California has another test in the form of a road game against Nevada.

Winning on the road is what ranked teams do against unranked teams.

At any rate, for Cal to do this there are a few things in the game they must do.

• Stop Nevada’s offense.

Yes, this may not be easy since the Wolf Pack is leading the NCAA Division 1-A in yards per game. This offensive attack  is balanced but Cal must keep them in 3rd and longs.

• Create turnovers.

Cal’s defense loves to attack the quarterback. They are ranked 5th in sacks. The Golden Bears need to get after Nevada’s quarterback Colin Kaepernick and put pressure on him. They have to take advantage of his mistakes. Kaepernick may not throw an INT but he is prone to misfire and display poor accuracy.

• Score points quickly.

This goes against what most people think to do. However, Cal’s quarterback is Kevin Riley. His quarterback rating of 205.3 ranks 3rd among the quarterbacks in Division 1-A. Now that’s out of the way. Basically, scoring points quickly will give the offense more plays and the increase in plays gives Riley more chances to hit his weapons (WR Keenan Allen and RB Shane Vereen) for big plays.

• Stay focus.

It is easy to look over this game and wonder about the next game against Arizona opening up the Pac-10 conference play. If Cal does not show up, then Nevada can turn this game into a stinker. It is just that simple.

• Take the crowd out of the game.

If Cal are able to get a lead early in the game then it should be fairly easy to win it. The pressure and onus would then be on Nevada and Cal would be able to relax.

These are the 5 keys to the game for Cal to be victorious against Nevada.

Last week I wondered if California could beat up on a BCS conference team. This week I got my question answered in the form of a 52-7 victory Saturday afternoon.

Cal dominated the game in all phases. There were times towards the end of the first half where I felt they got complacent. But the defense put me in my place by creating a turnover and taking it the distance.

This was a good game for the Golden Bears, however, no one in their right mind had the future PAC-10 member Colorado Buffaloes to walk in and walk out with a victory.

Offensive surprise

The offense looked okay but not smooth. Kevin Riley’s first touchdown pass to Shane Vereen was a thing of beauty. I was amazed by the back shoulder throw Riley made to Vereen. It was clear Riley and Vereen have worked on that during the off-season.

The next touchdown pass Riley rolled out to hit Marvin Jones in the end-zone. Then later on the running game got into the action after the defense gave the offense a short field to work with.

However, California was only 4-11 on 3^rd down conversion and Kevin Riley was 15-24 passing the ball. This is not good and must improve with better teams.

Defensive juggernaut

The Golden Bears defense attacked the Buffaloes and forced 5 turnovers. So far in the season the defense is ranked 4^th in points against giving up 5.0 points per game. I’m not dumb I know the level of competition that California has faced is not top 10 but that defense is attacking.

I thought the team was just going to play through the motions but low and behold Micheal Mohamed took a pick 41 yards for a touchdown right before the half. That is what big-time programs do when they have leads—they take the life out of their opponent.

Top 25

I don’t know where California will be ranked but they are a top 25 team. As of now they are flying under the radar but if they keep winning then Cali becomes a target. I’m sure they can handle it.

Then again, can they win on the road? This is my next question and they will be tested.

Because Nevada is next up…

Oh boy, I can’t wait!

As expected the Golden Bears win big in their home opener.

Let’s be frank UC Davis is not a BCS conference team or the type of team California will face in the remainder of the season. The Aggies have spent less than 5 years in Division 1A football. This is not a knock on the Aggies or Golden Bears. But both programs are trying to build up its prestige.

This game helped the Aggies and Golden Bears because they were both able to use each other. UC Davis can now explain to recruits they will play big schools. This can lead to more games on TV and exposure to NFL scouts. Not to mention the academics and the research program is well recognized already. On the other hand, California gets to beat up on a smaller school and pad their record before the Pac-10 starts. Look no further than Saturday’s game for an example.

It was easy to notice the difference in talent level. By half time the Golden Bears held the Aggies to 1 first down in addition to the 35-0 lead. There was never a moment during the game anyone thought the Aggies had a chance to win. The fans may be fanatical at times but they are not dummies. I’m sure most could give you more information on the word “dummy” than the average Joe could. These fans are smart so the outcome was never in question.

There is one player that open a few eyes and reinforce others’ opinion. If you don’t know who I am referring to you will over the next week. The player I speak of is WR Keenan Allen. He finished the game with 4 catches for 120 yards 1 touchdown and 1 penalty. He’s kind of like the jack of all trades, a playmaker.

Coach Jeff Tedford loves the guy and has loved him for a long time. Before the season Coach Tedford spoke highly of Keenan and after the game he continued to do the same. A couple of times he honestly admits Keenan is a “joy to be around”.

Then again that joy almost became regret when Keenan got penalized for touching people in the stands after scoring his touchdown. But like Coach Tedford suggests Keenan is a “team player” and “great person” he instantly apologize for the mistake and acknowledge that’s not the type of player he wants to be.

Everything went right for the Golden Bears but there were times when California looked rocky. Coach Tedford said after the game during the press conference he was “pleased with effort” however he also wants the team to improve the offense “sloppy” play. The false starts were a minor problem but a problem no doubt.

The tune-up game went as planned. California Golden  Bears won big in a “laugher”.

Next up?

Colorado Buffaloes…

The Buffaloes won their first game against a lowly MWC team, Colorado State. Still the Buffaloes are not contenders by any means but Golden Bears have to prove this season they can lay the pipe to a BCS conference team.

Now here’s their chance.

As the month of August comes to an end and students go back to school can only mean one thing. It’s time for some college football. More importantly it is time to hope the California Golden Bears can surprise us and top last season’s mark of 8-5 (5-4).

OK I’m sure no one is actually holding their breath since Thursday’s talk with head coach Jeff Tedford gave us more questions than answers. This is not the way to get started. It is actually in the handbook for what not to do.

California Golden Bears heard just about everything. The defensive ends will rotate and so will the safeties, and that the wide receivers position is just about set. This is great but there’s no point for this information.

What fans would like to know is information about the offensive line. How will they hold up? Can they give Senior quarterback Kevin Riley the time he needs to dissect a defense with precision? Better yet, will Shane Vereen have run lanes to sprint through?

Most of these questions popped up when Matt Summers-Gavin went down with a knee injury in practice and to fix the left side of the line the right side of the line must be tampered with. Don’t you just love when that happens? Good news to hear.

Anyhow, Tedford did open up and gave a brief view into the depth chart. The offense line as of now looks like this: Donovan Edwards, Justin Cheadle, Chris Guarnero, Brian Schwenke or Dominic Galas, and Mitchell Schwartz.

This line up needs Matt Summers-Gavin but he has to be healthy to play. Still, everything starts up front with the offense line. The rest of the depth chart is important but not as important as run or pass blocking. This is the way teams score points. And if the offense line is a mess there is no way the Golden Bears win 6 games this season.

I know the truth hurts and it is ugly. But it is what it is.

It’s not all doom and gloom here is the rest of Jeff Tedford’s interview about the Golden Bears depth chart. There are a few bright spots but be prepared to more questions than answers.