Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi confirmed Tuesday that offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville lost play-calling duties at halftime of the 39-31 loss at UNLV on Saturday. Passing game coordinator Pat McCann took over.
Lupoi’s explanation did not include any corporate softening.
“I’m not going to sit around and use hope as a strategy,” he said. He called the offensive production “unacceptable” and added, “If any coordinator is not to the standard, it’s my job to fix it.”
The second half proves the point
UNLV led 24-7 at halftime. Cal scored 24 in the second half and briefly led 25-24 before losing by eight. The Golden Bears posted season highs of 464 yards and 31 points.
Before that game, Cal was averaging 13.7 points against FBS opponents and had scored no fourth-quarter points in three FBS games. Changing the voice in the headset produced the best offensive half of the season.
The counterweight is the penalties. Cal committed 16 for 147 yards. You do not usually get to blame a coordinator for that.
The quarterback situation was its own decision
Starter Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was hurt in the second quarter when his head hit the turf. He was medically cleared to return. Lupoi kept him out anyway.
That is a defensible call and a notable one. Backup Jackson Brousseau went 19-of-32 for 200 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, which is a reasonable argument that Lupoi made the right choice twice in the same half.
Firing a play-caller mid-game is a statement
Lupoi is a first-year head coach at 2-3 and 1-1 in the ACC. He is not in a position where anyone expects a bowl game, and he just publicly stripped a coordinator of his primary responsibility four games in.
Most first-year coaches protect their staff through a bad October because the alternative is admitting they hired wrong. Lupoi did the opposite in front of everyone, and then said out loud that it is his job to fix it.
That buys him credibility with the roster. It also means he owns the result completely from here.
Cal hosts Virginia Tech next
The question is whether McCann keeps the duties. Lupoi has not said, and the honest answer is probably that it depends on Saturday.
Cal’s season is salvageable in the sense that 2-3 with a 1-1 conference record is not a disaster. The offense ranked near the bottom of the FBS before UNLV and then put up 464 yards with a backup quarterback and a different play-caller.
Lupoi has his answer about what the problem was. Now he has to decide whether he believes it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.