Breaking Down the Utah/Cal CCI Final

I had such a good time a couple of weeks back putting together the box score for the Utah/San Diego State CCI matchup that I decided to do it again.

This time I opted for the Utah/Cal thriller of a final. One of the best 7′s games I’ve seen all year-long and it was even better watching it with a more analyzing eye and reviewing various passages of the game. Seven lead changes in twenty minutes had fans on the edge of their seats.

At a final time of 21 minutes and 11 seconds, the see saw battle had a little bit of everything. That is everything, except for a packed house of fans to enjoy it in person. Lucky for all of us, plenty of people tuned in at home giving the CCI some very nice TV ratings and probably ensuring that we get more of it in the future.

After watching through the game a couple of times and logging the stats, the first thing that struck me was the amount of time that Cal held the ball. Cal was meticulous in their attack and Utah was up to the challenge. I didn’t track time of possession, but I’m willing to bet that Cal had the ball 70% of the game. The lack of time Utah had with the ball they more than made up for with quick strikes.

The breakdown also magnifies what an effort Utah put in during the CCI Final. Backing up my estimate on the time of possession, Cal completed and attempted twice as many passes as Utah.

Not surprisingly, Utah made twice as many tackles as Cal during the game while also missing fewer tackles and assignments. Rather more surprising was the number of missed tackles by Cal. Some of which led to quick strike scores from Utah and kept Cal from sealing off the game.

While Cal took multiple phases to put themselves into a position to score, Utah scored most of their points with less than a couple of phases. Utah tries came from 35 meters, 60 meters, 50 meters, 69 meters, and 31 meters out. Talk about some big plays.

Even with the big plays from Utah, the two teams were almost even on meters gained in the match with Utah gaining 377 meters and Cal 313 meters on the ground. Bolstered by the big plays, Utah averaged 17.9 meters/carry to Cal’s 9.8 meters/carry.

Aside from it being a fun game to watch, it was also well-played with only three penalties and a handful of knock-ons combined.

Don Pati scored the winning try, but Thretton Palamo led the way. Sorry, Rocco Mauer (CCI MVP), but Palamo was the real MVP. In the final, Palamo had six carries for 136 meters, two tries, and tied for the game high with four tackles.

Keegan Engelbrecht put in a big effort for Cal, despite missing the conversion attempt at the death that would have won the game for Cal. Engelbrecht completed 11 of 12 passes, had seven carries for 80 meters, scored two tries, made 3 of 4 conversions, and led Cal with three tackles.

A truly great game to watch. If you haven’t seen it, they still have them up at Hulu.

As the game of 7′s progresses at the youth, high school, and collegiate level we should all be in for more treats like this one.

Check out the box score below.

CCI Final Utah – Cal Box score