The Meeker Massacre took place sometime in September 1879 (no - JoePa did not coach the Nittany Lions then) but for some bizarre reason the Utes choose to celebrate that anniversary in the Bowl Season when they just destroy one FBS power after another each year. Latest in that casualty list - The hapless (or 'Best'less) Cal Bears. Although the final margin of victory was just 10 points (37-27 for the Utes), it felt a lot worse when you watched it. That may have also been in part to Craig James and his cohort numbing your brain with such inanities as "I came out here expecting 75 deg weather and it was 57 deg" or such platitudes as "Our servicemen do such a good job". Really Craig - You had to visit a US Naval ship to figure that out??
That's OK cos Kevin Riley, the 3rd year starting QB from Cal couldn't figure out the simple Utes defensive plan either: LOAD THE BOX and STUFF THE RUN. Or maybe the offensive co-ordinator didn't. Cos they kept handing the ball to Vereen, their RB who replaced Best and he kept getting hit in the backfield. And when Riley actually threw the football realizing the field was 50 yard wide and 100 yards deep, his WRs acted surprised ('Throw the football - is this really happening or am I seeing a mirage) just as Tiger Woods did when his wife chased him with a golf club at 2:00 AM ('Is that really Elin with a 9 Iron in her hand or am I seeing a mirage'). The result in both cases were meaningless crashes and drops.
As for Jordan Wynn, the true freshman QB from Utah, the only thing he didn't get is this whole AQ conference argument for the MWC. Cos from his perspective, he had a harder time throwing the football in his conference than he did against that 'FBS' 'AQ conference power Cal (do the letters seem wobbly since I am having a hard time keeping a str8 face). Other than that he had the Cal defense all figured out. After he settled down that is.
OK - so what does that mean for us Buckeyes. Tempting to be simplistic and say "PAC-10 sucks, OSU is going to have Duck soup at the Rose Bowl". As Lee Corso would say (no no - not that F bomb episode) - "Not so fast my friend". Let me play devil's advocate and critique us a little bit here. If this matchup were to be compared to our Rose Bowl game, I'd say the team that replaces Cal is us. Think QB that cant throw. Think over-emphasis on run. Think strong starts and then conservative play calling. And the team that compares itself to the Utes are the Ducks. Think up-tempo offense, think QB that can throw the ball in the flat as well as down the field. A little bit of a stretch I know. But to me the big take away from the game is - Come to the Rose Bowl with Plan A and if things go awry have a Plan B. Cal just did not have a Plan B. Like we didnt in our NCGs against UF and LSU.
