Cal defeats Oregon, 31-24

In a tough, well-fought battle, the #6 Bears survived a relatively low-scoring showdown in Eugene, Oregon. With both teams coming in averaging well over 40 points per game and questionable defenses, it was expected to be an offensive showcase. During the first half, however, both defenses stepped up, and neither offense was able to find their rhythm. It wasn’t until the final minutes of the second quarter that Oregon was able to find the end zone for the first touchdown of the game.

The second half, however, was more of the shootout that everybody expected. DeSean Jackson had a breakout performance, catching 11 passes for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns. Once again, DeSean managed to fake out the Oregon secondary. On his first touchdown, he faked an inside route, then cut outside for a wide open 25-yard strike. On his second, he caught a short pass, stutter stepped, then exploded down the sideline past the defender. It was great to see DeSean come out and play like a true Heisman candidate. Equally important was Justin Forsett. Despite a slow first half, he managed 101 yards on 25 carries, including 2 touchdowns.

The biggest question most people in the country had about Cal so far this season was whether the defense could hold up against a top-ranked team. This game should go a long way towards silencing that crowd, as Oregon came in ranked 6th in the nation for total yards, 4th for rushing yards, and 7th for points scored. The Bears held them to only 24 points, half of their average 48.5. During the first half, and especially during the fourth quarter, the defense came up huge, coming up with the first two interceptions against Dennis Dixon this year, the first of which set up the go-ahead touchdown. Then came the biggest play of the game, the goal-line forced fumble with only 22 seconds to play.

On the offensive side of the ball, Cal struggled to find their rhythm during the first half, managing to score only 3 points. The O-line seemed to have a little difficulty controlling the line, as nearly each of Forsett’s touches had first contact behind the line of scrimmage. They looked much improved in the second half, as initial successes in both running and passing the ball forced Oregon’s defense to honor and protect against both aspects of the offense.

The scariest point in the game came with only about six and a half minutes to play in the game. With the score tied at 24, Nate Longshore was drilled from the side, his legs buckling sideways underneath him. It brought back flashbacks of two years ago to when a similar tackle took Longshore out for the season. He came out of the game for the rest of the drive, had his ankle taped up, then came back on the next possession. Despite being in the game, his ankle was still clearly bothering him, as he even had trouble with the kneel-down on the very last possession. Both Lavelle Hawkins and Robert Peele were also banged up during the game. Next week’s bye couldn’t come at a better time, as hopefully the extra week of rest will allow all the players to recover from injuries.

With so many upsets this weekend, and the win coming on ABC with the ESPN College GameDay crew in tow, Cal should be moving up in the polls. Oregon may also not move down very far. Here’s what happened in the top 10 this weekend:

• #1 USC squeaked out a 27-24 win over unranked Washington
• #3 Oklahoma lost 24-27 to unranked Colorado
• #4 Florida lost 20-17 to unranked Auburn
• #5 West Virginia lost 13-21 to #18 South Florida
• #7 Texas was routed 41-21 by unranked Kansas State
• #10 Rutgers lost 34-24 to unranked Maryland

The last time that 5 of the top 10 teams lost occurred back in 2003. Look for Cal to be moving up to #3 in the polls this week, and for LSU to gain ground on USC after their shaky victory. Also look for DeSean to move back up in the Heisman watch after his stellar performance, perhaps even as far as #3 behind Darren McFadden and Andre Woodson.

Links:

• ESPN Recap and video highlights
  
• Ezeff’s hit boosts Bears’ national title hopes – Mark Schlabach
• Final Analysis: California-Oregon – Mark Schlabach

Oregon game to be televised on ABC

ABC has picked up the broadcast of the Cal-Oregon when Cal travels up to Autzen Stadium to take on the 13th-ranked Ducks. This will be one of the Bears’ most difficult away games of the season, and should be quite an offensive shootout.

Herbie Awards, Jackson

Several Cal players have garnered spots on Kirk Herbstreit‘s Seventh Annual Herbie Awards (ESPN), which he gives to “the best college football players, coaches, teams and fans from across the nation.” It’s good to see Cal players getting some well-deserved national respect. Here is a summary of the awards:

• Best Wide Receivers – Speed To Burn: #1 DeSean Jackson
• Dream Offensive Line – The Hogmollies: #1 Alex Mack, Center
• Best Tight Ends – Block And Catch: #5 Craig Stevens
• Best Quarterbacks – Old School: Classic Dropback Style: #6 Nate Longshore
• Top True Freshmen: Jahvid Best, RB
• What’s My Name – Players who will be household names by Oct. 1: Justin Forsett, RB
• Favorite Playcallers – Keeping defenses off-balance: Jeff Tedford

EDIT by ERIC: There was also a nice mention of Jackson on today’s College Football Live by Todd McShay (Scouts Inc.) regarding the best pass catchers:

“Two of college football’s best pass catchers could be tight ends… now for the rest of the Wide Receivers there is no Calvin Johnson in college football this year but there are a lot of very good receivers. At the top of the list I have DeSean Jackson who beats out other guys like Mario Manningham, Limas Sweed, Earl Bennett and Adarius Bowman simply because of his versatility. I love the fact that he’s one of the premiere open field runners in the nation, catches the ball well, and while he’s small he’s tough and not afraid to go over the middle. That’s why I have Jackson ahead of this list. Throw in his kick return ability and punt return ability and to me he’s a special playmaker right up there with the best of them in college football.” [/JY]

Ta’ufo’ou injured; out for 3-6 weeks

During a scrimmage Thursday, fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou sprained a ligament in his knee, putting him on the sideline for 3-6 weeks including the September 1st home opener against Tennessee. Ta’ufo’ou played in all 13 games last season, including starting in Cal’s victory over Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl, and was expected to be the starter this year as well.

WLB Shaun Mohler commits

Shaun Mohler verbally committed to Cal yesterday, intending to transfer from Orange Coast City College. The 6’3″ 225 pound weakside linebacker, ranked by Scouts as a 4-star recruit, is an excellent addition to a defense that has lost many core starters. He is a strong athlete, capable of benching 20+ reps of 225 and running a 4.62 forty, and with his prior JC experience he is expected to make an immediate impact.

Lynch drafted by Bills at #12

It’s now official… Marshawn Lynch will be playing next year in Buffalo. He was selected 12th, the second running back after Adrian Peterson went to Minnesota at #7.

EDIT by ERIC: Here are some additional news articles about the pick:

• CalBears.com: Cal’s Marshawn Lynch Selected in NFL Draft’s First Round
• BuffaloBills.com: Bills OL Merz Calls Lynch ‘Great Teammate’
• Associated Press: NFL DRAFT: Bills open with RB Lynch

Here’s a cool Photoshopped image of Lynch in Bills uniform courtesy of a Buffalo fan on their message boards:

And here’s ESPN/Scouts, Inc.’s draft analysis:

Buffalo placed need over value with this pick. Lynch has shown flashes of developing into a difference maker. He’s big enough to carry a heavy workload and his speed should make him a home-run threat in the NFL. In other words, he can pound the ball inside and turn the corner as an outside runner. There’s also reason to believe he’ll emerge as a dangerous receiver out of the backfield, so he compares favorably to Peterson in a lot of ways. However, Lynch isn’t on the same level as Peterson… (blah blah)

In addition, Lynch, much like Peterson, has had some problems staying healthy, so this is a bit of a reach and Buffalo may have been better served taking a corner. However, running back is clearly a need and this could prove to be a great pick if Lynch pans out.

From Keith Kidd during the ESPN Live Draft Chat:

With the 12th pick the Bills select Marshawn Lynch. The Bills addressed a definite need on their team since they traded McGahee. Patrick Willis was a guy they had targeted, but he ended up in San Francisco. There were concerns about Lynch’s durability and character issues, which had him possibly falling down the draft board. But the Bills felt strong enough about him to take him at 12. He is a big back, with the size and acceleration to be a home run threat in the Bills offense and take pressure off Losman. To us this is a definite reach. The Bills could have addressed their CB situation with both Hall and Revis, but they can look to address their corner situation with a second round pick, with a guy like Eric Wright.

Michalczik named Offensive Coordinator

Jim Michalczik, Cal’s offensive line coach of the previous five seasons, has been promoted to the role of offensive coordinator left open by the recent departure of Mike Dunbar for Minnesota. He shall also retain his duties as offensive line coach. With Michalczik as the offensive coordinator, Cal next season will most likely remain more geared towards a pro-style offense, centered upon the run game. Cal has produced a 1,000 yard rusher in each of Michalczik’s five seasons as offensive line coach, and look towards continuing the streak with Justin Forsett in the backfield. Kevin Daft, a graduate assistant, was also promoted to take over as the quarterbacks coach.

DE Cameron Jordan commits

Yesterday, defensive end Cameron Jordan committed to the 2007 recruiting class. Coming out of Chandler high school, Jordan is the 6th rated recruit in the state of Arizona. With Nu’u Tafisi, Abu Ma’Afala, and Steve Kelly graduating this year, defensive line coach Ken Delgado has several open spots on the D-line, which Jordan looks to compete for with fellow 2007 defensive-end recruits Scott Smith and Solomona Aigamaua. Jordan comes to Cal after earning all-state honors this past season:

Jordan’s size and production will be a valued commodity at Cal. The All-State DE racked up 17.5 sacks, 37 hurries and 85 tackles on the year in leading his Chandler squad to an impressive 11-2 record before falling in a tough loss to 5A state finalist Mountain View last month.

Training Center construction put on hold

Earlier this morning, a Judge issued a preliminary injunction temporarily preventing the construction of the training center next to Memorial Stadium. While tree-sitters have been protesting mainly to save the oak trees in the area, the legal basis for their argument is violations of the Alquist-Priolo Act, a state law which prohibits new buildings on earthquake faults. Multiple fault tests had been taken, and while most of them came back as being safe, two of them were inconclusive.

This is a huge hit to Cal football, as construction will now have to be delayed a year, if not indefinitely, as the trial will not begin until this summer, and starting construction directly after then would interfere with the 2007 Football schedule. While an appeal to the injunction is being considered, school officials are confident that they will win out in court if the issue ever even makes it to trial. Let’s hope that the stadium plans eventually get approved, and does not have much affect on recruiting or even Tedford’s long-term plans on staying at Cal.

EDIT by STEVE: 1/30/2007- At least for now, it appears that we don’t have to worry about Tedford getting frustrated and leaving:

“Anybody who’s asking those questions is very uneducated to my feelings to Cal and this program,” Tedford said. “My commitment is unwavering. My commitment is 100 percent to Cal. I’m not panicking. I’m not fazed by this at all.

“I want those statements to be clear to our players, our recruits and anyone else who is wondering.”

In Tedford’s new contract, however, there have been no changes from the previous one regarding the stadium plans. The UC, confident that the stadium plans will eventually be approved, are moving ahead with the bidding process and any site preparation that the injunction may allow. With signing day only a week away, hopefully this confidence will be enough to sway any borderline recruits that may have been put off by the injunction and current state of the training facilities.

2007 season schedule released

The final schedule for the 2007 season was released Friday. The Bears will host 6 home games next season, including games against Tennessee, Oregon State, and USC, all expected to be in the top 25 in the preseason national rankings.

2007 California Football Schedule
Sept. 1	Tennessee
Sept. 8	at Colorado State
Sept. 15 Louisiana Tech
Sept. 22 Arizona
Sept. 29 at Oregon
Oct. 6	BYE
Oct. 13	Oregon State
Oct. 20	at UCLA
Oct. 27	at Arizona State
Nov. 3	Washington State
Nov. 10	USC
Nov. 17	at Washington
Nov. 24	BYE
Dec. 1	at Stanford

Also, Spring practice begins on March 12, while the Spring Game is scheduled for April 14.