I was thoroughly displeased with Vandy losing to UT and Wake, and Bama falling to Auburn for the sixth straight year. But at least these were predictable losses to better teams, and while disheartening, they were hardly unexpected.
What happened tonight in Palo Alto should have been unexpected, but after the events of the last two months, it could hardly be anything of the sort. Indeed, the trend line pointed the way bright and clear: five losses in six games, a turnover margin of -11, an average of 5.3 points in the second half per game. Nobody should have expected anything but an ignominious collapse from the Golden Bears, let alone the 14 points Vegas was giving.
And yet.
Stanford’s defense was regarded as poor-to-feeble, ranked last in the league against the run. The obvious course of action was to pound the ball on the ground – but Justin Forsett’s second-half carries were measurable in single digits. With DeSean Jackson out, and Longshore still not up to competition standard, the obvious move was to eat up clock on the ground – but Cal threw, and threw ineffectively, against a Cardinal defense that blithely set up and blitzed the QB to oblivion, unconcerned with the chance that the blitz might leave them open to draw runs and short screens – because Cal didn’t call any.
If I were the athletic director of the University of California, my orders would be this: the coaching staff, to a man, will stand all night tonight in the lobby of the student center, right outside the bookstore, staring at the empty trophy case that, for the last five years, contained the Stanford Axe. And once the sun comes up, they can go home and start planning for next year. No bowl bid will be accepted; there’s no point wasting time on some horseshit nothing bowl for a 6-6 team. There are bigger improvements that need to be made.
The mark of a great coach is the ability to adapt and perform. Once upon a time, Cal made halftime adjustments as well as anybody in football. This year, the best thing the football team has done at the half is get off the field to make way for the band.
During the game I twittered that if Jeff Tedford had any honor, he would return his salary for this season and resign. I don’t expect it to happen, obviously. But through the first five games of the year, Cal was 5-0 and ranked #2 in the country. Today, they are a .500 ballclub which just completed the biggest collapse in recent college football history.
For a coach, the order of priority goes like this: win national title, play for national championship, win conference title, play in BCS bowl, play in New Year’s day bowl, play in bowl game, post winning record, and above all beat the arch-rival. Jeff Tedford in 2007 has failed on every point. An explanation ought to be forthcoming. For now, the British have the correct phrasing: as the head football coach at the University of California, as of December 1, Jeff Tedford is no longer fit for purpose.
