Why California might win | Syracusefan.com

Why California might win

SWC75

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- Fans of a certain age, (like me), remember SU’s last trip to Berkeley:: 10/26/68. We were ranked #10. Cal was #11 and thought they should be in the top ten. We turn the ball over 9 times and lose 0-43 in a game ended 7 minutes early as the crowd had stormed the field. Put that with the much more recent memory of the Pitt game, where Kyle McCord threw 5 interceptions and three got returned for a touchdown and the fact that Cal leads the country in interceptions and are +16 in turnovers and I get the feeling that Halloween may not be over yet.

- LeQuint Allen is a fine running back but with no help form the quarterback and the top two guys behind him being hurt, he’s the whole running game and that’s only amounted to 89 yards per game. We are too one- dimensional and Cal’s great pass defense will know that be ready to meet our strength with their strength.

- The Bears saw the film of the BC game, where we couldn’t handle a power running game. Cal isn’t a great running team but they could be in this game.

- And Cal can pass, too. They will be the best passing team we will play this year other than Miami. They won’t be outgunned in a shoot-out.

- Have we seen the last of the blocked kicks? The missed field goals? If it comes down to a 50 yarder, will it be their 50 yarder or ours?

- Jet lag anyone?

-


Stats that favor California (29):
OFFENSIVE RUSHING YARDS SU- 89.00 CA – 118.3
OFFENSIVE AVERAGE ON RUNNING PLAYS (- sacks) SU- 4.03 CA – 4.40
OFFENSIVE PASSING YARDS PER ATTEMPT SU- 7.32 CA – 7.69
OFFENSIVE PASSING EFFICIENCY SU- 137.09 CA – 142.11
OFFENSIVE COMPLETION PERCENTAGE SU- 63.68 CA – 67.89
BLOCKED KICKS ALLOWED SU- 5 CA - 1
SCORING DEFENSE SU- 28.56 CA – 19.33
TOTAL DEFENSIVE YARDS SU- 354.40 CA – 327.90
DEFENSIVE RUSHING YARDS SU- 155.60 CA – 100.40
DEFENSIVE AVERAGE ON RUNNING PLAYS (- SACKS) SU – 5.33 CA – 4.21
DEFFENSIVE PASSING YARDS PER ATTEMPT SU- 7.34 CA – 6.52
DEFENSIVE PASSING EFFICIENCY SU- 141.21 CA – 110.49
DEFENSIVE COMPLETION PERCENTAGE SU- 66.39 CA – 56.05
SACKS SU- 20 CA - 29
TACKLES FOR A LOSS SU- 51 CA – 56
BLOCKED KICKS SU - 0 CA - 2
DEFENSIVE RED ZONE POINTS SU- 156/32 = 4.875 CA – 111/32 = 3.47
DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS SU - 1 CA– 2
KICKOFF RETURNS SU- 18.71 CA – 23.88
OPPONENT KICKOFF RETURNS SU- 19.88 CA – 17.75
OPPONENT PUNT RETURNS SU- 9.18 CA – 4.46
OPPONENT PUNTS RETURNED SU- 14/39 = 35.90% CA – 13/44 = 29.55%
NET PUNTING SU- 37.33 CA – 41.48
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE SU- 7/13 = 53.85% CA – 19/27 = 70.37
LONGEST FG SU- 44 CA - 54
40 YARDS + SU- 1/6 = 16.67% CA – 6/9 = 66.67%
EXTRA POINTS MISSED SU- 2 CA – 0
TURNOVER MARGIN SU- 14/11 = -3 CA – 6/22 = +16
COMMON OPPONENTS:
We lost at Pittsburgh 13-41 at home. They lost at Pittsburgh 15-17. Advantage: California +26
We won at NC State 24-17. They lost to NC State at home 23-24. Advantage: Syracuse +6
Overall Advantage: California +20

The big thing that scares me is that California is +16 in turnover margin with a nation leading 17 interceptions. Nohl Williams leads the country with 7 picks. Cal has 29 sacks. Their defensive numbers against the pass are excellent. It’s strength vs. strength because our passing game is easily the best thing about our team. But Pittsburgh strangled our passing game with 5 interceptions, 3 returned for touchdowns. It could happen again.

They aren’t a great running team but we aren’t even a good one. Their rush defense is much better than ours. We’ve also had a lot of blocked kicks and they’ve got to a couple. And, painfully, this is still another team with a better place-kicking game than ours. We used to be known as “Kicker U.”. The difference in net punting is primarily due to our blocks, which figure in the average. They return kicks and cover them better than we do.
 

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