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Cal Bears 6-3 Overall (3-3 Conference)
This Week’s Score: Oregon State 31 – Cal 14
Next Week’s Opponent: Arizona
Continue reading 'Pac-10 Week 10 Notes and Observations: Cal Bears'»
Oregon State Beavers (5-3) vs. Cal Bears (6-2)
Saturday, November 7, 4:00 PM PST
Las Vegas Favorite: Cal -7.0
Continue reading 'Week 10 Game Matchup: Oregon State Beavers VS. Cal Bears'»
Cal Bears 6-2 Overall (3-2 Conference)
This Week’s Score: Cal 23 – Arizona State 21
Next Week’s Opponent: Oregon State
Continue reading 'Pac-10 Week 9 Notes and Observations: Cal Bears'»
AllPac10.com was excited to accept an invitation to join CBSSports.com’s Blog Poll, which is run by Brian Cook who has a great Michigan blog over at www.mgoblog.com. You can read more about the premise by heading over to the Blog Poll via the link below, but it is essentially like a coaches or media poll except it is made up by top blogs across the country!
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| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida – Does destroying Georgia mean anything this season? | |
| 2 | Texas – The Longhorns laid a beatdown on a very solid Oklahoma State team, and they are now in firm control of their BCS destiny. | |
| 3 | Alabama | |
| 4 | Oregon – Last week I believed USC was the fourth best team in the country, and after watching Oregon hand the Trojans their worst loss of the Carroll-era, I am now convinced the Ducks are worthy of this spot. |  5 |
| 5 | Iowa – Make no mistake about it, this appears to be a flawed team. But 9-0 in the Big Ten still deserves at least some respect, and the Hawkeyes have shown resiliency every step of the way. | 1 |
| 6 | Cincinnati |  1 |
| 7 | TCU | |
| 8 | Boise State – The Broncos may very well be the fourth best team in the nation, but the complete resume does not compare favorably to teams 4-7. | |
| 9 | LSU | 1 |
| 10 | Penn State | 2 |
| 11 | Georgia Tech | 2 |
| 12 | Southern Cal – 47-20!!! An utterly shocking result for the Trojans. Fittingly, Pete Carroll looked like he had seen a ghost in the post game press conference. | 8 |
| 13 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 14 | Miami (Florida) – ‘Canes had to rally late, but Miami was able to improve to 6-2. | 2 |
| 15 | Utah | 2 |
| 16 | Notre Dame | 3 |
| 17 | Arizona – The ‘Cats were off last week, and they don’t figure to be challenged much this week (WSU travels to Tucson). | 3 |
| 18 | Pittsburgh | 3 |
| 19 | Oklahoma State – The Cowboys were simply no match for the Longhorns. | 8 |
| 20 | Oklahoma | 3 |
| 21 | California – The Bears played a terribly sloppy game in Tempe but they found a way to win. | 4 |
| 22 | Virginia Tech – Another disappointing loss for the Hokies now puts them at 5-3 and 3-2 in the ACC. | 7 |
| 23 | Houston | 1 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | |
| 25 | Brigham Young | |
| Last week’s ballot | ||
State of the Program
Before the 2008-09 season started, many wondered what new head coach Mike Montgomery (the winningest coach in Stanford men’s basketball history) could bring to a Cal Bears team that was coming off of a pedestrian 17-16 season. Certainly Monty brought a proven track record (minus that disastrous two-year stint with the Golden State Warriors of course), and his connections to the Bay Area made hiring him that much easier. Still, it remained to be seen if he could take Cal to the next level.
Fast-forward a year and that question looks like it has already been answered in the form of a 22-11 record (3rd in Pac-10 at 11-7) and an NCAA Tournament birth in 2008-09. Montgomery, a four-time winner of Pac-10 coach of the year, lit a fire under the Bears from the first day of practice, and Cal went on to play some of the most entertaining, high-octane, and always offensive basketball of any team in the conference. Monty had the Bears looking more like the Phoenix Suns (circa 2005), as Cal led the nation in three-point field goal percentage while always pushing the tempo.
Now the question becomes, what does Montgomery have in store for year two? The expectations couldn’t be higher in Berkeley, as many feel this team can win a Pac-10 title. Every major contributor from last year’s team returns (save Jordan Wilkes I suppose), so Haas Pavilion should be rocking from November to March.
Cal Bears (5-2) vs. Arizona State Sun Devils (4-3)
Saturday, October 31, 12:30 PM PST
Las Vegas Favorite: Cal -6.5
Continue reading 'Week 9 Game Matchup: Cal Bears VS. Arizona State Sun Devils'»
#1 Star: Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals
Alma Mater: USC
Stats (10/25): 20/24, 233 Yards, 5 Touchdowns, 146.7 QB Rating
The Chicago Bears came in at 3-2 after losing a tough game to the Falcons last week, and the Cincinnati Bengals came in at 4-2 after a letdown loss to the Houston Texans. Both teams were looking for a bounceback win, which should have provided a tough, competitive game; but Carson Palmer and the Bengals had other ideas.
The Cincinnati Bengals scored early and often, and Carson Palmer went 20 for 24 (83.3%) with 233 yards and five touchdowns (tops in the NFL this week). On the Bengals first drive of the game Palmer connected on a nine yard touchdown to Chris Henry. With one minute and seven seconds left in the first quarter, Chad Ochocinco caught an eight yard strike from Palmer. Palmer led the Bengals to points on all five first half possessions, including four touchdown passes.
If the Bengals weren’t up 31 – 3 (effectively ending the need to pass), there is no telling how many more yards and touchdown passes Carson Palmer could have racked up. If this offense can continue to click like it did last week, you will be seeing a lot more of Palmer on this list.
#2 Star: Chad Ochocinco, Cincinnati Bengals
Alma Mater: Oregon State
Stats (10/25): 10 Receptions for 118 Yards, 2 TDs
Chad Ochocinco also had his say in the Bengals 45 – 10 romping of the Chicago Bears. Ochocinco made it 14 – 0 late in the first quarter with his eight yard touchdown reception. While up 31 – 3, Ochocinco added even more insurance for the Bengals grabbing his second score, a 13 yard reception late in the third quarter making it 38 – 3.
Like Carson Palmer, Ochocinco did most of his work in the first half of this blowout game. He had eight catches for 103 yards, completely making a joke of the Chicago Bears secondary. Once again if this game was close I would have loved to see how many yards and touchdowns Ochocinco could have had, but I guess we will have to wait for another week to see if these guys can keep up their success together.
#3 Star: DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles
Alma Mater: Cal
Stats (10/26): 2 Receptions for 69 Yards, 1 TD, 1 Rush for 67 Yards, 1 TD
After the Philadelphia Eagles lost a shocking game last week to the Oakland Raiders 13 – 9, many people wondered who would step up for the Eagles and get them back on track against the Washington Redskins. With no touchdowns last week and really no explosive plays at all, DeSean Jackson made sure that would not happen back-to-back weeks as he electrified Monday Night Football fans accross the country with two huge plays.
Jackson finished the game with only two receptions for 69 yards, and one rush for 67 yards, but in his three touches he managed two touchdowns. On the first drive of the football game DeSean Jackson took a reverse handoff from Donovan McNabb, and ran down the left side of the field nearly untouched to give the Eagles the 7 – 0 lead that they would never lose. If one huge play wasn’t enough, Jackson struck again on the first play after the two minute warning of the first half, on a third and 22 at his own 43 yard line. Jackson burnt the corners and was wide open down the sideline where McNabb hit him in stride for his second touchdown of the game untouched.
Many Eagles fans have been concerned about DeSean Jackson and his ankle problems over the last couple of weeks but if this game wasn’t a sign that he is starting to feel better then I don’t know what is. Look for Jackson and the Eagles to continue to pile up some victories the rest of the way.
Honorable Mentions:
Cal’s Aaron Rodgers (15/20, 246 Yards, 3 TDs, 155.4 QB Rating)
Oregon State’s Steven Jackson (23 Rushes for 134 Yards)
Washington’s Dashon Goldson (6 Tackles, 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Fumble Recovery)
USC’s Terrell Thomas (5 Tackles, 1 Interception, 4 Pass Deflections)
Cal’s Thomas DeCoud (10 Tackles, 1 Sack, 1 Pass Deflection)
AllPac10.com was excited to accept an invitation to join CBSSports.com’s Blog Poll, which is run by Brian Cook who has a great Michigan blog over at www.mgoblog.com. You can read more about the premise by heading over to the Blog Poll via the link below, but it is essentially like a coaches or media poll except it is made up by top blogs across the country!
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| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida – Unimpressive win, but a win nonetheless. | |
| 2 | Texas – A big game with Oklahoma State this week. Could be the last legitimate threat on the schedule for the ‘Horns. | |
| 3 | Alabama – Unimpressive win, but a win nonetheless. | |
| 4 | Southern Cal – The Trojans were tested for a second straight week, but found a way. The defense has shown a few chinks in the armor, so it should be interesting to see how the unit performs at Autzen. | |
| 5 | Cincinnati – Even without Tony Pike the Bearcats didn’t skip a beat. | |
| 6 | Iowa – The Hawkeyes looked beaten late but found a way to keep their dream season going. | 3 |
| 7 | TCU – Count me in as a believer of the underrated Horned Frogs. | 4 |
| 8 | Boise State | 1 |
| 9 | Oregon – Dominating performance against the rival Huskies. Now we will see if the Ducks can take the biggest step of all towards becoming Pac-10 champions. | 1 |
| 10 | LSU | 4 |
| 11 | Oklahoma State | 1 |
| 12 | Penn State | 1 |
| 13 | Georgia Tech | 1 |
| 14 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 15 | Virginia Tech | 1 |
| 16 | Miami (Florida) – Tough loss for the ‘Canes in an entertaining game. | 8 |
| 17 | Utah | 1 |
| 18 | South Carolina | 3 |
| 19 | Notre Dame | 1 |
| 20 | Arizona – The ‘Cats are quietly in the hunt to win the Pac-10, and if the defense can play up to its capabilities, a Rose Bowl birth is possible. | |
| 21 | Pittsburgh - Impressive blowout of a solid USF team | 4 |
| 22 | West Virginia | 1 |
| 23 | Oklahoma | 1 |
| 24 | Houston | |
| 25 | California – Can Jeff Tedofrd’s team win out? The offense is certainly starting to look like itself again. | |
| Last week’s ballot | ||
Cal Bears 5-2 Overall (2-2 Conference)
This Week’s Score: Cal 49 – Washington State 17
Next Week’s Opponent: @Arizona State
Continue reading 'Pac-10 Week 8 Notes and Observations: Cal Bears'»
Washington State Cougars (1-5) vs. Cal Bears (4-2)
Saturday, October 24, 1:30 PM PST
Las Vegas Favorite: Cal -35.5
Continue reading 'Week 8 Game Matchup: Washington State Cougars VS. Cal Bears'»
Cal Bears 4-2 Overall (1-2 Conference)
This Week’s Score: Cal 45 – UCLA 26
Next Week’s Opponent: Washington State
Continue reading 'Pac-10 Week 7 Notes and Observations: Cal Bears'»
Cal Bears (3-2) vs. UCLA Bruins (3-2)
Saturday, October 17, 12:30 PM PST
Las Vegas Favorite: Cal -3.5
Continue reading 'Week 7 Game Matchup: Cal Bears VS. UCLA Bruins'»
# 1 Star: Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers
Alma Mater: Arizona State
Stats (10/7 – 10/10): 5 Runs, 2 Home Runs, 3 RBIs, .500 AVG
The Los Angeles Dodgers seem to go only as far as their right fielder Andre Ethier’s bat takes them. In the final 12 games of the regular season the Dodgers went 5-7 and looked to be going in the wrong direction with Ethier going 3-for-34 during the slide with one home run and five RBIs.
Things changed quickly come playoff time though, and during the Dodgers three game sweep of the Cardinals, Andre Ethier led the way batting .500 with two home runs, two doubles, one triple, five runs, and three RBIs.
Ethier’s two home runs both proved to be critical in the outcomes of those games, and if he can keep this hot streak going, it would definitely help the Dodgers in their efforts to knock off the defending champs.
#2 Star: Andre Carter, Washington Redskins
Alma Mater: Cal
Stats (10/11): 6 Tackles, 2.5 Sacks, 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Pass Deflection
In what has been a largely disappointing season so far for the Washington Redskins, it was nice to see a big performance from defensive end Andre Carter.
In the 20 – 17 loss to the Carolina Panthers, Andre Carter had six tackles, two and a half sacks, one forced fumble and one pass deflection. Carter’s two and a half sacks this week were ranked second to only James Harrison and his three for Pittsburgh.
As Washington’s offense continues to struggle, Andre Carter and the defense will have to continue to play at a high level to give the Redskins a chance to win each week.
#3 Star: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
Alma Mater: UCLA
Stats (10/7 – 10/12): 5 Runs, 1 Home Run, 1 RBI, 2 SBs, .429 AVG
The defending World Series Champions clinched the final spot in the NLCS Monday night, and Chase Utley proved to be a key factor the entire series.
Chase Utley finished the four game series with five runs, one home run, one RBI, two stolen bases and a .429 batting average. Utley’s five runs were tops on the Phillies during the series, and his two stolen bases also led the team.
Usually known for his power, Utley showed his versatility during this big series and if he stays hot with Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez behind him, the Phillies will be awfully tough to beat.
Honorable Mentions:
USC’s Matt Cassel (253 Yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 28 Rushing Yards)
Oregon State’s TJ Houshmandzadeh (5 Receptions for 77 Yards, 2 TDs)
Cal’s Marshawn Lynch (17 Carries for 69 Yards, 6 Receptions for 56 Yards, 0 TDs)
Arizona’s Antonio Pierce (8 Tackles, 1 Fumble Recovery)
Oregon’s Nick Reed (3 Tackles, 1 Sack, 1 Fumble Recovery, 1 TD)
USC’s Terrell Thomas (4 Tackles, 1 Sack, 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Pass Deflection)
Cal Bears 3-2 Overall (0-2 Conference)
This Week’s Score: USC 30 – Cal 3
Next Week’s Opponent: BYE
Continue reading 'Pac-10 Week 5 Notes and Observations: Cal Bears'»
#1 Star: Steve Smith, New York Giants
Alma Mater: USC
Stats (10/4): 11 Receptions for 134 Yds, 2 Touchdowns
Over the last few years, it hasn’t been uncommon to see a wide receiver by the name of Steve Smith near the top of the league in productivity.
But this year it hasn’t been the Carolina Panthers veteran; it’s been Steve Smith of the New York Giants, who once again led the Giants to victory with his league-high 11 catches for 134 yards (12.2 yd avg) and two touchdowns.
Smith leads the league in receptions (34), yards (411), and touchdowns (4) on the year as well, and if Eli Manning can continue to hook up with him on a regular basis the Giants (4 – 0) will be extremely hard to beat this year.
#2 Star: Brandon Morrow, Seattle Mariners
Alma Mater: Cal
Stats (9/30): 8 IP, 1 Win, 1 Hit, 2 Walks, 0.00 ERA, 0.38 WHIP, 9 Ks
In a what has been a frustrating year for Brandon Morrow (injuries and switching to a starter), Brandon Morrow showed signs of how dominating he can be when healthy.
Against the Oakland A’s, Morrow started off by retiring the first 10 batters he faced, five by strikeout. After giving up his lone hit of the night, he went on to retire another 13 straight with four more strikeouts before walking two straight batters. He got out of the eighth inning untouched, finishing up an outstanding effort.
Hopefully Friday’s start was just a sign of things to come for Brandon Morrow and the Mariners.
#3 Star: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Alma Mater: Cal
Stats (10/5): 26/37, 384 Yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 2 Rushes for 16 Yds
In the highly anticipated showdown between the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, both quarterbacks lived up to expectations.
Under constant pressure the entire game (8 sacks), Rodgers was still able to have an amazing game through the air, throwing for more yards than any other QB in Week 4 with 384 on 26 – 37 passing. Rodgers also threw for two touchdowns and had one interception.
Although the Packers ended up losing the game, I believe that Aaron Rodgers gained a lot of respect from his teammates for his resilient performance, and that the Packers will be a tough team to play the remainder of the year.
Honorable Mentions:
UCLA’s Eric Byrnes (2 Runs, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 1 SB, .400 BA)
UCLA’s Brandon Chillar (10 Tackles)
Oregon State’s TJ Houshmandzadeh (8 Receptions for 103 Yards)
USC’s Clay Matthews (3 Tackles, 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Fumble Recovery for 42 yds and a TD)
Arizona’s Antonio Pierce (7 Tackles, 1 Forced Fumble)
Arizona State’s Terrell Suggs (6 Tackles, 1 Sack, 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Pass Deflection)
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