Cal falls to Oregon State

The Bears experienced a heartbreaking loss today after an ugly and aggravating battle with Oregon State. Despite an opportunity to be the #1-ranked team in the nation after LSU’s loss to Kentucky, Cal fell to the Beavers 31-28.

Fans might be tempted to point blame at a backup quarterback (how could he run with seconds left? why didn’t he spike the ball?) and a true freshman (how could you fumble on that crucial return?) for their mistakes.

However, they played hard and showed great promise, and this loss shouldn’t be on their shoulders. Everything just seemed to go wrong, and painful turnovers spelled the end of the Bears. The Pac-10 officiating (horrible as usual) didn’t help either.

Now what? There is hope amidst the anger and frustration. The Rose Bowl is still very much in sight as we look forward. What do you think? GO BEARS.

P.S. Lavelle Hawkins is a stud.

A few links of note:

• Post-game quotes by Tedford, Hawkins, Williams, and Riley
• Video highlights from Versus
• ESPN College GameDay analysis of the game (see 1:15)

The media on Oregon State

ESPN‘s “Top 25 Overview”:

After a bye week, Cal comes into this week’s game against Oregon State with its highest ranking in over 50 years. The Bears will have to keep their guard up as the Beavers have had success at Cal, winning their last three games in Berkeley

Bruce Feldman: “Week 7 Picks”

Cal 44, Oregon State 23: The Bears are very explosive, although I doubt they have the kind of defense that can win a national title. Still, OSU will be too one-dimensional to pose much of a threat.

SF Chronicle: “Beavers rely on speedy defense”

[Yvenson] Bernard is averaging more than 100 yards a game again this season and had the best day of his career two years ago against Cal, when he rushed for 194 yards in a 23-20 upset of the then No. 18 Bears in Berkeley. Two years before that, in 2003, the Beavers upset Cal in Berkeley one week after the Bears had handed eventual co-national champ USC its only loss of the season.

In 2004, Oregon State had defending national champion and No. 3-ranked LSU all but beaten in Baton Rouge, but three missed extra points, including one in overtime, sent the Beavers to a 22-21 defeat. Last year, Oregon State, then 4-3, finished off a major upset, ending USC’s 38-game regular-season winning streak when Van Orsow knocked down John David Booty‘s two-point conversion pass for a 33-31 victory over the No. 3 Trojans.

Riley and Van Orsow use words like “confidence” and “opportunity” to explain Oregon State’s upset binge, and to get another one Saturday, the Beavers will need a solid game from sophomore quarterback Sean Canfield.

Contra Costa Times: “Bears and Beavers defenders want to bring the heat”

Both teams have reasons to believe defense can make an impact in today’s game at Memorial Stadium. The Beavers (3-3, 1-2 Pac-10) are tied for second nationally with 26 sacks, and with the uncertainty about Cal’s quarterback situation, they may be relishing the chance to bring the heat even more.

The Bears, meanwhile, can’t wait to make some plays against Oregon State’s Sean Canfield, who has thrown 13 interceptions, more than any quarterback in the land. “It has us licking our chops a little bit,” Cal linebacker Worrell Williams said. “If we can put a little pressure on him, get him in a bad situation, he might give one of those to us.”

This is not the game the Bears (5-0, 2-0) wanted to go into unsure about the availability of quarterback Nate Longshore, who is trying to recover from a sprained left ankle he suffered in Cal’s last game at Oregon on Sept. 29. The Bears had thought the bye week had come at just the right time and Longshore would be a sure thing by today. But coach Jeff Tedford is calling Longshore’s status a game-time decision. …

OSU is without wide receiver Sammie Stroughter (kidney) … Canfield, meanwhile, has thrown at least two interceptions in four of the Beavers’ six games, including five in a 44-32 loss to Arizona State.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: “Pac-10 Notebook”

Oregon State started 2-3 last season… before rolling up victories in eight of its final nine games. So perhaps the Beavers are in for the same reversal of fortune this year. And haven’t they won three consecutive games at California? …

Oregon State “leads” the nation with 23 turnovers, in large part because Canfield “leads” the nation with 13 interceptions. It was considered a minor victory when he had only two against the Wildcats, but that number may have been low because the offense played conservatively in the second half and gained only 44 yards. …

While Canfield can’t make mistakes against Cal if the Beavers hope to pull off the upset, the more intriguing matchup may be the Bears’ offensive line against the Beavers’ aggressive front. Cal has given up only four sacks in five games. The Beavers average 4.33 sacks per game, second in the nation.

The Oregonian: “Swallow up the run”

…[T]he Bears weren’t overpowering in their last game, gaining just 115 net yards on the ground in a 31-24 win at Oregon. While the Ducks’ run defense is suspect, the Beavers’ run defense is the stingiest in the country, allowing 43.3 yards per game. Meanwhile, the Beavers’ pass rush has accounted for 25 sacks, No. 1 in the Pac-10 and tied for second among all Football Bowl Subdivision teams.

Those numbers tell Cal coach Jeff Tedford that Oregon State might be trouble in Saturday’s game, even though the unbeaten Bears are a two-touchdown favorite. “You watch these guys on tape, not only the rush defense but the pass rush, and they’re really, really good up front,” Tedford said. …

Last week, the Beavers suffocated the Arizona offense, sacking quarterback Willie Tuitama eight times. The Wildcats had a net of nine rushing yards in the game. … Stopping the run would be a good start if OSU wants to upset Cal.

Oregon StatesmanJournal: “Beavers have history of Berkeley wins; Canfield holds the key”

Another Cal rout? Another stunning Beaver upset? Here are some numbers that lead me to think the Beavers have a shot. OSU is giving up 43 yards per game on the ground, first in the nation. The Beavers also are second in the nation in sacks. Perfect! Shut down the run and then sack the snot out of quarterback Nate Longshore when he tries to pass. The only problem with that scenario is that the Bears’ speedy receivers will severely test a banged-up OSU secondary, and Beavers QB Sean Canfield still is putting the vise grips on coach Mike Riley’s mental health. If Canfield is interception-free, OSU has a shot. If he throws three, it could get ugly. I think it will be somewhere in between. Cal wins 31-17.

QB news, injury update, links

QB Nate Longshore‘s availability (sprained left ankle) for the Oregon State match-up will be a gametime decision, according to Coach Jeff Tedford. Apparently, backup QB Kevin Riley has been taking about 75 percent of the first team snaps in practice and is looking pretty confident.

Regarding the other injuries: LB Zach Follett should be back in action on Saturday, FB Will Ta’ufo’ou (knee) is questionable, DB Marcus Ezeff (quad) who made the winning tackle of the Oregon game is a gametime decision, and DE Rulon Davis (foot) and PK Tom Schneider are still out.

Also, here are a few miscellaneous links of interest:

• ESPN has a midseason review of the Pac-10, naming Cal the “biggest surprise” as a national title contender, RB Justin Forsett as the conference MVP, and Coach Tedford the conference’s coach of the year.
• ESPN’s NFL draft guru Mel Kiper thinks Longshore is the #1 junior quarterback, WR/PR DeSean Jackson is an “obvious” first-round pick, and WR Lavelle Hawkins should be a third-rounder.
• The Sacramento Bee has a feature on CB Syd’Quan Thompson and LB Worrell Williams — apparently, Marshawn isn’t the only mama’s boy.
• The sports center lawsuit is finally wrapping up, and the lawyers made closing arguments earlier today.
• DeSean was interviewed by KRON 4’s Gary Radnich yesterday — he is a confident, charismatic guy who seems to have really won Radnich over.

TV update: Oregon St (VS), UCLA (ABC)

Today, ABC announced that it will televise the Cal-UCLA game on Oct. 20 with a 12:30pm kickoff. The game should have regional coverage similar to the Oregon game.

And, if you missed the news last week, the Oregon State game will be televised by Versus on Saturday at 4pm.

Cal rises to #2, USC falls

Despite the bye week, Cal has risen to #2 in all polls (AP, USA Today/Coaches, Harris) after USC’s meltdown loss to Stanford yesterday. The Bears are maintaining a narrow margin of only a few points over #3 Ohio State (who beat then-#23 Purdue pretty convincingly) in all of the polls.

In other news around the conference, UCLA was humiliated by a horrible Notre Dame squad and Arizona State escaped with a close victory over Washington State.

What does this all mean? Cal will be in the national championship game in January if the Bears keep winning — and the results of weekend give me confidence that success on the road there is becoming a likely reality. USC showed vulnerability in a stunning loss to a terrible team, while UCLA and Arizona State (two of the tough road games ahead) both appear very beatable. Even if Cal suffers a loss in the difficult remainder of the season, the hopes of a BCS game for the Bears are looking bright.

Chat with Nate, vote for DeSean, Cal #1

QB Nate Longshore will be featured on an ESPN live chat today at 10:30am (in about 30 minutes). Follow the link to ask him a question or see what he has to say.

Also, WR/PR DeSean Jackson was nominated for the AT&T All-America Player of the Week award, and we can help him win by voting before 9pm tonight:

He is one of four nominees this week and in order for him to win the honor, fans must text message VOTE to 87654 by 11:59pm ET this Wednesday. Jackson was selected by ESPN based on his performance against the University of Oregon.

This also gives DeSean Jackson the opportunity to potentially be nominated for the AT&T All-America Player of the Year in December.

Finally, it’s been pointed out that Cal is currently #1 in the ESPNU Allstate Standings (determined by fan vote). Over 100,000 votes have been cast and Cal takes the top spot, above USC and LSU [/dco]. While it’s likely that this was caused by the LSU fans leaving USC off the ballot and the LSU fans leaving USC off the ballot, it shows that Cal is a consensus contender for the national championship among fans around the country.

Cal in the news

In his weekly Forde-Yard Dash, ESPN analyst Pat Forde mentions Cal and Jeff Tedford as three of his points, expecting the team to enter the November 10th match up against USC ranked at least 3rd in the nation:

California (4). Ranking: third in all major polls. Dash ranking: third. Highest ranking since: 1952. Cal’s leading passer that season was Bill Mais, who completed 30 passes on the year. That’s just two more than current QB Nate Longshore (5) completed in the Saturday triumph at Oregon.

Why the Golden Bears are there: They’ve come through when the nation is watching, beating Tennessee handily in the biggest game of the opening weekend and then winning at Oregon in the biggest game last Saturday. They’ve also scored a minimum of 31 points in every game and rank third nationally in turnover margin. And in case you ever doubted the importance of turnovers, know this: four of the top five teams in that department, and seven of the top 17, are undefeated.

Also, in Mark Schlabach’s On (and off) the Mark, he gives positive marks to Cal, in particular LB Anthony Felder, DeSean Jackson, and Marcus Ezeff.

Jackson to #3 in the Heisman Watch

In this week’s Heisman Watch released this morning, WR DeSean Jackson moved up into third place behind Arkansas’ Darren McFadden and Kentucky’s Andre Woodson. Todd McShay writes:

DeSean Jackson, WR/RS, Cal
Cal’s thrilling victory at Oregon propels the team to a No. 3 ranking and Jackson right back in the Heisman mix. The junior receiver hauled in 11 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson was limited — partially due to a sprained thumb — to only 67 receiving yards in the previous two games (Louisiana Tech and Arizona) combined, making his performance Saturday that much more dramatic. Is there any doubt that Jackson is the nation’s most electrifying playmaker? Not from where I stand, at least.

While it is still early in the season and the door is still open for any and all candidates to make it to the final few, more publicity and airtime right now will only help his campaign.

EDIT by ERIC: Meanwhile, well-respected blogger Heisman Pundit just placed Jackson at #6 in his predictive Heisman rankings – I think Jackson will need more big games to become a real contender to win.

Cal #3, Jackson Pac-10 PotW

The Bears have reached their highest ranking since 1952: #3 in the AP, USA Today/Coaches, and Harris polls. As discussed in the post-Oregon post, Cal’s victory and the losses of last week’s #3, #4, and #5 propelled the Bears to the third spot, immediately behind LSU and USC (with USC now #2 in the AP).

Meanwhile, DeSean Jackson has received the honors for the Pac-10 Player of the Week (offense) for his amazing performance on Saturday (see video highlights, GameDay interview):

Jackson, a senior from Long Beach, Calif., provided the big plays on offense in California’s 31-24 road win at Oregon. Jackson pulled in 11 receptions for 161 yards (14.6), both career highs, including two touchdown passes covering 25 and 31 yards. In addition to Pac-10 player of the week honors, he was named national Offensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Foundation. It marked the second Pac-10 player of the week honors for Jackson this year, having previously been named for special teams work in California’s win against Tennessee.

LB Anthony Felder and P Andrew Larson were also nominated for the award.

EDIT 10/2: Jackson has also received the USA TODAY Player of the Week honor:

California wide receiver DeSean Jackson had 11 catches for 161 yards in a defeat of No. 12 Oregon to earn this week’s USA TODAY’s Player of the Week honor. Jackson scored twice on receptions of 25 and 31 yards as the No. 6 Bears stayed unbeaten with a 31-24 victory. Jackson won the award with the support of college football editor Erick Smith and Gannett News Service columnist Mike Lopresti. Fan voting sided with Illinois wide receiver Arrelious Benn.

Memorial Stadium a scary place for opponents?

According to ESPN’s Bruce Feldman, Cal’s Memorial Stadium is the 10th scariest place to play in the nation.

10. Cal, Memorial Stadium
Autzen Stadium is probably noisier than Cal’s Memorial Stadium, but there is a little magic to this quirky place. Since 2003, the Bears have faced five ranked teams at home and knocked off four, including an upset of USC in 2003 by a then-unranked Cal squad. Of course, Jeff Tedford deserves plenty of credit for that, too.

This mention shows Cal’s growing home field advantage. Though not normally mentioned as a difficult place to visiting teams to play, Cal continues to have great home seasons each year. Hopefully that trend continues this season with USC at home.