I, Kia Week 6

Micah Kia is out for the season with a torn right ACL.
But his mind still works and his mouth is still firing.
Hopefully, we can run this I, Kia feature every week, if things work out.
Here's what he has to say before Week 6:

"Two in a row. Where to begin...it's definitely rough, and it's disheartening. But this is what makes a team. You have to be able to go through the fire. Oregon was a game I feel we could have won. Some obvious struggles on offense, an outstanding game on defense. Slight breakdown on special teams, but I feel like our special teams always does a great job.

It's hard to say what went wrong on the goal line. Being a part of the offensive line, it's extremely humiliating to not be able to punch it in. It's hard to pinpoint the problem because I know all of these guys personally and I know where their hearts are. I know it's not an effort issue. To actually pinpoint a specific problem is very hard. You can't blame the coaches, they obviously know what they're doing. I know these guys on a personal level, and I know this is what they live for. They couldn't have been trying any harder. I talked about finding the X-factor, and it's hard. Sooner or later, it's going to break, I feel. Until then we just have to keep fighting.

Moving on from here, this is where we'll be able to see how far along we've come as a team. Being able to keep up our intensity in practice will be a major point. Being able to keep that drive during practice in order to carry on into games, that will be very important this week. We've been fighting the elements, and that adds a little pressure, and I know Cal had their deal up there with weather.

For the younger kids, they finally get a taste of that bitterness after coming in with those three sweet victories. This will be a major growing point for the young team, and an opportunity for the leaders on this team to step up and pull the young kids through.

Last year, the doubt came when the older guys fell into a slump. It was obvious during practice - during games, guys still go all out - but if the effort and the physical and the high energy you need is not there during the week, you can't just flip a switch. I think things started to fall apart when the older guys realized that the season wasn't going the way they wanted it to. They lost faith. As a whole, nobody blatantly came out and said were in the dumps, it was more of a feeling you got. You could tell that kids hearts weren't in it. When the elders of the team fall into that slump, the younger guys - no matter the hard front they may put on, they still look up to the older guys - it's kind of a domino effect.

The older guys now will do a good job of pulling the younger guys through. Also, the younger guys now seem more willing to follow. Along with strong leaders, you need guys who are willing to check their egos at the door and be willing to follow. The roll of being able to go through humility, be able to put yourself in the back; 'I'm the guy that needs to follow, I'm the guy who needs to keep my mouth shut.' If we can get that chemistry within the team, we can really pull through and salvage this season. And this isn't a season that needs salvaging. I think the Pac-10 is still up for the taking.

I feel like we're taking shots. We're definitely taking a lot more shots downfield than we have is. We throw in a few screen plays here and there. As far as vanilla offense versus trick plays or going for the bigger shot, I feel like if vanilla works, that's what you stick with. As an offensive lineman, vanilla is my favorite flavor. If we can get five yards on a run off tackle every play, I'd do that for 100 yards. That's what I live for. I love the trenches. Give me two scoops of vanilla, I'll take it.

Against Cal, in a sense, yeah, it's going to be two teams fighting for their respect. I feel from a statistical standpoint, Cal has more to lose. Whether that plays to their advantage or disadvantage, I don't know. In our case we have almost nothing to lose. What it comes down to is being able to find out what team is going to pull together. We're in the exact same situation, and this is going to be a major turning point in both our seasons. I'm very interested to see how both teams react to this situation they're in right now.

Cal's a great team. I know a couple players on their team. A couple I played against in high school. These are a bunch of great guys, they're just like us. They're just trying to win and grow as a team. Same thing we're trying to go. In the media, a win or a loss may reflect to the general public who's doing better as a team, but that's not always necessarily true.

I'd like to see us come out on top, but that's to be determined. Either way, regardless of win or lose, some games you can just fight to the teeth. A-holes and elbows, it can be like that all game. Both teams can do an excellent job, but what comes down to it, one team has to win and one has to lose. But a win or a loss doesn't reflect how a team has grown. A team can come along extremely well, and that shows what great leadership and effort both teams bring to the table. "