Nevada rolled up 450 yards of offense against the Cal defense. The Wolfpack had drives of nine, 12, 12, 14 and 16 plays. Linebacker Chris McCain attributed that dominance to a no huddle attack that kept the pace of play brisk.
They (Nevada) were moving fast, McCain said. They didnt huddle a lot. They were always looking to the sidelines.
In a timeout or whenever there was a timeout, they probably talked, Were going to do this play first and then the next play.' There was one time, they hiked the ball, and we were still looking at the sideline for a play.While the brisk pace may have been one problem for Cal, they admitted after the game a lack of discipline may have been a bigger problemespecially against a triple-option offense that depends heavily on shell-game style slight of hand.You have to stop the dive, and you have to stop the quarterback on the edge and you have to stop the pitch, Coach Jeff Tedford said.Tedford cited the 49-yard touchdown run by Wolfpack quarterback Cody Fajardo to end the first quarter as a glaring example of the hesitation and indecision the triple option can cause.What happened on that play, Tedford said is the guy responsible for the quarterback got undisciplined with his eyes and started getting into making another playwhich wasnt his responsibility.MAYNARD BENCHEDDid you hear? Maynards not starting! If I had a dollar for everytime I heard that phrase in the press box before game time, Id buy myself something fancy!Backup Allan Bridgford started in place of starter Zach Maynard against Nevada. Bridgford went 1-of-8 for 8 yards in his three series under center before giving way to Maynard. After the game, we learned the following about what happened here:--Coach Jeff Tedford said that he made the decision to bench Maynard for this game in June.--We did not find out for sure if Tedford informed Maynard at that time.--Both Keenan Allen and Chris Harper said that they the team was told of this on Friday (though Allen said he knew on Thursday).--Allen and Harper both said Bridgford did not get any more reps with the first team than normal in the week leading up to game time.SLIPPERY SURFACEThere was a lot of sliding around by cutting receivers and running backs Saturday on the Memorial Stadium turf. Allen referred to the surface as mushy. Harper said that the surface was wet for some reason and the moisture seemed to play a role in all the sliding around.
According to the turf's manufacturer, Hellas Sports Construction out of Austin, Texas, Matrix Turf is a surface "optimizing speed and traction on game days."
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