It wasn’t supposed to be this way for California head coach Tom Holmoe.
In 1997, the former San Francisco 49ers defensive back took over for departed coach Steve Mariucci, who left for Holmoe’s former squad. With players like wide receiver Bobby Shaw and offensive lineman Jeremy Newberry, Holmoe was expected to bring a winning tradition to the Berkeley, Calif., school. Five years later, however, the Golden Bears still have not found their identity. And if they don’t find it fast, it could mean the end to Holmoe’s stay in California.
At 0-4 overall and 0-2 in Pacific-10 Conference play, the Golden Bears are staring at their first winless season since 1897, a span of 104 years. And back then, the team only played five games per season.
However, their four opponents — Illinois, BYU, Washington State and Washington — have gone a combined 18-1 this season.
Two weeks ago, the Bears looked as though they may have found what they were looking for in a surprising 31-28 loss to Washington. Cal jumped to a great start against the No. 10 Huskies, only to see their conference foe come back in the game’s final quarter.
“I don’t know what to say,” senior wide receiver Sean Currin told the Oakland Tribune after the game. “It was a lot of fun in the first half. We were moving the ball so well, we felt like we were unstoppable. I haven’t seen the offense play like that since I’ve been here.”
But two weeks later — following a week off — the Bears are still winless. Though the Cal offense showed some potential against Washington, it is still as dormant as Mt. Hood. Quarterback Kyle Boller, the one-time California state player of the year, has not shown the playing ability he was brought to the Bay Area for. In his four games this season, he has completed 66 passes in 119 attempts (55.5 percent) but for only 829 yards. While that is an improvement on last year’s stats for the junior, it is still not enough to bring the Cal offense back to glory.
But no one is giving up on the young signal-caller just yet. California has had a history of developing great collegiate quarterbacks, a list that includes Pat Barnes, Mike Pawlawksi and Steve Bartkowski.
One problem that has plagued Boller and the rest of the Cal offense is turnovers. The Golden Bear defense has been strong in forcing opponents to cough up the ball, but seemingly, the offense gives it right back. The team is last in the Pac-10 with a turnover margin of -13.
“Coach (Al) Borges, at least on the offensive side of the ball, talks about not saying right before they go out on the play ‘Now hold on to the ball,’” Holmoe said about the team’s offensive coordinator. “You have to examine why it happened. Sometimes it’s a runner not changing the side that he holds the ball and getting hit on that side of the body. Or it’s a receiver not securing it. Or it’s a poor handoff, or even a running back that doesn’t give a good target.”
Key to Cal’s offense will also be tailback Joe Igber. The junior from Honolulu, Hawaii, has 202 yards on 58 attempts this season, but only 3.5 yards per rush. If he can break open against Oregon, Boller may have an easier day. But that’s not likely to happen.
For that single reason alone, the Cal defense must step up against the Ducks. If there is a bright spot on this team, it’s Holmoe’s defense, but it is a deceiving unit. They rank third in the Pac-10 in rush defense, allowing only 119.2 yards per game on the ground, but the pass defense is at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Ranked last in the conference with 348.8 yards allowed per game, the Bears allow almost 50 more yards-per-game than the ninth place team, which happens to be the Ducks. If any game promises to be a wide-open shoot-out, this one would be it.
An extra week to prepare may help the Bears against the nation’s No. 5 squad, but most likely not by much.
“I won’t say that I feel much more confident, but I think the extra week of preparation has helped,” Holmoe said. “I think for us, we needed that bye. We were able to heal up a little bit, lick our wounds, change our attitude and get ready to go.”