I know, I know.....the Beavers are three games away from a trip to the Rose Bowl. Keep in mind, though, that those three games are against teams with a combined record of 19-9. Also, all three of those teams are going to bowl games this year. In other words, this is the tough part of our schedule.
The UCLA win was great. I am glad that Coach Riley got the "UCLA Monkey" off of his back. The win was great for another reason, as well. After the game, three-star cornerback Sean Martin from Corona's Santiago High committed to the Beavers next year. Martin chose Oregon State over Minnesota, Arizona State, UCLA and UNLV. Certainly OSU's dominant defensive performance was the final straw that cemented Martin's decision.
The win was great because it was a road-win in a stadium the Beavers don't do well in. The win was great because it marks the first time since 2000 that the Beavers have swept the Los Angeles schools, which will definitely help our recruiting. Finally, the win was great because it was our sixth win of the season, making the Beavers bowl eligible for the 8th time in the last 10 years.
But now we have three tough games, beginning with Cal. I thought the best comparison between the teams is to examine the team's performances against common opponents: USC, UCLA, ASU and WSU.
Cal averaged 33.5 points per game against these opponents, 5 points less than the Beavers 38.5 average. The Beavers averaged 218.8 yards passing per game, 68 more yards per game than the Bears averaged. The Beavers rushing offense averaged 202.3 yards per game, 20 yards more than Cal's average of 182.3 rushing yards per game.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Beavers also outshine the Bears. The Beavers give up 178 yards passing per game, while the Bears give up 187.5 yards passing per game. The Bears allowed 79 yards on the ground per game, the Beavers allowed 66.3 yards per game. The only statistic where the Bears are better than the Beavers is in points allowed - the Bears allowed 13.5 points against the 4 common opponents, the Beavers allowed 16.3 points.
Against the four common opponents, the Beavers are 4-0, while the Bears are 3-1 (only loss was to UCLA). In truth, these statistics demonstrate one thing - the Beavers and the Bears are two evenly matched teams on both sides of the ball. The edge only goes to the Beavers because the game is being played in Corvallis. However, recent history has demonstrated exactly how little home field advantage means in this game (Beavers won in Berkeley in 2007, Bears won in Corvallis in 2006).
Just some food for thought this week, Beaver Nation.
Cal's only loss among those four teams you listed is to USC, not UCLA.
Posted by: Nick | November 11, 2008 at 10:01 AM