BrewMaster

I was one of the people screaming loud that Cal got screwed in the whole BCS thing. But now that Cal got slapped by #22 Texas Tech (and their QB threw for over 500 yards) and Texas pulled off a win against Michigan (with Vince Young of Texas playing an amazing game), can we say that Texas is indeed the better team and Cal did not get screwed? Don't forget that Texas beat the snot out of Texas Tech 51-21 this season.

By the looks of the results, it seems that way to me.

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ialsohaveadream

No. Cal didn't have a lot to play for. They had done all they could to get into the BCS. Then, when another coach's whining paid off, they were left in the cold. At that point, I think even the coaches probably said, "Eh, f**k it."

bachviet

So that's an excuse for getting slapped by Texas Tech??? That's weak man. If you don't have pride to show up and play, you don't deserve a bid in the BCS.

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Memo

They had everything to play for. They should have proven that they got shafted. Instead, they lost to a so-so team which we had beat the **** out of. Plus, Vince Young played the best game of his life!

BrewMaster

IAHAD, i might agree with you if Cal's head coach Jeff Tedford didn't say exactly the opposite of what you just said in this article.

i know, i know, you'll say "well, what else could the head coach have said?" and on that point i would agree. but for once i agree with bachviet. if you can't show up in the Holiday Bowl because you're too busy pouting, well then Texas is indeed the better team.

AlpineJay

I agree. Turns out that dreaded BCS system called the right teams this time. Cal had no excuse in losing that game against Tech, and Texas looked impressive in their win at the Rose Bowl. You can argue that Cal players were demoralized but that's still no excuse to lose a bowl game.

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brainsmile

Well to set the record straight... Cal was out their top 2 wide receivers and their starting kicker was hurt the day before the game. Yes they got worked on offense but it all starts with keeping their offense off the field and they couldn't move the ball and keep drives alive. Tech is a terrible matchup for CAL. They haven't played a spread offense in over 2 years. Washington State runs a similar offense. Overall, they would have probably fared better against a team that didn't throw so much (over 75 passes in the game for Tech).

Their QB was amazingly accurate on some of those long passes. No big deal though... there's always next year and a 10-2 record isn't too shabby considering 3 years ago we were 1-10.

One thing to keep in mind... Aaron Rodgers' (Cal's QB) hasn't been of the same mindset since about 5 games ago when I hear he decided to go pro.

kei2

Cal's best receivers out with injuries... that plays a part.

It's impossible to say which team is better since they didn't play each other, but in public perception this will put the matter to rest (because nobody who doesn't follow Cal bothers to look into the injury situations and whatever else). The Texas coach is still a b*tch for begging for votes.

brainsmile

Oh I most certainly agree with you on that. Most people say Cal laid an egg. I thinkthat they didn't stick to what was working which was running the ball. Injuries do matter even if they were not defense related. That being said it was a good game and I enjoyed meeting the Tech fans. Very nice people. Unlike some Texas fans I've encountered. For some reason they think we don't want them in the BCS. In actuality it's Pitt we object strongest to.

BrewMaster

So many excuses...


I know your answer is that if they had had their receivers they could have moved the ball and kept Tech off the field. That's crap. Look at the time of possession numbers. Cal had the ball MORE than Tech by 2:30. You can't cry about keeping your defense off the field and missing receivers when you have the ball more over the whole game. Tech ran 77 offensive plays, Cal ran 72. That is about dead even. So hooey on your first excuse. Cal also ran for 221 yards. They played well, but they got beat by a better team IMHO.


Check the stats man, he had only 60 pass attempts, not 75. And Cal has to be able to handle the cards they were dealt. Texas faced that same spread offense of Texas Tech and kicked the crap out of them. If Cal needs more practice against the spread offense then maybe they aren't the caliber of team we (myself included) thought they were.


If the QB isn't in the game mentally because of going pro, that probably would have hurt them in Rose Bowl too had they been there.

So it is settled in my mind that it worked out that Texas is indeed the better team. You can say that Mac Brown (Texas coach) is a bitch for asking for votes, but in the end he was right that his team deserved to be there.

I was hoping Michigan would kill Texas and Cal would win big so that they would prove that the Pac-10 needed more respect and that Cal got shafted. I got proven way wrong. Even though I wanted Texas to lose, it was awesome to watch Vince Young play.



hooey on all of this. see above.

kei2

Cal had a better regular season and deserved the #4 spot and the Rose Bowl. They might have gotten killed in it for whatever reasons they lost to Tech, but they earned their spot. Everybody knows it was ludicrous for Texas to have jumped into the #4 ranking.

brainsmile

[quote=BrewMaster]So many excuses...



They should have run much more than passed is my point. They tried to make a balanced offense as they have been doing all year round but without capable receivers that strategy should have been scrubbed. Even the coach admitted that he may have erred on that one. Time or possession is about even cause they couldn't move the ball. If you look at the scoring drives for Tech they really didn't usually take more than 3-5 min each time. Cal should have kept the ball on the ground and had a 2:1 ratio in time of possession to win this game.



Check the stats man, he had only 60 pass attempts, not 75. And Cal has to be able to handle the cards they were dealt. Texas faced that same spread offense of Texas Tech and kicked the crap out of them. If Cal needs more practice against the spread offense then maybe they aren't the caliber of team we (myself included) thought they were.

Yeah but Texas plays them every year. If you haven't seen an offense it's hard to even mimick it cause your offense is trying to do something that they haven't done before. Let's say you've seen people drive in Europe all your life and then you have to get in the car on the right side to drive. I'd be very awkward about it as well.



If the QB isn't in the game mentally because of going pro, that probably would have hurt them in Rose Bowl too had they been there.

I'd agree that it would have been pretty tough but the let down was still there about not getting to the BCS.


Overall though it's really not a big deal. The point is Pitt should not have been in the BCS.

BrewMaster

They drive on the right side, just like us, in the main land of Europe. Only in the UK do they drive on the left.

brainsmile

still... you get my point

bachviet

How so??? They have identical record with one lost (USC for Cal and Oklahoma for Texas). IMHO the Big 12 is a tougher conference to play in than the Pac 10.

ialsohaveadream

Agreed, but it's Texas. They can't perform in big games. Until they finally do (and the Rose Bowl performance was close), I just can't call them an elite team.

Memo

If you can't call Texas an elite team you obviously didn't watch the Rose Bowl. So we've lost to Oklahoma the past few years. Oklahoma is in the title game this year and was in it last year and made it to the Rose Bowl in 2002. That's THE team we can't beat. And THE big game we can't win. Cal on the other hand lost in a not so big game to a team that lost to Texas A&M (Which lost to Baylor in the regular season and got their asses handed to them at the Cotton Bowl).

kei2

Cal's loss to USC was by one score. USC is better than Oklahoma. You can't come any closer to a perfect regular season record than losing 1 game to the #1 team by 1 score. Cal had a large margin of victory even though they didn't purposely run up the score. Cal got robbed out of a rushing touchdown in their final game. Texas didn't even play and they moved up? There's a whole thread on why Cal deserved the #4 spot.

The fact that Cal got schooled in the Holiday Bowl doesn't mean they didn't deserve the Rose Bowl. Whether they would have gotten massacred there or not, Cal should have been in it and not Texas.

ialsohaveadream

I watched the Rose Bowl. Young played well, but that Michigan team wasn't very special. Don't forget, this is the same team that got their ass handed to them by Ohio State, who has a weak offense even by OSU standards.

brainsmile

Well ... let's see what happens in the orange bowl. That will help with either side's argument.

BrewMaster

well, if they are the inferior team i would say that they did not deserve teh Rose Bowl. Before the games were played I was up in arms that Cal got robbed. But after the two games were played I shut my mouth for Cal because they didn't show up to prove their case and Texas did. End of story.

Cantacuzene

Exactly. I was a big proponent of Cal being in the Rose Bowl, but now I'm rather glad they didnt make it since its obvious that both teams got what they deserved.

brainsmile

well Oklahoma's win over Texas is sure impressive now

kei2

That's stupid. Say they're the worse team. Does that mean despite the two teams' seasons they were the worse team before the bowl games, when Texas jumped into the #4 spot? NO. Cal should have been the #4 team going into the bowl games. Besides, the Orange Bowl was a massacre, so what does that say about the Texas loss?

brainsmile

it's circular reasoning... I for one am just happy Cal did well overall. 1-10 to 10-2 in 3 years is quite an achievement. Next year should be interesting with Cal getting what they call "white michael vick". I look forward to that but I don't know much about him.

BrewMaster

i'm not saying that the shennanigans that got Texas to the Rose Bowl are justifiable, I am just saying that despite the wrong-doings it appears that the right teams went to the right games. you can argue all you want that Cal is the better team and really no one can factually dispute you because it is all banter and opinions. But I saw Cal get whomped by a weak team and I saw Texas play very wel against a decent Michigan team. My mind is made up but you are free to disagree.

whitak24

i'm just glad michigan lost in the rose bowl