Cal-Washington

Thanks to the idiots at Directv last night's Cal-Washington game was likely the last Cal game that I get to see this year. Thank you very little, clowns.

In the past year, Washington has joined the exclusive group populated by Stanford, USC and Oregon as Pac-12 teams that I truly dislike. Stanford for obvious reasons. Everyone but USC hates USC in the Pac-12. Oregon is simply annoying. Too cocky. Too many stupid looking uniforms. And recently, too good. Washington has joined this group due to the very questionable shenanigans of head coach Steve Sarkisian last winter. Sarkisian raided Cal's coaching staff just days before signing day. Not only did he grab Cal's lead recruiter and defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi, he snaked some of Cal's top recruits. One in particular was stud safety Shaq Thompson. He'd basically been a Cal recruit since his brother SydQuan Thompson played there. A couple others bolted to other schools when Lupoi was no longer coaching in Berkeley. Nothing that Sarkisian did was technically wrong. There was just a total lack of respect. Especially from Lupoi. Cal coach Jeff Tedford had given him his first and lasting shot at coaching. In the end, Lupoi flat out lied to Tedford. Washington can suck it.

But, the Huskies won this game 21-13.

Ugly game. Cal ended their first two drives in or near the red zone with fumbles. That ended up being the game. They did a bunch to lose it after that. They did some things to win it too. Just not enough.

Cal quarterback Zach Maynard is going to get a receiver killed before he's done. He suffered a possible knee injury at the end of the game so maybe he won't. I can't wait for one of Kyle Boehm, Zach Kline or Jared Goff to be throwing passes for the Bears next year. The quarterback position has been a disaster at Cal for too long. Not since Aaron Rodgers in 2004 has anyone consistently thrown the ball accurately. Nate Longshore had some decent moments but it's been pretty bleak for nearly a decade.

Cal receiver Keenan Allen is a fantastic football player. He's junior but I'll be shocked if he doesn't leave for the NFL following this season. Thanks, again, to Directv as last night was probably my last chance to see him play college football. He missed the game due to injury. The bright side to that was the opportunity for a bunch of young receivers. Freshman Chris Harper has played well all year. He was fantastic last night. Highlighted by a brilliant one-handed catch made possible by horrible pass by Maynard. Fellow freshmen Darius Powe and Maurice Harris also had their first extended action. Another freshman Bryce Treggs has also played well in his first college season but missed the last night's game. Cal has some real nice talent at receiver.

They also have super fast back Brendan Bigelow. He's a sophomore. So is tight end Richard Rodgers. Cal has some playmakers coming back next year. The offensive line should be improved. If someone can step up at quarterback, Cal could have something nice on offense. Anything would be an improvement over this mess.

Washington tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins is a frickin' beast. Even on a gimpy ankle he destroyed Cal. They had no answer for him. He's only a sophomore! He'll be in the NFL.

It was a treat to see Sean Hoculi officiate the Cal-Washington game. He's wonderful at making a call on the field. He leaves little doubt. His description of three significant penalties on one play should get an Emmy. He's the son of perhaps the best known official in the game, Ed Hoculi.

Congratulations to former Cal quarterback Steve Bartkowski on his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. He's also the only Cal player to be the first selection in the NFL Draft.