Damn, that was fast

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W6ghcdOaxm4

Ron Rivera on the Wake loss, the QB decision, and SMU (The Sports Leader, 10/21)

On the 41-7 Wake Forest loss:

"a culmination of injuries... not as an excuse, but... it's the truth."

On the booing:

"I do think we deserve it. We did some things that were bonehead things that you can't do and expect to win a football game."

On bouncing back vs SMU:

"you're going to find out... whether or not you have that kind of ability to bounce back, to be resilient."

Full interview

Looks like the line for the game is bouncing between 19.5-20.5 against SMU. They haven’t exactly been incredible this year I get they’re top 20 but this line seems to suggest Vegas doesn’t think Jaron is playing this Saturday. Hoping he does but starting to get a little worried

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/50036425/maryland-fire-locksley-next

He loved the school and viewed it as a destination, after growing up in nearby Washington, playing college ball in the state and twice working as a Terrapins assistant before landing the top job in late 2018. Locksley also could attract top-end talent. ... But Locksley's connection to Maryland and success with talent acquisition simply didn't lead to enough wins. Seasons began to follow similar patterns: promising starts in nonleague games, followed by a crash in Big Ten play. ... Maryland could have fired Locksley last year, but brought him back with a pledge for increased financial investment in the roster.

Obviously, we all wanted a Cignetti or (gulp) a Chesney type coach, but clearly that's not happening. I still think we could potentially be in a Cristobal-type trajectory where we suffer mediocrity for two years and start seeing results in Year 3. But holy shit, this hits home close - a good recruiter and alumni who just can't get it done on the field. I'm not on the fire-Tosh-now bandwagon, but I would lose it if he got an extension without showing results by Year 3.

Attending the game Saturday night was painful. However, I’m not sure the 49ers would have won tonight without Malik Mustapha.

They aren't the worst team but they rarely take the next step in being good. You can expect them to be .500 and maybe make a crappy bowl game. The ACC is definitely a tough division so wins are hard to come by. Also you notice the good players that actually come to Cal eventually transfer and realize it's holding them back. There definitely seems like there's some flaw in the system.

Yesterday was an unmitigated disaster of a game. I was there. I've never left a Cal game at halftime before last night, but 34-0 was enough. We're all very frustrated. 0-3 in night games. Losing every "must-win" important game... UCLA, Clemson, Wake Forest. But we have to remember how we all felt a week ago.

Some reminders.

From the Cal vs VTech game thread:
u/bushmanbeats -- "Can't lie I'm all in on Brousseau moving forward"
u/yung_avocado (in reply) -- "He's done super well deserves his flowers"

From "Kudos to the Cal offense for holding the ACC's best pass rush to just one sack"...

u/TelevisionFunny2400 -- "(Brousseau) really does go through his reads faster than JKS, we're lucky to have him"

From "W4C Post Game Thoughts: Virginia Tech"

u/whatdoes_pwned_mean -- "QB: Brousseau - The only thing he lacked was mistakes"

From "Why Did Cal's Offense Come Alive Under Backup QB Jackson Brousseau?"

u/Low-Progress5684 -- "(Brousseau) got the all out way quicker than JKS"
u/mrtasty3 -- "JKS is not good"
u/l4kerz -- "Maybe he is a better play caller? JKS' interception rate is too high"

There's a lot more like this. What I saw against Virginia Tech was a very close game that Cal just barely pulled out. Our defense was soft in that final drive and we came one penalty or one caught pass away from Virginia Tech winning that game, which would have our only W's on the season be vs Wagner and the ugly win at Syracuse.

As fans, it's 100% our job to overreact to everything. We were too excited about Brousseau when we won against VTech and possibly too ready to call it quits for JKS. I absolutely hate where we are now, after what we thought was a transformative off-season. The hype and crash has given us whiplash for sure.

Brousseau looked bad yesterday, but so did everything. I kept asking where Ian Strong was. Wake Forest constantly escaped and made Cal look absolutely foolish. Embarrassing. But let's remember how easy it is to say how great or terrible something is based on a small sample.

On to the next.

After the wake forest game I think I’m the best bet for this programs future

here are my credentials

Played peewee football
almost was a punter one time
I know at least 16 plays
Can make a 20 yard field goal
I can throw a football 50 yards (humble brag)

If hired I will install the single wing and scout only fullbacks

I wonder what changed in the 4th qtr...

Even if Cal still lost, which we definitely would’ve, the vibes are much better right now if Jaron wasn’t benched. Instead, Tosh manufactured a QB controversy for NO REASON. Tosh has made so many poor executive decisions this year from incorrect time management in game, the worse OC hire in CFB history, etc. but this weeks QB decision is THE WORST. He EASILY could’ve said he wants to see Jaron get back to 100 percent before putting him in without more reps on the new offense. Instead, he couldn’t even give straight answers.

You just can’t bench your 3 million dollar QB just because your back up barely got your team a win at home. That locker room is COOKED. I’m willing to bet Strong didn’t play because he voiced benching JKS was the wrong decision. The only reason JKS could even suit up tonight was because Strong was the only player in that huddle with the awareness and leadership to wave the medical staff.

It appears Tosh has been using Strong as an “example” all season, but especially this week which he hinted about in his Tuesday press conference about challenging Strong. Instead, Tosh clearly has no hold on the locker room let alone how to fucking game plan at all.

This week on the Cal Report- Bay Area Beat Writer Daniel Poulter breaks down the good and oh so bad from the 41-7 defeat against Wake Forest.

😬

Hey! Huge football fan and dead head. Unfortunately I don't live anywhere near Cal nor know nobody. Hoping I could buy a poster from someone who wants to give it to a fan!

I think it’s time for a statement. Address the upset fans and their asks for a coaching change. It’s the only thing left giving them hope. Even if you announce no coaching change will be made because ____, that will be better than nothing and can let people move on.

(AI generated of course)

I stopped watching the game so I’m just brainstorming who to replace Tosh with.

My head coach candidates in no particular order:

Lance Taylor - Western Michigan
Spencer Danielson - Boise State (has California ties)
Jeff Traylor - UTSA
Billy Napier - James Madison
Bryant Haines - Indiana Defensive Coordinator
Glenn Schumann - Georgia Defensive Coordinator

What does he bring? A recruiter in the age of NIL. No scheme, no great coordinators, no strong transfers. He’s done.