That game wasn't much fun....but at least we won. On to Arizona......

Every time we win a game in an "ugly" way, I have to remind myself that it wasn't too long ago that Beaver Nation would take a win any way we could get it.  It was just 10 years ago that the Beavers were 5-6 and suffering through our 28th straight losing season.  Only 10 years ago......

But, 10 years lat er, Beaver Nation is somewhat spoiled because we now have some room to complain about a win as not being "pretty" enough.  Yesterday's game certainly falls in that category - it was ugly and not much fun.  The bottom line is that we would have blown out Cal had we not made a number of mistakes such as Moevao's interception, that stupid facemask call on Brady Camp that negated a 30 yard run by Quizz, and the half-dozen or so missed tackles by the defense.

The Beavers' Defense and Offsensive Line deserves the credit for the win yesterday.  I don't know what the opposite of getting the game ball is (that is, the reward for the player who contributed the least to the outcome of the game), but I think The Smile earned it.  The Smile looked rusty, and a little gun-shy.  If we make the same mistakes, and The Smile plays the same way, against Arizona, Beaver Nation can say bye-bye to their Rose Bowl hopes.

So now we are off to Tuscon to play the Wildcats, who scored 45 points last week against Faber College and still lost.  What scares me is that the Wildcats scored 45 points, but I have reserved optimism for the fact that the Wildcats' defense (supposedly the strength of the team) gave up 55 points to Faber College.

One win at a time.  But this one is on the road.  Nervous?  Yes.  But I am sure Coach Riley will have the team read to go on Saturday.

Comments

[AvidReader]

Thanks for coming around and recognizing Lyle's ineptness throughout the course of the game. Go Beavs!

[Ray Cambridge]

Ugly ball happens from time to time. The question is "did OUR team play cleanly, or did we break the rules too?" I do prefer to see a good close game that's played well.
I've gotten Belk Bowl tickets at http://amazonticketsonline.com/Belk-Bowl and I'm looking forward to the game. I'm hoping that the game won't be ugly ball.