Cal 31 Oregon 24

In an exciting game to watch, Oregon lost as a result of one of my pet peeves about the "modern" football player. They don't protect the ball. Instead, the current fashion is to stretch out the ball to get as much yardage as possible. More fumbles result and the one today probably cost Oregon the game, or certainly an opportunity to win in overtime. As an Oregon player headed for the corner of the goal line, he held the ball out loosely, getting ready to stretch it out into the end zone, when he was creamed. As the player fell out of bounds, the ball first fell loose, staying in the field and then scooted into and out of the end zone. A touchback! Cal's ball! Had the Oregon player tucked the ball securely, he would have been hit out of bounds with 15 seconds remaining, and Oregon would have been on the six-inch line. But Cal earlier was robbed of a field goal and should have had a ten point lead anyway. Oregon could have won this game but they didn't. But bad fundamentals and bad officiating make football less fun to watch than it used to be.