WR Mike Calvin commits to Cal

Local wideout Mike Calvin from San Lorenzo High School has committed to the 2007 recruiting class. He is a big, athletic receiver at 6’3″, 199 lb with a 41 inch vertical and a 4.48 forty. He’s listed as a 3-star prospect on both Scout.com and Rivals, and looks to be a solid addition to the class. As signing day approaches, we will hopefully hear more good news about this year’s class. A win on Saturday against USC will make many blue chip recruits to look to the Bears.

Jackson in the media

Wide receiver/punt returner DeSean Jackson is getting some heavy media attention this week. While his huge numbers on the field are drawing much of this attention, his confidence and story about committing to Cal over USC are as well. As TBIOOTF writes, Jackson may be the “cockiest Cal player ever.” But is he overconfident? I don’t think so… just watch the highlights on Saturday. Regardless, Jackson is a hot topic for pundits, bulletin boards and blogs this week.

Jackson doesn’t shy away from comparing himself to last year’s Heisman-winner, and puts a target on his back for Saturday’s match-up.

LA Times: “Breakaway Threat”
Long Beach Poly’s DeSean Jackson almost stayed home to play for USC, but Trojans lost him because he felt coaches betrayed a confidence. Now he stars for rival Cal. …
Jackson welcomes comparisons to Bush. “It’s just too bad I’m not playing for SC because if I was playing for SC then it probably would be a different thing,” he said. “I’m the closest thing to Reggie Bush. But I kind of don’t like to follow after too many people. I just try to be myself.” …
“There was too much cockiness over there for me. They were SC. They’re national champions. They’re just guaranteed they could have whoever they want. I kind of felt like I was a more special player than that and they shouldn’t have taken it for granted like that.”

His commitment to that Cal class was also a great indication of the program’s emergence and success in California recruiting.

San Jose Mercury News: “Jackson’s escape from L.A. keeps paying dividends for Cal”
When Cal and USC collide Saturday, the top playmaker on the field will be a sophomore who grew up near the Los Angeles Coliseum, followed the Trojans as a kid, attended their summer camp, watched their practices, knew their players, toured their campus, heard their recruiting pitch — and chose Cal.

How often do the Trojans lose L.A. kids? About as often as they lose games.

“That’s the reason, right there,” Cal receiver DeSean Jackson said. “I didn’t want to follow everybody else. I’m not a follower.”

USC will be focusing on an attempt to shut down Jackson in punt-return game. Don’t be surprised to see many punts go out of bounds.

Orange County Register: “Jackson a danger on special teams”
The extra minutes USC coach Pete Carroll spent working on special teams last week could pay off hugely this week against Cal’s DeSean Jackson. Jackson, a punt return specialist and receiver, leads the nation with four punt-return touchdowns, his latest – and fifth overall – coming against Arizona on Saturday when he raced 95 yards for a first-quarter score.

Coach Pete Carroll and USC know about Jackson’s talent and will be preparing for it. Will they be ready?

Sacramento Bee: “Jackson a haymaker of a player”
Amazingly, Jackson has just 23 career punt returns, scoring on 21.7 percent of his attempts. It’s never a surprise when he breaks a big play. Cal coach Jeff Tedford and his staff have been the beneficiaries of Jackson’s desire to leave Southern California and bypass the strong overtures of the Trojans.

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“He had spots (last season) when he made some plays, but he’s really torn it up this year,” USC coach Pete Carroll told the Los Angeles Times. “Gosh, they’ve thrown to him deep so many times, and the punt returns alone are awesome.”

Cal drops to #17-AP, #17-Coaches/Harris, #15-BCS

With Saturday’s loss at Arizona, Cal has dropped significantly in the polls. All rankings dropped the Bears at least 7 spots. The AP and the Coaches/Harris polls place Cal at #17 (from #8 and #9, respectively). Meanwhile, the BCS computer rankings now have Cal at #12 (from #4 last week), and combined with the lower human polls Cal is now #15 in the BCS standings.

These rankings are insignificant to Cal’s bowl destiny, as we described on Saturday. The Bears have two possibilities: beat USC and see the Rose Bowl, or lose to USC and end up in the Holiday Bowl. Furthermore, as Ken C correctly pointed out over at Bear Territory, this is not dependent on a Big Game win over Stanford.

Blog rounds on the Arizona outcome

This week’s blog rounds show much weeping and gnashing of teeth from the Cal faithful over the painful loss, but hope at the end of the tunnel with eyes fixed on USC and Rose Bowl hopes. Here is a bite out of the Cal blogs:

BearTalk Weblog: “bad day in the desert”

It also was alarming on Saturday that Arizona controlled the Bears’ offensive line in terms of the running. If that was because the Wildcats overmatched them with bodies up front, then the Cal coaching staff should have gone elsewhere. If the Bears simply couldn’t match Arizona’s physical play, then they could be in trouble on Saturday.

The loss at Arizona was deflating for everyone, just when it appeared the Bears would be ranked fourth or fifth in the nation going into the game. But the stakes remain the same. A win on Saturday will send Cal alums into a wild dance never seen on Figuroa.

Rose Bowl Before I Die: “Sadness, Reflection, Recognition”

Cal lost to an inspired Arizona team. Longshore played his worst game as a Bear. Worse than the Tennessee game which featured a lot of drop balls by the receivers. …

It looked like Cal was controlling the game leading up to halftime. DeSean Jackson had an amazing game. Two touchdown and almost another give or take 2 inches. Marshawn had a solid game but Cal gave up on the run too quickly toward the end of the game. …

Pipe dreams of a national championship were always nice. An undefeated Pac 10 record would have been great. A final ranking in the top 5 would have been validation. But, let’s keep all this in perspective. Cal is still in control of its destiny for the Rose Bowl.

Sturdy Golden Blog: “On the Couch (Arizona 24, Cal 20)”

Full credit for Jackson for almost staying in bounds, but he absolutely stepped out. And full credit for the fight to the finish. Look, the Rose Bowl is the goal. Cal-USC is still for all the marbles. But still, how disappointing for Cal’s national image and ranking.

TedfordIsGod: “The Worst Meaningless Loss Ever”

Wild result, wild game … now let us never speak of it again.

USC, Saturday, Pac-10 title on the line.

Nothing has changed. You better believe the Bears have something to prove.

TedfordIsGod: “Pac-10’s Own Personal Upset Saturday”

Now, obviously, this loss, while embarrassing and shameful, is by no means a big deal. Next week’s game is still basically a playoff for the Rose Bowl. (Please, spare me the what-if talk about the Trojans beating Cal, winning out, ending up in the national championship game, leaving the Pac-10’s Rose Bowl spot open. There is no way — no way! — the Rose Bowl would take a three-loss team, even in the impossible event that the Bears would be BCS-eligible in this scenario.) But the fact remains that Cal has a tendency to falter when the expectations are high.

The good news, though, is that with the upset the Bears will probably be heavy underdogs Saturday. Sadly, they seem to be just more comfortable that way.

And, here are some thoughts from non-Cal bloggers. Clearly, the loss is looking bad for Cal’s reputation. However, it is duly noted that this loss was somewhat of an aberration, due more to a lack of a focus than a lack of talent with the USC showdown looming.

Pac-10 Apostle: “The Weekly Rehash (Reversal of the Reversal Edition)”

With three picks, Longshore gave the game to Arizona, including one that was returned for a score by Antoine Cason. That gave the Wildcats their first lead and after Longshore’s third and final pick with 1:32 left, Arizona claimed victory. The Arizona offense was pretty blah, getting outgained by about 100 yards and averaging less than 4 yards a play. But they didn’t turn the ball over once, so the +3 differential was what decided the game. The Bears just kissed their national championship status goodbye.

Every Day Should Be Saturday: “WEEKEND REVIEW, PART ONE: TWO LOSSES IS THE NEW HOTNESS”

USC’s looking just fine at the moment, and an upcoming matchup with Notre Dame shouldn’t frighten anyone since the Irish secondary is still playing fire drill an almost every single snap, something the mindmelded duo of Sarkisian and Kiffin may have noticed when watching film. They should fear Cal, though, since Cal futzed around, ate some Skittles, and paused thoughtfully to look at the sunset while Arizona decided to win a game against them. Pissed and focused is totally the way to go through life, son, and with USC on the horizon that is precisely what they’ll be.

Sunday Morning Quarterback: “The Streets Run Red With Sunday Morning Quarterback”

It was also a day that tuned SMQ’s more sympathetic tendencies to the cruelly incremental nature of a game, indeed, of inches, and also of split seconds: Florida won by the tips of Jarvis Moss’ fingers, as related above, but also by the unusually speedy delay of game flag that took a 55-yard Ryan Succop field goal off the board earlier in the game; California, meanwhile, apparently made its big play to win on a sideline route and make-em-miss upfield burst by DeSean Jackson with two minutes left at Arizona, and had its victory drive upended by, literally, the length of Jackson’s big toe. Yet Florida will rise, alive, while Cal falls into the murky “BCS hopeful” mire. Always remember such razor-thin margins when attempting to estimate “how good” any given team deserves to be measured.

Media rounds on the Arizona outcome

Associated Press: “Arizona stuns Cal at home, ruining Bears’ BCS title dreams”

California center Alex Mack was philosophical about the eighth-ranked Golden Bears’ 24-20 loss to Arizona Saturday afternoon.

“It’s not over,” he said. “It just hurts.”

The loss knocked the Golden Bears (8-2, 6-1 Pac-10) out of the national title hunt. But Cal can still clinch its first Rose Bowl berth since the 1958 season with a victory at No. 7 Southern California next week.

Scout.com: “Zona Sun Sets On Cal’s Undefeated P10 Season”

Arizona coach Bob Stoops was counting his blessings, commenting on his reaction after the touchdown was called back. “The football gods are smiling on us,” said Stoops after the game. The Bears continued their drive with a 1st down pass to receiver Robert Hawkins, bringing the ball to the Arizona 30 yard line. However, on third down, quarterback Longshore suffered his career-worst third interception with on the night with a pick by Ronnie Palmer at the Arizona 20 with 1:42 left and the Bears fate was sealed, as Arizona ran out the clock with Cal out of timeouts, much to the jubilance of the Wildcats’ shocked fans.

ESPN: “Top 25 Overview”

It was over when… Arizona’s Ronnie Palmer picked off a deflected Nate Longshore pass with 1:32 left in the game.
Gameball goes to… Antoine Cason. The Arizona cornerback stepped in front of a Longshore pass and returned it 39 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
Stat of the game…4 and 5. Cal’s DeSean Jackson returned a punt for a touchdown for the fourth time this season, fifth of his career. Both are Pac-10 records.

Daily Cal: “What Could Have Been / The Wildcats Secure Upset As Cal Falters In the Desert”

After giving up 21 straight points, the No. 8 Cal football team was on the verge of a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter.

But like many other crucial moments in the Bears’ crushing 24-20 loss Saturday to Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., this one did not go Cal’s way.

SF Chronicle: “Reversals of fortune / Cal upset in Tucson: Bears squander halftime lead”

On top of having flu-like symptoms, Cal receiver DeSean Jackson started feeling even worse as he suited up before Saturday’s game.

“It was kind of a weird feeling, putting on those white uniforms for the first time since we lost in Tennessee,” he said. “It gave me some real bad feelings.”

Those feelings became a nightmarish reality during the game as very little went right for the Bears, and they lost for the first time in Pac-10 play, 24-20 to Arizona in front of 55,509 homecoming fans at Arizona Stadium.

Contra Costa Times: “No undefeated Pac-10 season for Cal”

Thirty minutes after Cal’s 24-20 loss at Arizona on Saturday, Cal linebacker Worrell Williams stood outside a subdued locker room and summed up his team’s situation perfectly.

“Great teams get through that,” Williams said.

For the second time this season, No. 8 Cal had the chance to stamp itself as a great team. The first opportunity ended with a loss at Tennessee in the opener. On Saturday, the Bears (8-2 overall, 6-1 Pac-10) failed to complete a final drive — after a series of bizarre events left them trailing — that would have kept them undefeated in conference play. Cal’s final shot at greatness comes next Saturday, when the Bears travel to USC for a game that might ultimately decide the Pac-10 championship.

“We still are in the hunt to be No. 1 in the Pac-10,” Williams said. “If we win against USC, we will be sitting in the driver’s seat. We control our own destiny.”

SF Chronicle: “The ABCs of BCS / Cal finds self-fault in loss to Arizona; focus turns to USC”

Coach Jeff Tedford wanted to shoulder the blame, receiver Lavelle Hawkins said it was his fault and defensive tackle Brandon Mebane tried to take the responsibility. It went on and on from coaches to players and back to coaches, but each was ready to carry the weight of the loss.

“It’s definitely frustrating, but we’re all a team,” Mebane said. “We know we’ll bounce back.”

Whittier Daily News: “Cal’s defeat excites USC”

When USC defeated Oregon late Saturday night, it was the Trojans’ second celebration of the day. The first one occurred in the afternoon at the team’s hotel when Arizona upset California.

“Everyone on our floor was out in the hallway screaming,” offensive tackle Kyle Williams said. “We had a little jumping around party when Cal lost,” linebacker Oscar Lua added.

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Cal’s loss does mean one thing: USC can clinch a Rose Bowl appearance and Pacific-10 Conference title by defeating the Golden Bears on Saturday at the Coliseum.

Cal falls to Arizona 24-20, Rose Bowl still in sights

The Bears fell today in a heartbreaking loss in Tucson, AZ. The offense struggled against a tough Arizona defense who played with great heart, and quarterback Nate Longshore looked uncharacteristically off-tempo. However, the Wildcats were assisted by poor officiating and one particularly criminal pass interference call.

This loss will mar Cal’s national recognition and ranking, and it also takes the team out of the running for the national championship. However, USC already fell to Oregon State. Thus, barring a complete meltdown by either team, the Pac-10 championship (and winner of the Rose Bowl bid) will still be determined by the winner of next week’s Cal-USC match-up.

Hopefully the Bears will gain new focus and learn lessons from this loss and be prepared more than ever for the important game next week. The bottom line: Cal still controls its own destiny. The Bears must recover their confidence and look to beat USC.

Saturday’s match-up: Cal at Arizona

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Saturday’s game in Tucson, AZ is a potential “trap” game against a resurgent Wildcats team. While Arizona is one of the perennial bottom-dwellers of the Pac-10, the Wildcats just defeated Washington State on the road with the return of their starting quarterback Willie Tuitama. With the media focusing on next week’s game against USC in the Coliseum to determine the Pac-10 champion, the Bears have many potential distractions from the game at hand.

However, it appears that Coach Jeff Tedford is well aware of a potential letdown in this match-up and has prepared the Bears accordingly. In addition, history is on the side of the Bears as Arizona under head coach Mike Stoops has been shut out against the Bears with zero points scored.

If Cal come to Tucson ready to play, this should be a blowout – a statement game that will boost the confidence of the Bears before the big day on November 18. Hopefully this will be the case for the Bears.

Here are the media rounds for the game.

ESPN: “Pac-10 Notebook”

So this is the Arizona team that folks imagined in the preseason — the one that welcomed back 17 starters and appeared on the cusp of earning a bowl berth. While improving to 4-5 with a surprising 27-17 victory over Washington State isn’t anything to go crazy about, it’s worth noting that four victories is the program’s most since 2002.

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California owns Arizona. They’ve won the last three meetings by a combined score of 108-14, the last two meetings being Bears’ shutouts. That means coach Mike Stoops has never seen his offense score against Cal.

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Cal is trying to record its ninth consecutive victory. The program hasn’t done that in a single season since starting 9-0 in 1950.

Daily Cal: “With Three More to Go, Bears Take Show to Arizona”

Arizona was coming off a victory against Oregon State and sporting a 2-4 Pac-10 record going into its third-to-last regular-season game a year ago against then-No. 7 UCLA. Against all odds, the Wildcats managed to pummel the Bruins 52-14, at Arizona Stadium.

It may be a different season, but the situation is eerily similar in 2006.

“Those are reminders of what can happen if you’re not ready to play,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. “We always talk about the challenges that we have each and every week. It’s no different this week.”

Sports Network: “Pac-10 leading California heads to the desert”

Defensively, is where Arizona has had the most success and last week’s win over Washington State was certainly an example of that, holding the Cougars to a mere seven points in the game. On the year, UA is allowing 19.7 ppg, on 309.3 yards of total offense. The rush defense has allowed just 105.8 yards per game, while the pass defense is yielding 203.6 yards per outing.

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The Wildcats will need to carry over momentum from last week’s win in order to keep this game close. Although the Wildcat defense has played its best against the better offenses it has faced, this Bears’ unit is clicking on cylinders most teams don’t even have. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: California 33, Arizona 14

USA Today: “Weekend Forecast”

You can forgive the Golden Bears a little if they are looking ahead to next week’s showdown against Southern Cal that would likely give them their first Rose Bowl trip since 1959. They’ve got enough talent, though, to win in Tucson with less than their best. California 28, Arizona 14.

ESPN’s Bruce Feldman: “Picks”

No. 8 Cal 28, Arizona 10: The Bears haven’t been quite as sharp the last few weeks, playing down to the level of UCLA and Washington at home. Almost as if they were coasting. They have shutout the Cats the last two seasons, and I don’t see too many reasons why it’ll be much different this weekend even though Zona is coming off its game of season last week after upsetting Wazzu on the road. In that game the Cats still only managed 275 total yards. Thing that has me sold: The struggling UA offense.

Arizona coverage map

Here is the coverage map for Saturday’s matchup at Arizona (in red) on ABC. This is even less coverage than last week’s UCLA game, but regional coverage blanketing the west coast is decent for most of Cal’s recruiting targets. Next week’s Cal-USC game will most likely be receiving full national coverage at primetime following the Ohio-Michigan matchup.

Both Longshore, Jackson named Pac-10 Players of the Week

Both Nate Longshore (offense) and DeSean Jackson (special teams) have been honored with the Pac-10 Player of the Week award for their performances against UCLA. It’s very rare to see two players from the same team get honored in the same week so this is special, despite it being Longshore’s third such award of the season.

Longshore, a sophomore from Canyon Country, Calif., completed 20-of-24 passes (.833) for 266 yards and three touchdowns of 10, 24 and 44 yards with no interceptions. he added two rushes for 17 yards to compile 283 yards total offense. It marks the third time this year Longshore has been named Pac-10 offensive player of the week, having previously been honored after wins against Minnesota and Arizona State.

Jackson, a sophomore from Long Beach, Calif., returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown against the Bruins. It was Jackson’s third punt return for a touchdown this season and fourth of his career, tying Pac-10 records in both categories.

4-star OT DeMartinis commits to Cal

6’6″/270lb Sam DeMartinis, the #7-ranked 4-star offensive tackle by Scout.com, has committed to Cal after making an official visit during the win over UCLA. DeMartinis, from Notre Dame High School in UCLA’s backyard, is an excellent lineman and student who makes a great addition to the 2007 recruiting class.

In other recruiting news, highly touted QB commit Brock Mansion over in Dallas, TX has led his high school to its first division title. Thanks to Sam G for this bit of news.