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Ball’s diatribe offends coaches as Cal tries for first Washington win since 1979 

When the Cal football team takes the field in Pullman, Wash., today to face the Washington State Cougars, the Bears will have two big factors going against them: momentum and history. 

Cal is coming off of two crushing defeats, having been outscored 88-33 so far this season, while the Cougars are 2-0 and have scored 77 points in their victories. For the two worst Pac-10 teams of the past decade, the conference opener could set the tone for the rest of the season. 

Add in the fact that the Bears haven’t won a game in Washington since 1979, and the Cougars have to be feeling confident. 

“We’re running on all eight cylinders right now,” Washington State head coach Mike Price said this week. “We feel good about ourselves right now, we’re very confident. I can see us getting better.” 

Price’s usual air-it-out attack is working well so far this season, as starting quarterback Jason Gesser is the eighth-ranked passer in the country, while wideout Nakoa McElrath was leading the nation in receiving yards heading into this week’s games. Throw in running back Dave Minnich averaging 102 yards per game on the ground, and it could be another long day for the Cal defense. 

While the Cougars try to keep their hot start going, Cal will be trying for a new start. Head coach Tom Holmoe said his players have to put their mistakes behind them. 

“It’s a new start, even though it’s slightly artificial,” Holmoe said of the Pac-10 opener. “We can’t run away from the issues we have, but we do have a clean slate.” 

Considering Holmoe probably needs to reach a bowl game to save his job, his team had better use that clean slate to their advantage. Turnovers have killed several promising drives for the offense, which has averaged 396 yards per game but scored just 33 points. Holmoe said offensive coordinator Al Borges expects quarterback Kyle Boller to continue his improvement all year. 

“Al sees the mistakes (Boller) is making, and they’re mostly bad reads,” Holmoe said. “Al sees that and tells me, ‘he won’t do that again.’” 

Some fans have called for Boller to be benched in favor of backup Eric Holtfreter, who has played in relief in both games and looked solid. But Holmoe said while Borges has confidence in Holtfreter, the move isn’t called for just yet. 

“We have no problem switching if it’s needed, but we don’t need a quarterback controversy right now,” he said. 

The Bears are enmeshed in a different kind of controversy right now. Linebacker Chris Ball upset the coaches with his comments earlier this week, saying some of his teammates are “soft,” and that the coaches had “silenced” some players from trash-talking. 

“I think there are guys here who are playing football because it’s fun and they can,” Ball said. “‘Hey, I’ve got a degree in engineering, I don’t need football.’ I question the heart of this entire team.” 

Holmoe later questioned Ball’s reasoning, and said some players were also upset by the quotes. 

“Some guys came to me and said (Ball’s comments) were ridiculous and some guys were really mad,” said Holmoe. 

Ball may have just been trying to fire up his defensive mates with his comments, and it’s hard to blame him. The Bears haven’t forced a turnover or recorded a sack yet this season, and the secondary has been a vast disappointment, allowing five touchdown passes and nearly 300 yards per game.