ESPN’s Corso picks Cal for national championship

ESPN College Gameday‘s Lee Corso picked Cal to be the national champion during their TV broadcast over the weekend, predicting a win by Cal over West Virginia in the BCS championship game. While the other analysts were not in agreement with his statement, it was a great nod of respect from a well-known name in college football. Corso also said that even if Cal were to lose to Tennessee, the team should “blow through the next eleven games”. Good stuff.

Both Longshore and Ayoob to play at Tennessee

It looks like Coach Jeff Tedford could not pick between quarterbacks Nate Longshore and Joe Ayoob. Apparently, both have played comparably enough that neither has defined themself as the starter for sure. This article about Tennessee has this tidbit near the end:

Quarterback Nate Longshore didn’t practice Thursday because of a “twinge in his back,” Tedford said. The head coach then went against his one-quarterback philosophy by saying Longshore and Joe Ayoob will play at Tennessee. “Just to give them some experience, to see how they perform,” Tedford said. “They’re very close. Nobody has really separated themselves. Both have been productive.”

So, we’ll see both play on September 2.

Lynch #4 in ESPN’s first Heisman Watch

Running back Marshawn Lynch has taken the fourth spot in ESPN’s Heisman Watch poll with 26 points, behind Brady Quinn (69), Adrian Peterson (56), and Troy Smith (40) while in front of fifth spot (Kenny Irons, 7 points). Take a look.

Overshadowed by that other SoCal school, Lynch has enjoyed two productive years rushing for the Bears. Will he grab the spotlight this year?

Last performance: Lynch put on a show against BYU, rushing for 194 yards and 3 TDs.

SI: Lynch #1 and Mebane #4 players in Pac-10

Sports Illustrated has an online photo gallery with a listing of its top 10 players in the Pac-10. Marshawn Lynch takes the number one spot:

The dynamic and elusive running back enters the season as a Heisman Trophy candidate. He has the speed to turn the corner and the strength to pound between the tackles. If healthy, Lynch and RB Justin Forsett should easily combine for more than 2,500 yards on the ground.

Meanwhile, Brandon Mebane takes the number four spot:

He could be the nation’s best defensive tackle. At 6-3, 306 pounds, he moves like a defensive end. Last season Mebane regularly faced double teams but still compiled seven sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. He should easily earn All-America honors.

The whole top 10: 1. RB Marshawn Lynch (California) 2. WR Dwayne Jarrett (USC) 3. WR Jason Hill (Washington State) 4. DT Brandon Mebane (California) 5. QB Rudy Carpenter (Arizona State) 6. RB Yvenson Bernard (Oregon State) 7. TE Zach Miller (Arizona State) 8. DE Lawrence Jackson (USC) 9. OT Sam Baker (USC) 10. CB Antoine Cason (Arizona). Thanks Sam W.

New secondary to be ‘tested’ by Tennessee

The Contra Costa Times has a nice article pointing out that Cal has three first-time starters in the defensive secondary, guessing that Tennessee will likely go after them instead of running the ball into the highly rated defensive line. While the safety/rover positions were known to need to be filled, the season-ending injury of Tim Mixon was unexpected.

Projected starters: Thomas DeCoud (safety), Brandon Hampton (rover),
Daymeion Hughes (cornerback), Syd’Quan Thompson (cornerback)

However, the Oakland Tribune writes about the confidence and potential of Syd’Quan Thompson, a redshirt freshman cornerback who was a big-time recruit. Although he hasn’t been named the starter for Tennessee to replace Mixon, all signs point to him as the man.

RB Brandon Jackson commits to Cal

Brandon Jackson, a three-star running back out of Marist High School in Eugene (Oregon), has committed to Cal’s 2007 recruiting class. He’s a 5’11”, 195 lbprospect who runs the 40 in 4.5 seconds. He’s considered a real pass-run threat, a nice addition to the class.

Jackson picked Cal over Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Boise State, and Boston College. Take a look at his Scout and Rivals profiles. The Oregonian also has a short article on his commitment.

Cal ‘underrated’ despite QB uncertainty

College Football News lists Cal as an “underrated” team in the polls. They write:

CFN writes: Cal is also a little underrated. Sure, they’ve still got a very questionable quarterback situation, but almost everything else on their roster looks great. They’ve got one of the best running backs in the country, plus a proven backup who’s also very good, they’ve got a great receiver corps, and their defense looks outstanding. I don’t get how anyone can justify having them outside their top 10 (and plenty of people did just that), and really they ought to be somewhere around #6 or #7. Vegas also has them at around 33:1 to win the national title, and around 3.5:1 to win the Pac-10. Both of those are significant bargains.

There’s also an article from the Associated Press detailing Coach Jeff Tedford‘s quarterback decision. They also have some photos of fall camp. Thanks Matt G.

Personnel notes

The Contra Costa Times has a few notes on the current playing positions. Bryan Deemer is looking to have the edge for starting at offensive right guard (in front of Norris Malele, Brian De La Puente, and Duke transfer Tyler Krieg). Walk-on quarterback Bryan Van Meter is the third string quarterback flying to Tennessee in place of suspended Steve Levy, instead of the expected Kyle Reed. And, defensive back Virdell Larkens (cousin of Marshawn Lynch and Robert Jordan) is transferring to Laney College due to a lack of playing time.

ESPN: Cal will lead league in rushing

ESPN‘s Pat Forde has written an article with 5 predictions for the Pac-10 season. His second prediction is about Cal’s ground attack:

2. California will lead the league in rushing again, and the nation will realize that Jeff Tedford is the Mike Shanahan of college football. Shanahan’s reputation was built as a West Coast passing-game guru, but his success has been built on the running game. Tedford has been thought of as a throw-it-around guy as well, but check his stats at Cal: His teams led the Pac-10 in rushing in 2003 and ’04 and were second to USC in ’05, and he’s had a different 1,000-yard rusher in each of his four years. With uncertainty at quarterback and great talent at running back, look for the Golden Bears to pound the rock even more in ’06.

Mixon out for the season with torn ACL

Bad news: cornerback Tim Mixon tore his ACL during Thursday’s scrimmage and he is out for the season. This is a huge blow to the defensive secondary and punt return game, but hopefully senior Randy Bundy or redshirt freshman Syd’Quan Thompson will be able to fill in for him.