Remembering OSU ’07
Over the past two years, questions surrounding the memorable evening of Oct. 13, 2007 have slowly subsided for quarterback Kevin Riley. As fans can probably discern for themselves however , inquiries involving that game has come right back to the forefront this week.
With Oregon State coming back to Memorial Stadium for the first time since arguably the program’s most heartbreaking loss in the modern era, the gut-wrenching images of the final seconds of that contest will be replayed over and over again in the minds of many.
For the now veteran Riley however, what happened two years ago is now a thing of the past.
“It was a big mistake, that’s all there was to it,” Riley said this week. “I knew the situation but I just kind of forgot. I moved up in the pocket and tried to make a play and it just didn’t work out. If I was in that situation again, I would’ve thrown it out of bounds right away.”
In a lot ways, Riley’s freshman season - fair or not - will always be remembered for his final mistake, which led to a 31-28 Cal loss to Oregon State and dropped the Bears from the No. 2 ranked team in the country (and likely No. 1 when the next poll came out) to No. 10 a week later.
While it was no guarantee that the Bears were going to nail the field goal attempt even if Riley did throw the ball away instead of tucking and running, there’s obviously a hovering question of what if?
What if Cal had won that game?
What if they did go to No. 1?
What if that win would have led to something truly special?
Those questions won’t ever get answered, but as Riley and head coach Jeff Tedford reiterated this week, the only thing the team could have done after that contest was to learn from it and move on.
Considering how Riley has played the last two seasons after that contest, it’s safe to say he’s held true to that notion.
“I felt like he handled it well right away,” said Tedford. “It was a situation where he did a great job throughout the game and it was just one play (at the end). I thought his teammates stayed behind him very well. He put it in proper perspective and moved on from it. He didn’t let it affect him negatively.”
Truthfully speaking, the then-redshirt freshman was a big reason why Cal was able to rally late in that game in the first place. Down 10 points with less than 3 minutes left, Riley hit wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins for a long score to bring Cal to within 31-28.
After a quick stop by the Bears defense, Riley and the Cal offense had the ball in their hands at their own 6-yard line with 1:27 left on the clock with the chance to move his team down the field for the tying or winning score.
What happened on the proceeding drive will go down in Cal infamy:
As the final play developed, a sense of shock emulated over Memorial Stadium. The Oregon State sideline exploded as the players ran to the visiting section to celebrate while Tedford was seen throwing his headset down in frustration. (Tedford later apologized for that)
Meanwhile, cameras caught a dejected Riley walking off the field with various teammates consoling him, including offensive tackle Mike Tepper.
“That’s just something you learn from,” Riley said. “I’ve learned from it and have gotten better.”
Considering the fact that it was Riley’s first career start and the fact that he was a freshman to boot, it really is a little unfair to pin the game solely on his shoulders. Against an always stingy defense, Riley was actually very effective considering the circumstances. Riley completed 20-of-34 passes that game, for 292 yards and 2 touchdowns.
It was that one extra incompletion that he didn’t record however which fans remember.
“It was great to have it on ESPN every week,” Riley joked. “After a while, I was cool with it. A week after, I remember everybody was staring at me not saying anything (when the video came on). I was like, ‘hey everybody, I’m on TV’ to try to lighten up the mood.”
While Riley is open to talking about that moment nowadays, he also admitted that it did get a little annoying after a while.
“Like 20 No. 2 teams lost that year so they showed it every week,” he said. “Even in the bowl game (Armed Forces Bowl), they showed it like five times. I was like, ‘I’m making some good plays, replay those’ (but) it’s all part of the deal.”
Two years later, it’s safe to say Riley has bounced back nicely from that final play. The now junior ranks fifth in the Pac-10 in total passing and is coming off his best performance of the season last week against Arizona State where he completed 27-of-44 passes for 351 yards and two touchdowns, including a magnificent 5-of-6 performance on the final drive that set up the winning field goal.
In fact, a lot of correlations were made between Riley’s game-winning rally last week against Arizona State and the contest two years ago against Oregon State.
“Anytime you have an experience like that, it lays the foundation to draw confidence,” Tedford said. “(Riley) handled (the drive against ASU) very well.”
“Kevin has always been a great competitor,” Tedford added. “He has a lot of confidence in his abilities. He’s played in some tough games and has had a lot of pressure on him and he’s handled it well. I’ve never seen Kevin crack. Everyone around him hasn’t always given him the best opportunity to succeed and that’s a team thing, just like (the ASU win) was a team thing.”
Chris Nguon is the lead football writer for BearTerritory. He’s well known for his recruiting and game coverage in the star-studded Oakland Athletic League, plus his numerous contributions with The Daily Californian, UC Berkeley’s only independent, student-run newspaper. Nguon is also a correspondent with the Oakland Tribune, and will cover Cal football and men’s and women’s basketball in 2009.
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