Bell Helicoptor Armed Forces Bowl was played on New Years Eve at 9:30am! Of course, I had to work that day, so I couldn't watch it live. I was reduced to "watching" it on FoxSports.com through their play-by-play, and added in some color commentary from a live blog.
I was really fired up about this game because Tedford already stated that he would play Riley for a couple of series, to give him more experience, and to just see how he does. Well, I fire up the play-by-play, and Cal is already down 0-7. Cal gets two possessions in the first quarter, no scores. Early in second quarter, Cal goes down 0-14. This is getting worse. Then I'm confused by the play-by-play because Air Force gets the ball again? Jeeze, it was a trick kick-off play that worked. Next thing you know, Cal is down 0-21. At this point, I'm thinking that this can either be the worse bowl game in recent memory, or the best comeback of the year for Cal. There was plenty of time left, so deep down inside, I was hoping and wishing for the latter.
Well, on Cal's next drive, Kevin Riley gets the nod. I'm relieved that Longshore finally gets pulled. 1st play, 0 yard pass to Desean Jackson. Uh-oh, more quick outs to our receivers and hoping they break it for a gain? I didn't like that call. 2nd play, 10 yards to Desean for a 1st down. Yea! That's more like it. 3rd play, 18 yard run up the gut from Justin Forsett. Nice, let's keep this rolling. 4th play, Kevin Riley escapes a sack and throws a 40 yard bomb to Desean Jackson in the back of the endzone for a touchdown! Wow. 4 plays, 1 minute 30 seconds off the clock and we got a TD.
And the rest of the game is history. Kevin Riley was near perfection. 16-19 for nearly 260+ yards. One of those incompletes was a hail mary at the end of the half that bounced off of Hawkin's shoulder. Riley had 4 TD (3 passing, 1 rushing) as Cal scored on 6 of Riley's 7 drives. Forsett scored 2 TDs in front of his hometown in Texas.
And the rest of the game is history. Kevin Riley was near perfection. 16-19 for nearly 260+ yards. One of those incompletes was a hail mary at the end of the half that bounced off of Hawkin's shoulder. Riley had 4 TD (3 passing, 1 rushing) as Cal scored on 6 of Riley's 7 drives. Forsett scored 2 TDs in front of his hometown in Texas.
"Watching" the game was pretty darn fun, almost everytime I refreshed the play-by-play, Riley had another touchdown. It wasn't until I got home and fired up the DVR did I get to see Riley in action, and boy does he look good! Yes, I'm not afraid to admit the Angry Cal has a huge man-crush on the young kid from Beaverton Oregon. I've been saying this ever since I saw him in the Oregon State game. This kid is gonna be a star.
No comments:
Post a Comment