his kicker and chewed the clock. After getting down within range and converting on a 4th and 1, a quick run positioned the kick in the middle of field and Cal called a timeout with 3 seconds on the clock. Idiotically, the CPU/USC called all 3 of their timeouts while on the play call screen trying to freeze the kicker, but it had no effect as Cal's kicker nailed the game-winning 34yd FG as time expired.
After watching Coach B get the Gatorade dunk, we asked for his comments, "I'm shocked that we pulled this out. In the 1st half, I thought we would have to everything just keep within striking distance. At halftime, I told the guys to make sure they tackle Tyler; I was tired of seeing our guys left in his wake. Apparently it worked, I still can't believe we shut them out in the 2nd half."
As Coach B predicted, this should be the conference championship as out of the next 5 games, Cal faces only 1 team that has an above .500 record. But I warn Cal, that team is Washington that is currently undefeated in conference play with a tough couple of weeks before the square off against Cal. Until next week...happy trails.
Scoreline:
POTG:
Cal: WR C.Satchell 146 KR Yds, KR TD(3rd KR TD of season)
USC: LB K.Grier 8tkls, 2 INTs
The first half was a shootout as the teams scored a combined 44pts in the first half. Cal's defense could do little to stop USC's bulldozer aka Marc Tyler, he would run over, bounce off of, or just side-step and make the would-be tackler miss. Cal's defense did step up after allowing USC to get going, forcing 2 INTs on would be TD drives. After battling the first half, and USC doing most of the hitting; Coach B felt great going into the half with the score 24-20.
Then the coaches must have had a hell of a halftime speech as the only points allowed would be 2 FGs for Cal. After allowing Tyler to have his way with the Cal defense, Coach B switched from aggressive tackling to sure tackling, it seemed to work. There were still a few instances in which Tyler hit a hole and chewed off a good 20+yd run, but the defense held stiff and didn't allow a single point in the 2nd half. The 4th qrt was the most impressive. After allowing one of Tyler's rare 2nd half runs, Coach B was extremely nervous. However, the defense rallied and forced a punt that would setup the game ending drive. With over 3 mins to play and still down by 1 point, Coach B knew that he only need a FG to win. Starting at the 20yd line, Cal took their time on the drive and chewed up the entire 3 mins. With a steady diet of Vereen whether running or swing plays, Cal drove the field. Instead of trying to force a play and try for the TD, Coach B put faith in his kicker and chewed the clock. After getting down within range and converting on a 4th and 1, a quick run positioned the kick in the middle of field and Cal called a timeout with 3 seconds on the clock. Idiotically, the CPU/USC called all 3 of their timeouts while on the play call screen trying to freeze the kicker, but it had no effect as Cal's kicker nailed the game-winning 34yd FG as time expired.
After watching Coach B get the Gatorade dunk, we asked for his comments, "I'm shocked that we pulled this out. In the 1st half, I thought we would have to everything just keep within striking distance. At halftime, I told the guys to make sure they tackle Tyler; I was tired of seeing our guys left in his wake. Apparently it worked, I still can't believe we shut them out in the 2nd half."
As Coach B predicted, this should be the conference championship as out of the next 5 games, Cal faces only 1 team that has an above .500 record. But I warn Cal, that team is Washington that is currently undefeated in conference play with a tough couple of weeks before the square off against Cal. Until next week...happy trails.
Scoreline:
| Teams: | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| USC: | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Cal: | 10 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 26 |
POTG:
Cal: WR C.Satchell 146 KR Yds, KR TD(3rd KR TD of season)
USC: LB K.Grier 8tkls, 2 INTs
