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California head coach Tosh Lupoi has taken a hands-on, inventive approach to address the team's struggles this season. In a game against UNLV, he swapped offensive play-callers at halftime to spark the offense. Against SMU, due to a shortage of running backs and wide receivers, he inserted defensive players—including star safety Kingston Lopa—into the offensive lineup for select plays.
Now, Lupoi is tackling the Bears' penalty issues with a novel method. Cal has been flagged more times and for more yards than any team in the country. "We've had a lot of defensive pass interferences, so do we just talk about it or have a course of action?" Lupoi said Tuesday. "And literally our DBs are wearing oven mitts at every single practice to not grab. So maybe we've got to go boxing gloves at times."
Thus, Cal's defensive backs are donning oven mitts during practice. While the hope is to break their grabbing habits, the lighter side suggests they might also learn to bake perfect buttermilk biscuits. Jokes aside, the Bears have been penalized 73 times for 682 yards—both national highs. That penalty yardage even surpasses Cal's rushing total of 672 yards for the season, a dubious distinction that only counts accepted penalties.
However, whether these penalties directly explain Cal's 3-5 record heading into Saturday's game at North Carolina State (3-5) is up for debate. The nine teams immediately ahead of Cal in penalty yards have a combined record of 43-25, with four of them—Wake Forest, Liberty, James Madison, and Texas-San Antonio—sporting just one loss each. Cal has averaged more penalty yards in its three wins (88.7) than in its five losses (83.2). The Bears' least penalized game came against Wake Forest, when they committed only five penalties for 37 yards—and lost 41-7. Against SMU on Saturday, Cal was flagged for 107 yards, but 76 of those came in the first half when they led 20-17, and 31 came in the second half when they were outscored 42-0.
The debate rages on whether penalties signal aggression or indiscipline. This is not to suggest that penalties are beneficial, especially if they occur at critical moments. So Lupoi is working to reduce those negative yards, as defensive lineman Derek Wilkins noted. "Yeah, the DBs, they've been wearing oven mitts," Wilkins said. "We have a thing where if a guy jumps offsides or false starts [in practice] he gets pulled and has to run and touch the pole. He's getting tired and he's got to come back after running 80 yards to touch the pole. For hands to the face [penalties], on our sled for the D-linemen, we've actually lowered the sled, so we put it at the lowest possible level to work on our pad level and getting our hands under. If the hands slip up, we're taking another rep. Us as a defense when we don't get in our own way, we play really good ball."
Still, the oven mitts for defensive backs are the most intriguing remedy. One wonders whether Cal safety Kingston Lopa can intercept a pass while wearing those bulky mittens. On Monday, he was named one of 15 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation's best defensive back, and he remains tied for the national lead in interceptions with five. He could probably pick off a pass wearing boxing gloves, let alone oven mitts. There is an endorsement opportunity there somewhere.
Key Analysis
Cal's penalty problems are glaring, but the correlation with their record is not straightforward. The oven mitts strategy is creative, but only time will tell if it translates to fewer flags. Meanwhile, Lopa's performance despite the mitts underscores his talent.